2013 Volkswagen Jetta: steering wheel locks up

9 of the 518 complaints about the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta describe steering wheel locks up.

owner complaints: 9
of this car's complaints: 2%
typical mileage: 55,000
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 29 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Steering wheel locks up by model year

2025
1
2019
4
2017
1
2016
1
2015
2
2014
2
2013
9
2012
4
2011
7
2010
2
2009
4
2006
1
2005
1
2003
1
2000
1
1991
1

What owners say

Filed Aug 13, 2023 · Electrical, Steering · SC

my steering wheel locked up

Filed Jul 30, 2023 · Electrical · OR

The key will either get stuck in the ignition while the car is on, or it will occasionally not turn at all. Both of which have left me or others borrowing my car stranded. Has taken up to 2 hours of jiggling the key and finally turning to the on or off position. Some shops are saying the ignition cylinder, others the switch, and others the steering lock but this seems to be a very common complaint online from Volkswagens in this age range. It could seriously harm someone if they were unable to start their car in an emergency situation due to the key not turning.

Filed Dec 20, 2020 · Brakes, Electrical · 150,000 miles · OH

In the middle of driving on the highway, the car spontaneously shut down electrically, as if a fuse shorted, almost all dashboard lights turned on, the steering wheel locked up, and the brakes went unresponsive, nearly causing a collision. Once the car came to a complete stop, it was turned off in an attempt to regain control. After turning the car back on, the same dashboard lights remained illuminated, and the car wouldn't go more than 40mph, creating another accident risk during the remainder of the drive home.

Filed Sep 8, 2020 · 110,000 miles · WI

Ignition lock cylinder broke and was stuck in on position. Was unable to turn the vehicle off because of this issue. I had to drive home and park the vehicle until my boyfriend got off of work. The steering lock froze in the lock cylinder preventing the key from turning back.

Filed Dec 14, 2019 · Electrical, Steering · NE

My car stalled on me 4 times between may 2018- december 2019. When the car stalls, the steering wheel locks and it feels like the entire car ceases to have power. 3 out of 4 times the car was in motion. 1 out of 4 times another car was hit due to the stall. In another 1 out of 4 times, there was almost a life threatening accident as the car was in motion, the steering wheel locked and I ended up on the opposite side of the road of traffic. Transportation canada has been notified of the safety concerns (I am located in toronto, on, canada and all incidents occurred in toronto). Volkswagen cannot determine the cause and have not provided a solution or a normal course of action to this safety concern. I am pregnant now and even more concerned. My car was bought brand new from the dealership in 2013 and has only been serviced at volkswagen - it is in very good condition besides this reoccurring safety issue.

Filed Apr 17, 2017 · Engine · 53,000 miles · KY

Car suddenly stops while driving. Steering wheel locks goes into "limp mode". Will start back up fine. This is a know issue with volkswagen.

Filed Aug 7, 2015 · Electrical · 45,000 miles · NJ

Key will not come out of the ignition, had to pull the fuse for the fuel pump and disconnect the battery for car to shut off. Dealer states need to replace lock cylinder and steering lock. Cost of repair $500.00

Filed Aug 30, 2014 · Electrical · 19,200 miles · MI

August 30, 2014 this 2013 vw jetta 2.5se has had an intermittent problem with turning the car off and removing the key from the ignition since about 10,000 miles. Today it went from an infrequent problem that was hard to duplicate to a full-blown problem. It will no longer work at all and is now non-functional. It is not the steering wheel locking mechanism that causes this. Prior to today, the key would randomly not turn to shut off the car or turn to start. A slight push in and jiggle of the key would solve the issue. I only have a house key and a small vw key fob, nothing heavy hanging on it that would have caused any damage or wear to the cylinder. Today, the car would not shut off at all. Twisting, pulling, pushing, and any jiggling would not turn the ignition into the off position for engine shut off and key removal. Fortunately, my vehicle is a manual shift and I was able to shut the engine off by dumping the clutch. The electrical system was still on due to the key being in the on-position. I had to remove the battery cable from the terminal to shut the electrical system off and not drain the battery. Multiple tries by various people will not resolve the issue. The dealerships are all closed now, until after labor day, and we cannot get the car serviced until after that. I will be making an appointment for a warranty repair but being ignition cylinder issue, I felt it should be reported.

Filed Jul 17, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 55,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 volkswagen jetta. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the battery warning light illuminated and the steering wheel seized. In addition, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and the failure recurred four times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who replaced the control relay device. The failure recurred two weeks after the repairs were performed. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000. The VIN was not available.