2010 Volkswagen Se on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Volkswagen recalls 20k Routans to replace ignition switch

Volkswagen is recalling 20,676 examples of the 2009-2010 Routan minivan to replace their key fobs and ignition switches. This new campaign is linked to one from FCA in March. In these vehicles, it's possible that if the switch is jarred, the key can be jostled out of the Run position. If this happens, then the engine shuts off, and the airbags, power steering and power brakes are all deactivated, which is a safety problem. The campaign to fix this issue began last year when FCA recalled 700,000 minivans, and the Routan was also affected because of its shared platform. However, in March 2015 FCA updated its recall to replace the whole ignition switch with an improved design, rather than the original plan of just a new detent ring. With this latest update, the VWs are getting the same fix. Until the minivans are repaired, VW says that drivers should remove all items from their key ring, including the fob. The recall is expected to begin in April for owners of the 2009 Routan and in August for the 2010 models, according to documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (available here as a PDF). Some vehicles already have a new detent ring under the earlier recall, but they still need to be fixed again to get the ignition switch. Related Video: RECALL Subject : Ignition Switch may Turn Off Report Receipt Date: APR 01, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V194000 Component(s): ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Potential Number of Units Affected: 20,676 All Products Associated with this Recall Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s) VOLKSWAGEN ROUTAN 2009-2010 Details Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. SUMMARY: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) is recalling certain model year 2009 Routan vehicles manufactured June 25, 2008, to June 10, 2009, and 2010 Routan vehicles manufactured October 1, 2009, to August 11, 2010. This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. Road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine. CONSEQUENCE: If the ignition key inadvertently moves into the OFF or ACCESSORY position, the engine will turn off, which will then depower various key safety systems including, but not limited to, air bags, power steering, and power braking.

Workers at Mississippi auto supplier protesting low wages

Workers at an automotive seat factory in Mississippi are protesting what they say are low wages and poor working conditions as they attempt to unionize in what could become a new front for the United Auto Workers in the state. A group of workers and supporters at the Faurecia SA seating plant in Cleveland plans a Tuesday march. "We work an auto job and we're getting paid like Wal-Mart wages," said Jamarqus Reed, a 32-year-old Pace resident who has worked at the plant for almost 10 years. "We're trying to better ourselves." Nationally, the UAW has staked its future on unionizing Southern auto factories, with limited success so far. The union has been trying to organize Nissan Motor Co.'s Canton, MS, plant for years, and lost a 2008 worker vote at a Johnson Controls plant in nearby Madison that French-based Faurecia bought in 2011. The UAW narrowly lost a unionization vote at the Volkswagen AG plant in Chattanooga, TN, last year, but the union has since qualified for a new labor policy at the plant that grants access to meeting space and to regular discussions with management. The policy stops short of collective bargaining rights. The union is also trying to organize Nissan's assembly plant in Smyrna, TN, and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, AL. Protesters say Faurecia employees make a top wage of $11.64 per hour, while contract workers make $7.73 an hour. Company spokesman Tony Sapienza said that with overtime, the typical Faurecia employee makes more than the $27,000 a year that is the median wage around Cleveland. Wages are often low in the heavily impoverished Delta. "We are very confident that we are offering a very competitive wage," Sapienza said. Organizers criticize use of lower-paid contract workers Shannon Greenidge, a 44-year-old Cleveland resident, said she worked for a labor agency for more than two years before being hired directly by Faurecia. Greenidge said she makes $9.29 an hour, and can't save for retirement or to send her 11-year-old daughter to college. "That's not going to help me down the line in life," she said. Union supporters say as many as half the workers at the plant work for a contract-labor agency. Sapienza said that while the number varies, the company expects 15 percent of its workforce will be temporary employees this year. The UAW has organized some Southern auto parts plants in recent years, including Faurecia plants in Cottondale, Alabama, in 2012 and Louisville, Kentucky in 2013.

Volkswagen says goodbye to Eos, Routan in 2015 updates

Usually automakers announce changes to their lineup individually on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis, but sometimes it all comes at once - especially when the changes are ones we either expected or might not otherwise notice. That's the path Volkswagen has gone with changes to its US lineup for 2015.
The biggest change is what we already knew: that the new Golf arrives for the 2015 model year, bringing with it the new GTI, Golf R, e-Golf and Golf SportWagen (to replace the previous Jetta wagon). But there are some new details as well.
For starters, Volkswagen has finally confirmed that both the Eos and the Routan - both long rumored to be on their way out - will be exiting this year. The Eos hardtop convertible, pictured above, will linger for one last year, its Sport trim replaced by a new Final Edition with 18-inch wheels, two-tone leather interior and enhanced equipment.