Volkswagen, the third best selling brand on our island will be recalling almost 35 percent of its car population - accounting to 6,181 cars - from tomorrow for a gearbox issue that, if unresolved, might lead to power loss, reports The Straits Times. The cars are fitted with the popular but troubled seven-speed double-clutch gearbox - or more often known as DSG.

A Volkswagen Group Singapore spokesman told the local paper the recall to be voluntary and not a safety issue. He added the replacement for the affected parts will be free and the completion of the entire recall exercise could take a few months.

The recall affects a range of models and repair work involves replacing the transmission's mechatronic unit - which operates the gearbox and clutch hydraulically, which would take up to three hours per vehicle.

This is the third time there are problems pertaining to the DSG gearbox. Last April, about 8,000 VW owners were requested to bring their cars in for a software change while in 2010, VW Singapore replaced the mechatronic units of more than 1,000 vehicles after quality of parts were found to be unsatisfactory.

The recall exercise comes after more than 384,000 vehicles in China were recalled last month for a similar issue.