Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power steering, steering column, rack and pinion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Volkswagen Passat owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Volkswagen Passat. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated while driving. The contact was concerned that the air bag might deploy while driving. The vehicle was taken to joseph Volkswagen of cincinnati (located at 3813 montgomery rd, cincinnati, oh 45212, [phone]) where it was diagnosed that the curtain air bags needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired per NHTSA campaign number: 18V247000 (air bags). In addition, the contact stated that the steering wheel seized when attempting to drive. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired due to the repair fees. The manufacturer was notified of the failures and provided case numbers: 180151960, 181324957, and 08125390. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.
Have been getting steering lock malfunctions when trying to start the car for about two weeks. Today, the steering wheel locked while driving. Unable to steer the vehicle at all. Was able to stop and turn the vehicle off. Seems this is/ was a common problem for this model Volkswagen and a voluntary recall was available until 2013. Unfortunately, the previous owners of the car never did any recalls or even remembers ever being notified of any recalls. This problem is one of many for this model. I called Volkswagen and they were no help. This is a major safety issue. My 17 year old son drives this car. I cant allow him to drive it now after this. How can Volkswagen allow this? They basically dont care if we crashed and hurt others because of this issue. A voluntary recall for a steering issue?? Does that sound safe??
Car is immobilized at this time w/ key stuck in ignition, defective steering wheel appears before this happens. Car was stationary in my drive way, cold weather, first start. It's intermediate & has happened multiple times. Steering has been fixed a few years ago for issues of the same sort. Car has approximately 194,000 on it but the issue is there has been multiple problems, cam (replaced 2 x's; once under warranty other time had to pay out of pocket), turbo, sensors, pvc, steering, converter (out of pocket), rear axle (out of pocket), etc. Have all documents but do not have a way to provide them in this forum. Problems started under certified warranty but continued after. Bought car w/ approximately 23,000 miles on it. Been nothing but a big headache. Car is well taken care of but continues to have issues.
Attempted to start my vehicle by pressing the key fob into the ignition. Car did not start and the message "steering column defective" was displayed. Attempted to start the car again, but this time the car failed to even turn the engine over. In addition, the key fob cannot be extracted from the ignition. Now the car is immobile. I researched this issue and quickly discovered that this is a prevalent issue with this make and model. Many other's have voiced their complaint with vw regarding this issue but despite this, vw still has yet to even acknowledge that there is a manufacturing defect. The car, being bought through a vw dealership pre-owned, was not under warranty. The car has less than 80K miles on it and had only accrued 10K miles since it was purchased, by me and from the dealership, 14 months ago.
For a couple of weeks now the car starts and suddenly turn off. I went to start the car on 09/10/2017 and a message appeared on the mfd: "steering column lock" and the key is unable to be removed from the ignition. I have been reading about the steering column lock on various forums and found that vw issued a voluntary recall which expired somewhere around February 28, 2013. Since it was voluntary, and many people did not have the problem myself included, it would seem that this should be a mandatory recall. It is certainly a safety concern because the steering column can lock up and cause a major accident if this should occur while driving. It has been several years later and I have read many of the newer vw models are expiriencing the same issue. I certainly believe that this should merit a recall.
My car suffers from a "steering column lock defective" issue for which vw of America has issued a recall as it is a very common problem on this year of the car. For some reason my car was not included in the recall (by VIN), and now that the piece is starting to fail they will not cover it. It is a clear defect and it is well documented, but they still want me to pay out of pocket ($800) to cover the repair costs. If this part fails, I will be left stranded with no way of turning the car on. A lot of money has already been spent fixing this car as this was a problematic year for this model. I do not want to spend more money fixing what is clearly a defect and something that vw has recognized is a problem and is fixing in other calls from the same year. Thank you.
We have had trouble for the past week with our car not cranking in the afternoon. We figured it was the alternator causing the battery to die. We replaced the alternator. So the car did great for only a few minutes, then when backing out of the driveway, the steering column light came on, the steering wheel locked up, and the car continued to run. If we had been going down the road like I have read hundreds of other complaints for this, we could have been killed. Why has this not been recalled as many complaints have been made? The steering column light comes on going down the road and everything locks up for someone to die. Will Volkswagen then decide its time to recall it? Now the key will not come out of the ignition and it will not crank at all.
My Volkswagen Passat has a steering wheel lock warning light come on.. Manual says the steering could be compromised... Volkswagen of America did want acknowledge the fact that many cars had this problem all over the world.. The problem was eventually fixed. Now, less than 10,000 later, I have the problem again. This is a known issue that vw doesn't not want to acknowledge or take care of. There should be a safety recall done on this matter as it could be very dangerous. In my case not only did it affect the steering, but it also would not let me start the car at all. The problem was intermittent at first but got progressively worst. It got to where I could not start the car at all.
Takata recall first I would like to say my sunroof opens and closes it self then. Sometimes when I turn car on it shuts off says steering defected then its takes a couple seconds to come on. My wind shield wipers keep sayin I need water but its full then my daytime lights are off this car has many problems I keep getting the same parts fixed over and over. And then I have no recalls what the only way if we crash and die then we will get it fixed im putting so much money into car so can you please help thank you. This happen in different places the car shuts off different times.
Trying to start car and won't turn on with key all my keys don't work says steering wheel lock defective can't get my car to turn my radio on I am parked in my drive way and can't even tow it to dealer now because it won't go into neutral.
Related recalls
Steering › Linkages › Tie rod assembly
On certain passenger vehicles, the left and right tie rod securing nut May be insufficiently torqued.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and install new left and right tie rod securing nuts at the proper torqued specification. The recall began on December 7, 2005. Owners May contact Volkswagen at 1-800-893-5298.
Steering complaints in other Passat years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2006 Volkswagen Passat?
NHTSA has 112 complaints about the steering of the 2006 Volkswagen Passat, 19% of the model year's 576 complaints. The component named most often is column (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Volkswagen Passat steering problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 05V-540 (tie rod assembly, Nov 30, 2005). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2006 Volkswagen Passat steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 64,000 miles, and 4% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.