Comments on: VW Recalls Nearly 800,000 Vehicles for Faulty Brake Lights

By: abs light came on

abs light came on — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:44:48 +0000

Actually they continue to search for high dollar, high failure rate automotive electronic controllers. Autoecu research and locate the highest quality, longest lasting components to replace the identified failed components.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:36:13 +0000

So, we replaced the brake switch, stayed off for 200 miles. Decided to take it into VW (Lithia of DM) and have emergency brake sensor replaced per diagnosis. My car went 400 miles before the lights came back on. It is scheduled to go back into VW on Wednesday. I really don’t know what to do…

By: Jackie

Jackie — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 14:10:52 +0000

Hi, I have a 2005 VW Beetle. I drove to my sisters house, left car running, went inside, came back out, put it in drive and the warning light came on for brakes. Then alarm sounded. I drove further and the EPC light came on, lost air conditioner and cruise control. Researched the problem online and found brake switch recall. Replaced it myself. Lights still on. Took vehicle to import mechanic as VW couldn’t get me in for a week. He changed some connections, replaced battery (as I already knew it was on it’s last leg) and changed a fuse. 200 miles later, the lights come back on. I return the car. Fuse is blown and two bulbs in the brake lights. HMMM. He replaced them but admits there is a larger problem. 50 miles later, lights are on again. I make appointment with VW. They had the car for 3.5 hours trying to diagnose the problem. The guy comes to me and says, “Well, we found the problem but had to “kinda” fix it to find it. You had a loose connection causing the EPC light to come on and you need an emergency brake sensor replaced which is $221.00″. They had to order the part. I explained to him that they didn’t fix anything with the EPC light because the brake light is what caused the EPC light to come on. They charged .5 hour of labor to fix that “loose connection”. I returned the car to my mechanic and explained to him VW findings. He disagrees with them. He checked the fuses again and the same one was blown. He said he was going to do some more checking with his hotlines and see what he can figure out. I get in my car to leave and the thing won’t go out of park. It wasn’t sensing that I had my foot on the brake. So mechanic removed the brake switch and kept the car. I got the car back last night after mechanic threw in the towel (understandable) and lights have not come on after 60 miles of driving. I am thinking get another brake switch, first. Maybe the new one was faulty? And go from there. Any suggestions?

By: rocky

rocky — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:55:34 +0000

i have a 2001 vw golf tdi manual with cruise control that is not working and had it looked at and they said it could be a broken wire and they charge 80 bucks an hour in case its not a wire then they would discount me toward parts as i had them do the repairs do you know of any particular wires that this happened to and i had the brake switch replaced with a new cc switch as well any help is welcomed thanx rocky

By: randy peters

randy peters — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 04:03:55 +0000

i just bought a 2002 vw golf when i hit the brake pedel the park lights come on and when the park lights are on i have no brake lights got a ticket and cant figure it out yet

By: Cody

Cody — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:09:41 +0000

my tail lights and brake light bulbs seem to be fine. but neither light up at all. the tunr signals work fine.
i asked about this recall the dealership said that the brake light switch recall proboble won’t fix this, he said that it usually just makes the brake lights on all the time.

So do you think that the brake light switch may fix this problem or was this guy correct????

ThankS!!!!

By: Suzy

Suzy — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 01:40:14 +0000

hi, I recently purchased a 95 VW Passat and the brake lights do not go on when I put the brrakes on. I was wondering if it is a fuse or brake relay switch or? Any help would be great
Thanks Suzy

By: jetta owner

jetta owner — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:42:08 +0000

I have a 2004 Jetta Wagon TDI. The brake lights do not go on and I think it should be covered by the recall but I called VW and they said no. Has anyone else had this issue?

By: Kristy

Kristy — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:38:28 +0000

Heather, what was the problem with your car when the brake light came on and headlights, windshield wipers didn’t work? I have this problem now

By: Jodie Slaughter

Jodie Slaughter — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 01:56:34 +0000

I have 2005 Volkswagen Convertible Turbo. I have had this car in the shop more than any other car I have owned. I have had it in mostly for the check engine light, a control module that has to do with jerking, a taillight, the epc light, window parts for the automatic windows (inards, what makes the window go up) three of them were broken and would not roll up. After taking the car in for the control module my stereo cd quit working, it wouldn’t take the disc, in order to have them look at they were going to charge me the $150..even though it worked before I took it in… I am beginning to think I have a lemon.. I have owned it for two years and have on 50,000 miles on it. No more warranty and it costs about $800 everytime I take it in. HELP… is there a recall out there for the EPC Light and the Check engine light. I can drive for a while and tthen the light will go out, then it will be out for a while then come back on…

By: Sheri

Sheri — Mon, 03 May 2010 08:50:18 +0000

hi. this doesnt exactly have to have anything to do with the brake lights. but I recently changed the fuse behind the radio in my 2001 vw and now the EPC indicator light is on constantly as well as the battery one. did i do something wrong? what is causing this? :/ please help

By: PaulP

PaulP — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 17:47:32 +0000

Hello, I have a 1998 VW Beetle and recently had the brake light switch replaced. I was pulled over the other day for not having brake lights and was baffled. The fuse was ok but I replaced it anyway. I inspected the brake ligh sockets. They looked dirty but I replaced both of those just to be on the safe side, and added new bulbs. After all that trouble shooting this is whats happening:

I will refer to the 3 lights on the rear of the car: the 2 large round lights and the strip light on the hatch door.

