Volkswagen recalls 34,000 Passats worldwide
Wed Jun 28, 2006 12:02pm ET

FRANKFURT, June 28 (Reuters) - Volkswagen recalled 34,000 units of its Passat mid-sized car worldwide due to a potential problem with the clutch, the company said on Wednesday.

A spokesman said Passats built between April and May 2005 equipped with 2.0-litre TDI engines and six-gear manual transmissions were affected by the recall.

He declined to comment on the financial costs of potentially having to replace the parts, but said that VW was negotiating with suppliers over compensation for damages.

The compact-sized VW models Golf hatchback, Golf Plus, Jetta sedan and [Touareg] minivan were also affected by the same problem in a previous recall.

Volkswagen brand chief Wolfgang Bernhard has made the issue of quality a top priority, but in a recent JD Power initial quality survey among U.S. drivers, Volkswagen was ranked once again towards the bottom this year after a similarly disastrous result last year.