Think about yourself driving calmly aboard your Volkswagen Passat and all of a sudden an engine light shows up on your dashboard ! The most common kind of response is the worry of risking a severe trouble. To know what exactly this light corresponds to, you will have to learn how to read an Volkswagen Passat fault codes, you may have already heard about OBD system, this is precisely what we are going to talk about. Our editors have chosen to publish this content page to help you fairly quickly find the source of this default code and to give you serenity. To achieve this, we will first check out the nature of a fault code on Volkswagen Passat , then how to read an Volkswagen Passat fault code, and finally how to erase this fault code in order to turn off the light on your dashboard.
What is a Volkswagen Passat fault code?
A fault code is a universal or standard code which is identical to all manufacturers , they are also known as DTC (Data Trouble Code), the purpose is to guarantee that any diagnostic OBD can interpret them. They will be symbolized by a standard format, like for example: P0255. Each data will have a special meaning. Default codes are codes issued by the calculators of your Volkswagen Passat . These ECUs will continuously monitor your vehicle’s emissions, pressures, mixtures and when the values exceed the limits set by the vehicle’s ECU, the fault code will emerge. The benefit of understanding how to read a fault code on your Volkswagen Passat is that you will have access to complete data about your motor vehicle which will allow you to understand what trouble you are standing in front of.
How to read a fault code on my Volkswagen Passat ?
In this second part we will now focus specifically on what brings you here, how to read a fault code on Volkswagen Passat . To gain access to this useful data you will need to to acquire a diagnostic tool, also named OBD 2, named after the socket on your Volkswagen Passat to which you will have to connect. These diagnostic tools are freely available in the market, you will be able to find some in Bluetooth version which connects to your phone and some standard versions with a reader associated to the socket, as far as price is concerned, you will be able to find models between 30 and 100 euros. Once you have purchased an OBD2 diagnostic reader, you will need to find the diagnostic plug on your Volkswagen Passat , it is established on the left side of your steering column on the lower part of your dashboard, behind a hatch. It is easy to locate because it is triangular shaped and has 16 pins. All you have to do is connect with your diagnostic tool to read the fault code of your Volkswagen Passat .
How to erase the fault code Volkswagen Passat
Finally, to finish this content, we are going to demonstrate you the manipulation to perform to erase a fault code on your Volkswagen Passat . Once you have navigated through the menus, you will access the list of active fault codes on your car. But, you will have to ask yourself an important question, is it really advantageous to erase this fault code on Volkswagen Passat ? Indeed, erasing a fault code without solving the trouble corresponds to burying its head in the sand. Furthermore, the computer of your Volkswagen Passat is made to take resolutions according to the data it collects, if a very important fault code is present, it will likely adjust the engine operation to preserve it. So if you erase the fault code, make sure to solve the problem to which it is associated. Some OBD diagnostic tools do not allow you to do this. You have a dedicated navigation menu on most diagnostic tools that should allow you to clear this fault code on Volkswagen Passat .
If you want more guides on the Volkswagen Passat , go to our Volkswagen Passat category.
