Strange noise from steering wheel of my 2022 VW Tiguan: Finding a fix!

It's a weird one. Not rattling, but a tad squeaky. Like wind gushing through a tiny gap.

BHPian srahiman recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Greetings!

I own a 2022 VW Tiguan, purchased Feb 2022.

I get a strange noise from my steering wheel column on driving non-stop for over ~80 Km/ over an hour. Reported the issue to VW in Oct 2022 (first long drive post-purchase). Post initial denial/ unable to reproduce battles, they finally acknowledged the issue as an "Operational Issue", and the vehicle can continue to be driven without safety concerns. I'm informed they are working on the issue that's S/W related and an S/W update will be provided when approved. Have not given any timeline for resolution.

I am aware of another 2 VW Tiguans in Bengaluru having the same issue. Would like to know if anyone else is experiencing the issue. More importantly, have you driven the car much further after the noise started on the drive? I'm quite nervous driving the car for long each time the sound starts, so have not taken the car out for long-distance trips since Oct 2022.

While VW's response lacks the confidence I need to venture out for long-distance travel, I'm looking for some confidence from others who may have had this issue and drove the car further on the trip despite the sound.

Any input will be helpful

Here's what BHPian Jaggu had to say on the matter:

What kind of noise is this? Squeaks or rattling? Some more details would really help. Next time do shoot a video, that would be good as evidence as well as to figure out what is wrong?

An update from BHPian srahiman:

Pursuing aggressively. But they don't seem to have the urgency. Moreover, they are not able to explicitly say driving the car with the sound will not lead to mechanical/ safety issues. Quite frustrated.

It's a weird one. Not rattling, but a tad squeaky. Like wind gushing through a tiny gap. I have a few videos, but I see we cannot upload them here.

Here's what BHPian Jeroen had to say on the matter:

As Jaggu mentioned a video with the noise audible would be very helpful.

From memory, the one issue with the steering on this car is the clock spring. That might make an odd sound. Try and listen carefully if you can hear the sound near the steering column, just aft of the steering wheel.

For reference about what a clockspring is what it does and where to find it: it so happens I did a little write-up on my Jeep's clockspring recently.

See if you can provide us with the video/audio and try and pinpoint the location.

If it is the Clockspring software updates are not going to fix it.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.