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Car Safety DB

NHTSA Campaign Number

08V577000

STEERING:GEAR BOX (OTHER THAN RACK AND PINION)

Reported to NHTSA: November 3, 2008

Key Takeaways

  • Recall 08V577000 currently maps to 1 tracked vehicle-year page across 1 make.
  • This page summarizes the official defect description, safety consequence, and remedy text published by NHTSA for this campaign.
  • This is a campaign-level lookup, not a VIN-level clearance result. Use a VIN lookup before assuming your specific vehicle is still open.

Defect Description

VW IS RECALLING 130 MY 2009 PASSAT, PASSAT WAGON, AND PASSAT CC VEHICLES. SOME VEHICLES MAY HAVE AN ELECTROMECHANICAL STEERING GEAR CONTROL UNIT THAT CAN MALFUNCTION DUE TO A DAMAGED CAPACITOR. IF THIS MALFUNCTION OCCURS, THE DRIVER'S STEERING INPUT IS NOT PROPERLY PROCESSED BY THE SYSTEM AND THE VEHICLE MAY NOT RESPOND AS THE DRIVER INTENDS. THIS DEFECT CAN ONLY OCCUR IMMEDIATELY AFTER VEHICLE START-UP WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL IS MOVED FOR THE FIRST TIME AND AT SPEEDS LESS THAN 5 MPH.

Safety Consequence

DRIVER ATTEMPTS TO OVERCOME THE SYSTEM DURING MALFUNCTION WILL CAUSE (1) VIBRATIONS IN THE STEERING WHEEL; (2) THE STEERING SYSTEM MOTOR TO TURN OFF; (3) THE RED STEERING SYSTEM MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE; AND (4) AUDIBLE WARNINGS TO CHIME. A MALFUNCTIONING STEERING SYSTEM COULD LEAD TO A CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE STEERING GEAR IN THE AFFECTED VEHICLES. THE RECALL BEGAN ON DECEMBER 5, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VW AT 1-800-822-8987.

What This Recall Page Shows

This page summarizes a single NHTSA recall campaign, including the defect description, safety consequence, and manufacturer's remedy. The affected vehicles listed below are the make/model/year combinations tracked in our database — this is not a VIN-specific result. To check whether your individual vehicle is covered by this recall, enter your 17-digit VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Click any vehicle below to view its full safety profile.

Affected Vehicles (1)

YearMakeModel
2009VolkswagenPassat

Browse Affected Vehicles

Affected Models

Affected Make + Year Views

Affected Years

Related Steering Campaigns

These campaigns share the same broad recall component family, so they are useful if you want to compare how similar issue types appeared across other vehicles and time periods.

This recall information is from NHTSA campaign 08V577000. This site is not affiliated with NHTSA. Contact your dealer or call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 for more information.

Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026