While backing into a parking spot there was a crunching sound in the steering column. Following this noise the air bag light came on and all steering wheel control buttons nonfunctional including the horn. I reached out to a Volkswagen dealer as I had seen recalls for the clockspring, I was told my vehicle was not included in the recall. This is a 2017 Passat and had approximately 130,000 miles when this occurred. The closest dealer is over 2 hours away, and the service department is only open Monday-Friday.
2017 Volkswagen Passat: clunking or noise when steering
8 of the 110 complaints about the 2017 Volkswagen Passat describe clunking or noise when steering.
- owner complaints
- 8
- of this car's complaints
- 7%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 11 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Clunking or noise when steering by model year
What owners say
The Air Bag light, temperature warning, radio and information panel going wacky. The Clockspring is making clicking noises in the steering wheel.
My airbag light came on, the steering wheel started to make crunching noise. Now all functions are now working on the steering wheel and upon looking up online there seems to be many issues with Volkswagen cars clock spring breaking. Why is this not recalled? There is hundreds of customers commenting about the same problem?
Initially heard clicking sound while turning the vehicle followed by airbag warning light. Then noticed driver assistant system not available warning, loss of horn, cruise control, automatic braking, and lane departure warning. Service center has inspected and informed me that the clock spring has failed(common problem with VW).
Turned right after a traffic light while driving. Heard clicking noise from steering column and noticed that the airbag warning light came on. Further investigated and realized that the horn, front crash avoidance, vehicle voice control, cruise control, and all controls on the steering column were not working. No horn. No front crash avoidance. No airbag. After a short period of online research, I recognize that this is neither an isolated issue nor the first time VW has had this problem. Prior safety recalls have required repair of broken clock springs that render multiple pieces of safety equipment useless. This is a manufacturing error or part malfunction that should be repaired by VW at their expense.
On 1/12/21 while turning into a fast food restaurant I heard clicking in the steering column and then the air bag light came on and error codes across the digital screen and a clock emblem signal came on. Pulled over and looked at my manual. Drove on home and did research and found that the clock spring is a major issue with vws. I went back out to test the steering column and sure enough the horn and all controls on the column did not work. Called the local vw dealer the next day. They said there was a recall on this 2017 passat sel model. They replaced 6 days later.
When turning the wheel while driving, I heard a clicking sound from the steering wheel. Then the airbag light turned on. Now my horn does not work or any of the controls on the steering wheel. I know this is the clock spring malfunction, with the takata airbag malfunction that happened with the 2015 passats.
Failed steering wheel clock spring on a 2017 vehicle that has been driven 20,000 miles over 14 months. After being parked for approx 40 mins, pulling out of a parking spot my steering wheel make popping/clicking sounds and immediately the airbag error sensors went off along with my service vehicle warning. Upon turning out of the parking lot the steering wheel made a few additional pops/clicks. Immediately drove to the dealership where they diagnosed the steering wheel clock spring issue. The dealership did not have a part on hand and had to order it, so I drove the vehicle home. Now that I'm home and researching the failed steering wheel clock spring issue, I am questioning whether I should have been advised to not drive the vehicle, especially with my child in the back seat.
Service bulletins that may apply
- This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided.
- Using Alignment Sheet Submission Form
- This Document was revised
- Mandatory fastener.
- The fault code in
- Horn and ancillary steering wheel controls diagnosis.
- This Document was revised on page 2. The verbiage was changed from the cusomter's perspective to the...
- This Document informs dealers on VWP-18-11 for the Steering Wheel Clock Spring Limited Warranty Extension
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2017 Volkswagen Passat steering noise
Is clunking or noise when steering a common problem on the 2017 Volkswagen Passat?
8 of 110 owner complaints about the 2017 Volkswagen Passat (7%) mention clunking or noise when steering. The model year with the most reports is 2014.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2017 Volkswagen Passat?
There are 0 recalls and 11 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2017 Volkswagen Passat
Airbag light 18Adaptive cruise 10Lane assist 8ABS 6Fuel pump 5
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