1997 Volkswagen Cabrio

WHILE DRIVING MY VW CABRIO HOME LAST NIGHT THE HIGHLIGHTS, DASH LIGHTS, HEATER FAN AND RADIO ALL SUDDENLY WENT OFF AND THE ABS FAILURE LIGHT CAME ON. I PULLED THE CAR OFF THE ROAD AND THE LIGHTS SUDDENLY CAME BACK ON AND I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE LAST FEW MILES HOME. I SPOKE TO A SERVICE MANAGER AT VW TODAY ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND IT TURNS OUT IT IS AN ELECTRICAL PART ASSOCIATED WITH THE CARS IGNITION SWITCH AND THAT IT IS WELL KNOWN AND COMMON FAILURE WITH THIS CAR. I CALLED VW HEAD QUARTERS AND SPOKE TO A CUSTOMER ADVOCATE ABOUT THIS AND THEY TOLD ME THERE WAS NO RECALL AND THAT VW HAD NOT CONSIDERED THIS TO BE A SAFETY PROBLEM THAT WARRANTED A RECALL. *TR

1-2) I FOUND THE FOLLOWING RECALL FOR THE VW JETTA. THE DEFECTIVE HAZARD AND TURNSIGNAL PORTION OF THE RECALL HAS HAPPENED TO MY 1997 VW CABRIO HIGHLINE SINCE 2001 GETTING WORSE EACH YEAR. SEE BELOW, RECALL DATED DECEMBER 24, 2004. I HAVE NOT HAD A CONSEQUENCE DUE TO THIS, BUT I WOULD IMAGINE THAT MY CAR COULD BE HIT FROM BEHIND WITHOUT HAZARDS OR TURNSIGNALS. 3) I TOOK MY CABRIO IN TO THE DEALERSHIP IN 2003 TO REQUEST HELP WITH DEFECTIVE HAZARD AND TURNSIGNALS AND THEY CHARGED ME FOR LABOR TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. IT WAS NOT IDENTIFIED AND THEY SAID IT WOULD BE EXTEREMLY EXPENSIVE TO IDENTIFY AND FIX. SO I DON'T KNOW THE CORRECTION. NOTE: I WAS UNABLE TO SEARCH FOR VW, CABRIO RECALLS ON YOUR WEBSITE. THE SITE LIMITS ME TO SEARCHING FOR THE JETTA ONLY. DECEMBER 24, 2004 VOLKSWAGEN IS RECALLING 369,284 CARS FOR VARIOUS DEFECTS, INCLUDING LEAKING FUEL PUMPS AND DEFECTIVE HAZARD LIGHT SWITCHES, THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION AGENCY (NHTSA) SAID. VW IS RECALLING 300,000 GOLF, GTI AND JETTA CARS FROM 2000-2002 MODEL YEARS BECAUSE THE HAZARD SWITCH AND FLASHER SYSTEM FUNCTION MAY DEGRADE OVER TIME DUE TO HIGH ELECTRICAL CURRENT LOAD FROM TURN-SIGNAL BULBS, ACCORDING OT NHTSA. VW, EUROPE'S BIGGEST AUTOMAKER, IS ALSO RECALLING 19,284 GOLF, JETTA, BEETLE AND PASSAT CARS FROM 2004-2005 MODEL YEARS BECAUSE A LEAKING DIESEL FUEL PUMP COULD LEAD TO A FIRE. THE HIGH PRESSURE DIESEL PUMPS WERE PRODUCED WITH AN IMPROPER FASTENER, WHICH COULD ALLOW DIESEL FUEL TO ESCAPE FROM THE PUMP. ALSO, VOLKSWAGEN SAID IT IS CHECKING AS MANY AS 447,000 CARS MADE BETWEEN 2001 AND 2003, INCLUDING THE GOLF, GTI AND JETTA MODELS, FOR POSSIBLE AIRBAG PROBLEMS AFTER OFFICIALS CAME UP WITH 107 CASES IN WHICH SIDE-DOOR AIRBAGS MAY HAVE DEPLOYED IMPROPERLY.

WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 65 MPH TOOK FOOT OFF ACCELERATOR PEDAL, BUT THE ENGINE DID NOT DECELERATE. HAD TO APPLY EMERGENCY BRAKES TO CONTROL VEHICLE. THEN, TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER. BUT, THEY COULD NOT FIND OUT WHAT HAD CAUSED THE SITUATION.*AK THE FLOOR MAT WAS CAUGHT UNDER THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND CAUSED THE VEHICLE NOT TO DECELERATE, THIS WAS ACCORDING TO 2 OTHER DEALERS.*YD