A couple of months ago I noticed that my transmission (2.8 L regular) seemed to be slipping (76,000 miles on the car). There was a lack of power in 5th gear between 1200 and 2000 rpm (esp. between 30 and 45 mph during gradual acceleration). The tach needle bounces about 1/8" in the same range. I took the car to VW and they said it looks like a bad torque converter and quoted $2000 to replace. Got a 2nd opinion from a local transmission shop. The mechanic said it was odd for the torque converter to go out and that the transmission valve body could have a problem. I had the torque converter replaced for $1740. After a couple of weeks of driving the same symptoms are starting. I’m looking at having to replace the transmission. Do you know if this is a big problem with the VW engines? Any recalls?