I was driving on I-87 North in the bronx in stop and go rolling traffic and I smelled something after a while, also felt a little bit of dragging. The speed picked up and when I needed the brakes the pedal was mushy and went down almost all the way barely stopping me! I stopped and saw that the brakes were super hot, so I opened the hood to check out the lines. A guy pulled over and helped me check to see if I had to bleed the lines at the ABS controller and we saw no excess pressure. I had the brake switch replaced under recall, and greased the cylinder that feeds the brake booster, but still it grabs sometimes and I have to pull the pedal up. On forums.tdiclub.com, this is a known problem with the brake booster on jet. I want a replacement, and cannot afford to pay 200 + install for something that is a known issue with these boosters.

- Woodhaven, NY, USA

1. & 2. while applying the brakes the brake pedal is drawn quickly down to the floor, causing the vehicle to stop violently. Simultaneously when the pedal is all the way down there is a loud sound of air whooshing and the pedal comes back to the normal position. 3. the problem is caused by a faulty power brake booster. This is a common problem that I found numerous posts regarding on the forums at www.tdiclub.com. multiple replacement power brake boosters are available at all the VW dealer parts departments I called in my area which leads me to further believe this is a common problem. Reading further on the tdiclub forums it was stated that faulty power brake boosters are also responsible for brakes dragging and wearing out prematurely. This is a huge potential problem for VW owners.

- Saint Helens, OR, USA