Volkswagen Passat Complaints (2006)

576 consumer complaints on file.

#10339308June 21, 2010
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATE SPEEDS OF 63-65 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED. ALL THE GAUGES WENT TO ZERO YET THE RADIO AND THE RADIO DISPLAY REMAINED ON. THE CONTACT MOVED THE VEHICLE OFF THE ROADWAY WHERE SHE ATTEMPTED TO REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION. THIS TOOK SEVERAL ATTEMPTS BEFORE THE KEY DISLODGED. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS, THE VEHICLE RESTARTED. SHE STATED THIS WAS THE SECOND OCCURRENCE OF THE FAILURE. BOTH THE DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE CONTACTED AND SHE WAS AWAITING A RETURN CALL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 73,300 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 73,320.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10339333June 21, 2010
SEATS
SEAT POSITION MOTOR INSTALLED ON 2006 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT 3.6L. FRONT SEAT WILL NOT RECLINE UP AND DOWN. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10336915June 18, 2010
STEERING
2006 VW PASSAT EXPERIENCING "STEERING WHEEL COLUMN LOCK" FAILURE. THE LIGHT COMES ON AND THE CAR WILL NOT START. SOMETIMES THE CAR WILL SIMPLY TURN OFF WHEN DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. MY ONLINE RESEARCH FOUND THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 2006, 2007, 2008 MODELS. THIS IS ALSO A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE THE CAR WILL SOMETIMES CONTINUE RUNNING AFTER THE KEY IS PULLED OUT OF THE IGNITION. DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENTS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY ARE REPLACING THE STEERING COLUMN AND CONTROL MODULE FOR $1500 AND THIS NORMALLY HAPPENS OUTSIDE OF FACTORY WARRANTY SO WE THE CONSUMERS ARE STUCK WITH THE BILL. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS AS THIS SHOULD BE A SAFETY RECALL! AND NOT THE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OWNERS. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10336075June 13, 2010
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE, STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
SYMPTOM #1) CAR WILL NOT START OR IF IT DOES START IT WILL IMMEDIATELY STALL AND STEERING COLUMN WILL LOCK. AFTER MOVING THE STEERING WHEEL BACK AND FORTH REPEATEDLY, REOPENING THE DOOR SEVERAL TIMES AND ATTEMPTING TO START THE PUSH IGNITION 5-10 TIMES IT WILL EVENTUALLY START AND RUN. SYMPTOM #2) MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE! CAR WILL LOSE ALL POWER WITHOUT WARNING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THIS DEFECT CAUSES THE ENGINE TO STALL IMMEDIATELY, THE LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND THE LOSS OF ALL POWER CONTROLS AT SPEEDS AT LEAST UP TO 70 MPH. THERE IS NO WARNING FROM THE CAR ITSELF. THERE IS NO STUTTERING OR NOISE. SUDDENLY THE CAR IS JUST DEAD AND ROLLING ALONG AT EXTREME SPEEDS. THE FIX IS TO SHIFT THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL AND ATTEMPT TO RESTART BY REMOVING AND REINSERTING THE KEY UNTIL IT STARTS AGAIN. THE DASHBOARD WILL LIGHT UP "STEERING COLUMN DEFECT" AND PROMPT A WARNING LIGHT FOR THE STEERING COLUMN AS IF IT WERE LOCKED FROM A CAR ALARM PROMPT. OCCASIONALLY, I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO RESTART THE CAR WHILE IN MOTION AND HAVE HAD TO PULL OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THIS IS DONE WITHOUT THE AID OF POWER STEERING AND CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS IN TRAFFIC AND AT HIGH SPEEDS AS THERE IS NO WAY OF "KNOWING" WHEN THE DEFECT WILL OCCUR. THIS DEFECT IS OCCURRING DAILY. I TOOK THE CAR INTO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. WAS TOLD IT WAS A DEFECT IN THE STEERING COLUMN REQUIRING A COMPLETE REPLACEMENT. ESTIMATED COST TO MYSELF WAS $1,000-2,000. CAR IS NOW OUT OF WARRANTY (58,000 MILES). I BELIEVE THIS DEFECT IS NOT A RESULT OF ANY HABIT OF MYSELF AS THE DRIVER BUT RATHER A DEFECT IN THE WORKMANSHIP OF THE VEHICLE AND THE DEALER SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO A RECALL. A SEARCH ON GOOGLE ABOUT THIS ISSUE REVEALED THOUSANDS OF OTHER DRIVERS WITH THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM (STALL AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, LOSS OF POWER STEERING, DIFFICULTY STARTING AND RESTARTING, POSSIBLE STRANDING OF THE DRIVER). I URGE A RECALL TO MOVE FORWARD IMMEDIATELY! *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10336079June 13, 2010
STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:ANTI-THEFT:CONTROL MODULE
THE 2006 -2009 VW PASSAT IS HAVING MASSIVE PROBLEMS WITH THE ( DEFECTIVE STEERING COLUMN LOCK ). THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE ANTI THEFT MODULE AT THE BASE OF THE STEERING COLUMN. THIS IS HAPPENING TO PASSAT OWNERS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL. I AM GIVING YOU AMMUNITION TO GET THE RECALL DONE. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10335676June 10, 2010
STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
2006 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT. CAR WILL NOT START AND THE STEERING COLUMN LOCKS UP. THEN AT TIMES THE CAR WILL NOT SHUT OFF AND KEY GETS STUCK IN THE IGNITION. THIS HAPPENS AT LEAST ONCE A DAY. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10335453June 9, 2010
