While driving at a steady speed the accelerator pedal will depress by itself making the vehicle accelerate. The problem goes away when the brake pedal is depressed (so far). This started happening about a couple of months ago. It's done it maybe 4 or 5 times.

- Winchendon, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta. While driving 35 mph, the vehicle suddenly began accelerating on its own. The contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle continued to accelerate. The engine failed, which prevented a crash from occurring. The vehicle is currently being diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 109,000. Updated 11/25/08. When the engine accelerated on its own, the force pushed the driver back into the seat. The speed was so great, that the engine redline and blewout the motor. Updated 11/25/08.

- Racine, WI, USA

I own a 2001 VW Jetta gls VR6. Since I have owned this car I have had problems with it. I am a young woman in the military and am in full time school, so I don't have the money to run around and fix it as much as I have been forced to do. First my gas gauge went out three months after buying it $600(under warranty) then a month later O2 sensor $300(non warranty). Then it was the catalytic converter$1500(non warranty) wiring system$1000(of course non warranty) windows wont roll up without rolling down again and sometimes get stuck$700(non warranty) cruise control went out$845 (non warranty), windshield wiper motor... stationed in Alaska and couldn't go without that $750(non warranty) now my secondary air pump is out and I was quoted $1294 from private mechanic and $1400 from VW. Also the cruise is still out and the windows are doing the same again. I have talked to many people in the same boat I have been in with so many repairs. Is there anything that can be done to stop VW from making faulty parts and charging an arm and a leg? I feel though that if it is brought up to you that my voice will be heard, because when I call the volkwagen customer service and complaints I get nowhere.

- Fayetteville, NC, USA

: the contact stated when driving 5-25 mph on a gravel driveway, the cruise control engaged and the vehicle accelerated. This occurred when the vehicle hit any bump or pothole on 50-70 occasions. When the brakes were applied, the cruise control would disengage allowing the vehicle to slow. The service dealer and manufacturer were not alerted. Updated 02/06/07.

- Clark, WY, USA

I was at a full stop at a red light waiting to cross a busy highway when suddenly. And without warning, the car started accelerating on its own. My first reaction was to push on the brakes harder. This did nothing. The car kept accelerating to such a rate that the back end started fishtailing around to the right. I have a cdl license and reacted by putting the car into neutral. This reaction definitely saved a major accident. The car was doing its best to force me into moving traffic. The next person this happens to might not be so lucky. The car was towed to the local VW dealership. After keeping my car 2 weeks, they still couldn't come up with a plausible explanation for why this happened. They did remove the on/off button for the cruise control, but they can't guarantee me that this is what caused the malfuntion. Normally the cruise control would de-activate when the brakes are pressed. I remain without a reasonable explanation or repair.

- Egg Harbor, NJ, USA

My speedometer started bouncing up and down. One second it would register 25mph the next it would register 100mph. It would do that frequently. The fuel gauge acted funny as well. It would move left and right. Finally the speedometer stopped working completely. The fuel gauge works ok now. I have read about what the problem is. The coolant migration system is faulty. The coolant bottle leaks fluid onto the electrical wiring harness which in turn acts as a vacuum and the coolant makes its way all the way to the ECM. After it reaches the ECM it makes all the electrical components act funny. This could be dangerous considering it may be the cause of air bag deployment which I have heard. My wiring harness on my coolant does have coolant on it. Which has stopped my speedometer. Thankfully my airbags haven't blown(yet). Please consider this serious issue. Thank you for your time. ~chad~

- Springfield, OH, USA

My wife was pulling into an uphill parking spot and pressed the brake to stop. Instead, the car accelerated out of control and hit a concrete block wall, which caused the airbags to deploy and damaged the front of the car. The car then reversed itself and my wife had to pull the emergency brake to bring the car to a stop.

- Selinsgrove, PA, USA

When trying to acclerate vehicle would hesitate, causing a distracion to the consumer. Dealer has been notified.

- Saint Charles, MO, USA

When pulling out into traffic the car will not accelerate, then suddenly starts to accelerate. The car stutters before taking off this has caused my wife to almost get into numerous accidents. We have taken it down to the dealership numerous times, the first time they said it was a clogged valve and they would order it and call me back when it was in stock. When I called them 2 months later they said we can schedule an appointment the part should be in stock, but they don't know what part it was exactly since it was not listed on the work order. When I took it back they said there was a service bulletin that stated when the brake is depressed and released the car will hesitate before going because the car still thinks the brake is on, but they could not reproduce this or any other problem on our car. We have also had problems with the steering wheel controls, after taking the car to the dealership 5 times they finally "checked" the controls and found something wrong.

- Huntsville, AL, USA

Often when accelerating, my automatic Jetta will seem to go into neutral, the engine will be roaring and the RPM will fly up into the red zone on the dail. This happens at speeds from 5 mph- 75 mph. It always occurs as I go to accelerate, otherwise I can find no other similarities of occurrences.

- Charlotte, NC, USA