I am a used car dealer, exclusively VW. I have just purchased my third '06 Passat. I have loved every single one of them -- great to drive! Anyway, my last purchase had almost 60,000 miles and had an announced condition that the Power Steering did not work. I knew is was now electronic and motor driven and figured it could be something as simple as a blown fuse, but no such luck. $1300 later, I'm wondering if this is a common problem. I was not able to examine the old part as there was a core charge. I normally do my own repairs, but I let the VW dealer have the pleasure since this one looked a little difficult. Apparently, the subframe has to be dropped to get to the steering rack. Parts like the motor and controller are not available as replacement parts, so you have to replace the entire steering assembly. I also noticed that the newer Jetta's use this same assembly. I would be interested in learning of any others that have experienced failure of this item either during or after the warranty period. The failure mode was no power steering at all (not even a limp mode) and the steering wheel symbol lit red in the instrument cluster.

Windy Gregory
Vee Dub Motors
Kevil, KY