Steering Column Problems of Volkswagen Passat - part 2

Car either will not start or shuts off. Display states "steering column lock defect". The steering column locks up, the engine shuts down, and high pitched alarms sound. Car was taken to dealer and repaired under service bulletin 4815, at no charge. This happened in 2011. This week, in 2014 the same exact steering column lock defect reoccurred. Despite this being a known defect among vws, and this being a failure of the previous "fix" vw refuses to do a warranty repair because it is "outside of the 12 month 12,000 mile" warranty on repairs. This is in my mind, a safety issue as the entire steering column locks and the engine shuts down. If this were to occur when the vehicle is being driven, people would be injured or killed.

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When I use the key to start my 2006 Volkswagen Passat it will not start, the steering wheel locks and the car immobilizes. I cannot start the car from 15 minutes to 1 hour. The key will not come out. When I call for help all anyone tells me is to turn the steering wheel to the left and right, but this does not work. I have encountered this problem about 3 to 5 times a day. I purchased this car in sept. 2010 and this has happened every day since I purchased this car. When I took it back, I was told they could not find anything wrong and the car started. The engine light also comes on and they can't find anything wrong. As I write this, the car is immobolized in my garage and will not start, I have missed appointments over and over. . Read more...

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Problem: heads up display in car says "steering column lock defective. " car starts up, then stalls and the engine cuts off. This warning is displayed, along with three loud beeps. After this message is displayed, the car will not start up with repeated attempts at inserting the key. Tries to start, stalls, tries to start, stalls, etc. Sometimes it will start on the second attempt, sometimes I have to wait until the 30th+ attempt. Make the car very sporadic in its driving use with whether it will even turn on or not! nothing seems to help this problem. Turning the steer wheel during start, depressing the brake, having the parking brake on, etc. It should be noted however that sometimes this problem does not occur at all. I will insert the key and it will start like normal. But then sometimes I will get the error along with multiple failed attempts at starting the engine. Planning on taking this car to dealer soon and hope that warranty will cover it.

My car is 2006 vw Passat - 2. 0t. Around 60,000miles, car became increasingly harder to start. But it works. And at 75,000miles it looks like the battery died and "steering column lock" is defective. So I talked to the dealership service guy, he told me the battery had low voltage. So I changed, but it happened same problem with new battery. I don't know what happened only my car or other vw also has same problem. I have 73,000 miles, I did it regular maintenance service, after that the car wasn't the same because wheel side had more noise but I trusted dealership. Dealership didn't say anything, so I thought everything was ok. But the same problem happened. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

2006 Volkswagen Passat - "steering column lock defective " error message. 1. Car will not start immediately; sometimes up to 20 minutes after initiating the starting procedure. 2. Failure occurs several times a week. Consequence for first incident was a lost contract for an independent consulting position. Car is currently out of service requiring me to use public transportation and/or walk to work and appointments. 3. Issue has not been corrected. Car is currently out of service.

In below freezing weather, I was trying to leave my child's daycare. When the key is inserted properly into the ignition, the car beeps and presents a warning "steering column lock defective!" it would not start for 45 minutes - just kept turning over and immediately dieing (lost spark, presumably, as part of the immobilization system). Took it to the dealership and they immediately recognized the problem and joking sarcastically implying that this happens all the time - the stalling at startup is a direct result of the steering column lock problem. The entire steering column has to be replaced along with a new control module (around $200 in parts) along with 4 hours of labor (quoted around $375 for me). This problem is widely reported on Passat message boards with initial costs being as high as $1,900 until vw of America recently discovered a more cost effective way to fix the issue. Also, vw of ireland has acknowledged this as a software defect (see irish times article from 11/4/2009 entitled "staring problems with a vw Passat"). There are reports that vw of canada are repairing this for free on out of warrantied vehicles as well. How many have to fail in America before it's a recall? wouldn't a computer fault keeping a car from starting be a safety issue? what happens if the module fails while driving - either the car determining the key isn't correct would stop the engine, or if the steering column does lock while driving at highway speeds?.

2006 vw Passat has intermittent problems starting (steering column lock, etc - same as everyone else) and then one day while driving @ 55 mph, my car died. I had to try and get over to the side of the road. Very scary! I tried to restart with no luck and just about the time I was ready to give up, I tried one more time (while waiting for aaa to answer the phone) and it worked. I've had it into my mechanic several times for the starting issue and the dealer gave me the "replace the whole steering column" thing. I have been holding off bc its so expensive and I can go for weeks or even months without having the problem, then it flares up again in spades. My biggest concern now is the motor cutting out on me again while I'm driving. There should be a recall based on the hundreds of complaints for this same issue.

My car has had starting issues since I have had it. Sometimes, everytime I would try to start it would not start and give me the "locked steering column" message. It would stop doing this for several months and then start again. Finally, after 100,000 it stopped completely and would not start. It is $600 to fix it but it seems like a lot of people have this issue and they had a recall on the steering column. What can I do?.

