2001 vw passat 2.8l v6 traveling to seattle. car wont start. safety nuetral swith is bad. how do i by pass it for noew

You could cut the wires and twist them together. Just remember that it can start in gear which is not safe but this will get you there if that is the problem.

ok the switch is connected to the circuit board under the console at the shifter. theres several wires coming from harness. also there is actuator with a pin that locks shifter into place that has 2 wires. is that the switch or is it part of the wiring harness that is plugged into circuit board. or is that just part of the shifter that's shows what gear your in.

i think i just answered my own question. duh...lol. i hope this is the problem and it works. thanks a bunch. will repost if does or doesn't work.

There should be two wires to the switch - connect them and see if the car starts. Insulate the bare wires so you do not get a short.

well here is my update.... nothing worked. it still will not crank over. I have bought another relay switch (only its a 30amp not 10 amp like what was in there. parts store didn't have one, said this will work). I have pulled ignition switch again. took console apart looking for anything wrong. followed every single wire coming from ECU. nothing. pulled starter. tested perfect. so when I turn key its gives power to only 50b terminal like its suppose to. power goes down to relay, it works. then nothing at fuse 28,29, etc. so I try jumping starter posts with key on. it engages, scares the hell ou6t of me, when I reach in again it doesn't do anything. what am I missing. theres no shorts, OHMS tested them. why am I not getting power to fuses, and to the actuator wire on solenoid.

Just for giggles have you tried to start it with safety switch wires not hooked together?

yes. the only thing that happens when I jump the wires is the pin disengages so the shifter can move freely. I just read that the brake switch is part of the transmission module on a drive-by-wire. and that I should check ecm for fault codes and data bus wiring between engine and trzanny control module. if there are any codes under ecm they need toi be cleared before car will start.

tranny has codes stored. 18265 load signal eratic, 18170 shift lock solenoid erratic, 18258 power train bus missing message from ecm, 17087 brake switch (f) electrical malfunction, 17125 torque converter clutch stuck OFF / no power being transferred.

18258 blown fuse or wiring issue, it says to check TSB 01-07-54. what is that. info said not to change out ECM for this code but to read the TSB..... anyone know what that is? 18265 says I need to9 clear any codes in the ecm .

So if it wasn't for YouTube I would have still no idea what's wrong with my car. So it's design flaw. They decided to place the comfort control module under the drivers side floor where there is a 4" drop to bottom of actual metal floor. Which when water gets in there and can't drain out from clogged drain hole the space will fill up and module will get submerged as well as the wiring. That will cause corrosion to form in the inline wire splicing and any wire connectors. Simple .50 cent repair that has completely disabled the car. The transmission control module is located under passenger side floor and is in same situation. The safety neutral switch is controled from there. Another $.50 cent repair. So there is the answer to alot of problems that go unanswered here.