it's a fuse. i did a radio install on a Passat with climatronic and a fuse blew (I still don't know how) and noe of that stuff worked. check ALL the fuses.

 

I have background in computers, so here is my question:
1. Did you try to restart the car?
2. Did you try to turn it off, seat for a while and then restart?

But of course, fuse is another good guess.

 

Im going to go back out side and turn my car on agian and see if it works. Im pretty bad at car stuff, which means i dont really know what a blown fuse looks like, but i will check those out cause thats what im hoping happend. Thanks for your help.

 

It will look similar to this. Most fuses hve a small "viewing window" and you will see were the metal tab is broken usually

 

Checked every fuse in the box, nothing blown or even suspicious looking, so there goes the quick and easy fix. Turned the car on and off , let it sit etc and still nothing. Unless some one had this happen to them and knows whats going on I guess im going to have to go to the dealer and let them fix it (there goes my money).

 

You can't definitively tell if a fuse is blown just by looking at it. You really have to test each one with a multimeter. (You can get one at harbor freight, pep boys, wherever, for under $20.)

SirWired

 

So basically it could be blown and not show any signs of being blown? Thats fantastic. Well if thats the case I will probably just buy new fuses for the ones that should be affecting whats wrong, the climatronic fuse and which ever one works with the steeringwheel controls( i really dont know which one this is) Ill have to check over the fuse list a couple of times and make sense of the little pictures they give you. Thanks for your help.

 

my controls are not very responsive to the touch. I sometimes have to press the volume button or search button more then once for it to respond. What could be causing that?

 

a dirty contact

 

So looking at the fuse locator card I really cant tell which fuse should be the one for the steeringwheel buttons, does any one know which one it is?

 

I've had this same thing happen to me. The steering wheel controls (cruise, volume, and horn), the climatronic, and the drivers side visor (Homelink and vanity light) are all supplied power through fuse #5 (10 amp).

Once I figured this out, I was able to replace the fuse and trace my problem back to the visor -- each time the visor would be pulled down, the fuse would blow. (The visor trips a switch when it's in the down position to turn on the vanity light if the mirror is open.)

The car is at the dealership right now getting fixed. My guess is that they will have to replace the drivers side visor... which isn't cheap... :banghead:

 

Same problem happened to me. Steering wheel controls, horn, and garage door opener stopped working. Dealer quoted me $600 for the part. I went home, read this forum, emailed HomeLink, got a new visor overnighted FOR FREE, and the dealership is scheduled to install it for $65.

On a side note, it was supposed to be installed last friday, but the dealership claims to have "lost" the part and is "currently" working with HomeLink to get another one. I havent heard back from them since Friday, despite my phone calls.