# Broken Steering Lock



## vwbugstuff (Mar 27, 2004)

My steering lock broke the other day. As I pulled the column out to my driving position, a piece of plastic fell out from underneath the column. I locked the column into position, picked up the plastic piece and said, "Hmm, that can't be good."

I tossed the piece into the cup holder and tried to start it up. Nothing, nada, no power whatsoever. Just a "Steering Lock Fault" on the dash. I fiddled with the column (in and out) and tried turning the wheel. Still no power.

I called VW Roadside Assistance and the tow truck was at my house in less than an hour.

Dealership confirmed the broken steering lock. VW Tech Line advised the tech that it is a "known problem" and to order an entire steering column. Column was replaced, keys were reprogrammed and we had it back for the weekend.

Here's my helpful hint and the main reason for this post:

If for some reason you need to get your Atlas towed, and it won't power up (like if your battery is dead or your steering lock breaks), familiarize yourself with the "Emergency Gearshift Interlock Release" procedure which is located in your owner's manual. I needed to do this in order to get the Atlas backed out of the driveway and into the street so that it could be loaded up onto the flatbed without the assistance of dollies or "Go-Jacks."


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## Rafale (Sep 14, 2017)

Sorry to hear about your troubles

If this is a"known issue", when was your Atlas manufactured?


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## vwbugstuff (Mar 27, 2004)

Rafale said:


> Sorry to hear about your troubles
> 
> If this is a"known issue", when was your Atlas manufactured?


No biggie, I'm just glad I was at home when it happened.

Our Atlas was built during the last week of November, 2017.


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## not_so_furious (Mar 21, 2002)

*“Error: Steering Lock”*

My Atlas is currently stuck in Wyoming with an error showing on the dash:
“Error: Steering Lock”

Has anyone experienced this before? I can’t even turn on the ignition to roll up the windows. I called VW roadside service. All they can do is send out a tow truck, so I’m waiting for that to show up. And then I’ll enjoy a nice 3 hour tow home I guess.


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## vwbugstuff (Mar 27, 2004)

not_so_furious said:


> My Atlas is currently stuck in Wyoming with an error showing on the dash:
> “Error: Steering Lock”
> 
> Has anyone experienced this before? I can’t even turn on the ignition to roll up the windows. I called VW roadside service. All they can do is send out a tow truck, so I’m waiting for that to show up. And then I’ll enjoy a nice 3 hour tow home I guess.



Yup, just happened to ours last week. Dealership replaced the steering column.

The whole "not being able to power up" thing is a serious design flaw in my opinion. Who's dumbass idea was that?

Post up your updates.


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## not_so_furious (Mar 21, 2002)

I’m having the same issue. I didn’t have any luck with releasing the interlock. Does anyone have pictures of how the shift lever cover comes off?


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

vwbugstuff said:


> ....The whole "not being able to power up" thing is a serious design flaw in my opinion. Who's dumbass idea was that?.....


Your reasoning?


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## *DesertFox* (Sep 26, 2017)

not_so_furious said:


> I’m having the same issue. I didn’t have any luck with releasing the interlock. Does anyone have pictures of how the shift lever cover comes off?



Page 204 in the owners manual.


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## vwbugstuff (Mar 27, 2004)

not_so_furious said:


> I’m having the same issue. I didn’t have any luck with releasing the interlock. Does anyone have pictures of how the shift lever cover comes off?



The base of the shifter boot is set into a groove in the console bezel. Start at the upper right corner and gently pull up on the boot itself. You may need a non-marring pry tool to help it along once you get started. You don't have to remove the whole boot - just enough on the right side to be able to visualize the yellow (I think) release lever (at the base of the shifter on the right side) to stick a Phillips screwdriver in and pivot it backwards. With it pivoted, you should then be able to release the shift lever.


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## not_so_furious (Mar 21, 2002)

I tried pulling up on the boot for a bit, but didn't have any luck. I don't know if it would have mattered getting it into neutral anyway. I think my parking brake was stuck on, and I couldn't figure out how to disengage it because the car wouldn't turn on.



*DesertFox* said:


> Page 204 in the owners manual.


I don't have the manual near me at the moment, but the picture I saw (around page 190?) looked like it was from a different vehicle. I'm familiar with the way the boot pulls up from my other VW's, but I couldn't get this one up by hand. I figured I must be doing something wrong, or I would have tried to jam something in there and pry it up. I'll mess with it when I get it back so I know for the future.


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## vwbugstuff (Mar 27, 2004)

not_so_furious said:


> I tried pulling up on the boot for a bit, but didn't have any luck. I don't know if it would have mattered getting it into neutral anyway. I think my parking brake was stuck on, and I couldn't figure out how to disengage it because the car wouldn't turn on.
> 
> 
> I don't have the manual near me at the moment, but the picture I saw (around page 190?) looked like it was from a different vehicle. I'm familiar with the way the boot pulls up from my other VW's, but I couldn't get this one up by hand. I figured I must be doing something wrong, or I would have tried to jam something in there and pry it up. I'll mess with it when I get it back so I know for the future.



So what's the current status of your Atlas?


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## ribbit (Jun 4, 2012)

It's just one of the first yr hiccups on most new models. It will get sorted out in the next yr or so. Doesn't help that have the problem now.


