Why Is My Volkswagen Check Engine Light On?

What do you do when you’re driving along Pittsford or Webster in your Volkswagen and you notice a yellow light illuminated on your dashboard that says “Check Engine”? It’s highly recommended that you get your VW checked as soon as safely possible, but there’s no need to panic. Ide VW of East Rochester has the details as to why that is, below!

Why Is My Check Engine Light On?: Volkswagen CEL Troubleshooting

There are a variety of check engine light codes that could trip your VW check engine light, or CEL for short, to turn on. Why? When your VW’s ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle’s onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t correct, a computer turns on your check engine light. But sometimes, this light turns on for reasons unrelated to the engine, directly. Here are just a few worth noting:

I) Make Sure It’s Actually the Check Engine Light

New vehicles can be complex, and furthermore, many “dummy lights” have similar colors, ranging from red to amber and green. It can be easier than you might things to mistake the Service Required light, for example, for the Check Engine light. Refer to your owner’s manual for help differentiating different lights to be sure that your CEL is, in fact, the light that you’re seeing.

II) Check Your Gas Cap

This is by far the most common reason a check engine light comes on, and it’s also, quite luckily, the easiest to fix. Score! So remove your gas cap and carefully replace it with a genuine OEM part — (you may be tempted to skip this step, but in this case, it’s best to spend for a genuine part; if you don’t, the CEL could come back again with a vengeance, making future troubleshooting as to whether or not the gas cap was the culprit very tricky).

After screwing on the new gas cap, and making sure that it is seated correctly, your next step will be to disconnect the battery and then reconnect it. At this point, the check engine light should turn off if the gas cap was faulty.

*NOTE: Do not disconnect the battery without first being aware of radio presets, seat memory settings, any radio code(s), and anything other electronics that may reset when the battery is replaced.

III) Check the FaultCodes

There are a multitude of fault code diagnostic codes, AKA error codes, generated by your VW onboard computer, or OBC, that pinpoint exactly what is causing the engine light to appear.

These error codes can be retrieved by using an automotive diagnostic scanner like the advanced ones we use at our Volkswagen-certified service center.

Volkswagen Check Engine Light Codes

There are hundreds of different codes that your check engine light could be turned on for. While that sounds intimidating, with a little patience, tackling basic diagnostics will give you useful knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Alternatively, you can let the pros at our service center take care of it all for you! That said, here are some of the things that could trip your Volkswagen check engine light:

• Faulty MAF Sensor
• Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
• Faulty or used-up Spark Plugs
• Transmission problems
• Old Battery
• Bad O2 Sensor
• Fuel and air metering systems problems
• Ignition system faults
• Emissions control issues
• Computer output circuit issues
• …And more!

Schedule Volkswagen Check Engine Light Service in East Rochester Now!

Ready to see once and for all why your Volkswagen check engine light has come on? Schedule check engine light diagnostic service near Fairport today and one of our expert VW technicians will be on your case to investigate what’s going on, pronto!