Low coolant warning light

JIMHALL757

MEMBER
2000 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE

2000 Volkswagen Beetle 85,000 miles

My daughters V/W Bug: She called & said that the water light comes on and she has checked the coolant water level. Says that it is full. She stated yes that she (&her boy friend know where to properly check the level) Engine does not appear to overheat. She also says that the lite comes on as soon as she starts the car. Even after sitting overnight. (Could this be a stuck thermostat? She also says that she has a ABS warning lite, A brake warning lite, an enginewarning site and an airbag warning lite that all come on. Sounds like it could be an electrical problem or computer problem. Is there any simple things that could be common to all these warning indications that we can check or is this more likely major surgery?

1 Reply

SERVICE WRITER

MECHANIC
9,123 POSTS

All sounds normal except the low coolant light.

When you first start the car the cluster goes through a "lighting" period that will illuminate the lights. The should go off though. Do they?

The low coolant light is proably just the sensor gummed up or gone bad. Sometimes you can tap on the sensor to jar it and affect the light. Maybe you can clean them, I don't recomeend doing anything with it if you are diligent about looking at the coolant on a consistent basis.