Help! Help! Help!

[darkmanCANADA]

2009 Tiguan in our driveway and can't get the electronic parking brake to disengage.

-vehicle started
-seatbelt on
-foot on brake
-vehicle in park

Pushed the button and light still on and parking brake still on????? WTF.

[Satnam]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

sorry can't help, but is it sort of bad that a failsafe is now electronically controlled.

edit: disconnect battery for a while -10 mins (-), reconnect, put key in drivers door, lock all doors, unlock all doors(roll down windows), lock all door again?????, then try

[Kordain]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

its a new 2009, call the dealer, get them to come out and fix it !!!!!!!

just hope they dont say something like your pressing the wrong button

[Stonewall]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

If you call the dealership they will likely be like "You will need to bring the car in to be fixed sir, there is nothing we can do for you."

[P Arkus]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

If you call the dealership they will likely be like "You will need to bring the car in to be fixed sir, there is nothing we can do for you."

Yep thats exactly what they will tell you. I had a similar situation on my MK4. The little "put your foot on the brake" light would not shut off so I wasnt able to shift it into gear. Turns out it was a faulty brake light switch, which was a recall item. I went to the dealership, and they told me to bring the car in. I thought it was pretty obvious that I cant get the car moving so I explained it to them again, and they wanted me to pay to get it towed there, and then they would fix it "for free". They wouldnt even give me the damn brake light switch for free even though it was a recall item. I ended up buying it for $7 and fixing it myself in about 15 mins. The moral of the story is dealerships do NOTHING for you. It wasnt even about the money, but just the fact that they know I would have to pay to get it towed and they still wouldnt give me the brake light switch. Unbelievable.

Not sure if this helps you, but it might be the same thing. I'm not sure how advanced everything is in the tiguan. Anyone else know if it might be the same thing?

[Satnam]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

Yep thats exactly what they will tell you. I had a similar situation on my MK4. The little "put your foot on the brake" light would not shut off so I wasnt able to shift it into gear. Turns out it was a faulty brake light switch, which was a recall item. I went to the dealership, and they told me to bring the car in. I thought it was pretty obvious that I cant get the car moving so I explained it to them again, and they wanted me to pay to get it towed there, and then they would fix it "for free". They wouldnt even give me the damn brake light switch for free even though it was a recall item. I ended up buying it for $7 and fixing it myself in about 15 mins. The moral of the story is dealerships do NOTHING for you. It wasnt even about the money, but just the fact that they know I would have to pay to get it towed and they still wouldnt give me the brake light switch. Unbelievable.

Not sure if this helps you, but it might be the same thing. I'm not sure how advanced everything is in the tiguan. Anyone else know if it might be the same thing?

don't you get roadside assistance from VW, if so use it to get towed to the dealership.

[vee_dubbin]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

2009 Tiguan in our driveway and can't get the electronic parking brake to disengage.

-vehicle started
-seatbelt on
-foot on brake
-vehicle in park

Pushed the button and light still on and parking brake still on????? WTF.

Okay...before we go nuts on dealerships and such, lets try to solve the problem first.

I will give you the steps to follow and I will need you to post back if they didn't work.

1. Vehicle running at idle and in (P) Park
2. Step on and depress the brake pedal firmly and hold
3. Push the parking brake button down (not up) until the light goes out.
4. The light should go out and the parking brake should be released

If these steps don't wok, contact your VW dealer and I'm sure they will be willing to have the vehicle towed in at there expense, which will be reimbersed by Volkswagen of Canada.

[VRado6]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

Yep thats exactly what they will tell you. I had a similar situation on my MK4. The little "put your foot on the brake" light would not shut off so I wasnt able to shift it into gear. Turns out it was a faulty brake light switch, which was a recall item. I went to the dealership, and they told me to bring the car in. I thought it was pretty obvious that I cant get the car moving so I explained it to them again, and they wanted me to pay to get it towed there, and then they would fix it "for free". They wouldnt even give me the damn brake light switch for free even though it was a recall item. I ended up buying it for $7 and fixing it myself in about 15 mins. The moral of the story is dealerships do NOTHING for you. It wasnt even about the money, but just the fact that they know I would have to pay to get it towed and they still wouldnt give me the brake light switch. Unbelievable.

Not sure if this helps you, but it might be the same thing. I'm not sure how advanced everything is in the tiguan. Anyone else know if it might be the same thing?

While I don't know your whole situation, I can tell you that the dealership can only do so much in that kind of circumstance. As far as I know, the N4 (brake light switch recall) does not cover roadside assistance, so if your vehicle is off its 4yr/80k, you will be on your own. Thats not dealership policy, thats VW policy. The dealership is not going to pay $50-$100 to tow your car for a $40 repair. VW will not re-emburse them for it, so they will not do it. Secondly, the recall must be completed at a VW dealership for it to be free of charge. The parts department cannot simply give you a brakelight switch, it has to be billed on a work order, a tech has to clock time on that work order, and then it can be billed to VW. Again, this is not dealership policy, this is VW. The moral of the story is, don't be so quick to blame your dealership for doing "nothing", when what they offered you is all they can do.

[Kordain]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

This is a 2009 car ! id be flaming furious if they wouldnt sort it out. How can you get it to the dealer when you cant get the brake off?

If they wont honour their vehicles to help out in situations like that then its a sad world.

[VRado6]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

I wasn't talking about the Tiguan, I was reffering to the post that I quoted.

I'd be frustrated if I had the Tiguan as well, but if he can't get it working then roadside assitance will tow it to the dealership since he is still on warranty.

[P Arkus]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

I agree that its all the dealership could do, so I guess I would blame VW for the hassle. Maybe i'm just that ignorant, but I think anything that is a recall item should be treated the same as if it was under warrantee. If it wasnt a defective product, it wouldnt be a recall item. but thats just my opinion.

[Kordain]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

I wasn't talking about the Tiguan, I was reffering to the post that I quoted.

I know, I was just opinionating on the situation.

[darkmanCANADA]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

Thanks everyone for the replies. I was able to get a flashlight in there and found a tiny piece of hard candy had wedged in there enough that the button could not contact the endpoint to disengage the switch. So I pulled out the Dyson vacuum and sucked it out. Voila!!! PITA!!!

[stefan]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

Back in BC, a friend of mine drove tow truck. Had a chev avalanche that would red line as soon as you started it. Of course, it was a roadside assistance deal, so he could only tow the truck, not attempt any diagnosis. So 1.5 hour tow to Cranbrook, dealer opens hood, removes pebble from throttle linkage, closes hood, 1.5 hour tow back. No charge to driver, but similar deal to yours. They must build in a pretty good premium to cover roadside assistance.

Glad it was minor!

[Kordain]

Re: Help! Help! Help!

Thanks everyone for the replies. I was able to get a flashlight in there and found a tiny piece of hard candy had wedged in there enough that the button could not contact the endpoint to disengage the switch. So I pulled out the Dyson vacuum and sucked it out. Voila!!! PITA!!!

lol you must have been eating that candy in a rush to throw it all over your car so much to get it lodged somewhere like that. Sounds like you needed the dyson anyway