Steering column lock defective - advice needed please

[SwiftyRich]

Hi,

I know there are a few people on here that are very knowledgeable on this subject, I didn't want to bump an old thread from over a year ago so I thought I'd start this one.

I have a 2010 Passat 2.0tdi, just started getting the steering column lock defective message pop up occasionally on starting up the car (4 times in about 15-20 times trying) the engine cuts out about a second after, when I've taken the key out and tried again it normally starts up and runs are usual.

After a bit of research online I've found that this might be a common problem on his model of Passat and that in the U.S it's a recall, and that in the UK it's been deemed a discountable £350ish repair....... UK Volkswagen customer service and my local dealer have never heard of this at all and want £155 for diagnostics and then I assume about £1000 to fix it.

Ive found a local garage that can fit a new steering column and all the bits needed to fix the fault for £600, but that really is a last resort.

I bought a fault code finder and tried it out last night, but I didn't realise that it only scans engine/abs/transmission and something else, it's a pretty basic one. What would be the easiest (read cheapest) way to get all the fault codes for anything relating to this problem? (I've heard that it's common for the immobiliser system to be involved with this problem)

I read that trying a different key may solve the problem, I'm going to start trying this as of today.

Thanks in advance for any replies

[RichardSEL]

You have PM.

The IMMO fault (two micro-switches that go faulty on a PCB at the bottom of your steering column) usually results in no start-up at all.
But I guess can cause brief start then stall out. Best is to see what's being reported as a fault by a scan

I'm in SE London if you want a VCDS scan. That will give you the fullest possible info without having to pay at the st<del><del> erm, dealer. Their VAS (dealer equivalent of VCDS) scan only takes an hour anyway. Upside is that they usually credit you with the scan charge if you have the work carried out with them. Dunno where they're get off on charging you £155...

[martin1810]

You need a proper scan to show what is happening. VW charge roughly £350 to replace the steering lock including any diagnostics. The start/cut out is usually an imobilser error which is often a CCM - steering lock communication problem. A local garage can't fix this. You need a VW dealer

[SwiftyRich]

Hi, thanks for the reply, do you know how I'd go about getting VW to do this for £350? I've been quoted £155 for a diagnostic check, and as far as I know the part (if only the lock needs doing) is approx £80, that added to the VW labour charge will be quite a bit more than £350.

What at was the £1000 figure that has been talked about regarding this problem? Whole steering rack?

Ive emailed the place that want £600 to see what exactly it is they do for that price, just awaiting on a reply (they seem to specialise in this fault and a couple of specific merc problems)

You need a proper scan to show what is happening. VW charge roughly £350 to replace the steering lock including any diagnostics. The start/cut out is usually an imobilser error which is often a CCM - steering lock communication problem. A local garage can't fix this. You need a VW dealer

[SwiftyRich]

Just spoke to vw, at first they gave me a price for the part (steering column lock £89.33), then he said "but you'd need the whole column, which is £494"

I then explained that it is possible and you can change the lock independently from the column, and I asked for a price for fitting the lock alone, he said if need to come in so someone can look at it and that I could be put through to the service team to get a price for labour.... They told me to change the lock the labour is £381... (2.5hrs)When I asked "does this confirm that the lock can be bought and fitted on its own without the need to replace the whole column?" She said "I don't know"... So no one knows or can confirm that this can be done.

Am I just having a bit of bad luck with the people on the phone? Or the branch I'm calling? Who would have the authorisation to confirm something like this?

[RichardSEL]

They're just trying to big up their job. Don't trust those st<del><del> dealers
Go somewhere else, like a dealer that's listed on the help sheet I sent you

Or a VAG indie -- mine down in Dunton Green (Sevenoaks) only charges ½hour for a VAS scan
-- and the working partner's a VW Mastertech

Sheeesh !

[martin1810]

I think you are misunderstanding the situation.
You may or may not have a steering lock fault.
Any dealer who thinks the steering column needs changing is not safe to go to. This is nonsense.
If the lock is faulty, it can be changed and coded to the car . Price approximately £350.00 give or take.
Be wary of anyone claiming they can do this for you. The dealer can only do this by being on line to Germany because the coding is done from Germany.
As I said before. I suspect you may have a CCM fault which is more serious.
You need a good VW dealer to check the system, not just for codes but for start up procedure. You MUST do this first or you will be wasting money on a steering lock that may not be faulty.

[SwiftyRich]

Thanks for the replies. Looks like I'll have to just book it in and be at their mercy after the diagnostic check.

From the VW main dealer quote, including diagnostic scan, it looks like the cheapest it'll be is about £626 (if it is just the lock). I'm not sure how I'd get the £350ish price.

[RichardSEL]

No one in here wants you to "just book it in and be at their mercy"! I don't know where you are in London but once started it'll be a hell of a lot cheaper to get to Dunton Green than to have your wallet raped by this lot that you've described. There may be a VAG indie closer to you than that

Better still, get either me or someone closer to you with VCDS to do an Autoscan for you and post here the results. I'm not a car mechanic (ships' radio & radar was my trade), but Martin is / was, and there are others in here who are too who are happy to share their knowledge once they see what is being reported by your car's modules. Say where you are?

The help .doc I sent you is for the IMMO fault

You can try doing a "cold reset" that may, or may not allow you to get beyond the start-up and then die portion of your car's condition:
With IGN on, then remove both battery leads from battery and hold the terminal clamps together for a minute. Reconnect them with the key still in the IGN on position. Remove key. Re-insert key and try now to start. Sometimes that can cause a transient fault to go. Not saying it will, I've only ever in the five years I've been doing VCDS support done that once. But it worked! At least to get a running start-up.

Here's a map of VCDS users who may do your Autoscan for beer tokens:
Here's the URL:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...5cfcb6158e0447

[SwiftyRich]

Thanks for the map, I'm in Enfield, north London, the two closest vcds users on that map are near Harlow and Walthamstow, I've messaged the one in Walthamstow as its kind of on my way to/from work.. He hasn't been active on here for over a year though.

I might ring the next closest VW dealer to me tomorrow to see if they quote similar to my closest one.

From what martin has said it seems unlikely I'll get away with not visiting a main dealer to get this sorted as certain components here require coding that only VW can do. Also, the VW dealer I spoke to said that they won't accept any kind of diagnostic scan that they haven't done themselves.

I might try the cold reset, thanks for that advice... Although the problem doesn't happen every time and I'm yet to have it happen and not be able to start it properly on the next key insertion.