Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1999 Volkswagen Passat owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Passat began to accelerate under no pressure to pedal. Passat started to accelerate fairly slowly but steadily at first, then it increased. It wasn't possible to decelerate/no pressure on the brake pedal stopped the acceleration. It began to reach an unsafe speed then I began to downshift and to apply the brake in sequence to slow the Passat, then I tried to slow the vehicle to coast it onto the shoulder, but the speed remained too high to halt the car. Having no other way to slow the vehicle, I started to downshift and to apply extreme pressure to the breaks, and was able to slow the vehicle enough after several miles of downshifting and riding the breaks to reach a point at which I could shift the car into neutral, then began coasting it up a long driveway while the engine continued to race and rev. …
Tl* - the contact called regarding the 1999 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that the vehicle began to accelerate on its own and the contact was unable to stop the vehicle by braking. The contact stated that the driver had to weave in and out of traffic to avoid hitting other vehicles. The vehicle eventually jumped the curb and struck a fence. There were no injuries. The side air bag deployed. The failure mileage was 120,000. There was no police report filed. Updated 04/05/07.*j
Winter 2008-2009 had several times when car would accelerate on it's own. Brakes did not help. Only way to stop is to apply brakes with both feet and slow down enough to pull over and put in neutral, which makes tac go over 7000 RPM's. Had throttle body cleaned and reset in spring of 2009 but problem recurred again this year. On Monday, feb. 8, 2010 temperature was in low teens. Warmed car for approx. 7 min. Drove slowly due to bad road conditions and at approx. 3 miles into drive car started accelerating again on its own and no place to pull off. Had to stop in extremely dangerous position and pray I wasn't hit before I could safely start car again. Finally able to restart engine after approx. 5 min. Without revving problem but approx. 2 miles later car again accelerated on it's own. Took to dealer and they did a general diagnosis which showed nothing. …
For 2 years now, on cold days (temps in the teens) there have been occasions (about 5) where the accelerator sticks in the accelerating position. Adjusting the pedal position has no effect on slowing the car down. In fact, there were times when the only way to stop the car was to shut the engine off. This actually causes loss of power brakes and steering and makes it more difficult to maintain control. After waiting on the side of the road for about 5 to 10 minutes, you can start the car and everything is back to normal. This is a very dangerous and perhaps a life threatening condition. The car has a 2.8 liter v6 with an automatic transmission. I have a friend who had an Audi a6 quatro (1999) with the same 2.8 v6 and had the same issue. After spending several hundred dollars trying to get it resolved with no luck, he sold the car. …
On the evening of January 25, 2007 I was driving home when I noticed that my car was not slowing down when I released pressure from the gas pedal. It then became apparent to me that the car was still accelerating despite the fact that my foot was not on the gas pedal. I shifted the vehicle into neutral and the tachometer showed that the engine was revving in the 5,000 RPM range without my foot on the gas pedal. I managed to get the car off of the road and turned the vehicle off while the transmission was in neutral, then shifted to park. I attempted several times to restart the car, but each time the engine immediately revved up to the 5,000 RPM range as if the gas pedal was floored. After about 4 attempts of shutting down the car and restarting the engine finally idled as is should upon start up and I was able to finish my drive home without further incident.
Tl*- the contact stated that while driving the 1999 Volkswagen pasaat with 113000 failure mileage at 60 MPH the vehicle began to accelerate on its own. The vehicle accelerated up to 75 miles. The contact rode the brakes for approximately 5 miles, then noticed a safe place to pull over. The contact was jamming on the brakes to get the vehicle to stop. The vehicle came to a complete stop , and the contact turned the vehicle off. The vehicle was restarted twice, but the vehicle was still revving high. The contact was told to pull up on the brake pedal, and that was the remedy to get the vehicle to idle properly. The vehicle was taken to the shop, and they could not duplicate the problem. The contact was afraid to drive the vehicle.
2 pm in southern california with perfect driving conditions.... Driving about 30 MPH down city surface street - when all of the sudden the car accelerated to 60mph - very scary - 1999 vw Passat glx car is a bit over 115K miles in excellent condition. Car was pulled over after braking and pulling up emergency brake - car continued revving until car was quickly turned off. Popped hood - let engine cool for 10 - 15 minutes - tried to restart but car revved again so shut it off and will have repair shop retrieve it & bring to shop to get looked at. Too scared to drive again. First time it happened since purchasing car a few months ago.
Tl contact owns a 1999 Volkswagen Passat. While driving approximately 65 MPH on normal road conditions, the accelerator pedal became stuck when it was depressed. There was unintended acceleration and the engine revved excessively high and uncontrollably. The vehicle came to a complete stop when the contact applied both feet on the brake pedal. The vehicle resumed normal operation and was driven with caution. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 160,000 and the current mileage was unavailable. Updated 3/19/09 updated 03/23/09.
Our 1999 Passat with the 1.8 liter engine stalls repeatedly when decelerating, this is dangerous. We purchased the car new and had a problems before 20,000 miles. Vw cannot diagnose this problem. I took vw to the bbb since they were very uncooperative in repairing this problem, and then they changed the throttle body. Then the problem went away for a few years and is now back and vw again refuses to replace the throttle body. The throttle body is obviously defective and they will not admit that there is a problem or fix it.
I had shut off my car and when I went to turn it back on I had no lights, turn signals, dome light, horn, climat control or radio. I took it to the dealer they told me it happens on beetles and golfs all the time and that it was the ignision switch. They showed me the switch when they pulled it out. It had gotten so hot it melted right through the wires. There is no safety recall on this but if it gets hot enough to melt metal it could start the car on fire.
NHTSA investigations
Fuel tank puncture
The office of defects investigation opened this investigation on August 10, 2000 based on 9 reports regarding punctured fuel tanks involving the jetta, passat, and cabrio models.the reports indicate additional reports in its response to the preliminary evaluation.this investigation has been upgraded for further study.
Fuel tank puncture
Acceleration complaints in other Passat years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 1999 Volkswagen Passat?
NHTSA has 32 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 1999 Volkswagen Passat, 5% of the model year's 664 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (6 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1999 Volkswagen Passat acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 1999 Volkswagen Passat, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1999 Volkswagen Passat acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 85,000 miles, and 15% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 0 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.