I have a 2002 VW Jetta that has a warning light that is on, but I can not find out what the light means and what it is warning me about. It is a circle with 3 dashes on each side of the circle. Can anyone tell me what that warning light means? Thanks in advance! Sassy
Thanks so much. States it's the brake pad worn! We just had the total brakes replaces, so I guess that it just needs reset! Thank you again! You're the best! Sassy
Well, thank you.
BUT:
There is a wire sensor that is either mounted in the pad or plugs into the pad that signals this warning light. Make sure that the brake-shop installed the new pads correctly and/or used the correct pads (some are identical except for a sensor position) and so forth.
Without being too pushy about it, try to verify that the sensor is properly installed with your own eyes. It may be a matter of a simple re-set, but that has not been my experience. Mostly it is a PTFE coated wire embedded in the pad that touches bare metal when the pad wears to a certain point then completes a circuit.
One more thing in defense of the shop, the old sensor may be worn out, something not immediately apparent in some cases. As they are not-cheap little parts ($15-$40 depending on the vehicle for the pair), the shop may have tried to save you a couple of bucks.
Just make sure that they are there and correct or the next time you need pads, you may discover such at best when the back-plates hit the rotors... no fun at all. Or at worst when the brakes fade going down a long hill....
If anyone gets the impression that I am a bit buggy about brakes... yep... I am.
Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA
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