21st Jan 2010, 07:17
I have a VW Passat 2001 1.8T, about 133k miles. I am the original owner. I too have been playing the check engine light & emissions workshop game for about 2 years now. I've dumped about $1500 into getting it fixed and having the light turned off with the dealer. At first I was OK with it, since my car is paid off. Now I'm done with it. I'll try getting the light off by unplugging the battery, as stated earlier in this post. If that doesn't work, I'll live with it and keep on driving. Also, about 6 months ago I had the ABS light issue. The dealer wanted $800 to fix it. I found online where I could send my ABS away and have it rebuilt for $100. I did that and it worked perfect.
12th Apr 2010, 15:35
I noticed a few people considering purchase of the VW Passat -- I have one I'll sell you. Oh, there are a few items you should know about...
I own a 2000 Passat V6 wagon, and we've had problems with it from the beginning. The first was oil consumption -- it was low on oil when we took it in for its 1st service @ 10K, and they advised me that it's normal for this car to burn a full quart of oil in only 1200 miles -- brand new, but that's OK, it's normal! Then, we found that with normal driving the brakes lasted about 20K -- and they REQUIRE CHANGE OF ROTORS EVERY TIME -- not turning. The same is true of the tires. The catalytic converters were toast at 36K (good thing they were covered under Federally mandated 80K warranty -- VW actually had to extend this warranty to 100K because of problems). The ABS sensor on 1 wheel failed within warranty period, but it was not covered under warranty--$1200 thank you.
We are now at 145000 miles, our 3rd set of catalytic converters, and the transaxle is sending a check engine error code which can't be cleared and will not allow the car to pass smog -- the wheels must be turning to test. To top it off, our mechanic says the transmission is failing too.
So we have a nice looking, well maintained piece of metal with an engine our mechanic says will go easily another 50K, but it will not pass smog without repairs -- transaxle is $1500 -- but why do this and leave the failing transmission? Add $4000-5000 in parts and labor. At the end of the day we would have to spend another $6000-7000 just to pass smog. That's on top of the THOUSANDS we've spent on catalytic converters, brake sensor, oxygen sensors, etc.
21st Apr 2010, 22:44
I just got a clean, inside and out, 2001 Passat GLS (2.0 Turbo) for my son. Two days ago, the Check Engine Emission Workshop light came on. I have a trustworthy mechanic saying it's a sensor. I will share the listed comments with him.
I wish I had read these comments first as I may regret choosing a VW (over a Toyota). I am surprised no VW certified mechanics have anonymously weighed in on these issues for the sake of good customer service. I have added this site to my "Favorites" to monitor solutions to what seems to the an overly computerized car. Thank you all.
31st Aug 2010, 19:05
I have the same 2000 Passat with the same problems. I am so sick of it, but I've put so much money into it I take a loss any way you slice it. My advice. Don't buy a Volkswagen. It will drive you crazy.
12th Sep 2010, 13:20
Wow, I just purchased a 2000 VW for my daughter. She drove it 123km, and the check engine came on, Then 1km later the emission workshop came on. We'd had the car 10 hours. It has been e-tested and certified that day, or the day before. I live in Canada, but what the heck..
18th Nov 2010, 06:43
What do I do if I have to get it smogged? Will the people at the emissions shop know if I've reset my battery?
19th Nov 2010, 18:29
Could be a gas leak. Usually if you don't close the gas cap tight enough or spill gasoline on your car. Also could be a time table to check emissions.
16th Mar 2011, 16:26
I bought my 2001 Passat from someone off a local website just days ago. I figured that I was getting a heck of a deal considering he put about 2000.00 into the car in the last 4 months. He gave me a general explanation of the Emissions Workshop light and to just ignore it. Since then I've noticed the economy readout varies between 7.0 and 15l / 100km. So I wanted to fix the problem.
I own a VW Jetta TDI and it has similar problems that don't seem to affect the car much. After reading everyone's comments here I know now he's using my money to celebrate the money pit of a burden he just got off his shoulders! LOL.
Beautiful car but costly to maintain.
14th Dec 2011, 16:27
Thanks for the great post. I have been looking for a quick solution to this check engine light, and you are the only one online that with this comment. Thanks again.
23rd Jan 2012, 14:42
I have a 2000 Passat. Same issue, we put a new O2 sensor in it, and the light came on again 2 days later, and now it's back in the shop to see what's going on now. The tech said I had 6 codes, so we will see.
21st Jun 2012, 00:43
Please share where you sent your ABS module to be rebuilt successfully for $100.
6th Aug 2015, 16:52
This is a great tip - I took my 2000 Passat GLT in and it failed inspection due to the 'check engine' - 'emission workshop' deal. Had a shop run a diagnostic and they told me the secondary air pump (or something) that warms up the catalytic converter was bad and that it would be $1000 to replace it. They did however reset the sensor such that the 'check engine' light went off. Drove it almost 30m exactly, took it back to the testing place, and boom - it passed.
Thanks for the post - saved me a ton of money.
14th Jan 2010, 09:25
I have a 2000 Passat V6, and the emissions workshop light kept coming on. Husband works at Autozone and he does an engine check, turns off the light and removes the code. It was good for a while, but it would come back on again. Many seem to think it's the catalytic converter or oxygen sensor, but believe me, it isn't. It is a faulty thing in the original program. VW will reprogram the computer for about $200. If you go that way, it will or may work. Someone here tried disconnecting the battery, etc. That worked for me. But in NC the later vehicles go through an emissions check when the inspections are due. Here is what we do to get around that.
Have the code removed, AZ will do it for you for free. Drive the car around for about 30 or more miles, then take it in for inspection, it will pass. Don't replace the Cat/or other expensive items, do this first.