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## not_so_furious (Mar 21, 2002)

vwbugstuff said:


> So what's the current status of your Atlas?


The dealership is looking at it today.

I'm curious if I could have started the car if I had a VAG COM with me to clear the error. It would have been nice to have been be able to roll up the windows and release the parking brake.


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## not_so_furious (Mar 21, 2002)

The dealer is replacing my steering column. Apparently there was only one column left in the US, so hopefully they ship a few more here.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

not_so_furious said:


> ....Apparently there was only one column left in the US, so hopefully they ship a few more here.


No good organization stockpiles extra parts.


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## not_so_furious (Mar 21, 2002)

I spoke to the tech today after he pulled out the old steering column. He said the plastic piece I found was the "stop" for the telescoping function of the steering column. When you push the steering wheel all the way in, you hit this stop, and apparently it broke. (That was the plastic piece I found on the floor.) Once that piece breaks, the steering wheel can be pushed too far in and the car loses its mind. The car goes into full lockdown. Even if I could have put the car into neutral, the parking brake would have still been engaged. They were working on the car in the parking lot, so not even the dealer had the capability to override the failure long enough to drive the car into a nice shaded garage.

If you're interested, here is what the column looks like:




Until VW changes the design (IF they change it), I guess the recommendation is to not push the steering wheel in hard all of the way. Because of our difference in size, my wife and I are adjust the wheel every time we switch drivers. If you have the same situation, you may just want to take note.


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## trbochrg (Dec 1, 2004)

Man, and i thought the broken plastic clips on the B5 Passat window regulators was bad. At least you could still drive your car albein it with the windown all the way down inside the door in the middle of winter....


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

trbochrg said:


> Man, and i thought the broken plastic clips on the B5 Passat window regulators was bad. At least you could still drive your car albein it with the windown all the way down inside the door in the middle of winter....


Are you discounting the OP likely abused the mechanism?


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## chjud (May 13, 2018)

*stuck in the garage with an "Error: Steering lock"*

I parked my 6 month old Atlas (its the Canadian Executive model) in my two car garage and when I wanted to leave again I got the Steering lock error.
I managed to move the gear shifter into Neutral but the car is still not moving. I usually activate the electronic parking brake and this one is still on.
Would anyone know how to unlock the parking brake? In order to have the care towed I need to get it out of the garage.


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## vwbugstuff (Mar 27, 2004)

chjud said:


> I parked my 6 month old Atlas (its the Canadian Executive model) in my two car garage and when I wanted to leave again I got the Steering lock error.
> I managed to move the gear shifter into Neutral but the car is still not moving. I usually activate the electronic parking brake and this one is still on.
> Would anyone know how to unlock the parking brake? In order to have the care towed I need to get it out of the garage.



My parking brake was also engaged. I'd remembered reading a post on the CC forum about how to release the brakes and luckily it worked.

I used a 12v battery and two jumper wires with alligator clips.

I removed the back wheels (one at a time) and found the plug on the back of the caliper for the parking brake actuator motor and unplugged the connector. The alligator clips were skinny enough to clip onto the two spades on the motor side. Both clips had covers so they would not short against the other one. Then I carefully touched the other ends to the terminals on the battery. You will hear a spinning sound from the motor. If the motor sounds like it is straining, that means it's tightening. If it spins freely it should be loosening. If tightening, just reverse the polarity of the clips on the battery. You can tell if it's loosening if it gets to the point that you can spin the rotor. I activated the motor in bursts because I didn't want to accidentally burn it out or overextend the piston or cause some other sort of damage. Put the wheel back on and repeat on the other side. Don't forget to plug the connectors back in. Make sure it's in park, chock the front wheels and use jack stands for safety.

There are tools like this that release the brakes under normal circumstances, but since the vehicle won't power up I don't think this will work: https://www.ebay.com/i/312430829138?chn=ps

Good luck - try at your own risk!

LMK if you have any other questions.


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## chjud (May 13, 2018)

vwbugstuff said:


> My parking brake was also engaged. I'd remembered reading a post on the CC forum about how to release the brakes and luckily it worked.
> 
> I used a 12v battery and two jumper wires with alligator clips.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the detailed advice.
I managed to get two car wheel dollies under the rear wheels and with the gearshift in neutral we pulled it out of the garage and onto the flatbed.










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## BTwinFTW (Mar 21, 2017)

*Steering Lock Faulty*

My wife received this error 2 weeks ago now, Atlas SE with Tech, 4Motion. The Atlas was fully disabled by the error - gear selector locked, parking brake locked, totally immovable. I called VW Roadside, the called out a tow. I almost had a freak out seeing a tow truck driver hammer plastic "skates" under the tires in order to pull an all-wheel drive vehicle out of my garage and onto a rollback trailer. The technician was instructed to send the steering lock to VW for review, inspection. The only problem now is that the Atlas no longer recognizes our second key. I'm hopeful that coding the key or the steering lock takes less than two weeks to update. The other issue is I'm now spooked by every noise or feeling from the Atlas, have to get over the weirdness of going through such a strange failure.

Has anyone heard of an explanation of this issue, a failing steering lock?


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

BTwinFTW said:


> .....Has anyone heard of an explanation of this issue, a failing steering lock?


On Kessy vehicles, the lock is an electrically driven device unlike the mechanical system on conventional keyed systems.


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