My daughter owns a 2006 Volkswagen Passat. Recently the key box, has not always worked to start the car. It has become very undependable. I took it to my mechanic and he checked everything and could find nothing wrong. He thought it might be the chip in the key that had a problem and maybe the key needed to be reprogrammed. She starting using her other key and there was no problem for a few weeks. Called about having the key reprogrammed and the local Volkswagen dealership in braintree thought it wasn't the problem. The car wouldn't start again and took the car back to the mechanic and googled the problem and discovered many websites where there were descriptions of the same problem and all when the car had just gone past the warranty and all were attributed to the steering column locking up. All were solved if the owners were willing to pay $1500-$2000 to replace the steering column. This has been going on for years according to the information I read. I think this is outrageous. The car only has 72,000 miles and is only 4 years old. In the process of contacting the main Volkswagen office to complain, but according to all the people and sites I found on the web, they were of no help.

2006 vw Passat experiencing "steering wheel column lock" failure. The light comes on and the car will not start. Sometimes the car will simply turn off when driving down the road. My online research found that this is a common problem with 2006, 2007, 2008 models. This is also a safety issue because the car will sometimes continue running after the key is pulled out of the ignition. Dealership service departments all over the country are replacing the steering column and control module for $1500 and this normally happens outside of factory warranty so we the consumers are stuck with the bill. Please look into this as this should be a safety recall! and not the financial responsibility of the owners.

2006 Passat with 54,000 miles, suddenly am having trouble starting the vehicle. Got stranded on downtown flint, michigan (not where you want to be after 7:00pm at night!). Car just would not start, then discovered that moving the steering wheel allowed car to start. Has happened several times since, and twice while driving at highway speed, making it very hazardous to pull car to shoulder. After talking with the dealer, was informed that they would need to replace the steering column and the comfort sensor for $1,600! I called vwusa, and was told that since it was 4,000 miles out of warranty, I was on my own! this is not only a design flaw, but is proving to be hazardous as it is causing the vehicle to stall during highway driving.

We own a 2007 Volkswagen Passat. On June the 15th, 2010, we started getting an alarm indicator saying that "the steering column was locked" and the car would not start. We took it to our local vw dealership, where we were told that it is a national problem, and the parts to fix it are on "national backorder" with no idea when they will be available. I am concerned that this problem will either leave my wife stranded someplace unsafe, or, the problem will occur while she is driving and affect her ability to steer the vehicle. I would like to know if your agency has received other complaints, and are you able to assist in expediting repairs? [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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!.

2006 Volkswagen Passat. Car will not start and the steering column locks up. Then at times the car will not shut off and key gets stuck in the ignition. This happens at least once a day.

The 2006 -2009 vw Passat is having massive problems with the ( defective steering column lock ). There is a problem with the anti theft module at the base of the steering column. This is happening to Passat owners all over the country and there should be a recall. I am giving you ammunition to get the recall done.

I have a 08 Passat and for about a year now I have had a steering column lock defective problem. I would have wrote this letter a long time ago but when it started happening my warranty was already expired and it was not as severe, now it can take me anywhere from 5-15 minutes just to start my car and when I do get it started my car sometimes completely shuts off while im driving. I started doing research on this issue and there are a lot of upset vw owners with the same problem. If you google passat steering column lock defective problem you will see multiple websites and forums. I dont understand if so many people are having this problem why there hasn't been a recall?.

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My 2006 vw Passat 2. 0t sedan refuses to start giving a "defective steering column defect" error. The first error was on the 18th of may, 2010. It happens at least 3-5 times per week. After repeated attempts to start it finally starts. 3-15 attempts starts the car. Dealer has quoted me $1800 to repair, car is out of warranty is their response. After searching the internet, apparently it's a known issue and vw hasn't done much about it.

When trying to start 2006 Passat 2. 0t, I get error messages about steering column lock being defective or there are no dash lights and car won't turn over. Problem is getting worse. Located online forum with 6 pages of complaints like mine. . Read more...

Steering wheel column lock error on computer of 2006 vw Passat. Car stalls anytime this light warning comes on. It has come on while driving causing it to stall at high speeds making it hard to steer to the right shoulder safely. This issue has caused two incidents while in highway traffic and was a near miss accident each time. It occurs on a daily basis now and was intermittent at first. I was told that the fix is to replace the entire steering column which is about $2k. To get the car started again, you have to move the steering column back and forth and after about 4-10 attempts to start, the car will start. There is no warning, it just stalls when this issue arises. It has stalled at a rail road crossing which has a stopping point before you cross. Very unsafe situation, I work for the united states air force as a safety investigator and if this existed in our air force we would have an immediate recall. This matter needs to be pushed forward and investigated. After researching this issue I have noticed multiple forums stating the same issues and same complaints.

