As my son got on the highway the transmission felt like it was slipping and jerking to then catch back up to the original speed I was going. When he put his foot on the gas pedal the car would struggle to go, 5 seconds later it would get up to speed but then slow back down. At a stoplight the car would shake roughly and idle really high, then he saw the front of the hood start to smoke and I realized there was a problem.

- St. Louis, MO, USA

The contact owns a 2001 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speeds, the transmission would slip and then the vehicle stalled. The engine continued to run, but the vehicle would not move. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and it was determined that the teeth on the gears of the transmission had fractured and the entire transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 160,000. Updated 8/19/15 the consumer stated there was a recall for the same make, model, and year but, the consumer's VIN was not included. Updated 9/30/2015

- Glendale, MD, USA

2001 VW Passat sticking gas pedal comments: This has happened to me recently 2 times....gas pedal stuck to floor, redline, almost crashed. Researching I found it to be a common problem. VW should be held accountable... this is a dangerous situation! should I stop driving it"?" more accounts at: www.passatworld.com/forums/42-Volkswagen-Passat-B5-discussion/236513-anyone-else's-gas-pedal-get-stuck.html.

- Cazenovia, NY, USA

Car died while driving on 55 mph road. Starter worked and engine would turn, but would not run. Dealer found no codes in computer. Engine and horn fuses blown and dealer replaced horn relay. I asked the dealer why there were no codes in the computer and they didn't know the answer. They would not replace the computer. Car was in the shop for 7 days. Incident happened over 100 miles from home and dealer finally authorized loaner after 2 days. Dealer was very rude during the whole incident and construction made it difficult to communicate. Phone lines were disconnected part of the time.

- Arlington, VA, USA

This issue caused my car to misfire so bad I was unable to get my car to accelerate and nearly caused an accident. This issue could leave many stranded and has already caused major problems for hundreds of owners. **dimsii IVOQ entry posted after 12/12/02 cut over to artemis**770852

- Mount Laurel, NJ, USA

Safety: Operation of the "drive by wire throttle" on my V6/tiptronic 2001.5 VW Passat. The throttle does not operate in a "linear manner". it may struggle to move out from a stop (sounds as if the engine is working very hard to move the car) one moment and then it may "leap" ahead under light throttle application from the next stop. (this can leave you struggling to cross a busy interesction) the dealer says VW says this is "normal operation".

- Madison, WI, USA