Volkswagen not at fault, says Coroner

Volkswagen says it has been vindicated by a Coronial inquiry that found no evidence one of its vehicles played a role in the death of Victorian woman Melissa Ryan in January 2011.

However, Ryan’s family said it is disappointed in the finding and has vowed to continue fighting Volkswagen for answers.

Volkswagen Group Australia today issued a statement in response to Coroner Heather Spooner’s finding on Friday, when she recommended VicRoads consider implementing technology that prevents drivers using any kind of phone in their car.

“Our sincere thoughts and sympathies remain with the Ryan family in what are tragic and very distressing circumstances,” said Volkswagen Group Australia in a statement today.

“Volkswagen Group Australia has refrained from making detailed public statements on the Coronial inquiry out of respect for the family and the Coronial process and will refrain from further comment.

“We thank the Coroner for the thoroughness of the inquiry and the manner in which it was conducted.

“Volkswagen Group Australia has fully cooperated with authorities and has actively assisted the Coroner in her investigations.

“Volkswagen Group Australia acknowledges the Coroner’s findings that the vehicle did not contribute to the cause of the accident.

“Volkswagen Group Australia repeated this position throughout the investigation despite a number of reports which tried to link the tragic accident with a completely unrelated recall matter.”

The car in which Ryan died, a 2008 Volkswagen Golf manual, was not subject to a recall or service campaign that involved hundreds of thousands of cars in China, Japan and the US – and eventually Australia, where 25,928 Volkswagens built between June 2008 and September 2011 were recalled to fix seven-speed DSG automatic transmissions.

Including Audi and Skoda models with the same transmission, the recall totalled 33,941 cars in Australia.

Volkswagen today announced three recall notices affecting more than 2.6 million vehicles globally, including an updated service notification for the seven-speed DSG.

However, Volkswagen has reiterated there is no relationship between the Ryan tragedy and its transmission recalls.

“Volkswagen Group Australia would like to reiterate that there is no correlation between the Coronial inquest and the recent reports concerning the current transmission recalls,” it said. 

“The vehicle at the centre of the Coronial inquest had a manual transmission with no identified issues while the recalls only relate to certain Volkswagen vehicles with DSG transmissions.

“Customer safety and satisfaction are the highest priorities for Volkswagen Group Australia and have been so since Volkswagen began operations here more than 60 years ago.

“Since 1953, Volkswagen has sold more than 800,000 vehicles in Australia and has more than 300,000 vehicles on the road today and is one of the top ten selling brands in Australia.”

Ryan was killed when her Golf struck a barrier on the Monash Freeway after being hit from behind by a truck. Ivan Mumford, the driver of the truck, was never charged and an inquest was held following concerns by Ryan’s family that her car experienced sudden deceleration.

But the Coroner found no evidence of any faults in the 32-year-old Berwick driver’s car, further testing of which is impossible because it was destroyed in late 2011.

Instead, she said the most probable cause of Ryan's death was distraction due to a phone conversation with a friend, which prevented her from noticing the traffic in front of her accelerating.

The Coroner recommended the Victorian government establish legislation to ban the use of phones of any type while driving, but acknowledged it would be difficult to enforce such laws.

However, Ryan's fiancé, Wayne Belford, told Fairfax Media he and Ryan’s family believed the inquest focussed too heavily on the use of her mobile phone and not the deceleration of her car.

"We would have liked to have seen the coroner investigate more thoroughly the 300 Volkswagen drivers who have come forward on the back of thorough investigation by both Fairfax Media and the ABC in relation to safety issues they had experienced with their vehicles which did include instances of deceleration and rapid deceleration," Mr Belford said.

"We are also disappointed that the bulk of deliberations handed down in the coroner's findings have been based on the findings and assumptions of [Victoria Police's] major collision [investigation] unit, that was not in attendance or an actual witness to the accident on the 31st of January, 2011.

"We are also disappointed that the coroner has focused more on the use of the mobile phone – we admit that Melissa was on the mobile phone – and less on the reason for the deceleration or what caused the deceleration of the vehicle."

Volkswagen sales plummeted following a series of Fairfax and ABC reports on the Ryan case, and so far this year remain lower than at the same point in 2012.

Today’s Volkswagen recall covers a range of models including the Golf and Polo hatchbacks, the Tiguan SUV and Amarok ute.

The majority of affected cars – 1.6 million globally and about 11,000 in Australia – have been called back to change the transmission fluid in DQ2000 DSG gearboxes from a synthetic product to a mineral oil more suitable for stop/go driving and hot and humid climates. 

Meantime, about 800,000 Tiguan vehicles built between 2008 and 2011 (including an estimated 16,700 in Australia) have been recalled to fix a headlight fuse affecting some functions.

Today’s third recall affects almost 240,000 Amarok vehicles (including around 17,000 in Australia) potentially suffering leaky fuel pipes.

Volkswagen says its recall program for nearly 26,000 DSG-equipped vehicles built between June 2008 and September 2011 is about 40 per cent complete and will be finalised next year.

“Customers who have already brought their vehicles in for the current recall are not affected by the new announcement as the oil in their gearboxes has already been replaced,” it said.

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