[axeltouareg]

I’ve searched for answers and had no luck.
I have a 2008 Touareg V6 TDI facelift.
The steering gets stiff after turning a few degress and then gets light again. Also when coming out of a turn it wont rebound all the way. I have read the codes with VCDS and found nothing and also checked the wiring to the steering rack and they seemed fine.
I have a suspicion that it’s the u joint but it’s located in a very difficult location and there is no play or weird noises coming from the steering.

Before I try to do anything stupid I just wanted to ask around if any one of you had a similar issue?

 

[axeltouareg]

If anyone is interested I sprayed some pentrating oil on the lower u joint and it seemed to fix it. However I reckon it won’t be long until it will stiffen up.

 

[Kiwikev]

Definitely the u-joint seizing. Comes as part of the steering column, not cheap. You probably could match up the u-joint with something of the same size and replace it. I bought the new column to fix mine because it's probably only a matter of time before the steering lock motor fails anyway.

 

[axeltouareg]

Should I worry about the steering lock motor, is it a common fault? My touareg is driven 400k km (about 250k miles) so maybe it has already been replaced? It has the keyless starter thingy.

 

[Kiwikev]

It's a fairly common fault. If it fails you won't be able to start the vehicle. You may be able to tell if it's been replaced by taking the column covers off and checking the sticker on the column for a production date.

 

[axeltouareg]

Ok thank you for the info