NHTSA Complaint #10303860 — 2002 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT

APPROXIMATELY 2 YEARS AGO, OR SLIGHTLY LESS, I WAS DRIVING MY WIFE'S 2002 VW PASSAT WHEN THE CAR BEGAN TO ACCELERATE WITHOUT APPARENT CAUSE AND WE COULD NOT STOP THE ACCELERATION. I TURNED THE IGNITION KEY OFF, AND LEAVING THE CAR IN PARK, RE-STARTED IT, ONLY TO OBSERVE THE ENGINE AGAIN RACING. WE EVENTUALLY FIGURED OUT THAT THE FLOOR MAT WAS THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM AND REMOVED IT. MY WIFE SOMETIME LATER REPLACED THE MAT AND HAD NO RECURRENCE, BUT WHEN I DROVE THE CAR, IT HAPPENED TWICE MORE BEFORE WE PERMANENTLY REMOVED THE MAT. AS WE HAD NO FURTHER PROBLEM, WE THOUGHT NO MORE OF THE ISSUE, BUT WITH THE RECENT PUBLICITY OVER SIMILAR SITUATIONS WHICH RESULTED IN SERIOUS CRASHES AND LOSS OF LIFE, WE DECIDED IT WAS BEST TO REPORT THIS SERIES OF EVENTS. *TR