This is a quote from the police report (full copy available on request) "driver and only occupant butler stated he entered the parking lot and put the manual transmission of the veh. Into neutral and coasted into the parking space, but then he applied the brakes of the veh. They didn't work, causing front of veh. To jump over the approx. 6" high curb and come to rest hanging over edge of the river wall. Butler reported he has had the lease veh. For approx. 3 years and has had numerous problems with it, but never any problems with the brakes" "an unidentified male was sitting on the back of the veh. To keep it from tipping into the water" "butler was not injured but he didn't want to exit the veh. As he reported it was teetering back and forth before the male sat on the back end" on reporting the above to Volkswagen, their official responce that I found insulting was that it was "operator error". I have been driving stick shift vehicle for 12 years and never mistaken the clutch with the brake, and after reluctantly taking back the Beetle I went to an empty parking lot to see if it was possible for me to depress the clutch by mistake and found that my right foot would not easily reach the pedal and therefore beyond any doubt dismiss the claim of "operator error". since there was no personal injury and minimal vehicle damage it is not financially viable for me to take legal proceeding, although 4 months after the incident I still have flashbacks and bad dreams of the near fatal event. Nlm

- Wyandotte, MI, USA

When driver's foot is on brake all of a sudden vehicle will accelerate. Vehicle has to be slammed into park in order to stop.

- North Creek, NY, USA

Brake failure.

- Richardson, TX, USA

When starting vehicle in morning and when brake pedal is depressed with vehicle in reverse, pedal goes directly to floor, causing extended stopping distance. Dealer replaced brake master cylinder and brake booster, which did not correct the problem. Dealer has also recently replaced the hydraulic pump and problems still exist, vehicle has been in shop since June 11th.

- Richardson, TX, USA