Table 1 shows one common steering related problems of the 2008 Volkswagen Rabbit.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Steering problems |
Steering stopped working and caught fire, there is a hole in the side of it like a laser shot out of the electromechanical steering gear box. I had parked in my driveway, and within 15 min after it was parked, smoke came billowing out from under the hood, it ended up being the electronic steering on fire.
The airbag light came on, because the clock spring is bad. This has also caused the horn button to not work. Sometimes the horn honks when I make sharp turns. It is unclear whether or not the driver airbag would deploy in the event of an impact, but from what I can tell it is quite unlikely. This also effects the functionality of the buttons on the sticks on either side of the steering wheel for the cruise control, the multi function display, and the windshield wipers. Sometimes those buttons work, sometimes they don't and sometimes they do things they aren't designed to do. From the research I have done this is a problem which occurs very frequently with this car.
The steering started making a popping and cracking sound while turning. The dealership said that the electromechanical steering unit was going bad and they had to fix it. They said that if it failed totally I would not be able to control vehicle properly. You could turn right and the vehicle would go straight or left. Then on June 4rth 2012 with 79715 miles on the vehicle the steering started popping and cracking again. The dealership said that the electromechanical steering unit was going bad and needed to be replaced again. This is a repair that Volkswagen is willing to pay half of cost, but I feel I should not have to pay a thing because if it was fixed the first time it shouldn't have gone wrong again. Not only that but look at the mileage almost the exact mileage difference. How can they make a defective part and still make me pay for it. That seems like fraud to me. If this part causes significant failure to the vehicle this makes it unsafe to drive the costumer should not bear the cost of repair.