2009 Volkswagen Passat Steering Problems

“Since I bought my car with 75000 mi on it 3 years ago, when I put the key in the ignition and start it the car shuts down and tells me steering control lock malfunction. Someone had told me to change the battery, I did so and the problem still persists. It is due to a faulty immobilizer key. Sometimes the car won't even start, and sometimes it directs me to take it to the workshop. I have spoken to Volkswagen a number of times about this issue, because it was a recall for the 2008 model of my car, but they insist that 2009 didn't have the problem. …”

“My steering will lock up and fail, but then after I restart the car a couple times it works again. Then it fails without warning. I get the auditory alert as well as a solid red steering wheel on the dash. There is a recall on 130 of this exact car, but when I do a VIN search it is not included. The current recall number is 08v577000, and I want to know about getting my VIN included since its the same failure. It has already been to the shop 3 times to be corrected, but only in the steering wheel, not in the steering box as indicated on the recall. …”

“My power steering lock up on me 2x red light came on the second time and bing 3x. Steering wheel would not unlock right away. Took the Passat down to a authorized dealer and they said it needed rack and pinion and it cost $ 1,772.33. My Passat is 6 years old and had only 37,270 miles. This steering problem should have never happen with low mileage. I called the vw care center to ask if it was recall they said no. And was not under warranty. Because it was over 3 years old. I will never buy other vw again scents they will not stand by their product.”

“While the car was in motion, the power steering light came on and the steering was disabled. Pulled the car over, turned off and restarted. Problem went away for a day or two. Same thing happened again and resolved same way by me. Happened again - took it to the dealer and was informed I needed to replace the power steering rack. I asked the dealer if this was a common issue and the response was extremely rare . I took to authorized vw repair centers (non-dealer). Could not quote an exact price for the repair as none of them have ever seen a repair like this needed on a vw. …”

“The description of the recall on the 130 earlier Passat vehicles was exactly what we had. The steering wheel made a grinding noise when started and the warning light came on. The car was somewhat drivable but w/o any power assist whatsoever. I am a man and could wrestle with it to get the car out of the parking space and over to the local dealer. But my wife would have been stranded. And I fear what may happen if this failure occurred when the vehicle was in motion. There would likely be an accident through no fault of the driver. …”