Exhaust emission warning lamp?

[Xizor]

Hi Folk's,

This my first post here so go easy on me!

I have a 2001 1.8T Passat estate which has done about 73K. Anyway, the exhaust emission warning lamp came on yesterday (solid) and I'd like some advice, please.

I've done a search and come up with various reasons for this from duff fuel to CAT failure. What I'd like to know is, is it OK to drive around for a few hundred miles to see if the lamp goes out?

By the way, the car seems to drive perfectly normally.

Thanks very much for any advice.

Cheers,
Xizor :D

[adamss24]

Ussually , duff fuel will bring misfires and lumpy idle and a loss of general performance. Take the car to a garage for a diagnostic and post the fault codes on the forum, then we'll take it from there ! Its not wise to drive with a faulty lambda sensor or faulty injector as they will leave unburnt fuel go to the cat and will destroy it eventually .

[Xizor]

Hi again!

Here's an update to my Exhaust Emission light problem.

After a bit of research I bought a VAG-COM cable off a well known internet auction site.
Plugged it in tonight and got the following error code:

17544 - Fuel Trim: Bank 1 (Add) : System too lean

Cleared the fault and the light has gone out! hurray!
Although I haven't been out for a drive yet!

Anybody have any comments about this fault code? A quick search suggests it may be a vacuum leak, am I right?

Any help much appreciated.

Cheers,
Xizor :D

PS. VAG-COM cable was fab! It's paid for itself already and I was able to diagnose my car in the comfort of my own garage. Highly recommended.

[Crasher]

That is usually an air leak on the crankcase ventilation system to the intake pipe after the Air Mass Meter.