I know this is not about my chevelle, thats because it's not so difficult.
The passat on the other hand is giving me fits. :mad:

Here is the run down:
My wife broke the wiper arm mechanisam by turning it on with too much snow.
I started pulling fuses one at a time, before I figured out the wiper linkage was the prob. I thought I got them all put back in the correct place.

Now when I tryed to move the vechile, all the idiot lights are on now and the stupid think wont even release to take it out of park.
Anyone have any exsperience working on these VW's?

Hi Dan. Sounds like something may have happened to the computer? One thing I have learned over the years with VWs is don't fool with the electrical system. I mean you can't even put an after market radio in these things without problems.

Hi Dan. Sounds like something may have happened to the computer? One thing I have learned over the years with VWs is don't fool with the electrical system. I mean you can't even put an after market radio in these things without problems.


Thanks, I dissconected the battery to reset the computor, (the service engine, is off now)
If I could just get the stupid thing to come out of park now I would drive it to see if the idiot lights would reset.

Thanks, I dissconected the battery to reset the computor, (the service engine, is off now)
If I could just get the stupid thing to come out of park now I would drive it to see if the idiot lights would reset.

Look in your owners manual,there should be an emergency release button to get it of park.

Thanks but tow truck on its way. According to guy at dealership it will be covered because under 50000 miles.
I did find out by way of web searches, when changing batterys on these things you have to keep them connected to a power source, ie: battery charger. Otherwise they loose all settings and can "lock you out"
Stupid VW!:angry:
Of course the dealership would not volunteer any info, just that "sometimes when dissconnecting the battery, you will have to bring it to the dealer to reset everything"

They can be a pain in the butt sometimes.:yes:

Here is an option to get it out of PARK

Turn the key just to unlock the steering------put the car in NEUTRAL-----start the car.
Had this happen to one of my T'Birds when the brake light switch failed.

Don't put the car back into park once you get it running, or yopu will have to shut the car off to get it out of PARK again.

Worked on my Ford----might work on the VW

Here is an option to get it out of PARK

Turn the key just to unlock the steering------put the car in NEUTRAL-----start the car.
Had this happen to one of my T'Birds when the brake light switch failed.

Don't put the car back into park once you get it running, or yopu will have to shut the car off to get it out of PARK again.

Worked on my Ford----might work on the VW


thanks but tried that several times to no avail. Tow truck driver just showed up and was going to start digging at the console with a screwdriver, I said Wow....and now the owner of the tow company is going to send out a diverent truck with outher equitment to enable them to tow it without taking it out of park. And so, the game continues..........

One question. Do the brake lights still work?

I am watching this thread to see the outcome.

I have on '03 Passat with a V6 and manual trans. It has been a great car and now has 263,000 kms on it. The current generation Passat with the drive by wire scares me a little (look at the trouble Toyota has!) My '03 has a mechanical parking brake lever, whereas the new ones have an electronic button for a parking brake (I don't like that feature at all). Mine has ABS & traction control; both can be switched off if desired.

It is unfortunate that modern cars have so much technological overkill. I suppose it is the only way that carmakers can meet all the complex government imposed standards. That, plus buyers now are demanding so many convenience features. When my Chevelle was made, more of them had manual steering & brakes than power assist, very few had power windows or power seats, and in Canada none had a/c (in '67).

Do you still have the car? I've worked on alot of vw's and they are VERY touchy with the fuses!

If you pulled random fuses, check any that pertain to pcm, abs, coils, comp, or eng

If you pulled brake specific, check the abs fuse. The car will NOT start and will have just about every light on the dash lit if that abs fuse is missing or troublesome:yes:

I did find out by way of web searches, when changing batterys on these things you have to keep them connected to a power source, ie: battery charger. Otherwise they loose all settings and can "lock you out"
Stupid VW!:angry:



I have worked on lots of them and have NEVER lost "all" settings except for driver settings. If you are talking about the throttle body issue that is operator error. The parameters for the throttle body is stored to ROM which is not lost from a loss of power. What causes problems is when these shade tree mechanics remove the battery and shove a towel in their drive by wire throttle body and move the butterfly. NOW when the vehicle is hooked back up to power the throttle body is outside of it's parameter. When you disconnect the battery it is like the pcm is closing it's eyes. When you move the butterfly and then hook the battery back up, it is like the pcm opened it's eyes and is now disoriented because some things have changed. So there is a relearn process, some cars have this built in and it is a very quick process, the vw process is very weak and almost useless so it must go through a recalibration at a dealer.

I noticed from your one post that it sounds like it starts and runs. If that's the case then, as Chris suggested, check to see if your brake lights are operating, if not, thats why your car isn't coming out of park:yes:

Thanks for all the replys guys!
I gave up and the car was towed to dealer and fixed under warrentee.
Still, I will be careful of pulling fuses or battery from now on.
Unbelivable........