Needless to say was LIVID as to that cost.  Wrote VW USA and got a semi-OK response where issued a repair credit for 1/3 the cost, still he has decided to stop being stupid where is currently trading that in on a Conventional Toureg.

Pretty sure 'engineers' are told by the 'bean counters' to make  it that way !

If I was to buy almost ANYTHING 'complicated', I'd scour the internet for a WEEK to see 'what's wrong with and  what does it cost' responses....

Retiree should write VW Germany and get another 1/3rd back !!!

from a C&D article...

With a 14.3-kWh battery, the Touareg PHEV has an EV range of 31 miles on the Euro WLTP cycle—that would translate to about 26 miles using EPA methodology. That's decent, but not great. The electric propulsion is seamlessly integrated,

wow get maybe 26 miles from the battery !! That's rediculous ! I couldn't go to the other side of town and back on the battery ??? !!!!!

or did I google the wrong car ?

  I can lift the hood on any vehicle I own and look right at the starter and replacing any of them would take less than an hour. 

  I can imagine someone in one of the new crapcars that shuts of at a red light, getting a big surprise when it doesn't re-start when the light turns green and their car just sits there. Newer is only better for the car companies.   

My son was given a deal he could not pass up on 2017 Ford 150 with the super gas mileage that will still haul a ton. If you read up to know just which button to push, and do it every time you start it that auto kill/start is turned off.

That 'no-stop-engine-at-any-time' button reminds me of the ASININE 'safety' feature of all 'riding mowers' for the past 2-3 decades....

Seemed cutting grass while backing up is a BAD thing, so 'they ' engineer a  'cannot cut grass while backing up system THEN create a more complicated ' yes you CAN cut grass while backing up  OVERRIDE system system, which of course DEFEATS the 'SAFETY' system.

Neither had any thing to do with safety or economy, it's just a make it more complicated to charge more deal....

Back in the early '80's, the Consumer Product Safety Commission passed forth an edict ruling that lawn mowers must be equipped with a 'safety shield' on the back of rotary mowers.  The function of the 'safety shield' was twofold-  first was to deflect anything coming out the back, down, so that it wouldn't strike the operator... second, was to prevent someone from slipping under the deck- the 'safety shield' was to prevent this from happening.

I never had any problems with stuff coming out of the back of the mower at my feet, at least, not until the 'shield' appeared.  Apparently, in order to make them perform their under-deck slip protection, the sheild had to be supported at a high angle, which caused it to stab into the ground when backing or turning the mower.  The safety commission originally stated that 'mowers should never be pulled backwards, so that's fine', which in practice, meant that once the mower was nosed-up against something, the shield prevented any further motion, the operator would have to physically LIFT the mower and turn it to unwedge it from where it was mounted.  Immediately, hand injuries (lost fingers) from users lifting the running mower to turn it when the 'safety shield' got the mower stuck.  They put a rounded edge on the shield, which prevented that issue... but the side effect was that the shield now made it easier for a mower to wind up over the top of an operator's feet.

A few years later, the CPSC mandated that all mowers be fitted with either a very immediate brake bail on the handle, that when released, caused the blade to stop.  They came in two flavors, one that stopped the whole engine, one that simply stopped the blade.  The former cost less, the latter stopped faster.  Neither of them were particularly effective at changing the frequency or nature of accidents.

At the age of fourteen, I was visited by some statistics-analyst from the Consumer Product Safety Commission about my accident.  Having been mowing for better part of the prior four summers, I was well acquainted with both older mowers, and newer 'safety ' mowers, and when he asked me, I advised that none of the so-called 'safety features' were in any way effective.

--The rear shield, while fully intact and operational as designed, provided absolutely no resistance to my foot going beneath the mower.

--The bail, while fully functional and able to stop the mower in just six turns, failed to do so, because my hands were instinctively holding very fast to the handle, to prevent my whole body from winding up under that deck.  In fact, they were holding so tight at that moment, that I was able to lift the entire machine, by the HANDLE, and throw it 42 feet across the yard, into a creek.  I expect that the engine and blade DID stop within the 6 turns indicated, however, the 'feature' would have made no difference, as the blade hit my foot 5 times (that's only 2.5 rotations) during the very short timeframe the two shared critical space.

My current service truck has a dashboard that demonstrates audio-visual warnings for everything... really, really important things... it flashes words, with beeps and screams, and frequently demands some sort of acknowledgement... like  "Trailer Disconnected", and "Windshield Washer Fluid Low" and "Collision Assist Malfunction- Camera Obscured" and "BACKUP CAMERA MALFUNCTION- CONTACT DEALER FOR SERVICE".

All these warnings have the same result-  demanding a driver's attention and response, when they SHOULD BE KEEPING EYES ON THE ROAD.

These modern vehicles' systems are desgned by individuals who very well may be good at writing programming code, but they have absolutely NO intelligence beyond that.  The so-called 'safety' they create, is nothing more than one big mess of dangerous distraction.

Of course, this same lack of intelligence gives us cars that intentionally wear out starter motors, braking systems that drain themselves completely of fluid if one line becomes breached, and absolutely terrible blind-spots from air-bags placed in bloated covers at every pillar.

They're just terrible engineers... unable to see a forest, through the trees.

Now just try to imagine this....you are cutting the grass and you notice the hedge is getting a little ragged.  So, being and intelligent college graduate you lean over and try to pick up the lawn mower by wrapping your fingers around underneath the deck of said mower.  Yep, lost all the tips of his fingers and some had even more gone.

The guy was the prez of one of our hospitals here.

Yep, here's your sign!!