NHTSA Complaint #10070736 — 2003 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

I BOUGHT MY CAR AT THE END OF NOVEMBER. DROVE IT OFF THE LOT WITH 9 MILES ON THE VEHICLE. AT THE TIME OF BREAKDOWN ON JULY 25, 2003, THE CAR HAD 10,900 MILES ON IT. THE CURRENT MILEAGE ON IT NOW IS 13,000 JULY 25TH WAS A VERY HOT DAY. I BELIEVE IT WAS UP TO 110 DEGREES THAT DAY. I HAD NOTICED MY CAR RUNNING AT A SUBSTANTIAL LOWER POWER THAN USUAL, BUT I ASSUMED IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE HEAT AND THAT I HAD MY AIR CONDITIONING ON HIGH. I HAD TO DO SOME ERRANDS IN TOWN THEN I HEADED HOME, WHICH IS ABOUT 30 MINUTES AWAY FROM THE TRI-CITIES, AT THIS TIME I DID NOTICE LOSS OF POWER GOING UP THE ON-RAMP TO THE INTERSTATE, BUT STILL DID NOT THINK TOO MUCH OF THE FACT. I WAS HALF WAY HOME WHEN I NOTICED THAT MY CAR WAS LOSING EVEN MORE POWER, THE CRUISE QUIT AND MY SPEEDOMETER WENT FROM 75 TO 50 MPH AND THAT IS WHEN I NOTICED THAT MY HEAT GAUGE WAS EXTREMELY HIGH. I ALSO FOUND IT ODD THAT THE INSIDE OF MY CAR HAD NOT COOLED OFF, BUT WAS GETTING WARMER. I HEADED TOWARDS THE OFF-RAMP AND AS I WAS DOWN SHIFTING AND APPLYING THE BREAKS, MY BRAKE PEDAL MADE ;PUFFY-POPPING NOISE AND THEN THE BRAKE PEDAL COLLAPSED TO THE FLOOR. I PUT THE VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL AND PUMPED THE BRAKES TO GET THE VEHICLE TO STOP, WHEN THE VEHICLE STOPPED, I SMELLED HEAT, OR LIKE SOMETHING BURNING. I THOUGHT IT WAS A FIRE AROUND TOWN. PULLING AWAY FROM THE OFF-RAMP, I COULD NOT GET ANY PICKUP SPEED WITH MY CAR. THE CAR FELT LIKE IT WAS PUSHING TO GO FORWARD AND ALSO PULLING ITSELF BACK AT THE SAME TIME, AS THE VEHICLE TRIED TO PICK UP SPEED, IT WOULD PULL BACK AND FORTH. THE GAS PEDAL WAS ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR AND I COULDN'T GET ANY SPEED. I COULD ONLY SHIFT INTO SECOND GEAR AND THE VEHICLE COULD ONLY MAINTAIN 15 MPH. AS ALL OF THIS WAS HAPPENING, I WAS TURNING OFF EVERYTHING I THOUGHT TOOK POWER, AIR CONDITIONER WAS THE FIRST THING OFF WHEN I STARTED NOTICING THE CAR OVERHEATING AND LOSING POWER, THEN THE RADIO, THESE DID NOT HELP.