I was backing out of a parking space with the car in reverse. I lifted my foot from the brake and started to apply the accelerator at which point the vehicle accelerated to full speed and hit a staircase rail behind me. I then slammed the brake and put the car into drive to avoid reversing into anyone. I applied the accelerator and once again it accelerated forward at full speed, this time hitting a concrete column which disabled the vehicle.

- Buena Park, CA, USA

On September 25th, 2017 my stepdaughter was involved in a vehicular accident on I-75 N. in macon, Georgia. She was driving a 2006 VW Passat, 3.6 L. the accident occurred due to sudden acceleration on its own. The accelerator quickly, and without notice, engaged by itself. This resulted in her crashing into the guardrail on both sides of the interstate, in macon, ga. Fortunately, she was wearing her seat belt and survived. She suffered lacerations, bruises, neck and arm injury, and some immediate short term memory loss when she hit her head. The vehicle was a total loss. Volkswagen said they would come to examine the accelerator to determine if there is a problem with it.

- Bonaire, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that the vehicle unintentionally accelerated and jerked as the rpms revved. The contact stated that force was constantly applied to the brake pedal when the failure occurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on four occasions where the throttle body and the electronic control module were replaced, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

- Fayetteville, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle unintended accelerated without warning. The contact also stated that when the failure was occurring, the brake pedal required being depressed with both feet in order to completely stop the vehicle. The failure was persistent. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 29,000.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

Has I was driven the car will came up with need services soon and will show brake light on and dead systems failed check parking brake and if you press the parking brake button on and off the car will nearly such gears or nearly move at all where if you shout it of the car and then wait for 5_10 min and turn it back on it will go like nothing wrong at all. Transmission has oil and I don't know what it is.

- Holiday, FL, USA

My car was simply idling in park and all of a sudden I heard the idle rev up and the tachometer went up a few 100 RPM's. I thought, hmm that's strange. Then it started affecting the was my car shifts and makes it hard to stop. While at a stop in drive I can feel the idle is rough. I replaced my maf sensor, which was really expensive, hoping it would resolve the problem. Then while researching recalls on this model, I came across this, vehicle speed control problem on the 2006 Volkswagen Passat. I never got a notification of any recall. My car is out of warrant and I have a change of address. So I don't know what to do at this time. Any feedback would be very much, appreciated. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Bassett, VA, USA

I purchased a 2006 Passat 3.6 on February 20th,2014 and making payments on it. Two weeks later I had to take it back to the dealer because the idle was up and down. They charged me $700 because the car was as is. Once I got the car back I starter seeing the epc light which is a common issue with Volkswagen and now the car wont go over 40mph, two weeks ago I saw smoke coming from under the hood and oil was all over the place and I cant locate any type of leak. Here a link of other Passat owner with the same issue and as of now there's no recall on it, I am begging for you guys help www.carcomplaints.com/Volkswagen/Passat/2006/drivetrain/power_train.shtml.

- Pompano Beach, FM, USA

Electronic emergency brake fault; was driving on January 18,2014. My daughter was driving about 35 mph when this emergency brake light started flashing yellow. Also there was a red brake light that was flashing and beeping three times. She got the car under control mind you she is only 17 and she just bought this car from campus auto here in fort Dodge, ia on the 10th and he told her nothing was wrong with the car. Everything has went wrong with this car that can go wrong. She pulled over and read in her manual that with the beeping 3 times and the red light indicator said that she was suppose to get it to a trusted mechanic right away. So she did the smart thing and called me to have the car taken to a mechanic. But what if she would have been on the highway and this would have happened. She would have lost control of this car on a highway. Please look into these Passat. There is something seriously wrong with them. Wheel bearings are bad in the rear. Fuel pump went bad. Coils burn. These are all dangerous things. Please help.

