While stopped at a red light, the engine accelerated by itself (computer failure?). my husband, who was driving, had to use both feet, pressing down as hard as he could, to stop the car. Fortunately, no one was in front of us and we were far enough back that we did not accelerate into the intersection. The engine sound returned to normal after 15-30 seconds and we drove it home without further incident but we have stopped driving the car for safety reasons. In addition, the ABS computer module has also failed, though we have not had any incidents related to that failure as the brakes are otherwise fine.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

Vehicle accelerated on its own while I was driving on the freeway. The freeway was congested and I had just accelerated quickly to move into the left lane to avoid a semi truck entering the freeway on my right. I took my foot off the accelerator but the car continued to accelerate. I immediately pushed hard on the brake to avoid hitting the car in front of me. I had to apply considerable pressure to keep the car from increasing speed. I then placed the car in neutral and took my foot off the brake. The tachometer showed the engine revving up over the red line to 7000 rpms. Fearing that the engine might be damaged I put the car back into gear and controlled the car by applying the brake as hard as I could. The acceleration slowed after about another 30 seconds or so to the point where the car was traveling at a sustained 70 mph without my foot on the accelerator or brake. This continued for several miles and eventually the accelerator began operating normally. During the last portion of sustaining 70 mph I tried switching cruise control on and off several times but this had no effect. After I got off the freeway and stopped, I checked the floor mat or anything else that might have interfered with the accelerator pedal and did not observe anything out of the ordinary.

- Waukesha, WI, USA

My car keep surging when my foot is on the brake, my check engine light is not on.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2000 Volkswagen Passat. While driving approximately 30 mph and making a right turn, the accelerator pedal became stuck and caused the vehicle to continue accelerating. The contact swerved to avoid a bus and struck a curb instead. As a result, the rear axles were damaged. There were no other vehicles involved in the crash and he was uninjured. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the vehicle was salvageable. The dealer also stated that there were no recalls relating to the accelerator pedal. He took the vehicle to a local repair shop and the rear axles were repaired. The manufacturer has not been notified. The current mileage was 102,000 and failure mileage was 101,000.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

The contact owns a 2000 Volkswagen Passat. While driving 40 mph, the accelerator pedal became stuck. The contact had to place the vehicle into neutral in order to slow down the vehicle. The current mileage was 61,456 and failure mileage was 61,440.

- Toledo, OH, USA

Idle pulsates heavily at stops when in gear. Idle is rough when car is cold. Car hesitates heavily sometimes while accelerating from a stop. No fault codes displayed. Have replaced combination valve due to fault code stored in ECU, valve showed heavy buildup of carbon. Have replaced secondary air pump due to water buildup in pump. Problem occurred 1 year ago, was resolved by replacement of throttle body and coolant temp sensor at cost of $600. Problem now back.

- Anderson, SC, USA

Engine speed pulsates at idle when automatic transmission is in gear and brakes applied. No failure or warning lights displayed. To prevent surging of car while stopped, transmission must be put in neutral. Also hesitates significantly during some accelerations from stop due to condition, and idles rough when cold. Same fault last year in Jan. 2003, resolution through replacement of coolant sensor and throttle body.

- Anderson, SC, USA

Issues may all be related, could be vacuum problem. These problems are constant, occurring every day regardless of weather. 1. engine revs in neutral, while creeping at lowest rpms and while stopped in drive. Rpms fluctuate every split second, 750-900 rpms. While pulling into garage, the revving often causes collision with objects in garage. 2. also, engine almost stalls on takeoff immediately after cold start or hot restart. 3. power-assist brakes fail in reverse immediately after engine start and backing out of parking slot. Dangerous situations have occurred. Dealer has checked at least three times, replaced parts, made adjustments. Within several blocks of leaving the dealership after repairs, all problems begin occurring again.

- Uniontown, OH, USA

First problem 07/2002 driving at approximately 45 mph, car decelerated as though brakes applied to about 5mph. Transmission (automatic) dropped to low gear. Responded by depressing accelerator all the way down with no increase in speed. Car acted like there was either a transmission or fuel feed problem. A second similar occurrence took place 08/2002 except this time car exhibited similar trait after having been parked. On both occasions, the identical problem lasted approximately five to seven minutes and then the vehicle resumed normal operation. After the second episode, contacted VW dealer, the imported car store, 1432 S harbor city blvd., melbourne, fl who performed diagnostic tests, but could find no causative factor. While in the dealer service waiting room, afemale owning a VW jetta, spoke of having a very similar problem with her 2001 0R 2002 model. Had we been traveling on an interstate highway and had these problems, the action of the vehicle could very likely result in an accident involving personal injury or death. Every time I operate the car, I feel as though a repetition of hte behavior could happen and I feel the safety of any occupants of the car are in jeapordy.

- Rockledge, FL, USA

While driving at 45mph vehicle decelerated to 5mph, like the brakes were being applied. Consumer pressed accelerator, however vehicle would not accelerate. Transmission will not shift gears. Drove vehicle at 15 mph. Vehicle decelerated at 5 mph, and mashing the accelerator to the floor did not increase the speed. Both happened in a duration of 5-7 mins. The vehicle then resumed at normal operation. Consumer had taken vehicle to the dealer, no problem was determined. Dealer claimed that the VW factory contact had no record of aberrant action and had no fix for the problem.

- Viera, FL, USA