CA playing dirty w/ registration renewal?

Hey everyone, new to the forum but have been visiting for a while.

I got the Inlet Air Box Housing Snow Flap recall, 24CV, for my Gen 1 recently and scheduled an app with the dealer to fix. I told them not to do the major emission recall since I'm still on the buyback/fix fence. The service manager called me on the day of the app and said don't come in because they can't do the snow flap fix without doing the full emission recall.

The catch is in the recall notice:
"California regulations require that this campaign be completed prior to the time you renew your vehicle registration." Etc, etc.

Doesn't this seem to violate the term of the settlement for those who don't want to modify their cars? Admittedly very few, but the thought crossed my mind.

Sorry if this topic has been covered already.

Good question....anyone have info on this?

Hoping it's not true because I was thinking about ignoring the fix and driving the car as if nothing happened. My registration is due in October. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

You're a smart man for questioning the accuracy of the dealer's knowledge. I received both notices from VW on the same day a couple weeks ago. The recall (snow flap) notice had a paragraph about requiring the work for registration. The fix notice had no mention of impact on registration. So the court order about not denying registration is in play. Call the dealer and politely tell them they don't know what hell they are talking about.

P.S. The fix is not a recall campaign. It's a court-ordered settlement.

I think what the OP is saying is that the Snow Flap recall is mandatory for registration and that the dealer is saying the fix is mandatory to do the snow flap recall. Basically an indirect way of imposing the fix... I hope it's not true.

I'm hoping the dealer is mistaken about this but I don't think so. Usually this service manager knows his stuff. Seems like Cali is doing an end around. Or is it reach around...

joshhol said:

Hey everyone, new to the forum but have been visiting for a while.
I got the Inlet Air Box Housing Snow Flap recall, 24CV, for my Gen 1 recently and scheduled an app with the dealer to fix. I told them not to do the major emission recall since I'm still on the buyback/fix fence. The service manager called me on the day of the app and said don't come in because they can't do the snow flap fix without doing the full emission recall.
The catch is in the recall notice:
"California regulations require that this campaign be completed prior to the time you renew your vehicle registration." Etc, etc.
Doesn't this seem to violate the term of the settlement for those who don't want to modify their cars? Admittedly very few, but the thought crossed my mind.
Sorry if this topic has been covered already.

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Sounds like dealer BS. Like the prior poster wrote, the "fix" is not a recall. You have the choice of do nothing, fix, or buyback if you're an eligible owner and the car is an eligible car. Call a different dealer. Keep in mind dealers are financially compelled to "fix" your car and claiming plausible ignorance works to their advantage.

Not on a Jetta, but on my Passat, there was a similar snow flap recall in the mailing with the fix notice. At first, they made the same claim to me, but after I noted that two different campaign numbers were issued meant two unrelated (except by the envelope they arrived in), they made a quick check and did the snow flap stand alone . . . . I think your advisor is just plain too dense to comprehend that mailed together does not imply any relationship *OR* the Jetta is different. Myself, I'd ask them to show me where in either recall it mandates the other in print . . .

The only way to be sure is for someone (like sriracha), who has not had the recall done, submit the vehicle registration paperwork without including proof of the update as supposedly required, and see if they will complete the California registration regardless.

RNDDUDE said:

The only way to be sure is for someone (like sriracha), who has not had the recall done, submit the vehicle registration paperwork without including proof of the update as supposedly required, and see if they will complete the California registration regardless.

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And if you still have a problem you should contact BAR at bar.ca.gov and file a complaint. They helped me once when an Audi dealer wouldn't submit a form to the DMV clearing my car for registration until I fixed something that would have cost me a lot of money. They ended up submitting the form and all was fine.

Lastly, I believe there is some language somewhere in the settlement that separates the settlement from any EPA recalls.

joshhol said:

I'm hoping the dealer is mistaken about this but I don't think so. Usually this service manager knows his stuff. Seems like Cali is doing an end around. Or is it reach around...

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It's the rare service manager who knows his/her stuff! There's so many recalls, TSB's, warranty issues, etc. that it's near impossible to keep up.
What I find inexcusable, however, is their propensity to just make stuff up when they don't know! Or lie to cover up a technician's mistake or incompetence.

RNDDUDE said:

The only way to be sure is for someone (like sriracha), who has not had the recall done, submit the vehicle registration paperwork without including proof of the update as supposedly required, and see if they will complete the California registration regardless.

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You will not be able to register without the recall work (different from the fix).

move states!

Called in to customer care and the issue was settled in short time. Don't have to do the major emission fix to do the snow flap recall. The agent even said they were gonna escalate this to regional level and contact the dealer and let them know they're wrong.

I know it's tough to stay on top of all the recalls but it can't be that tough. I'll take I don't know over some bad info.

Thanks for the update!

I was able to renew my Beetle's registration prior to having the snow flap service.

I just took my TDI in to the dealer to get the Takata airbag recall done and requested the Snow Flap recall while I was at it, to avoid any future registration hassles. The dealer told my that I needed to have the emissions fix done in order to do the Snow Flap recall. I mentioned the info learned on this thread and insisted that the emissions fix was not necessary to do the flap recall. The service dept contacted VW and sure enough, they got the go ahead to due the flap recall without the emissions fix.
So, anybody out there without the fix, you can get the flap recall done. If your VW dealer tells you otherwise, stay persistent and tell them to contact VW.
Also, they gave me a stamped certificate confirming that I had the flap recall done, if ever needed to renew registration.

sriracha,

Are you planning to do the buyback later or just keeping your TDI as is?

Got my fix scheduled for next week. Nervous about it since I love the way it drives currently.
Back up plan for crappy post fix vibe is Malone Tune

joshhol said:

sriracha,

Are you planning to do the buyback later or just keeping your TDI as is?

Got my fix scheduled for next week. Nervous about it since I love the way it drives currently.
Back up plan for crappy post fix vibe is Malone Tune

Click to expand...

I'm still undecided. I want to keep the car and keep it as is. I'm keeping an eye on the fix and how it affects performance, MPG and reliability. In the meantime, I'm just going to drive my TDI as is and make my decision later. However, I need to pass smog and apparently needed the Snow Flap recall done to pass.

sriracha,

FWIW, I was like you, really liked the way the car was and was inherently suspicious of the fix. I think the VW engineers' original intent was to balance fuel economy, performance and durability. That they did so by cheating was dumb (pressured by execs of course) but I think the diesel emissions standards imposed in the U.S. are skewed towards the elimination of diesel.

The money they were throwing at us was too good and I got the fix this week. My initial impression is that the car drives reasonably the same as before. The only differences I've noticed are high idle to warm up, a little more noise when cold, and have to stick your foot in it a tab bit more to get that torque launch effect but it still has it.
Can't tell about MPG's since it's been so darn cold.
Anyways, I don't know how much the fix compromises the durability of the turbo, heater core, egr system etc, but if it proves to be troublesome, at the end of the warranty period some mods will have to be on the table.