STEERING
MY 2006 VW PASSAT 2.0 TURBO HAS STEERING COLUMN ISSUES. THE CAR WILL NOT START WITHOUT MOVING THE STEERING WHEEL, AND THEN WAITING AND KEEP ON TRYING. THE CAR WILL START THEN IMMEDIATELY STALL, WITH AN ERROR IN THE MESSAGE BOARD THAT THE STEERING COLUMN IS DEFECTIVE. THIS HAPPENS 9 TIMES OUT OF 10 WHEN GOING TO START THE CAR. THE CAR HAS DIED WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, AND THEN RESTARTS. I HAVE SEEN THIS ISSUE REPORTED BY MANY OTHER CONSUMERS ON VARIOUS FORUMS AND COMPLAINT SITES, BUT VW REFUSES TO RECALL FOR THE ISSUE. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10335256June 8, 2010
STEERING
VW PASSAT 2006 2.0T STEERING WHEEL LOCK FAILURE LIGHT. COMES ON AND DOES NOT ALLOW YOU TO START THE CAR. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10334253June 2, 2010
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
WHEN TRYING TO START 2006 PASSAT 2.0T, I GET ERROR MESSAGES ABOUT STEERING COLUMN LOCK BEING DEFECTIVE OR THERE ARE NO DASH LIGHTS AND CAR WON'T TURN OVER. PROBLEM IS GETTING WORSE. LOCATED ONLINE FORUM WITH 6 PAGES OF COMPLAINTS LIKE MINE. SEE THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE: HTTP://FORUMS.VWVORTEX.COM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?3656214-STEERING-COLUMN-LOCK-FOR-2006-PASSAT/PAGE1. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10332008May 24, 2010
STEERING
2006 PASSAT STARTS AND STALL IMMEDIATELY. "STEERING COLUMN LOCK DEFECT". DEALER WANTS $2000.00 TO REPLACE IT ALONG WITH COMFORT SENSOR. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10329932May 11, 2010
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
2006 VW PASSAT 2.0T. 53,000 MILES. TRANSMISSION MAKES HARD KNOCK WHEN DOWNSHIFTING ON COMING TO A STOP AFTER FREEWAY TYPE TRAVEL. THIS IS BECOMING MORE FREQUENT. IF THIS CONTINUES, I AM EXPECTING THE CV JOINTS OR TRANSMISSION TO FAIL. HAVE REPORTED THIS TO DEALER ON FOUR OCCASIONS, AND THEY ARE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE OR FIX IT. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10329423May 8, 2010
STEERING
STEERING WHEEL COLUMN LOCK ERROR ON COMPUTER OF 2006 VW PASSAT. CAR STALLS ANYTIME THIS LIGHT WARNING COMES ON. IT HAS COME ON WHILE DRIVING CAUSING IT TO STALL AT HIGH SPEEDS MAKING IT HARD TO STEER TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER SAFELY. THIS ISSUE HAS CAUSED TWO INCIDENTS WHILE IN HIGHWAY TRAFFIC AND WAS A NEAR MISS ACCIDENT EACH TIME. IT OCCURS ON A DAILY BASIS NOW AND WAS INTERMITTENT AT FIRST. I WAS TOLD THAT THE FIX IS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN WHICH IS ABOUT $2K. TO GET THE CAR STARTED AGAIN, YOU HAVE TO MOVE THE STEERING COLUMN BACK AND FORTH AND AFTER ABOUT 4-10 ATTEMPTS TO START, THE CAR WILL START. THERE IS NO WARNING, IT JUST STALLS WHEN THIS ISSUE ARISES. IT HAS STALLED AT A RAIL ROAD CROSSING WHICH HAS A STOPPING POINT BEFORE YOU CROSS. VERY UNSAFE SITUATION, I WORK FOR THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE AS A SAFETY INVESTIGATOR AND IF THIS EXISTED IN OUR AIR FORCE WE WOULD HAVE AN IMMEDIATE RECALL. THIS MATTER NEEDS TO BE PUSHED FORWARD AND INVESTIGATED. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE I HAVE NOTICED MULTIPLE FORUMS STATING THE SAME ISSUES AND SAME COMPLAINTS. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10329165May 6, 2010
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
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. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10328449May 2, 2010
STEERING
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. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10327742April 27, 2010
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE. NO ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR WAS OBSERVED BEFORE THE LIGHT CAME ON. ON SUBSEQUENT STARTS THE ENGINE SPUTTERED THEN DROVE NORMALLY (BUT THE LIGHT STAYED ON). THE DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A "FAULTY INTAKE FLAP MOTOR" WITH A QUOTED COST OF $475 TO REPLACE. PROBLEM RELATED TO SERVICE BULLETIN NUM : TSB-01-08-12, NHTSA ITEM NUMBER : 10028104. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL AS IT IS A POLLUTION PROBLEM (CAR CANNOT PASS EMISSIONS INSPECTION). *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10327008April 22, 2010
STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
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: HTTP://FORUMS.VWVORTEX.COM/ZEROTHREAD?ID=3656214. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10326277April 19, 2010
STEERING
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. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10325928April 15, 2010
STEERING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
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. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10324013April 6, 2010
STEERING
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. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10318007March 9, 2010
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, STEERING
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. *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

← Back to Volkswagen Passat