Unhappy driver says Volkswagen threatened his job It started with a faulty car. But soon Levon Kara's battle with Volkswagen Australia spiralled into more than the usual travails of a disgruntled customer. He never expected a multinational car company to threaten his job. In 2010, Mr Kara wanted Volkswagen to replace his 2007 Golf. The car had suddenly lost power on the road - an unnerving failure that has affected many Volkswagen owners and may have led to the death of Melissa Ryan, who died on the Monash Freeway in 2011. A Volkswagen Golf. Photo: Simon Schluter Mr Kara did his homework and knew Volkswagen had issued a recall in the US related to the high-tech automatic transmission called the direct shift gearbox (DSG). This had followed a safety investigation by American authorities. Mr Kara, whose car had the same type of transmission, mentioned the American recall and threatened to take the company to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Then the threatening legal letters started to arrive. But it was one email from Mr Kara that Volkswagen's lawyers appeared to jump on. Mr Kara, who worked as a government IT contractor, had used his government email address in one correspondence to Volkswagen. Volkswagen accused Mr Kara of trying to use his position to intimidate the company. Volkswagen's lawyer researched the public servant's code of conduct and, in a letter to Mr Kara, told him that the code prohibited the use of a person's position for private benefit. I am currently awaiting my client's instructions as to whether I should lodge a formal complaint with [Mr Kara's employer] concerning your conduct. The car was repaired three times. In the end, it lost power suddenly about 10 times, once when Mr Kara was in the middle lane of a freeway, another when he was about to cross train tracks. He took Volkswagen to VCAT but, faced with the legal might of the company, decided to give up. "I was worried about my employment," he said. I've got this big organisation that is threatening my livelihood and I thought, 'I'm not sure I've got the stomach for this'. Volkswagen Australia did not return Fairfax Media's calls on Monday. The company has pulled much of its advertising from across Fairfax Media following reports on the problems with the cars' sudden deceleration. Almost 100 people have come forward to confirm they experienced sudden power loss while driving Volkswagens, particularly Golfs, Passats and Polos. Of the 92 who contacted Fairfax Media, many were driving automatics, but about 10 per cent were driving manuals - the type of car Melissa Ryan died in. Her family and the truck driver who hit her believe the car suffered a sudden loss of power. The coroner will hand down her finding on Ms Ryan's death next month. People concerned about their Volks-wagens can email the Department of Infrastructure and Transport on vinvestigations@infrastructure.gov.au.