The fuel line on my 2000 Volkswagen Jetta recenty burst, making a sound like a balloon popping and leaking several gallons gasoline in the ten minutes it took me to get to a service station for an emergency repair. The mechanic who removed the fuel line (which I kept) showed me two small splits, but he was uncertain about what caused the damage. The Jetta's fuel line runs in a shallow channel under the car, but I was on a smooth, paved street at the time of the failure and don't recall hitting a pothole or anything else that might explain the damage. Two thoughts: Despite being in a channel, clearance on the Jetta is low and the fuel line is rather exposed, so it might have been scraped or damaged at some other time...perhaps by road debris or driving over a speed bump or pothole. The only other logical explanation would be a defective fuel line. If the former, then VW should consider a recall to relocate the fuel line in this model or install some type of shielding. If the latter, then VW should replace and upgrade the fuel line in this model. (my car has only 25,674 miles on the clock and I keep it well maintained, so it would hard to put the failure down to normal wear and tear.) given the potentially catastrophic results of fuel-line failures, I felt it was important to bring this incident to the NHTSA's attention. Many thanks.

- Reston, VA, USA