What's the worst thing this warning light could mean?

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GetTheDub

Member
I'm looking at buying a motor but I want to make sure it's sound. The emmissions light was on during a test drive from a private seller. After a ton of back and forth, they agreed to allow me to book it in for a service at a place of my choosing and expense. I was going to get it serviced anyway if I bought it. So I am looking at VW's own servicing plan and their highest servicing plan is the Oil and Inspection plus Pollen Filter one. How thorough is that? Do they check most things over? Would they let you know if the gearbox is about to pack up or something?

Cheers
 
You want to plug it in and see why the emissions light is on! What sort of age? Mileage? What has it been used for etc?

There are lots of vehicles to choose from so unless its super special rare spec of something "unique" I would tread cautiously. Was the light on when you started or did it come on during the test drive? More experienced engine people will come along soon I am sure.
 
I'd second getting something that reads the codes - even the basic Carista with the free first month is going to help here and it's around £35 quid.

In modern engines the warning lights don't really tell you much by themselves, it's more an indication that a serious enough set of faults have been logged that they should be looked at.

With the services the one that does the most inspection is the "supplementary scope" one - the one with the filters just changes more of the consumables.

You might want to consider just booking it for a diagnostic (usually £100 ish) and tell them you're thinking of buying and what you want looked at.

Your issue might be finding somewhere that isn't busy and can look at it in a time the vendor is happy with.
 
I know the emission lamp warning light could mean a few different things, but what's the worst thing is could be and how much would it cost to fix?
I know it could also be every single thing on the list lol. Just the worst thing it could be.

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That is a "how long is a piece of string" question. Only way you are going to get a sensible answer is by having the code(s) that are causing this read ( VCDS or Carista) and telling us what they say. Only mitigating factor I can see is that it is orange rather than red and I'm assuming the van is driving OK.
 
kipperman said:
That is a "how long is a piece of string" question. Only way you are going to get a sensible answer is by having the code(s) that are causing this read ( VCDS or Carista) and telling us what they say. Only mitigating factor I can see is that it is orange rather than red and I'm assuming the van is driving OK.
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It's not my van, I just wondered worst singular problem it could be. It does seem to drive okay. I needs a new water pump/cambelt but I don't think the light would come on for those. So I'm wondering if say, the EGR needed totally replacing. Is that possibly the most costly singular thing is could be? What's that around, 1-2k? Cheers
 
Howzat said:
This is such an easy question to answer!

The engine is goosed and VW will charge £12k for the engine to be replaced.
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That's the first I heard it could mean the whole engine. Really is the warning light of doom as they say..
 
That orange light on it's own is normally down to emissions.
 
Dellmassive said:
That orange light on it's own is normally down to emissions.
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So if it was the whole engine as Howzat suggested, there would probably be more than one light on right?
The emissions light just stays solid, drives alright, can't hear any knocking but then I'm not familiar with these vehicles so hard for me to tell. Was just thinking worse case if something needed fully replacing etc. What do you think?
 
You need to scan the van for codes.

The code for May give you indication. Normally todo with EGR flow.
 
How about the best thing it could be? It's the PO20EE nitrous oxide fault, you clear it and give it an "Italian tune up". Might not see it again.
 
Dellmassive said:
You need to scan the van for codes.

The code for May give you indication. Normally todo with EGR flow.
Click to expand...
I was going to take it into VW for their oil and inspection service with supplementary scope. How thorough are they with this? As in, if the engine was on it's way out, would they pick up on that? If EGR is gone, I'm assuming that's something they would definitely pick up on? I'm just wondering best way to get it properly looked over. I assumed it would be a service by VW themselves.
 
I repeat my advice on your other thread (now merged with this one)

In modern engines the warning lights don't really tell you much by themselves, it's more an indication that a serious enough set of faults have been logged that they should be looked at.

If you are asking the forum can we guage the risk of you buying that van from a picture of the warning light then the answer is no, that's impossible.

The only way folks can really help is if you have a list of codes and symptoms from the van in question, and as it's not yours that's going to be hard to get.

There are other vans out there, maybe only buy this one if you can afford the worst case @Howzat notes.
 
kipperman said:
You say this isn't your van - are you intending to buy it?
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Possibly. It comes in the spec I want. It needs a few things doing to it which came up in a recent service. But since that service, this light came on. Could be nothing, could be something. So they agreed that I could take it anywhere I want for a service to get it checked out. I picked VW thinking that's "probably" the best place? I don't just want the light looked at but the whole thing. I don't mind coughing up a few hundred quid for the service.
 
You might also see if one of the well known independent dealers, such as Bognor Motors, would do such an inspection and condition type report
 
GetTheDub said:
So if it was the whole engine as Howzat suggested, there would probably be more than one light on right?
The emissions light just stays solid, drives alright, can't hear any knocking but then I'm not familiar with these vehicles so hard for me to tell. Was just thinking worse case if something needed fully replacing etc. What do you think?
Click to expand...

Nope. Just to be clear the engine could be borked with no lights on as well.
I answered your question of "what's the worst outcome" when an engine light is on. I believe my answer is correct as a whole new engine would be the worst possible outcome, but it may not be (and even probably isn't) the correct answer for this particular engine. It's also true that it could just be a glow plug sensor or any number of minor things and the only way to find out is get it scanned then checked over by a competent mechanic.
 
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