Gasgoo.com (Shanghai June 20) - In response to a lawsuit from nearly one thousand VW owners, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has officially stated that it is presently impossible to determine whether or not the DSG gearboxes require a recall, the Economic Information Daily reported today. Jiang Suhua, partner of Beijing-based Yingke Law Firm, received a letter from AQSIQ saying that, "following expert analysis, investigation and authentication of issues mentioned by consumers with the DSG gearboxes, [we] are still unable to determine whether or not [they] are defective."
AQSIQ has previously stated that if they found that the DSG gearboxes were indeed defective, they would adhere to the appropriate legislation and issue a full vehicle recall in order to protect customers.
An official from the AQSIQ's Defective Product Center, who wished to remain anonymous, personally believed that the main reason VW has received such a high number of complaints is that it did not fully consider China's driving environment. In Beijing and other large cities where congestion rates are very high, drivers are forced to constantly shift gears, placing a considerable amount of strain on the transmission. The climate in western Sichuan and other regions is extremely humid, while several cities boast high rates of pollution, both of which may have further exacerbated issues.
"We are extremely concerned… about the issue with VW's DSG gearboxes," AQSIQ said, confirming that it had requested the manufacturer to promptly resolve the issue and satisfy consumer demands on numerous occasions. Its Defective Product Center, meanwhile, is conducting various tests and experiments on the gearboxes to analyze the source of the problem. AQSIQ stated that it will continue to analyze the problem in order to determine whether or not it poses a legitimate safety risk.
Last month, VW issued an officially apology to Chinese drivers affected by issues with its DQ200 dual-clutch transmissions. It also announced that it would be extending warrantees for DQ 200 seven-speed and DQ 250 six-speed gearboxes to cover ten years and 160,000 km.
