01 Passat TDi Engine Workshop! Message??

[alba_tdi]

Wonder if any VW buffs could assist me with a problem i have had with my 01 Passat Tdi 130BHP?
Siiting in traffic the glow plug (engine management) warning light illuminates and the message "ENGINE WORKSHOP!" comes on. Car still pulls perfectly and after a short distance the light and message go out.
Has anyone come across this before, and know the cause(s) and fix?
Many thanks. Alba_tdi.

[westie383]

Hello alba,
I had exactly the same thing happen with my 130 TDI this year on two separate occasions. It has nothing to do with glow plugs etc, but I believe it's simply an attention getter. My car was still under warranty, and when it was hooked up to the VW dealers diagnostics, it turned out to be an intermittant fault with the brake light switch which fails to pass electrickery to the brake lights. The switch was then replaced and all has been fine since. Damm clever these Germans.....
Hope this helps, my dealers are VW Priory Park, Hull 01482 640020 if your dealer/garage wants any confirmation.
Cheers, Trev.. :beerchug:

[alba_tdi]

Trev,
Thanks for the info, doing a little more searching i found a similar answer on another site. All appears well with the brake switch and lights but i will arrange to get the car hooked up at a diagnostic centre in the next week or so. Cheers.

[murphoid]

I had the ENGINE WORKSHOP message and the flashing coil warning light. It was the final straw that made me take it to the garage. I'd had the ABS light and Traction Control light showing for a few weeks beforehand and the battery light flashed intermittently after starting.

I took it to a non-VW garage (Beach Garage in Hull) who put it on diagnostics and told me a new brake light switch would fix the lot. It did and they charged me £35 for the lot!

My car was a 05 reg Passat 1.9 TDI 130bhp too - 60K on the clock

[westie383]

I had the ENGINE WORKSHOP message and the flashing coil warning light. It was the final straw that made me take it to the garage. I'd had the ABS light and Traction Control light showing for a few weeks beforehand and the battery light flashed intermittently after starting.

I took it to a non-VW garage (Beach Garage in Hull) who put it on diagnostics and told me a new brake light switch would fix the lot. It did and they charged me £35 for the lot!

My car was a 05 reg Passat 1.9 TDI 130bhp too - 60K on the clock

Hi Murphoid, glad you got your car sorted out for very little money. I've used Beach Garage many times in the past and can certainly recommend them. Since having VW's I've started using A&A Motors a bit further up the road as they specialise in VW/Audi etc, but I'll bear Beach Garage in mind for the future. :beerchug:

[murphoid]

Hi Westie:beerchug:Think I owe you a vote of thanks. It was your post that put my mind at rest and I passed the info on to Beach (incidentally the first time I've used them). My previous ALTERNATOR WORKSHOP alert 2 months earlier was a horror story. The main dealer, who had just replaced the cambelt said I needed a new alternator. That was £500 and they reduced it to £400 so I was expecting the worst.