Warning lamp VW Passat

whitelightrider

Hi Folks,

I have a 07 Passat 1.9 diesel. On the way to work this morning the warning lamp on the dash started to flash, and it beeped for about 3 seconds. Its the same light that illuminates when the handbrake is on. I checked the handbrake (electronic) and it was off.

I checked there and dont have my service books in the car. Would anyone know what this warning lamp means?

Mr Benevolent

whitelightrider wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I have a 07 Passat 1.9 diesel. On the way to work this morning the warning lamp on the dash started to flash, and it beeped for about 3 seconds. Its the same light that illuminates when the handbrake is on. I checked the handbrake (electronic) and it was off.

I checked there and dont have my service books in the car. Would anyone know what this warning lamp means?

Does the handbrake still work, i.e, if you switch on the handbrake can the car be pushed by hand? Either way I'd get it to a garage, but park it in gear to be safe.

Prenderb

It might also be a brake wear indicator? Just a thought, not an expert opinion. +1 on getting it checked out.

whitelightrider

Handbrake is working fine. Ill get in touch with the mechanic anyway. The brake pads were changed about 2 months ago and the mechanic said he put in new ones with sensors on them.

bazz26

Electronic handbrake is a nightmare on those Passats. My uncle had a 07 Passat and it had to go back to the dealer for a software upgrade to fix the handbrake problem. Since your handbrake is working fine it might be a different issue though.

R.O.R

Is the manual not in the secret compartment in the glove box?

Manual (section 3.1) says that the flashing red light with the yellow P light is a fault in the electronic handbrake system. Probably the control unit for the electronic hand brake which goes on a huge proportion of Passat's.

whitelightrider

R.O.R wrote: »

Is the manual not in the secret compartment in the glove box?

Manual (section 3.1) says that the flashing red light with the yellow P light is a fault in the electronic handbrake system. Probably the control unit for the electronic hand brake which goes on a huge proportion of Passat's.

No, I had it out on Monday night checking up on different things!

There is no yellow P light though R.O.R. Its just the red light on the dashboard thats flashing. The yellow P light only lights up if you press the handbrake, and goes off when you disengage the handbrake.

R.O.R

whitelightrider wrote: »

No, I had it out on Monday night checking up on different things!

There is no yellow P light though R.O.R. Its just the red light on the dashboard thats flashing. The yellow P light only lights up if you press the handbrake, and goes off when you disengage the handbrake.

Thought you would probably have mentioned it if it was on, but according to the manual if you have the flashing red light, it should be accompanied by either the yellow light on the dash, or on the actual handbrake button. Both mean the same thing essentially.

I'd get it in to a dealer as soon as you can before the electronic handbrake gives up the ghost and leaves the car stopped with a handbrake that won't disengage. Only option there is to have it dragged on to a truck to get it to a VW dealer.

whitelightrider

R.O.R wrote: »

Thought you would probably have mentioned it if it was on, but according to the manual if you have the flashing red light, it should be accompanied by either the yellow light on the dash, or on the actual handbrake button. Both mean the same thing essentially.

I'd get it in to a dealer as soon as you can before the electronic handbrake gives up the ghost and leaves the car stopped with a handbrake that won't disengage. Only option there is to have it dragged on to a truck to get it to a VW dealer.

Dont suppose its covered under the 3 year warranty?

R.O.R

whitelightrider wrote: »

Dont suppose its covered under the 3 year warranty?

AFAIK it's 2 years warranty on VW. If it fails outside of warranty then VW are their usual stingy b@stards and don't give anything. Good news though is that it should only be about €150 ish for the software update and new switch.

bazz26

whitelightrider wrote: »

Dont suppose its covered under the 3 year warranty?

VW only offer a 2 year warranty on their cars here. If the Passat has a full VW service history then you might be able to get some sort of goodwill gesture from them towards the cost as this is a well known issue with the Passat.

whitelightrider

Ok folks. Took a look under the bonnet at the weekend to check the fluid levels. I spotted the wire to the sensor on the Brake Fluid cap was snapped. Have no idea what happened to it but its snapped in two.

Im going to use insulating tape tonight and join the 2 ends together and see if that resolves the issue.