in august 2009, volkswagen of america issued two recalls of dsg-equipped vehicles. the first involved 13,500 vehicles, and was to address unplanned shifts to the neutral gear, while the second involved similar problems (by then attributed to faulty temperature sensors) and applied to 53,300 vehicles. these recalls arose as a result of investigations carried out by the us national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa), where owners reported to the nhtsa a loss of power whilst driving. this investigation preliminary found only 2008 and 2009 model year vehicles as being affected.