06 vw Passat steering column lock indicator light on. Message reads" steering column locked take to workshop. We have had the message a couple times before. Wondering about a recall to have this very common problem fixed.

My 2006 vw Passat 2. 0 turbo has steering column issues. The car will not start without moving the steering wheel, and then waiting and keep on trying. The car will start then immediately stall, with an error in the message board that the steering column is defective. This happens 9 times out of 10 when going to start the car. The car has died while driving on the highway, and then restarts. I have seen this issue reported by many other consumers on various forums and complaint sites, but vw refuses to recall for the issue.

Vw, 2006 Passat, now has a "steering column defect" warning, and the car doesn't start. The car has 60,000 miles on it, and this started just after the 50,000 mile warranty expired. The car also stalls at high speed when this light comes on without warning, and can cause a serious accident. The car also has a problem with downshifting when on the highway, and slams into low gear as though the car hit something. The dealer cannot find the problem when the car is put on the diagnostic computer. I have read many other complaints on the internet about these same issues with the 2006 Passat, and found that the fix for the steering column alone costs between $1400 and $2000. Because this appears to be a factory defect, and it is a safety issue, I wanted to report it as such. Although there hasn't been an accident caused in my case, the potential for disaster is huge. I'm afraid to drive the car, because this is a recurring problem, and can happen at any time.

My 2006 vw Passat has a "steering column lock" error and the dealership said that there has been lots of the 2006 vw Passats with the same problem but no recall yet. If I don't get it fix it will stop while driving, and this is a huge safety issue.

My car keeps getting the message, "steering column defective" message in the mfd. The car will not start on more than six times now. Whenever, the message "steering column defective" comes on, the car will not start. I did a google search regarding this problem, and many people online expressed the same problem with their vehicles.

Steering wheel column lock error on computer of 2006 vw Passat. I did research on the internet regarding this and its an known issue among many owners of this troublesome car. Its not fair to have to pay of $ 1500 for something the mfg built defectively.

2006 vw Passat "defective steering column lock" warning sign and the car won't start at once.

1a. I inserted the key fod and the "steering wheel" light on the instrument panel flashed yellow and the mfd on the instrument panel said, "steering column lock malfunction. Go to vw dealer immediately" 1b. Other times, it's the same, but the "steering wheel" light flashes with red light. 1c. Other times, I must insert the key fod anywhere from 5-20 times before the car even starts. The car won't start and I must repeat the process until it does. 2. It occurs at least 5-9 times per week with the yellow light flashing, 3-5 times a week with red light flashing, and 1-3 times per week when I must repeat the inserting of key fod to turn on. 3a. The vw dealer says they have seen this problem and it usually runs $1500-$2200 to fix. They said they usually replace the steering column module (computer board stuff) and the steering column as well. They say the problem is cause by the module going bad and not responding and telling the computer to turn the car on. 3b. The vw corporate customer care said they cannot help because warranty has expired. I have about 60k miles and warranty expired at 50k miles. . Read more...

I am very disappointed with the fact that vw has failed to offer a recall for 2006 Passat steering column and comfort module malfunction. Thousands have been replaced, safety issue is a potentially stranded driver.

All of a sudden car would not start, would try over and over and it would finally start. Eventually it would not start at all. Was told I had a defective steering column. Was also told that there would likely be a recall and I would be reimbursed the $2000 I had to spend to get it fixed.

My wife's car 2006 Passat has been starting and then stalling immediately. A warning light comes on indicating "steering column lock defect". It was fine for a week or two, then it started occurring several times a week. I took car to repair shop and was told that problem would need a dealership repair shop to correct. After doing some online searches for problems of this nature I noticed many owners were having same problem and were told that the steering column and comfort sensor would both have to be replaced, estimates from $1200 to $2000 dollars for repair. Our car is out of warranty as of Feb, 2010 but has less than 50,000 miles on it. Reports from mechanics say a person can get stranded at any time, but if car starts it will not fail while driving. This replacement should not be at the cost of the owner. Please investigate occurrences and request a recall for defective new vehicle electrical equipment/ steering column.

For 2 times the steering column lock and a warning light on the dash had appeared. May cause steering well malfunction. Risk of lose control. After restart the engine the problem was gone, no errors on ecu.

I have a 2007 Volkswagen Passat and the steering column lock is now defective and the car wont start the car only has 53000 miles and it has only been out of warranty three thousand miles and this is a very costly repair about two thousand quoted by the dealer. Dealer also said that they could not fix the problem and that they had seen a few cars with this same problem.

Vw 2006 Passat 2. 0 t steering column defective signal and the car doesn't start. After doing internet search, it seems many other customers are having the same problem with Passats and jettas. It seems the vw company should have a recall and fix this problem this seems to be generalized. Many of us are being told to replace the whole unit to have solution.

2006 Passat starts and stall immediately. "steering column lock defect". Dealer wants $2000. 00 to replace it along with comfort sensor.

2006 Passat sedan defective steering column message in dashboard monitor.