The vehicles' anti theft had went haywire. Went to start, beep sound went off. Then was locked inside car. With the alarm going off. Was only able to exit vehicle by having passerby unhook battery, while I held the unlock button. This was over 2 weeks ago. When hooking battery back up, the alarm still goes off. I am unable to drive. The battery was purchased new in June. Nothing has been added to vehicle. Please advise to how this matter will be resolved & if anyone else has had a similar problem.

- Canton, MO, USA

Request for complete consumer copies re safety report on 1998 Volkswagen Jetta.

- Tacoma, WA, USA

I own a 1998 VW Jetta gl and have had to replace the transmission twice now because, I am told, VW increased the torque on Jettas of this year by adding a 5th gear, which results in excessive wear to the reverse gear and results in several reverse gear teeth chipping, thus rendering reverse inoperable. As I said before I have had to replace my transmission twice now due to the faulty reverse gear.

- Green Camp, OH, USA

This car has been a pain in the A-- almost since purchase. The most serious problems have involved what seems to be defective wiring with respect to the electric windows. These have been repaired 3 times since the first incidence cited above, to the tune of $250, the last time being 6 months ago. Now I am told that it needs a new motor assembly to the tune of $650 parts and labor! other assorted door electrical problems. Other problems have been: Door moldings falling off (this must be an inherent problem with '98 Jettas, because I've noticed that most of those that I see on the road have missing moldings). Both front tires blew out within 2 weeks of each other after an inappropiately short usage. Much lower gas mileage that originally promised. Most of these problems started well within warranty.

- Elkins Park, PA, USA

98 VW Jetta tdi. The odometer, speedometer and cruise control intermittently quit working while driving. Sometimes they come back on within a mile, sometimes up to ten miles. Happens about every 150 miles. Vehicle has 111,500 miles.

- Hannibal, OH, USA

No summary.

- Ashburn, VA, USA

Check engine light repeatedly lights up on dash. The car does not shift properly and the tachometer exhibits very high rpms. The original transmission was finally replaced late fall of 2000 (replaced with a brand new one). This transmission completely failed in Jan. 2001 and was again replaced with a completely new transmission. Now in March of 2001 engine check light is again lighting up and the car does not shift right. VW was notified, but does not want to do anything about it while it is under warranty. We offered to take blue book value as trade in on a new Jetta. My concern is what happens if the transmission fails at highway speeds?

- Green Bay, WI, USA

Check the engine light comes on frequently while vehicle is running.

- Santa Maria, CA, USA

1) when the steering failed it could hav E caused a fatal accident 2) when the brakes failed again it could have caused a fatal accident. 3) when the oil light indicated that there was no oil the motor could have locked up, causing a fatal accident. I find the above problems very serious. I bought the VW Jetta new 09/12/98 with 15 miles on the odometer. Thank you bill hamann.

- Corvallis, OR, USA

Security remote, door locks, and panic button failed.

- Auburn, ME, USA