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2005 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

crash · 566970 · 2005-12-23

Vehicle

Make
VOLKSWAGEN
Model
PASSAT
Year
2005
Manufacturer
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Component
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
Speed
20 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

ON NOVEMBER 4,2005, AROUND 7:30 PM WHILE A I WAS DRIVING MY CAR FROM NEW JERSEY TO NEW YORK CITY, A NEW JERSEY TRANSIT AUTHORITY BUS DANGEROUSLY CUT IN FRONT OF MY CAR. MY WIFE WAS ACCOMPANYING ME. AS I STOPPED TO AVOID THE BUS, THE BUS MADE A SUDDEN AND FULL STOP ABOUT 15 FEET IN FRONT OF ME. INSTINCTIVELY, I PUT THE CAR GEAR IN NEUTRAL. ALL OF THE SUDDEN MY CAR ENGINE STARTED ACCELERATING AT A VERY HIGH SPEED WITHOUT TOUCHING ANY PEDAL. I PUSHED THE BRAKE PEDAL TO SEE IF THE ACCELERATION WOULD STOP. WHEN I RELEASED THE BRAKE PEDAL , THE CAR STARTED RUNNING TOWARD THE STATIONARY BUS, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE CAR GEAR WAS IN THE NEUTRAL POSITION. AS A RESULT, MY CAR MOVED FORWARD AND HIT THE BACK OF THE BUS. THE BUS DRIVER GOT OUT AND ASKED IF WE WERE OK. SHE SAID SHE WAS FINE AND WERE NO PASSENGERS IN THE BUS. WE WERE ALL RIGHT TOO. THERE WERE NO POLICEMEN TO MAKE A REPORT. THE BUS GET A MINIMAL DAMAGE. MY CAR WAS MOSTLY DAMAGE ON THE FRONT SIDE OF THE DRIVER'S SIDE, BUT WAS DRIVABLE. ABOUT TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, I WAS DRIVING THE SAME CAR ON THE NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE AND EXPERIENCE THE SAME SUDDEN ACCELERATION OF THE CAR ENGINE. AFTER A FEW SECONDS, THE CAR CONTINUED RUNNING NORMALLY. IN VIEW OF THE SERIOUS EVENTS WITH THIS 2005 PASSAT WHICH HAS ONLY AROUND 10,000 MILES, I CONCLUDE THAT THIS VEHICLE IS PRONE TO FAULTY PERFORMANCE AND IS DANGEROUS AND UNPREDICTABLE ON THE ROAD. I PARTICULARLY BLAME VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA AS THE DIRECT RESPONSIBLE PARTY FOR THE ACCIDE

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10146004
Machine
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