NHTSA Complaint #11615745 — 2013 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

UNCONTROLLED ACCELERATION As I was accelerating to enter traffic on the expressway the engine lost partial power. I reduced accelerator pressure, and then the engine seemed to recover. I then reapplied pressure to the accelerator, and it seemed normal but when I put in the clutch to shift, the engine accelerated beyond redline. I completed the shift, and car began to accelerate rapidly. I tapped the accelerator, and the acceleration stopped, and then after about 3 seconds it began to accelerate again. I attempted to reduce acceleration with brakes, but it was only partially effective. The only way to effectively reduce acceleration was to take the car out of gear. (thankfully this was a manual transmission) When I shifted into neutral, engine RPMs would exceed redline. The excessive RPMs ultimately destroyed the engine (Big bang, lots of smoke). In hindsight I would have turned the ignition off but did not think to at the time.. The safety implications are obvious. This event occurred without warning and under normal driving conditions. I suspect an engine sensor anomaly combined with computer software failure. (Maybe an RPM sensor?) Specific cause is unknown, and situation cannot be recreated since the engine has failed. The Diesel Particulate Filter warning light was on, and had been on for several weeks. It did not clear using the recommended remediation in the manual. The vehicle has not been inspected by the dealer or other interested parties, but is available for inspection. (This is one of the vehicles recalled for “diesel-gate” purchased from VW after reprogramming)