Chicago, Illinois – May 29, 2003 - Owners of some 2001, 2002 and 2003 Volkswagens and Audis received a surprise in the mail in February of this year. 530,000 vehicles had defective ignition coils that could cause partial loss of engine power and potentially, an accident. If the coil fails, the car‘s “check engine” light will begin to blink and the car’s performance may become rough, possibly to the point that it loses power. The manufacturer promised to replace all 4 ignition coils in every vehicle that could potentially be affected. But the wait time can be long, leaving many consumers disillusioned with their VW or Audi, purchased in part because of the automakers reputation for quality and dependability. Vehicles affected by the recall are equipped with 1.8 liter engines, and include the Audi TT and A4; and the VW Golf/GTI, Jetta, New Beetle and Passat. Add to that all VW’s equipped with the 2.8 liter VR6 as well as the Audi 3.0 liter V6 engine.
The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration) estimates that in a year’s time approximately 50,000 complaints are filed through their website, via phone and by regular mail, regarding vehicles that are defective. Their website www.nhtsa.org gives visitors the option of searching for a specific defect by manufacturer, model and year. Yet, even after a number of complaints regarding the same defect have been registered by consumers, it takes a very serious, often life threatening defect to cause a manufacturer to acknowledge the defect and issue a recall.
How does a recall affect your rights under the lemon law?
If you have been to the repair shop multiple times, attempting
to fix your VW or Audi’s rough ride, or blinking check
engine light and then receive the recall notice, does the lemon
law still offer protection? Patrick Dwyer of Naperville had
experienced problems with his VW Passat before he received
the recall notice and had contacted the lemon law firm of Krohn & Moss,
Ltd. after researching his lemon law rights. “I purchased
the Passat based on VW’s reputation for dependability
and quality.” Dwyer suspected something was very wrong
with his vehicle when it wasn’t fixed after 3 repair
shop visits. “It was past the point of just replacing
a few engine coils for me, I didn’t care, I just did
not feel comfortable or safe driving that car!”
“It’s a valiant effort by the manufacturer to make good on a defective part, but consumers still have legal rights under both their state’s lemon law and the Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Rights Act,” claims Adam Krohn, Managing Partner of Krohn & Moss Consumer Law Center and co-founder of LemonLawAmerica.com. “If your VW or Audi has been out of service for many days and in the shop for this defect numerous times, your vehicle could still be a lemon; the recall simply confirms that there was a problem present,” adds Mr. Krohn.
Documentation of your repair orders and all other correspondence with the dealer, or manufacturer will help determine whether or not you do qualify for a replacement vehicle, or money back under your state’s lemon laws. Krohn & Moss Consumer Law Center has arbitrated, settled and litigated thousands of lemon law claims to date. The firm practices lemon law in 9 states including Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arizona, Florida and California. Mr. Krohn can be reached at 1-800 US LEMON® or visit the Krohn & Moss website at www.yourlemonlawrights.com