Steering Failed problems of the 2004 Volkswagen Touareg

I went to start the car in my driveway and a red warning icon appeared on the instrument panel. I looked it up in the owners manual which stated the icon indicated a steering system failure. Further, the ignition key then stuck in the ignition switch/lock and could not be removed. As a result the truck's transmission gear selector could not be taken out of the "park" detent. This resulted in my not being able to get the truck to a position where a tow truck could access the car until the snow melted two months later. The vw authorized repair center diagnosed the problem as a failure in the steering column. Further, they stated that this is a common failure mode for this model and they believed a recall or campaign was imminent. This is a serious design flaw. If it had failed while being driven the results could have been catastrophic. Also vw markets this truck as suitable for off road travel in remote places, if it failed while I was in a remote area, I could have been stranded and placed in grave peril since I would not been able to roll the truck to an area suitable for recovery or flat tow it if necessary.