NHTSA Complaint #10667862 — 2014 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT

WHEN STEERING THE VEHICLE, WITH MINOR LANE CORRECTION INPUTS, THERE IS A COUNTER FORCE FROM THE VW ELECTROMECHANICAL ACTIVE STEERING SYSTEM THAT WILL NOT LET ME TURN THE WHEEL UNLESS I APPLY HARDER PRESSURE. WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL FREES UP, IT?S AS IF IT BROKE FREE OF SOME STICKY SUBSTANCE. AT TIMES THIS FORCE HAS BEEN SO HARD THAT THE PASSENGERS WERE JOSTLED IN THE CAR. VW MECHANIC HAS DESCRIBED THE ISSUES AS A DEAD SPOT IN THE STEERING.. THE ISSUE OCCURS UNDER THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS; 1) ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY WITH RELATIVELY MINOR CAMBER ANGLES. 2) ON NEW VERY SMOOTH DRY PAYMENT ? IMPORTANT - DOES NOT OCCUR ON ROUGHER NEWER PAVEMENT. 3) SET SPEED CONTROL AT 64 MPH - OCCURS AT HIGHER SPEEDS AS WELL. HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED THE ISSUE UNDER 60 MPH. 4) OCCURS IN ALL LANES BUT I DRIVE MOSTLY IN THE RIGHT LANE. 5) IN A STRAIGHT LINE RUN OF 1/8 OF A MILE OR SO WHERE THE STEERING ANGLE IS CENTER-LINED. 6) TURN THE WHEEL WITH MINOR DRIVER STEERING INPUTS/ANGLES TO STAY IN THE LANE - NOT TRYING TO CHANGE LANES. VW TRIED TO REPAIR THE ISSUE WITH A SOFTWARE FIX. IT DIDN'T WORK. THEY NOW SAY THE CAR IS FUNCTIONING AS DESIGNED. *TR