I've have had the same problem twice now! The first time I went to leave for work and the darn handle just wouldn't budge out of the park position. Not just stuck a little but just isn't going anywhere. It had happened the night before but after trying a couple times it moved. The next morning however nothing at all and i tried for like an hour. I called roadside assistance to come get it to take to VW only problem was you cant tow a car that won't move! Called VW and they said there is a trick to get it into neutral. Turn the key slowly while moving it out of park, that worked and it was towed and fixed quickly. They said it was some kind of computer issue. This was a few months ago and then it hapened again today. Right as I was leaving for work! I didn't have time to mess with it so i just took my moms car to work. When i got home i tried the trick a few times and managed to get it into drive. I've been in and out a few places tonight and everything seems fine i'm just afraid that when I go to leave in the morning i'll have the same issue again. This is a very annyoing problem and I wish i could get some answers!!!

 

My Wife's New Beetle did the same thing. It is a Brake switch, located right behind the brake arm under the knee part of your dash. Have to maybe take the one panel down and install it. Beacareful on the plunger, do not move it till you depress the brake pedal, it sets the travel for the lights to come on. If the plaunger is already pushed into the switch it will not operate correctly.There is a RE-Call on them, so save the receipt to get your money back. It IS NOT a COMPUTER problem. My 2004 Jetta Wagon just did it yesterday. It is a maunaul shift and on my diesel the Glow-Plug light in the instrument cluster will blink and I had no cruise control or brake lights. Sometimes just stomping hard a few times on the brake pedal will rest it. But you have to have the key out of the ignition.Try that next time it happens. A good dealer will replace the switch for free. Mine is right now while I have it in for an EGR Recall on the collant system. If you easily slide the car from park to neutral if it gets stuck again while depressing the brake or switching on the igition to ON. You can move the shift lever to Neutral and start the car and drive it to the dealer. Remeber if it does this, YOU will not have any brake lights!

 

I had this problem thrice. Each time the solution was replacing the brake lite switch. Ist time, I had it towed to a transmission shop. On second time, the problem happened while the car was parked in my house garage. I read the replacing procedure in the TDIclub.com, bought the switch and replaced myself. On 3rd occassion, it was my daugher who had parked while shopping and could not move the shifter from park. That same day I had received a VW recall notice. I had the car towed to a VW dealer who had it replaced. Overall, it cost me to have it towed and the inconvience. This problem is common with VW. I have not experienced it with other cars I have or had.

 

I had the same problem twice.
The first time it happened I was near my house, but parked in someone's driveway and had to push the car out. It was night so I thought we will figure it out next morning.
Mysteriously the problem went away next morning so I didn't think about it.
The next time it happened we were stuck vacationing in Vermont. We had to get the car towed to a VW dealer and he fixed it for free.
Said that it was a common VW problem. And so it seems to be as many of you have experienced it too.
However, here is something : It happens if you try to turn on the ignition when the gear is not on park. So, I guess a way to avoid the problem is to check every time if the car is on park before turning it on.

Arya

 

old post

brake lt switch

 

My 2003 Jetta automatic had this problem so I am sharing my results. The problem was only in very cold weather and would last about 5 minutes. Knowing the brake lights were working and the dealer had replaced the brake pedal switch, I decided to take a look at the solenoid inside the gear shift console. Well, after 3 days and much research I figured out that the gear shift **** will come off if the release button is pulled OUT. According to Bentley publishing, VW has two styles. One you push in to remove the other you pull out.

The other big lesson here was that I had to remove the center console plastic in order to get to the solenoid. And that led to another lesson - getting the console piece out that surrounds the gear shift base. Not an easy task. Thankfully Bentley mentions pushing the ash tray forward to release it from the console.Lots of patience needed to get this thing out.

In the end I found the solenoid and saw it working. My hunch is that after 5 years the lubrication is not what it needs to be, so I am trying some graphite powder on the working parts to see if it keeps it moving. Time will tell.

I hope this helps the next person who wants to tackle this job.

 

Sounds like the brake switch to me, I actually got a letter from volkswagen saying there was a recall for that part. You should contact a dealer and see if your car is included in the recall.

 

Yes, the brake pedal switch failure already happened leaving me stuck in a parking space only a few days after I bought the car in April 2008. I managed to fiddle with the switch and get the car out of park but the brake lights were stuck on. Dealer replaced the switch for free.

When the temperatures outdoors reached down into the low 20's the solenoid inside the gear shift assembly stopped working consistently and would free up after several minutes.

Now that I have seen the workings inside the gear shift unit I am very aware of a "clunk" sound when I put on the brake. The clunk is the solenoid pushing the inter-lock shaft out to unlock the gear shift. I can even feel it working - it's on the rear side of the shift housing.