Brake Light Switch problems of the 2006 Volkswagen Jetta

Brake light switch failure.

2006 Volkswagen Jetta is equipped with brake light switch part number 3b0 945 511 which was the subject of a recall (recall 07v063000) in 2003-2005 passat and passat wagon.

The brake light stays on and will not turn off resulting in a dead battery and a very unsafe condition while driving. I drove for a half a day without knowing the light was staying on. A couple of people honked at me, but I did not know why. I also could not figure out why my cruise control did not work. I figured out the brakelight switch was not working when I came out of home depot after dark and I thought I left my lights on. It turned out it was the brakelight switch. I called a volkswagon repair shop and they said there was a recall on it and I should not have to pay. When I called Volkswagen dealer service to repair it, they denied any recall. I did a little search on the internet and I now see they have a history of brakelight switch failures on Jettas and beetles. They told me my vehicle is out of warranty also as it has 59,400 miles on it and it is a 2006 Jetta tdi. I bought this car thinking it will go 250,000 miles with no problems and am saddened by this type of treatment for a safety issue which they have a history of. I have driven many cars over 250,000 miles without a brake switch failure. It seems Volkswagen does not know how to remedy the failures on the mexican made vehicles on something as simple as a brake light switch which should be designed for a near infinite life since it is a safety issue. It is not like a fan switch. I am probably one of the first to see the failure as I have put on an unusually high amount of miles, but most of them are highway miles. When I get it repaired, I can get the old part. I hope to get it repaired tomorrow.

Vehicle failed to start on multiple occasions due to insufficient battery charge. Owner observed brake lights including chmsl would come on independently while the vehicle was parked, shut off, and unoccupied with no brake pedal application. No other lights were on at the same time interior, headlights, turn signals were on. This was presumably the cause of the battery drain issue. On multiple occasions after jump starting the vehicle owner observed loss of power while trying to accelerate. Input to the accelerator was momentarily ineffective and had trouble maintaining highway speed. The engine did not stall and no fault codes were generated. Power was restored after a few seconds, but the symptoms would occur several times during a drive. Vehicle was brought to a Volkswagen dealership service facility (lindsay vw in sterling, va) on 7/13/2007. The owner described the above symptoms to the service advisor. The owner was called later on the same date and told that the dealership could not verify the claim and that no repair was performed. Took car to a different dealer (fairfax vw) who correctly diagnosed the problem as a faulty brake light switch. The repair part is the same part used in the recall. The car was fixed under warranty and the repair invoice even states "recall" on it but the dealer says my car is not part of the recall and I never received notification.