I have a 2006 VW Bettle convertible. It has never gave me any problems or concerns until last evening. I noticed that the emissions light came on and it has stayed on since last evening. It isn't blinking off and on but stays on continually. Being a woman I have no ideal what this is or means(the emission light) that is. Could someone explain to me what it is and if it is serious and expensive to get fixed. I was told that sometimes this light comes on for no real apparent reason but yet it is still on. So is this indicating I do for sure have a concern and a problem.
Thanks for any information at all,
Janice

 

Hi Janice, are we talking the "engine" light? The amber colored one that looks like a little tiny engine?

 

I am sorry that it has taken me so long to respond to your question. Yes, it was the amber colored light that looks like a tiny engine. I was told that it comes on sometimes for no apparent reason and that it will go off which it did. Do you agree with this theory?
Thank you,
Janice

 

No, this is incorrect. The check engine light comes on only if a sensor in the vehicle somewhere has tripped it. It wouldn’t come on for “nothing”.

The severity of the problem, however, is something that is debatable. It could be something as simple as your fuel cap not being on tight enough (your car has a evaporation detection system), or something more serious. The light is not flashing, so that weeds out the higher tier of problematic issues.

The ONLY way to determine why the light is on is to get your car scanned for problem codes. This will inform the mechanic (and you) EXACTLY what function of your vehicle tripped the check engine light.

 

Hi again Janice, I agree whole heartedly with what the previous poster has said. The light may have gone out but when you get it scanned it will still be stored as a fault. Now I had the same instance happen with my bug, it turned out to be a faulty O2 sensor (post catalayic convertor). In VW's (my bug anyways) the code must be removed manually once one has been tripped. Not sure if I like this setup as it will cost you a small amount of money and some of your time to have this done at a service center.