Autocar Self Repair Guides

When on it indicates that the passat does not have anti lock brakes and the safety they provide. So if you are in a situation where the car needs this safety system it will not work and you could lose control of the vehicle.

What Does The Abs Warning Light Mean Yourmechanic Advice

This will result in a reset of the car s central computer.

Vw abs light on and off. After you put your key in the ignition and turn it on the computer does a test on the anti lock braking system to ensure it is functioning normally. This will reset the ecu and begin the process of erasing the trouble codes. Most abs diagnostic codes can be accessed by the aldl connector much like the engine computer control system.

When this warning light flashes or stays on steadily it means the system is disabled. Your volkswagen passat s abs light comes on when it fails a self diagnostic cycle. Plug the cable back in to restore power.

Wait one to two minutes. But if the abs light stays on it means there is a problem with your anti lock braking system. If the computer doesn t find a problem the abs light will turn off quickly.

Your passat s abs system uses a system of sensors to determine wheel speed when braking. If the light comes back on after the reset you may need to change the abs sensor. Then hold down the brake pedal to drain the vehicle s electrical system.

To do so unscrew the housing for your sensor you should find it mounted to the wheel hub and unplug the wire. Shops are finding the root problem for a vw beetle abs light on may be caused by a fuse box corrosion issue not a abs module or wheel speed sensor as most people suspect vw calls this a fuse bracket. The fuse box sits under the hood above the battery and can develop corrosion from road salt spray and battery fumes.

Whenever the abs system finds out an issue a fault code will be created and stored in its system memory to turns on the warning light. If there s no remaining problem with the system this should reset the light. Most of the abs systems are basically real time so the codes need to clear themselves in a few minutes of running when they are triggered and repaired.

The ecu and the trouble codes for the abs light should be cleared and reset. Reconnect the negative cable and drive the vw for a few days traveling roughly 100 miles.