The contact owned a 2002 Volkswagen Jetta. While entering the vehicle, the contact noticed that the brake warning light was illuminated and the windows were steaming. In addition, the dashboard was on fire. The fire department extinguished the fire. A fire report and a police report were filed. The contact sustained a burned hand injury, but did not need medical attention. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 172,000.

- Bremen, OH, USA

I parked my car at the bwi airport and there was a concrete stop approximately 10" tall and the front bumper was caught on it and when I reversed it tore the bumper from the car. This happened 8 years ago and I replaced the fender for about $400, now VW wants $1188.50. I feel this is a design flaw and should be looked into. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Columbia,, MD, USA

I bought my 2001 Jetta in November of 2001 in good faith with the excitement of buying my first VW and the armrest broke the first week I bought the vehicle. In March, the back ashtray was replaced (which has never been used) but had springs pop out of it and the armrest was replaced again. On August 26th my vehicleS radio stopped working and would not work. I contacted my dealership, russel VW, and made an appointment. I was told by Mr. Scott mills that the radio was probably defective and I would have to get a new one. Major inconvenience but I set up an appointment for August 30th. On August 29th while driving my children to school the vehicleS emergency lights came on and the car started shaking and smoking. Russel VW had my vehicle towed to their shop, told me I had defective coils and replaced them and the radio/stereo and I received my vehicle back on Friday, August 30, 2002. The vehicle ran good for 30 minutes although one speaker was now blown and the car started to drive with lots of hesitation and on Tuesday, the temperature gauge had stopped working and the temperature light came on. I returned the car to the dealership on Tuesday, September 3, 2002. I was contacted by the dealership, which replaced the temperature gauge and another coil (I think), and told me their mechanic wanted to drive the vehicle home because he couldnT locate the problem but could feel the engine hesitation. On Friday, September 6th, Mr. Mills contacted me told me that russel VW felt I had a faulty transmission and it would need to be replaced. Now this is a major problem  I was hoping VW would work with me by either extending the warranty or letting me trade this Jetta for another one.

- Mount Airy, MD, USA