What 40 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Volkswagen Eos

WHILE DRIVING ON HWY AT APPROX. 50 MPH, AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SHIFTED BY ITSELF TO NEUTRAL. UNABLE TO SHIFT BACK TO DRIVE, PULLED OVER AND USING BREAKS WAS ABLE TO STOP VEHICLE ON EMERGENCY LANE. WAS ABLE THEN TO CHANGE GEAR TO PARK. TURN OFF CAR AND START AGAIN. CALLED MECHANIC WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY HEARD OF NEUTRAL SWITCH VW ISSUES. THIS EOS ONLY HAS 26,000 MILES AND IS 4 YRS OLD SINCE PURCHASED NEW. THUS STILL COVERED BY POWERTRAIN WARRANTY UNTIL APRIL 2019. DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSIS CALLS FOR A $1525 SHIFT LEVER WITH MULTI-SWITCH (INCLUDES NEUTRAL SWITCH) REPLACEMENT REPORTEDLY NOT COVERED BY ANY WARRANTY OF THIS VEHICLE, INCLUDING THE POWERTRAIN WARRANTY THAT EOS HAS FOR 5YRS / 60,000 MILES. A SAFETY HAZARD IN THE MAKING PRONE TO HWY ACCIDENTS AND POSSIBLE LOSS OF LIFE AND MULTI VEHICLE RISK AND FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE AND APPLY WARRANTY OFFERED AT PURCHASE TIME ON NEW VEHICLE

NHTSA ODI 11141220

WHILE DRIVING AT APPROX. 30 MPH <1 MILE FROM HOME THE TRANSMISSION SUDDENLY DOWNSHIFTED INTO FIRST GEAR, AND MY WIFE WAS THROWN INTO THE STEERING WHEEL AS THE SEATBELT DID NOT CATCH. THE CAR WAS DRIVEN HOME AT 10 MPH AND PARKED. I DROVE IT AROUND THE BLOCK APPROX. 30 MINUTES LATER AND EXPERIENCED THE SAME THING FROM 25 MPH ON A NEIGHBORHOOD STREET. AGAIN, THE SEATBELT DID NOT RESTRAIN ME WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY DOWNSHIFTED. IN BOTH CASES, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED, AND THE TRANSMISSION MALFUNCTION INDICATOR CAME ON. HAD THIS OCCURRED AT HIGHWAY SPEED THE RESULTS COULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC! THE SUDDEN DOWNSHIFT WOULD NO DOUBT HAVE CAUSED THE CAR TO BECOME EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO CONTROL AND ANY VEHICLES NEARBY COULD EASILY HAVE CREATED A MULTI-VEHICLE ACCIDENT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10671558