The driver's side window regulator recently failed on my 2002 VW Golf. This part secures the window to the power window mechanism, and keeps the window up. The failure occurred while I was leaving a toll booth. I pressed the button to raise the window, heard a crack, and then the entire window violently crashed down into the interior of the door, and attempts to raise the window failed. I was lucky that I was only driving about 20 mph at the time, but unfortunately I had to drive home five hours with the windows down. It was a very unpleasant experience. When I returned home, upon bringing the car in to the dealership, I learned that it was the window regulator that had failed. I also learned that this part has failed numerous times on Golfs of this model year (and other years), and that an extended warranty of 7 years was placed on the part. I strongly believe that a recall should have been placed on this part instead of simply a warranty extension. I have heard numerous anecdotes of people having this same problem. The window crashes violently, and had I been driving fast or in traffic, this could have caused an accident very easily. What's more, one cannot protect the car from theft or water damage when the window won't close. According to VW, a sturdier replacement part was designed around 2002, and my car is now being fixed with this part.

- Hamden, CT, USA

Front passenger side window comes off track. Window falls into door and window can not be closed. This happened to me as I was driving with my 8 week old daughter and 3 year old son. It is very dangerous because it happened on highway and there was alot of wind coming into car on young children. This has happened to many VW owners, VW has extended warranty to 7 years due to this.

- Middle Village, NY, USA

1. transmission control module failure. Car was not able to start. Was towed for repair. This chip has been replaced twice. 2. car began making severe jerking movements, randomly. Usually these jumps occur within the first 10 minutes of driving the vehicle but can occur later. The severity of the jerks is also variable. 3. the car was in the shop for over a month. The problem was not corrected. 4. the car consumes an unusual high amount of motor oil (more than a quart approximately every 1,000 miles). 5. VW was running a oil consumption test but they insisted the consumption level was normal for this type of engine. The problem still exists. I have been experiencing numerous mechanical problems with the vehicle soon after purchase in 2002. I have always tried to negotiate with VW. I have written letters and they have been reluctant to solve the problem in a satisfactory way. I have read about the lemon law but my time allowance has expired. The car is still under warranty until January 2006. In addition to the engine/ transmission problems, I have had problems with all my windows rolling down automatically as I try to close them. There was a recall on this. This has been examined over 5 times. The panels were replaced. The problem still persists. I am not able to give an exact date of an incident because there are many. All of these dates have been documented. I am giving a date of January 2002 as the incident date (when the car was purchased). I feel VW has evaded responsibility in correcting the problems and has created an unsafe vehicle. The number of failures and the inability to correct them is unacceptable. I feel my problems were not addressed seriously and were dismissed without concern for my safety and public safety in general.

- Stamford, CT, USA