Lift up the trim, carpet, & floorboards and look at the CCM itself... it may have gotten wet weeks ago and the rust is finally setting in.

Do you have a lot of other stuff attached to your ignition key (heavy keychain, etc.)? Is the key hard to turn?

Long shot: does the engine turn off when it's supposed to? Do you have a turbo timer? If you're not the first owner, maybe they had one?

 

Pete1,

Thanks for your response.

I will take a look under the carpet as soon as I can. There's no turbo timer - the engine shuts off fine.

The key is not hard to turn, but I do have a lot of keys on the keychain. Does that cause a problem?


Thanks again.

 

The key is not hard to turn, but I do have a lot of keys on the keychain. Does that cause a problem?

The extra weight swinging around *could* eventually damage the starter switch (it's not very common, but it's possible)

If the CCM doesn't look damaged, I'd suggest looking into the starter switch wiring next. Unfortunately the starter wiring is a PITA to get access to (makes the car harder to "hotwire").

Can you find a vag-com near you? It's likely that there are some error codes stored, even though your CEL isn't on.

 

if you turn the steering wheel after removing the key from the ignition untill the steering lock engage does that work whit the stereo and doorlocks? "Shuting the stereo off etc"

 

I had this same exact issue for about a week, and then it just went back to normal one morning. Never did figure out what caused it, but it's good to know some things to check if it returns.

 

Goffen,

The steering wheel won't even lock... I guess that only happens after the key's been removed. It obviously thinks it hasn't been.

Another Observation-

The ignition used to make a distinctive "click" when I removed the key. It does not make that click anymore. Does something close in the ignition when the key is removed?

Will a Passat's doors lock or unlock with the remote while the key is in the ignition?

If not, my problems are probably related - Ignition only. If so, I may have two separate problems - Ignition and CCM.

I appreciate your responses.

 

Will a Passat's doors lock or unlock with the remote while the key is in the ignition?

No, they wont.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

It seems like you have some debris stuck up inside the lock cylinder -- it's wedging the key-removal pin open.

$20 to an indy. locksmith might get this fixed... they should be able to clean the innards of the lock, especially if you can remove the upper cover on the steering column for them.

 

Sharky would probably know what to do here (my guess is it's the ignition switch/cylinder itself).

 

I would try to "Blow" some graphite powder into the ignition cylinder, not too much though and rub a little on the key and work it in and out..

 

Who cares, its warranty.

They'll have to order a new cylinder, though. Will take a bit.