Not surprisingly this deliberate design introduced by VW has the potential to affect a lot of people.

In advising that the hazardous behaviour of the Yeti is “normal operation” by design, there has been no distinction of engine / DSG combinations. In fact the statement was made by Skoda / VW Australia that “it affects all DSG’s”. Consequently there are potentially other Volkswagen Auto Group (VAG) vehicles (Skoda / VW / Audi) currently on the road that may exhibit some or all of these symptoms. World-wide this could be a lot of vehicles and their owners / drivers.

Skoda / VW have not been “up-front” about this behaviour. As previously mentioned it is not disclosed to the vehicle owner in the drivers manual or other documentation provided with the vehicle or on VAG member and websites.

The hazardous operation occurs in normal operating conditions both on and off the road. Occurring at low speed and without warning it often happens in traffic situations with reduced separation between vehicles. When it occurs in car parks there is also the risk of injury to pedestrians who like to weave in and out between slowly moving vehicles.

On the plus side for the driver, Skoda / VW have acknowledged that DSG equipped vehicles are engineered to operate in this manner; it is their design. Manufacturers, sellers and distributers are responsible for their products. Thus, in our case, any accident or injury would be the responsibility of Skoda, VW and Wippells (particularly as their Dealer Principal has fallen in step with VAG) stating that “there is nothing wrong with your vehicle” when presented with its hazardous behaviour. In the unfortunate event of an accident we would provide the other vehicles driver (or the police in the event of an injury) our contact details, a copy of the documentation about the operating of the vehicle and the contact details for the Customer Experience Genius at Skoda / VW Australia as well as the Dealer Principal at Wippells Auto’s Toowoomba so that they can contact them for repair / compensation / medical expenses / further accident investigation. It is their product, they know how it operates and the hazards that it presents; it is their responsibility.

So, in summary, the behaviour of VAG vehicles that exhibit un-enunciated and seemingly random dangerous operation under normal driving conditions can cause danger to:

            The vehicle and its occupants,

            Other road users in the immediate vicinity,

            Pedestrians around the vehicle.

I believe that the behaviour of the dealership (Wippells Auto’s Toowoomba) in apparently placing their business interests ahead of customer and product casts significant doubt on their ability to demonstrate ethical behaviour when it comes to providing customer support after purchase. Thus this situation can also have the potential to affect current and future Wippells customers who purchase problem vehicles from the dealership).

I believe that in removing the “Wippells Auto’s Skoda” number plate surround from the vehicle (and refusing to give it back) Wippells have seemingly attempted to distance themselves from a vehicle that, according to their Dealer Principal, has nothing wrong with it….interesting behaviour. This view is supported by the amazing co-incidence of their Facebook “review page” being removed shortly after I posted a negative review alongside all of the other negative reviews.