VW Passat - Brakes Become Stiff Before Starting the Car!


Thread Starter #1
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
16
Likes
6
Location
Mumbai
I recently bought a used VW Passat 2011 Highline model. It has key less entry and push auto start features.

Before you can start the engine with the auto-start feature you are supposed to depress the brake pedal, without this the engine does not start in Passat.

A few day ago after 4 hours of standing, when I pressed the brake pedal before I could start the engine the brake felt very stiff and difficult to press. As a result when I tried to start the engine it gave me a message in MFD -"depress brake to start". After a few attempts at pressing the brake and push starts I could finally manage to get the engine running. Thereafter the brake was working perfectly fine and I have not face the problem ever since until today morning when I tried to start the vehicle.

I did some research and found this link -http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=366440 , it seems this problem is troubling many VW vehicles abroad. Vacuum leak has been suggested as the root cause which sounds logical, but the problem is random in nature and does not occur every time I start the vehicle.

Has anyone encountered this problem in India with a Passat or any VW vehicle for that matter and managed to get this fixed at a VW service center? It would good to have additional information in hand before I talk to the service guys! [;)]

Thanks,
McWheely
 

AMG

Suspended
Joined
Oct 1, 2009
Messages
4,031
Likes
328
Location
N/A
This is a very common and a very well known problem with Passats.

Brake Booter Check Valve is leaking. Replace it.
Brake booster in these cars is undersized. Some with the DSG are having trouble starting in the early mornings as the system loses vacuum as well .
 
Last edited:
Thread Starter #3
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
16
Likes
6
Location
Mumbai
Brake Booter Check Valve is leaking. Replace it.
Brake booster in these cars is undersized. Some with the DSG are having trouble starting in the early mornings as the system loses vacuum as well .
Thanks for the quick reply and advise! I will request an investigation from the service center and see what is the answer they come up with. Irrespective, if the problem continues I will get the Brake Booster valve replaced.
 
Thread Starter #4
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
16
Likes
6
Location
Mumbai
Update:
I took my car for a check up at VW Service and due to the Saturday rush they performed some preliminary checks and could not find any issues. I have booked an appointment for tomorrow for a full fledged checkup.

I also found a test to check Brake Booster on YouTube and this link:

Do-It-Yourself Power Brake Booster Test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogXIHfrhXsQ

All the test yielded positive results. I will keep you updated on the root cause of this problem.

Cheers,
McWheely
 
Thread Starter #5
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
16
Likes
6
Location
Mumbai
Update:
A complete check up plus OBD scanning was done. No issues uncovered. I was also not able to replicate the issue in front of the technicians.

May the problem appears again, I will get the car back to service.

Cheers,
McWheely
 

Top Bottom