- Fort Dodge, IA, USA

Check engine (mil) light turned on, car all of a sudden idles at a higher RPM while we were driving!!! vehicle was taken into the dealership. Car is only under warranty for 36,000 miles or 3 years! dealership ran diagnostic, came up with: Code P0123 (throttle high input), P0299 (turbo under boost), P0456 (evap leak), P1098 (intake turning valve short to B+), code P2004 (intake runner stuck), code P3237 (intake runner basic settings). Dealer recommended intake runner motor replacement & replacement of turbo & N80 valve, also cv boot needs replacement. Total cost of repairs over $1200!!! we always take care of our vehicles and have them serviced at the dealership. Vehicle has also had defective interior parts. Interior trim (all switches - lock, window & radio are bubbling and chipping). Door panel trim (rubber is peeling). Shift knob - metallic piece on shift knob, peeled and dug into skin and caused injury. Carbon fiber dash is peeling apart. Contacted VW of America, per their customer service rep, they are unable to make any repairs due to the age and mileage of the vehicle. Car is a 2006 - 67,000 miles. Less than 5 years old. I would have never purchased a Volkswagen had I known they were not reliable vehicles. Unknowledgable sales reps, or just after customers to make a buck. Selling people unreliable vehicles and Volkswagen clearly does not take care of their customers nor do they care about customer loyalty or safety.

- Folsom, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that when driving at low speeds or idling, the vehicle would surge abnormally and the engine would exhibit an unusual increase in rpms. The contact would have to maintain pressure on the brakes when the failure would occur to prevent the vehicle from surging forward. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated they could not duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact to take the vehicle back to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not taken back to the dealer. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 92,000.

- Stantonsburg, NC, USA

When air iis on and we are driving for only 10 minutes the car races when you put your foot on the brake at a stop light and feels as though it will accelerate before you take your foot off the brake. Very scary and happens all the time.

- Raliegh, NC, USA

While driving on the freeway sometimes when I pushing on the gas, it will just die, I have to either floor it to get it back and going or release the gas all together and then push on it again for the car to pick up speed. I have no idea why and I cant afford to take it to the dealer to see how much it would be to get fixed. I am also getting the air bag fault and I had gotten it fixed once before for about $300 and then a week later it came back on. The way it came back on is after I reprogrammed my key because that wasn't working either...

- Costa Mesa, CA, USA

On hot day (90 degree +/-) the 3.6 engine will suddenly begin to idle at 1000 RPM after being driven for a while. In my latest episode, I had been driving in stop and go city traffic for 30-45 minutes when the engine suddenly began to race. The first notice is when you are stopping or stopped. When stopped it takes extra brake. Pressure and concentration to keep the car braked. This has happened a number of times but, I only recently linked the car's behavior with the high air temps. Dealer was unable to duplicate and did not detect any error codes when the car was taken in for service.

- Lakeville, MA, USA

Symptom #1) car will not start or if it does start it will immediately stall and steering column will lock. After moving the steering wheel back and forth repeatedly, reopening the door several times and attempting to start the push ignition 5-10 times it will eventually start and run. Symptom #2) major safety issue! car will lose all power without warning at highway speeds. This defect causes the engine to stall immediately, the loss of power steering and the loss of all power controls at speeds at least up to 70 mph. There is no warning from the car itself. There is no stuttering or noise. Suddenly the car is just dead and rolling along at extreme speeds. The fix is to shift the car into neutral and attempt to restart by removing and reinserting the key until it starts again. The dashboard will light up "steering column defect" and prompt a warning light for the steering column as if it were locked from a car alarm prompt. Occasionally, I have been unable to restart the car while in motion and have had to pull off to the side of the road. This is done without the aid of power steering and can be very dangerous in traffic and at high speeds as there is no way of "knowing" when the defect will occur. This defect is occurring daily. I took the car into the dealer for diagnosis. Was told it was a defect in the steering column requiring a complete replacement. Estimated cost to myself was $1,000-2,000. Car is now out of warranty (58,000 miles). I believe this defect is not a result of any habit of myself as the driver but rather a defect in the workmanship of the vehicle and the dealer should be subject to a recall. A search on google about this issue revealed thousands of other drivers with the exact same problem (stall at highway speeds, loss of power steering, difficulty starting and restarting, possible stranding of the driver). I urge a recall to move forward immediately!

