Big problems - warning lights galore...

[Flying Ace]

Hi there,
so I get in my car to drive home this evening, and after a few seconds I get three loud chimes in the car - the steering light, ABS light and TCS light all stay on, and the red exclamation mark starts flashing. The steering is heavy, but braking feels normal. The speedo stays on 0 even when moving, the fuel gauge goes to 50%, and the tacho stays about 2000.

What has happened I'm super worried that this is a major fault and will be prohibitively expensive to fix, but on the other hand it could simply be a low fluid issue or something? Any help much appreciated!

Edit: 2008 Mk V GTI, just over 150k on the clock.

[gerhard]

Not likely to be low fluid, since the steering is electric.

Might be something simple like a faulty VSS (vehicle speed sensor).

This causes the ECU to not know the vehicle speed so it can't work.

You'll need to get the codes read to hopefully pinpoint the faulty bit.

[Umai Naa!!]

Could be a faulty instrument cluster, since every gauge in it has gone beserk.

Heavy streering will be an electrical problem with the rack. Be it a faulty steering angle sensor, or a dead rack.

All the faults could even be centralised around one component, like the E-box in the engine bay.

Book it in, get it diagnosed, and hope that it's cheap and easy to fix

[vdubmotorworx]

Get a VCDS check and get some codes to follow for a start...a battery reset might be a good idea too....VDUB..

[Flying Ace]

Well I won't be able to get it checked out until next week. I drove her to work and back today (only 7km, so not far). All the lights on again, but this time the TPMS light flashed a few times, the petrol gauge fluctuated from nearly full to completely empty several times, giving me a "refuel now!" warning. Very bizarre circumstances! I would say that it is a faulty dash cluster, but the steering does become slightly heavier when all the warnings flash up.

[Transporter]

Assumptions, assumptions. The first step would be to get your car properly diagnosed by a mechanic who can properly interpret the meaning of the faults and also has the ability to run some additional tests if needed. I suggest that you always test the suspect component before replacing, otherwise you could be wasting money and time.

[vdubmotorworx]

Well I won't be able to get it checked out until next week. I drove her to work and back today (only 7km, so not far). All the lights on again, but this time the TPMS light flashed a few times, the petrol gauge fluctuated from nearly full to completely empty several times, giving me a "refuel now!" warning. Very bizarre circumstances! I would say that it is a faulty dash cluster, but the steering does become slightly heavier when all the warnings flash up.

could be as simple as a loose earth wire...as above last thing you want to do is spend 1k on a cluster not to fix the fault...code check and see what links all the issues together....

[Flying Ace]

Thanks for the advice. Does anyone have any recommendations for someone on the Sunshine Coast? I can take it to my mechanic but I'm not sure he's the right person for the job.

[Flying Ace]

Took it to my mechanic who checked the codes out - many, many errors, but the main one appears to be a faulty ABS sensor. My gearbox is now disengaging every few minutes (no power, engine just revs, the "gear" lights on the MFD all flash. Have to stop the car, switch off and restart to get it going again).

Taking it to a proper VW diagnostician next week to get it checked out thoroughly.

[Ernz1981]

So how did you go?