Flashing Glow Plug Light and Limp Mode - No Check Engine Light

Hello:

Just was wondering if others here could help explain what happened this AM.

I have a '09 TDI Jetta Sedan w/ Manual transmission and about 62,000 miles.

This morning, while driving to work, my Glow Plug light started flashing on my dashboard and the car immediately seemed to lose power. I am guessing this means it went into "Limp Mode."

No other lights were illuminated. There was no Check Engine Light (CEL) showing on the dash.

I drove it about 10 miles and then thought I would restart the car to see if that cleared the issue. It worked perfectly. I then drove another hour and nothing happened. All was normal.

Why would my car just suddenly have this issue, which then resolved itself?

I've read the glow plug can start to flash due to the errors with the Throttle Positioning Sensor. It was very snowy today and my boots were wet with snow. Wonder if this had anything to do with it.

Suggestions?

Just to be clear, the flashing glow plug light *is* a check engine light, just a more serious one, so it flashes.... or so think the German engineers.

It does sound like a form of limp mode... the car thought there was a problem and shut off the turbo to prevent further damage. Power-cycling the ECU reset the issue.

Best bet now is to have it scanned for codes with a proper VAG scanner (VCDS, etc)... chances are the car has some clues as to what happened.

I say "VAG" scanner because a generic OBD2 scanner won't pick up proprietary VW codes, including the ones that get tripped but don't permanently trigger a CEL.

+1 on VCDS scan. Sadly, a flashing GP light occurs for a whole range of issues having nothing to do with GPs. I liken it to Microsoft's blue screen of death.

To the OP: if you do not have the ability to scan the system, you need to get the car to a trusted Guru, TDI knowledgeable mechanic, or the dealership. The car is trying to tell you information, but you are not able to communicate with it