VW Recalls More Than 2.6 Million Vehicles Worldwide

Volkswagen AG is launching three recalls to fix fuel leaks, electrical faults and transmission problems involving its Audi, SEAT, Skoda and VW brands.

The largest campaign covers about 1.6 million vehicles equipped with the company's 7-speed dual-clutch (DSG) transmission. VW also will replace a defective electric fuse in about 800,000 VW Tiguan small SUVs produced between early 2008 and mid-2011.

A third campaign involves possible fuel line leaks in 239,000 diesel-powered VW Amarok pickup trucks that were built between 2010 and mid-2013.

The DSG gearbox recall responds to widespread owner complaints about rough shifting, sudden acceleration and loss of power. About 640,300 vehicles fitted with the problem gearboxes are in China.

VW says additives in the synthetic oil used in the transmissions can cause electrical failures in the unit's power supply. VW says the issue occurs only during repeated stop-and-go driving under hot and humid conditions. The recall will replace the lubricant with mineral oil.

The company has addressed similar performance problems with its DSG transmissions before. Four years ago it recalled the 66,800 of the gearboxes in 2009-2010 Audi and VW cars sold in the U.S. Last year it updated control software in 500,000 DSG transmissions in China. In March China ordered a new recall of 384,200 cars to fix loss-of-power complaints about the transmission.