Recently my 1999 VW Jetta passenger's seat back caught fire, burning from insider the seat back, the seat and my husband's winter coat (I have pictures I can send) while we were driving in a snow storm down I-93. The VW dealers I went to see, let alone my call to VW North America, were asked to provide a replacement seat, to check the electrical connections, etc. The response was almost uniform as to nothing they could do, never seen this before, not within warranty, etc. Now my insurance company is asking for $500 deductible for me to pay for this replacement! my insurance guy and the head of service at wellesley VW both said in all their years, they have never seen anything this bad. But what really gets my goat is that the fire was a serious, life-threatening hazard; there are many cases the internet of Jettas' seats catching fire ' but not one recall like they did with the passat a few years back. I have owned vws since 1987 when I got my license; my parents since 1953. I consider myself brand-loyal but am now baffled as to their uniform, unhelpful responses. I need some guidance, let alone help to have them fix this problem. Someone might have been killed had the seat fully caught fire or my husband was wearing something other than leather that takes longer to smolder than, let's say, fleece. It seems to me that this is their "liability", and they should make good on correcting the situation.

- Boston, MA, USA

The contact owns a 1999 Volkswagen Jetta. The contact has heated seats in his vehicle. The heating elements in the seats became so hot that they burned through the seat to his jacket. The dealer stated that there was no recall for the failure and the vehicle had too many miles on it for them to assist. The failure mileage was 140,000.

- Elco, PA, USA

In our 1999 Jetta, our passenger seat warmer caught on fire, and burned through my husband's jacket. I reported to Volkswagen of America and they said as it was an old car and there was never a recall, they can't help me. I read on many internet sites that this is a problem. I have owned vws since 1986, consider myself brand-loyal but now very upset. We could have had a major fire and no one is caring about this as the car is 10 years old.

- Boston, MA, USA

No summary

- Lewisville, TX, USA

When coming to stop seat on passenger's side moved forward about 1/2 inch. Problem has been reported to the dealership. Dealer stated that it was okay for the seat to move a little when stopping.

- San Davids, PA, USA