EPC + ASR = WTF?

I have an '02 Passat GLS wagon with the 1.8T engine.

Driving home from work this afternoon, just as I got off the freeway and
slowed to 35MPH or so, the EPC and ASR lights came on. Engine speed
dropped to about 1000RPM and would not respond to the throttle. I was
just able to limp to the curb without getting smashed by other traffic.

Thinking that the walk the rest of the way home in -4F + wind wasn't
going to be nice, I shut off the engine, crossed my fingers and started
it again. This time only the ASR light was on and the car seemed to
drive just fine. The ASR light did not respond to the ASR switch on the
dash.

In the garage, I shut it down and restarted again, and this time both
EPC and ASR lights were off. The ASR light went on and off with the ASR
switch.

I see a few references to the EPC light in various places, all of which
claimed to be related to a brake switch failure or something related.

This behavior seems a bit severe for such a minor problem.

It's going into the shop tomorrow (if I can make it that far), but would
anybody care to venture a remote diagnosis?

--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN

I am not a lover of the DBW stuff.....at least not yet!

You will probably need a vag-com tool in order to see what is not
functioning correctly.
Maybe a wheel sensor?
I am unfamiliar with these systems except that if the wheels are not moving
around the same amount of speed then you might not be able to accelerate
until the system goes into limp mode.

Gee there was an "Unintended Acceleration" recall/problem and now you have
an "Unintended Deceleration" problem!
I am sure that it is a side effect of so-called "safety" systems. 8^o

BTW that sounds DANGEROUS and I would expect a recall if more people
experience this type of problem.
You might want to document this issue and take it to your local VW dealer.
Start a paper trail.

JMHO
--
later,
dave
(One out of many daves)

"Bert Hyman" > wrote in message
...
>I have an '02 Passat GLS wagon with the 1.8T engine.
>
> Driving home from work this afternoon, just as I got off the freeway and
> slowed to 35MPH or so, the EPC and ASR lights came on. Engine speed
> dropped to about 1000RPM and would not respond to the throttle. I was
> just able to limp to the curb without getting smashed by other traffic.
>
> Thinking that the walk the rest of the way home in -4F + wind wasn't
> going to be nice, I shut off the engine, crossed my fingers and started
> it again. This time only the ASR light was on and the car seemed to
> drive just fine. The ASR light did not respond to the ASR switch on the
> dash.
>
> In the garage, I shut it down and restarted again, and this time both
> EPC and ASR lights were off. The ASR light went on and off with the ASR
> switch.
>
> I see a few references to the EPC light in various places, all of which
> claimed to be related to a brake switch failure or something related.
>
> This behavior seems a bit severe for such a minor problem.
>
> It's going into the shop tomorrow (if I can make it that far), but would
> anybody care to venture a remote diagnosis?
>
> --
> Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN

(dave AKA vwdoc1) wrote in
:

> You might want to document this issue and take it to your local VW
> dealer. Start a paper trail.

Yeah; when I said it was going "into the shop", it's the dealer's
shop.

Drove it to work this morning (staying off the freeway) without
incident. Outside temp is -15F, radio weather says windchill is -45F;
not a good day to be walking.

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

my guess it's the brake light switch sticking on. The give away was the rpm
was limited to around 1000rpm. Give your dealer a call and give them the
VIN to check for recalls. As for -15F... I feel sorry for ya and can't help
much for that concern.


"Bert Hyman" > wrote in message
...
> (dave AKA vwdoc1) wrote in
> :
>
>> You might want to document this issue and take it to your local VW
>> dealer. Start a paper trail.
>
> Yeah; when I said it was going "into the shop", it's the dealer's
> shop.
>
> Drove it to work this morning (staying off the freeway) without
> incident. Outside temp is -15F, radio weather says windchill is -45F;
> not a good day to be walking.
>
> --
> Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

In "Lost In Space/Woodchuck"
> wrote:

> my guess it's the brake light switch sticking on. The give away was
> the rpm was limited to around 1000rpm.

I thought that was what happened whenever the "EPC" indicator tripped
for any reason.

But, the brake light sounds like the cheapest cause among many that I
could imagine.

> Give your dealer a call and give them the VIN to check for recalls. As
> for -15F... I feel sorry for ya and can't help much for that concern.

A recall for which I received no notification?

Well, I'd hope that they know about such things without their customers
telling them; that's one of the reasons I'm willing to pay the dealer's
premium for service.

We'll see what they come up with.


> "Bert Hyman" > wrote in message
> ...
>> (dave AKA vwdoc1) wrote in
>> :
>>
>>> You might want to document this issue and take it to your local VW
>>> dealer. Start a paper trail.
>>
>> Yeah; when I said it was going "into the shop", it's the dealer's
>> shop.
>>
>> Drove it to work this morning (staying off the freeway) without
>> incident. Outside temp is -15F, radio weather says windchill is -45F;
>> not a good day to be walking.

--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN

(Bert Hyman) wrote in
:

> We'll see what they come up with.

Well, what they came up with was to replace the throttle body.

When I asked the service rep for an analysis of the problem, the
detailed technical explanation was "Well, sometimes they just break."

The first thought of the resident VW/Audi maven here at work was that
it was more likely the throttle position sensor. I suspect that it was
easier and more lucrative for them to simply replace the throttle
body.

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |