2009 Volkswagen Jetta steering problems

“Random unwanted braking action during driving and dangerous steering force to the right side.I had to use both hands and force to keep car on the road on the interstate. No fault codes found VW Dealership could not find any Problem.They replaced the ABS Modem to a cost of $2669 but the problem remains.The brakes lock up when just backing up on my driveway too.I have read on the VW forums that a lot of people are having the same problems on 2009, 2012,2013 Jetta.I am afraid to take the car on the road and especially on the interstate again!”

“I got the car off of some guy for 1600 dollars and I put a lot of money into and I have lights on the dash still on and the ecs is one and my steering wheel light is on as will.”

“About 5-6 times my steering locked up as I was mid turn but thankfully only for a second or two but a few of those times I was traveling at a high rate of speed on the highway in the center lane with cars on either side of me. Another time I was turning onto the highway and trying to beat the long line of cars that just got a green light and as I was mid turn my steering locked up and I fishtailed into the center lane almost into oncoming traffic. Had I been a more inexperienced driver neither of those times would have ended well.”

“this is the third time i've had issues with the power steering briefly failing on this car. The first time, several years ago, it was related to the ABS recall, and it was replaced. It also failed when the alternator was going bad. Now the steering light flashes, it makes a beeping sound and the power steering fails briefly. It's not showing codes. I see from reading the vw TDI forums that this is fairly common problem. It's very frightening and I think there needs to be some kind of backup system on these cars so that the steering doesn't fail, potentially causing a lethal accident, whenever some related sensor goes out. Shouldn't they be completely separate ? Thank you”

“I WAS DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH WHEN A DEER CAME INTO THE ROAD FROM THE RIGHT SIDE. I SEEN THE DEER AND SHOULD HAVE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO MISS IT AND COME TO A STOP. I REMOVED THE CAR FROM 5TH GEAR WHILE USING BOTH THE CLUTCH AND BRAKE PADS. ONCE I APPLIED SIGNIFICANT PRESSURE TO THE BRAKES THE COMPLETELY LOCKED UP, AS DID THE STEERING WHEEL. MY CAR COLLIDED WITH THE DEER AND SUBSEQUENTLY TRAVELED OFF THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD IN A SPIN, STOPPING APPROXIMATELY 40 FEET DOWN AN EMBANKMENT. SINCE THEN I HAVE HAD NO LUCK KEEPING THE VEHICLE RUNNING. I HAVE HAD THE ALTERNATOR, PLUGS AND COIL PACKS, STARTER, AND IGNITION CHANGED WITH NO REMEDY. THE VEHICLE WILL NOT START.”

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 VOLKSWAGEN JETTA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING, THE ABS WARNING LIGHT ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHER UNKNOWN WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE STARTED SHAKING WHILE SHIFTING GEARS. ADDITIONALLY, THE BRAKES FAILED TO WORK EFFECTIVELY WHILE DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO SHIFT GEARS CORRECTLY. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS DIFFICULT TO TURN AND WAS SHAKING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE RPM WAS FLUCTUATING. THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE CHECK ENGINE, POWER STEERING AND EPC WARNING LIGHTS WERE ALSO ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE DROVE NORMALLY FOR A WHILE BEFORE THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO HANSEL VOLKSWAGEN (2951 CORBY AVE, SANTA ROSA, CA 95407) AND WAS DIAGNOSED HOWEVER, THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO UPDATE THE ABS SOFTWARE. THE DEALER INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE ABS MODULE WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT WAS ALSO INFORMED THAT THE ABS MODULE FAILED INTERNALLY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 130,000.”