Two problems related to engine stall have been reported for the 2006 Volkswagen Passat. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2006 Volkswagen Passat based on all problems reported for the 2006 Passat.
Car has been running rough for a while and epc , traction control, and engine light keep popping up time to time, when lights appear car barely runs at all. Lately it has been shutting off completely while driving at any speed! (highway, street , or parking lot!) feel like I qualify for the recall that came out August 16, 2017 (NHTSA campaign number: 17v509000 fuel pump failure cause engine stall if the fuel pump fails, the engine will stall, increasing the risk of a crash. ) do to my symptom but did not receive a notice!.
Symptom #1) car will not start or if it does start it will immediately stall and steering column will lock. After moving the steering wheel back and forth repeatedly, reopening the door several times and attempting to start the push ignition 5-10 times it will eventually start and run. Symptom #2) major safety issue! car will lose all power without warning at highway speeds. This defect causes the engine to stall immediately, the loss of power steering and the loss of all power controls at speeds at least up to 70 mph. There is no warning from the car itself. There is no stuttering or noise. Suddenly the car is just dead and rolling along at extreme speeds. The fix is to shift the car into neutral and attempt to restart by removing and reinserting the key until it starts again. The dashboard will light up "steering column defect" and prompt a warning light for the steering column as if it were locked from a car alarm prompt. Occasionally, I have been unable to restart the car while in motion and have had to pull off to the side of the road. This is done without the aid of power steering and can be very dangerous in traffic and at high speeds as there is no way of "knowing" when the defect will occur. This defect is occurring daily. I took the car into the dealer for diagnosis. Was told it was a defect in the steering column requiring a complete replacement. Estimated cost to myself was $1,000-2,000. Car is now out of warranty (58,000 miles). I believe this defect is not a result of any habit of myself as the driver but rather a defect in the workmanship of the vehicle and the dealer should be subject to a recall. A search on google about this issue revealed thousands of other drivers with the exact same problem (stall at highway speeds, loss of power steering, difficulty starting and restarting, possible stranding of the driver). I urge a recall to move forward immediately!.