During daytime driving all lights are off. When i press in the brake, the only light to illuminate is the strip light on the hatch door. Left and right round lights remain off when brake is depressed.

During night driving when I turn the headlights on, and the interior controls illuminate. When driving the 2 round lights are illuminated and the hatch door light is off. When brakes are pressed the 2 round lights remain on and the hatch door light illuminates as well.

Special note: When I remove the brake light switch and press in the brake, the hatch door light DOES NOT illuminate. When I install the brake light switch again and press the brakes, the hatch door light DOES illuminate.

I had the original brake light switch replaced a month ago due to the recall. They replaced it with a “green” colored switch. Reading other blogs I heard theres a purple one out there? Is there a recall on the replacement brake light switch? Oh, and to add to this, I have to literally replace the driver side headlight bulb once every other month!

Is anybody else having this problem? If I wasn’t unemployed I would never have time to figure this out…and i’m sure taking it to the dealer would cost me somewhere around $1,000 alone. $80 labor just to replace a headlight lamp?

Thank you!

By: Dan Volkens

Dan Volkens — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:09:42 +0000

Hey Stu, ugh. Not good. Yeah, check out the fuses next. And there may be a short in the wiring somewhere as another culprit.

By: Stu V.

Stu V. — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:57:55 +0000

I’m now on my 3rd brake light switch in 3 weeks! I’ve got a MkIV Golf (2002) and it is slowly driving me mad. The first time it went my mechanic said it was no big deal and replaced it. The 2nd time (a week later) it went, they put it down to a faulty part (replaced free under warranty) but 3 days later its gone again! Coincidentally, the radio cut out after the warning light came on this time so I’m wondering if the electrics are screwed too and this is causing of the brake light switch to fuse?

By: Dan Volkens

Dan Volkens — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:12:42 +0000

Hey lisa, those are some very odd symptoms. One thing that comes to mind is a bad alternator, which can cause some odd electrical problems like dimming lights. Other than that, I’m not sure. Maybe start there and see how it goes? Good luck!

By: lisa

lisa — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:13:47 +0000

i have a 2001 vw jetta 1.8T
when i drive at night my lights dim while im driving. and when i turn my car off sometimes and my dash lights are still on they buzz and die out before i can turn them out.
also my car randomly stalls out while im driving. then the time and mileage on my car dissappears and it doesnt start back up again for a few minutes.

By: Dan Volkens

Dan Volkens — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:36:35 +0000

Hey Janice, one thing to check is that the correct model battery was put into your Beetle. Your alternator could also be going out, which will cause a whole lot of weirdo electrical problems like you described.

By: Janice

Janice — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 03:19:20 +0000

I just got a new battery last week in my 04 Beetle diesel. It has been around 10 above 0 every morning and it did not have enough power to turn the engine over. The new battery has worked fine, but tonight on the way home from work, a caution symbol lit up on the dash along with the ABS light. It was on for a few minutes, then went off. Within another mile or two, it came back on along with the emergency brake light. I tapped the brakes. They worked, but did not affect the dash kights. I checked the emergency brake and it was completely released. I thought something must be frozen and when I looked at the clock/temperature indicator it was 14 degrees, but the lights were so dim I could barely read it. I noticed my headlights seemed dim, so I fliped them to hi beam. As I continued and was almost home, the dash lights became dim and completely went out. I parked the car and there were no brake lights on when I left it. Also, the check engine light comes on regularly, but my mechanic has checked it on the computer and says there is nothing that should casue it to come on. Also the left turn signal flashes much faster than it should, but the actual signal light flashes normally. Help. I think my car is possessed!

By: Dan Volkens

Dan Volkens — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 15:36:35 +0000

Dan, that’s definitely not normal. It could be some type of wiring problem, the bulbs are being overloaded or something, etc. I suggest having your alternator checked out.

Babbette, the water pump and related parts like timing belt should be replaced together for convenience’s sake, if anything, since the mechanics will be in the same area. It usually can cost a bit more than a typical repair since they’re doing some extensive engine work. For an exact price I couldn’t tell ya. It varies a lot from region to region. Try to get some quotes if possible from various shops in your area. Good luck!

By: babbette carr

babbette carr — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:30:53 +0000

sum of the things people were saying about there vw beetle i exsperienced samething now im having more problems changed thermostate and a bracket that holds most of the hoses for fluids but my car is still overheating could it be the waterpump and do u half to get timing belt changed to and how much is this gonna cost on 2004 vw beetle