NHTSA Complaint #10487101 — 2011 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26TH I WAS DRIVING MY WIFE IN OUR 2011 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA TDI DIESEL FROM OUR VACATION PROPERTY IN SALYER, CALIFORNIA (TRINITY COUNTY) TO OUR HOME IN ARCATA, CALIFORNIA (HUMBOLDT COUNTY), A DISTANCE OF 45 MILES ALONG ROUTE 299. 299 IS A TWO LANE HIGHWAY THAT HAS OCCASIONAL PASSING LANES AND HAS A POSTED SPEED OF 55 MPH. APPROXIMATELY 15 MILES INTO THE TRIP, I ATTEMPTED TO PASS A SLOW MOVING VEHICLE BY MEANS ONE OF THESE PASSING LANES. AS I PULLED INTO THE PASSING LANE, THE JETTA ACCELERATED SMOOTHLY FROM 45 MPH TO APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, WHEN IT SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND BEGAN TO DECELERATE RAPIDLY, EVENTUALLY DOWN TO APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, ALTHOUGH THE ENGINE WAS ROARING AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL OF RPM?S AS THIS DECELERATION OCCURRED. THIS EVENT CREATED AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION: THE PASSING LANE IS OF LIMITED LENGTH AND THE PASSING MANEUVER NEEDED TO BE COMPLETED BEFORE IT ENDED BECAUSE THERE WAS ONCOMING TRAFFIC. IMMEDIATELY BEHIND THE JETTA WAS A PICKUP TRUCK THAT HAD ALSO PULLED INTO THE PASSING LANE. AS THE DECELERATION OCCURRED, THE PICKUP TRUCK CAME WITHIN INCHES OF COLLIDING WITH THE REAR OF THE JETTA. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO SAFETY AT THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. THEREAFTER THE CAR COULD ONLY BE DRIVEN IN 1ST GEAR AND AT ONLY AT A VERY SLOW SPEED. I CALLED VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICAN AND THEY MADE ARRANGEMENTS TO TOW THE JETTA TO THE NEAREST DEALER, REDDING VOLKSWAGEN, LOCATED IN REDDING CALIFORNIA. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME AN EVENT LIKE THIS HAS OCCURRED SINCE I PURCHASED THE JETTA ON JULY 10, 2011. IN APRIL 2012, AS I PULLED ONTO THE MAIN STREET IN SUSANVILLE CALIFORNIA AND BEGAN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP TO APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE JETTA SUDDENLY AND RAPIDLY DECELERATED. ON BOTH OCCASIONS THE RAPID DECELERATION OCCURRED WITHOUT ANY WARNING LIGHTS. *TR