When driving my Jetta in "S" (sport selection on the transmission) on a surface street I came to a red light. I started braking and the brakes felt spongy and unresponsive. I tried pressing on the brake pedal with more force but was not getting much braking response. The vehicle took a very long distance to respond compared to its response time when in "D" (drive selection on the transmission). Lucky I am an early barker and there was not a car in front of me so the vehicle only went into the intersection a short distance before it stopped. When finally at a stop I kept steady pressure on the brake pedal. After a few seconds of being at a complete stop I noticed the brake pedal was sinking towards the floor board. It felt like it does when you are bleeding air out of the lines. While at the stop the brake pedal sank further, at first slowly, and then with one final quick movement the brake pedal sank completely to the floor board of the car. The only time I have ever experienced this type of brake activity is with older cars when one is performing the task of bleeding the brakes. If I had been tapped from behind the car would have been sent into the intersection. During this incident I noticed that the tachometer was running at 900 RPM even though the car was at a "complete", or better stated, the brake was pressed all the way to the floor, with no additional braking pressure available. I feel very unsure and unsafe when I go to use my brakes and have to allow several extra car lengths in front of me to ensure that I am able to stop the vehicle in time.

- Fallbrook, CA, USA