Volkswagen of America has ordered U.S. dealers to stop sellling thousands of cars due to a possible leak in the transmission oil cooler.
The stop-sale order, which was obtained by the website Automotive News, applies to cars equipped with automatic transmission and VW's most popular 1.8-liter engine.
Volkswagen spokesman Scott Vazin told Automotive News that the problem stems from an O-ring that connects the oil cooler to the transmission.
"In extreme cases, it could cause a fire," Vazin said.
He told Automotive News that the company is in talks with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about whether to recall cars that have already been sold. Vazin said the problem applies only to cars sold after Feb. 1 and estimated it affects about 25,000 vehicles.