- Louisville, KY, USA

Brand new vehicle, 06 VW Passat, drove it for about 9 months--then, car starting dying suddenly after being stopped (at a red light) then accelerating once light turned green. Wouldn't sputter or choke--just die. Took it to VW to check into it--they tried to convince me it was the gas I was putting into my car--but it wasn't. finally, after 34 consecutive days in the shop, the dealership admitted there was a problem, but didn't know how to fix it. I talked with VW headquarters. They offered me $300. I explained that the car was dying--completely quitting on me--in the middle of intersections--and how many near miss accidents I had avoided--so $300 wasn't going to cut it--but VW claimed it was not a "safety issue". I explained further that because the car was intermittently doing this, I would lose all steering, all control of the vehicle--still, VW would not admit to there being an issue. Out of sheer panic, I called the dealership and convinced them to get me a new car. I believe the dealership re-sold my old car, the one they didn't know how to fix. A year later, a friend of mine had the exact same issue happen with her 92 jetta. Her mechanic said it was the ignition coils and replaced them. Now, a year later, VW sent a notice to me in the mail saying it is "not a recall" but they wanted us to replace the ignition coils "only if a certain light indicator" goes on in the car. I never had such a light go on in my old car, so I thought this was ridiculous and took my current VW vehicle in to replace the ignition coils anyway. Thankfully, the dealership did it for me, because they knew my history. The notice from VW clearly states that they only want you to replace them if the light goes on in your car and you only had until a certain date (Feb. 28th) to do it. Still seems to be no acknowledgement from VW that there is a serious safety issue at hand.

- Seattle, WA, USA

There is an unsafe throttle lag on the 2006 Volkswagen Passat 3.6 liter. Approx 4 sec delay when depressing the accelerator pedal after the car comes to a stand still or in the event of an evasive maneuver, merging, passing and stop and go traffic. Nothing happens until you've depressed the pedal approx. 3/4 to an inch of pedal travel, then all of a sudden, the car lurches and accelerates at what feels like half to full throttle.

- Union, NJ, USA

The vehicle has a hesitation when accelerator is pressed from a stop. This is extremely dangerous for the driver and to others when driving in traffic and otherwise. The delay in the vehicle moving forward when the accelerator is pressed is troubling on new vehicles in proper operating condition.

- Derwood, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Volkswagen Passat. While idling, the engine increased to 900 rpms or more. As a result, the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated to 20 mph and was difficult to stop. The dealer stated that the the RPM's were normal for the vehicle. The failure mileage was 14,000 and current mileage was 25,000.M updated 01/09/08. Updated 12/12/07

- High Point, NC, USA

On hot weather days (90 degrees or more) the engine will intermittently run at a high idle of approximately 1,000 RPM at stops. The engine normally idles around 600 RPM at stops. When this happens, the car lurches forward and requires excessive force on the brake pedal to maintain control of the vehicle. As it is an intermittent condition, the driver will be caught unaware of how much pressure to apply to the brake to bring the vehicle to a complete stop in the anticipated distance. This has led to near accidents with vehicles and pedestrians.

- Alexandria, VA, USA

I was stopped at a traffic light on a slight uphill grade when the car's engine suddenly started to race. The car surged forward before I could brake and hit the car in front of me. I had to practically stand on the brake to stop it. Fortunately there was no damage and even more fortunately there wasn't a pedestrian crossing in front of me. The temperature that afternoon was 98 degrees which, I understand from the VW forums is relevant. Other people have experienced this problem in very hot temperatures as well. This has happened to me once before but I already had my foot on the brake and only had to stand on it to restrain the car.

- Bridgewater, NJ, USA