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.

- Freeport, IL, USA

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.

- Ft Meade, MD, USA

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. Please go to this thread to see how common this problem is: forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3656214.

- Carlsbad, CA, USA

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.

- Miami, FL, USA

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.

- Novato, CA, USA

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.

- Houston, TX, USA

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.

- West Linn, OR, USA

Brand new vehicle, 06 VW Passat, drove it for about 9 months--then, car starting dying suddenly after being stopped (at a red light) then accelerating once light turned green. Wouldn't sputter or choke--just die. Took it to VW to check into it--they tried to convince me it was the gas I was putting into my car--but it wasn't. finally, after 34 consecutive days in the shop, the dealership admitted there was a problem, but didn't know how to fix it. I talked with VW headquarters. They offered me $300. I explained that the car was dying--completely quitting on me--in the middle of intersections--and how many near miss accidents I had avoided--so $300 wasn't going to cut it--but VW claimed it was not a "safety issue". I explained further that because the car was intermittently doing this, I would lose all steering, all control of the vehicle--still, VW would not admit to there being an issue. Out of sheer panic, I called the dealership and convinced them to get me a new car. I believe the dealership re-sold my old car, the one they didn't know how to fix. A year later, a friend of mine had the exact same issue happen with her 92 jetta. Her mechanic said it was the ignition coils and replaced them. Now, a year later, VW sent a notice to me in the mail saying it is "not a recall" but they wanted us to replace the ignition coils "only if a certain light indicator" goes on in the car. I never had such a light go on in my old car, so I thought this was ridiculous and took my current VW vehicle in to replace the ignition coils anyway. Thankfully, the dealership did it for me, because they knew my history. The notice from VW clearly states that they only want you to replace them if the light goes on in your car and you only had until a certain date (Feb. 28th) to do it. Still seems to be no acknowledgement from VW that there is a serious safety issue at hand.

- Seattle, WA, USA

For the past few months my steering column light has been flashing on and off. It states steering column defect. Sometimes the light turns off after I restart my car a few times. I figured it was an electric issue. Now for the past week or so, my car has problems turning on and it continues to state steering column defective. It took 10 times to get my car started today. My steering column light, battery light, parking brake light and engine all came on each time I tried to start my car without success. I took it to the dealership and before I finished explaining myself, they knew exactly what was wrong. They will have to replace my steering column. They told me it would be very expensive to fix, but my car is certified so it may be covered. There are over 40 complaints regarding this issue and Volkswagen needs to recall whatever is causing this problem!

- Baltimore, MD, USA

I have a 2006 VW Passat 2.0T with 30,000 miles. I've had the following problems over the last year, key will not come out in park, steering wheel locks, car continues to run even without the key in the ignition. I brought these items to the dealer's attention, but was brushed off because they couldn't get the vehicle to "do it again." Now the power steering warning light is on. VW dealership says I need a new steering column. If not replaced, the steering wheel could lock while driving. I was told replacing the steering column should fix all the above problems.

- Boise, ID, USA

1st occurrence, steering column lock warning came on upon ignition, immediately disabled the car. Tried again several times before it eventually started. Same problem occurred several times a week with increasing frequency until it eventually happened in rush hour traffic, while the car was running and in motion. The problem currently happens every time the car is started. We first reported the problem to dealer "a" in October of 2007, however, because they could not replicate our complaint, they treated it as an isolated event. We continued to report the problem at every service visit to dealer "a", without resolution. Upon taking the car to dealer "B", they reported that the steering column module and comfort module are both defective, causing the steering column lock. Dealer "B" also stated that they see 2-3 cars a week for the steering column lock defect and that the repair would cost $1500, despite that we first reported the problem while under warranty. Upon further investigation, a temporary method to circumvent the problem before the car is started was discovered on a forum full of hundreds of reports from other Passat owners with the same defect. (forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3656214&page=1) additionally, VW ireland has developed a simple software fix for the problem that was covered in a major irish national news publication, however VW America denies such a fix exists and refuses to cooperate with VW ireland or local dealers or issue a recall. This is clearly an issue wherein an inexpensive software fix would cause VW to either lose out on a $1500 mechanical repair and have to reimburse those who have already paid for the fix. Consequently, they refuse to acknowledge the prevalence of the defect which would result in a recall.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

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.

- Toronto - Canada, 00, USA

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.

- Sherman Oaks, CA, USA

My 2006 Passat will shut down while driving and he steering lock light will come on prior to this happening. Very concerned about my family's safety.

- Gillettte, WY, USA

'07/19/2006: Purchased a brand new 2006 Volkswagen Passat '04/13/2007: Radio will not eject cd- the stereo system had to be replaced due to faulty radio '12/06/2007: Car will not start ' called tow company, upon arrival checked battery and it was not the problem; tow company could not get the car to start; car was towed to lasher Volkswagen '12/14/2007: Car will not start again, same issue as before on 12/06/2007; called the tow company and had it towed to lasher dealership; after numerous calls back and forth, VW dealership and manufacturer cannot figure out the problem nor have they fixed the vehicle yet '01/12/08: Picked up the vehicle from lasher VW ' seemed to work okay '01/14/08: While driving home from work, door locks began to unlock and lock by themselves and while driving on the freeway; also, suddenly light indicators (blinkers) did not work, high beams did not work, windshield wipers did not work, steering wheel indicator light came on, tire pressure light came on, cruise control light came on; this was an extremely dangerous situation '01/17/08: While driving to berkeley, on the freeway, the blinkers stopped working, and could not get the windshield wipers to work; locks began to lock and unlock while driving; telephone call again, to lasher VW to express great concern and worried about being stranded; was told to bring it in on Friday 01/1/08 at 7:30 am; once we arrived in berkeley, we parked the car and turned off the ignition ' the radio was still on and the headlights did not shut off; we started up the car again and the same thing happened; when locking the car with the alarm, the doors locked but the alarm did not turn on; lights remained on for about 20 minutes, fearing that the battery would run low and we would be stranded '08/05/09: Took the car to elk grove VW and told that warranty will not cover any of the repairs '10/24/09-12/14/09: The car has not been able to start since 10/23/09 and sitting in our garage & now at neillo VW.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Volkswagen Passat. While driving on a bridge at approximately 40 mph the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel, and then the vehicle stalled. After a few minutes he was able to restart the vehicle. He will take the vehicle to the dealer to be diagnosed. A report was filed with the manufacturer, but he was not provided with any assistance. The failure and current mileages were 72,000.

- Indianapolis , IN, USA

2006 Passat sedan defective steering column message in dashboard monitor.

- West Springfield, MA, USA

2006 Passat that won't start and has steering column defective light come on. Told I need new column and comfort control module also for $1500 that I don't have. I am so sick of this car. Lots of big problems but they were under warranty, now I am out of warranty by 5000 miles. This should be a recall with so many customers having the same problem.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

My 2006 Volkswagen Passat sometimes will not start-- steering column lock defect is the error message. This has left my car inoperable on several occasions, ... eventually it does start. I am planning to have the steering column replaced for $1500. This happens almost everyday now.

- Porterville, CA, USA

I own a VW Passat 2006 and keep getting a steering wheel column lock defective message in my hud. This stalls out the car and takes restarts of ignition just to be able to drive. I have read this is a very common problem and costs around1500 dollars to fix. This is unacceptable and unnecessary expense on the consumer end when VW should really back there product better.

- New Tazewell, TN, USA