[ChrstphrR]

Gasser or diesel? I don't know 100% if the gas models are drive by wire like the TDIs from the late 1990s to present are, or not.

But if that's so, there is no "stiff" pedal physically... it sounds like you're going into "Limp" mode -- where the power is curtailed by the ECU.

There is a plethora of information on all the common to less common reasons the car is set into Limp mode for the TDI engined VWs, and I would imagine that things would be similar on the gas engined models, but of course, some of the same sensors and parts might not be there! So, specify your engine/fuel type, and that'll help even more.

Off the top of my head though, easy to check things:

* If you have a scanguage, or a standalone OBDII code reader, check your codes, if any. The codes it throws when you scan, are ISO codes, not the VW/vag-com/vcds style codes, but can still be looked up to see if what is wrong.

* Check that your air cleaner and the intake ahead of it isn't clogged full of dust, dust bunnies, mouse nests, birdsnests, etc.

* If that's not a potential issue, check your MAF sensor the cheap and easy way: Unplug the electrical connector to it (the ECU will ignore the non-connected MAF, and use it's own default settings). This could indicate a bad MAF sensor.


And back to fuel type: I don't know the best resource for a non-diesel engine online, for VW, alas... maybe parts of vwvortex.com ? But as far as diesels go: TDIclub.com and myturbodiesel.com would be the best sources of info to diagnose your problem.

Hope that helps for a starter...