Service Action 34J7 – Gear Shift Cover Trim

Got my notice in the mail today for the replacement of the gear shift cover trim. I have been seeing this talked about on the enthusiast forums and had been expecting it. This is the chrome trim around the gear shifter. On early MK7 models, this trim can peel and has a metal covering that can cut you pretty good. My GTI is a 2016 and applies to this action. I hesitate to call it a recall as that’s more for safety issues which this kinda is but the word recall is not used in the notification at all. Here is a redacted copy of the notice I got.

This seems to have a pretty large range of years and vehicles it affects outlines on the NHTSA.GOV site.

Looks like I have till January 19, 2027, to get them to fix it for free. I have an appointment scheduled for 2/23/22 but that’s if they have it in stock. With how supplies have been in recent years I won’t be surprised if they don’t have the part for a while. More want to save my place in line.

If you already had been attacked by this devious piece then they include a form to get a reimbursement. I did something similar to this with my MK5 GLI airbags and it did get my money back that I spent fixing the issue out of pocket before the recall.

You can check if your model is affected by this by going to www.vw.com/owners/recalls It will ask for the VIN number of your car so have that ready.