I was driving on the highway going approximately 55 mph when the hood on my 1999 VW Golf unexpectedly opened and hit the windshield with a degree of impact that dented the hood in several places and the hood will no longer close. I was forced to brake immediately because I could not see. The cars behind me swerved to prevent hitting me. The hood appeared to be securely shut prior to this incident. I researched the NHTSA recall history and found that it indicates that VW issued a recall of 93-96 Golf, Golf gti and jetta (98V-160) due to the bolts securing the front hood latch loosening over time and causing disengagement of hood striker from latch and possible unexpected opening of hood. Wondering if something similar may have been the cause of what happened to me I called VW us and made a complaint with dylan dunbar on May 10th 2004 and was told to take the car to a VW dealership and have them diagnose what the cause of the incident was - a malfunction / defect or "something I need to speak to my insurance company about". it seems like a conflict of interest on the part of VW to have VW to determine if they or responsible or not.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA