NHTSA Complaint #10472723 — 1998 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE

WINDOWS STARTED GOING UP AND DOWN RANDOMLY AND DOORS LOCKING/UNLOCKING RANDOMLY. AS I WAS REACHING THROUGH MY WINDOW TO GRAM MY KEYS FROM THE IGNITION MY ARM GOT PINCHED, AND LODGED IN THE WINDOW THAT WAS GOING UP, (I WAS TRYING TO GET MY KEYS BEFORE GETTING LOCKED OUT OF THE CAR (AGAIN) DUE TO THE RANDOM LOCKING AND UNLOCKING). AUTO REVERSAL OF THE WINDOWS WHEN AN APPENDAGE GETS LODGED IN THE WINDOW DID NOT OCCUR. THIS PINCHED AND LODGED MY LEFT ARM IN THE WINDOW TO A POINT OF BRUISING AN AREA OF 4 INCHES BY 2 INCHES. AFTER EXHAUSTIVELY RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE (WHICH IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH THE DOOR LOCK MODULES ON THE 98-02 VW BEETLES WITH THE OLD STYLE "LOUD" POWER LOCKS) I CONCLUDED THAT THE DOOR LOCK MODULE AND THE DOOR CLOSED MICROSWITCH WERE WITH CULPRITS OF THIS INCIDENT. I AM VERY GRATEFUL THAT THIS ONLY OCCURRED TO A 32 YEAR OLD MAN AND NOT ONE OF MY 4 SMALL CHILDREN (7MO-7 YEARS). VWOA SHOULD DO THEIR RESEARCH AND SEE THAT HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF VW OWNERS HAVE HAD TO REPLACE DLMS ON MULTIPLE DOORS AT A COST OF AT LEAST $200+ EACH DOOR (MORE AT THE DEALERSHIP). THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL FOR THE SAFETY FACTOR ALONE, LET ALONE THE INCONVENIENCE FACTOR OF HAVING TO REPLACE A DLM BECAUSE OF A $3 MICROSWITCH AT THE DOOR CLOSED SENSOR, OR 1 OF 6 BAD SOLDER JOINTS ON THE CIRCUIT BOARD INSIDE THE DOOR LOCK MODULE. INFORMATION ON THE EXACT PROBLEM CAN BE FOUND ON MULTIPLE VW REPAIR SITES (TDICLUB.COM; VWVORTEX.COM; NEWBEETLE.ORG; ETC, ETC, ETC) I DO UNDERSTAND THAT MY CAR IS 14 YEARS OLD, HOWEVER I HAVE HAD TO SPEND OVER $1000 FIXING VW FACTORY MISTAKES ON THIS CAR ALREADY. I LOVE VW, BEING A FORMER OWNER OF SEVERAL AIR COOLED VWS IN THE PAST, HOWEVER THIS WILL SEVERELY AFFECT MY DECISION TO EVER BUY ANOTHER WATER COOLED VW. *TR