07 VW Passat 3.2 AWD wagon has died in the garage

[Craig]

I own a 07 VW Passat 3.2l 4motion wagon (45,000km). I've owned this vehicle for 2 1/2 years without any problems other than minor dash rattle which was fixed with argument from the dealer in Newcastle under warranty (simple repair with felt tape on clips around radio cowling to stop squeaks).

Well last week we had the car packed ready to go on our annual trip to the snow, where we welcome the benefits of the heated seats to warm our cold bums after a hard day on the mountain. I Jumped in the car ready to drive off and the ignition was dead with a warning on the MFD saying "Steering column lock defective". The car will not start, handbrake not working, car locked in park and will not move. I have had no issues with noise or indications that there was a problem until now. I looked in the service manual and it said to take it straight to the dealer. I looked on the web via a variety of VW forums and this is a big problem with this model all over the world. I was unaware of this until now. Anyway I was spewing and pulled all the luggage out of the Passat and packed it into our trusty 03 Subaru Outback. Anyway other than this the week at the snow was awesome and we missed all the storms on the east coast trading them for light snow almost every day at Thredbo.

When I got back I looked at the web further and see in the USA that it cost about $1500 to $2000 to have the entire steering mechanism replaced out of warranty. However I found that later there is a recall No. 48I5 (steering column issue) in relation to this. Anyway my Passat is sitting dead in the garage and I am waiting till tomorrow to ring up the Service centre to find out what I need to do to get my car back on the road. I would say I have to get it towed to the service centre. Very sad about this at the moment. While I found this a big problem throughout the world, I could not find any comments on this issue in Australia. Have any others in here had this problem.

[ope126]

No. I have not had this issue in either of my two Passats.
Please keep us up to date...

[guthrie]

I did have this happen on my old 07 tdi in 2007. It didnt disable the car (it think cycling the ignition on/off got me going again).

Mine was covered under warranty - hope the fix isnt too expensive.

[Carsic]

Craig.

Did anything come of this? I hope you got it sorted.....?

[Craig]

Well I got it towed to the VW Service Centre and they are still looking at it. Been there for over a week now. They got it going after putting in some parts (will find out what) and then it stuffed up again. They still have it and are trying to figure it out. You just have to look on the net and see that this is a very common problem all over the world with this "Steering column lock" problem. I will let you know the outcome.

[Umai Naa!!]

Firstly, ignore all "recalls" and parts ordering procedures from overseas. There's a whole lot of stuff out there that we don't get here. Alway research what's relevent to your local market.

There are a few bulletins relating to steering column lock, where over time the little motor that engages and retracts the locking pin, becomes tired, and poops itself altogether eventually. Other concerns relate to software problems in the convenience module. You used to have to replace the whole steering column, but now you can buy the steering column lock on it's own.

Clearly in your case, the problem is a little more involved than just a steering column lock. I've seen the flow charts and schematics for how the whole shooting match works, and it's quite mind-boggling.

[buzuki]

i replaced a ESCL (electronic steering column lock) bout a week ago, his car would intermittantly not start.

[Big_rich]

Hi Craig

Sorry that I am a bit slow to respond to your OP - I haven't been around much lately.

I had a MY07 V6 and yes, I definitely had the problem with the steering column lock. It was the only serious issue I had with that car. It started to occur in about year three. At first, quite intermittent and usually would sort itself out after a few tries with putting the key in and out. Attempting to start, the engine would kick but then immediately cutout again. I got some message on the MFD about steering column lock defective or something. Over time it got worse until I just couldn't convince it to start at all (even after leaving it for an hour or two). By this time it was, of course, a few months out of warranty. I have a VAGCOM and the steering column lock module definitely had lots of errors. My dealer quoted me something like $1600 to fix it. The whole steering column had to be removed and the sheer bolts replaced to allow access to the module. I asked the dealer to ask VW Aus for a "goodwill" warranty claim and that was approved. No more problems after the repair was done.

So the main lesson I learnt was don't wait - report it to the dealer immediately if it is still under warranty. Even if you have only had what seems like one or two random problems. I think it highly likely that just pulling the connector off and on the module would have fixed the issue but considering all the work to gain access you would be silly not to replace the module ($300-$400), just in case.

I sold that car and took delivery of one of the very last R36's back in January.

Cheers

[Craig]

Hi Craig

Sorry that I am a bit slow to respond to your OP - I haven't been around much lately.

I had a MY07 V6 and yes, I definitely had the problem with the steering column lock. It was the only serious issue I had with that car. It started to occur in about year three. At first, quite intermittent and usually would sort itself out after a few tries with putting the key in and out. Attempting to start, the engine would kick but then immediately cutout again. I got some message on the MFD about steering column lock defective or something. Over time it got worse until I just couldn't convince it to start at all (even after leaving it for an hour or two). By this time it was, of course, a few months out of warranty. I have a VAGCOM and the steering column lock module definitely had lots of errors. My dealer quoted me something like $1600 to fix it. The whole steering column had to be removed and the sheer bolts replaced to allow access to the module. I asked the dealer to ask VW Aus for a "goodwill" warranty claim and that was approved. No more problems after the repair was done.

So the main lesson I learnt was don't wait - report it to the dealer immediately if it is still under warranty. Even if you have only had what seems like one or two random problems. I think it highly likely that just pulling the connector off and on the module would have fixed the issue but considering all the work to gain access you would be silly not to replace the module ($300-$400), just in case.

I sold that car and took delivery of one of the very last R36's back in January.

Cheers

Thanks for the reply.

My Passat is still at the dealers, and has been there for 2 weeks now as they are trying to access the problem. They have replaced the battery as it stuffed up from this and the steering column lock. They got it started and went for a drive in it and thought it was alright to return before it stuffed up again with the fault on the MFD. They are still trying to work it out from the VAGCOM. I told them that from my investigation into all the other Passat owners around the world that it needs the Comfort Control Unit as well. I think that is where they are up to next. The Service area at Maitland VW have been alright to deal with over this and we are lucky that we have another car that we can fall back on. I have read that a lot of people have the intermittent problem at first like yours did which gets worse by time. My problem just occurred once and shut the whole vehicle down and I could not get it to get out of the Steering column lock defective mode. I know this will be a big $sting$ when it is finished as mine is out of warranty being 4.5 yrs old (45,000kms though) but I feel that as this is a recognised problem around the world VW should owner this as a recall. Did the dealer chase up the repair through VW Aust for you or did you contact them yourself. Which dealer did you take your Passat to and how long ago.

Hope you can help?

[Big_rich]

Hi Craig

It was the dealer (McCarroll's @ Waitara) that chased up VW Aus. I guess it's about a year and a half ago now.

Good luck