Saturday Projects™.com | 2001 Volkswagen Cabrio - 5 | Neutral Safety Switch

See notes below:
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Notes -
After replacing the water pump, we filled the coolant system and then started the car. It ran, but when we tried to start it again, we noticed that whatever gear we shifted into, the dash indicator remained at D.

After some research, we determined it to be the neutral safety switch. We removed it, and took it apart and it had corrosion on the circuit board. We ordered the part and replaced it.

The car started up fine but the indicator was still stuck on D. What we did to fix this was CLEAR THE CODES after installing the new switch, and now it works fine.

This isn't an easy repair due to the location. A ratcheting wrench is recommended but you will need an open box wrench to tighten the last bit because the ratcheting wrench diameter interferes with the switch.

For better access we also took the bolts out of the battery pan, unclipped some of the wire harnesses, and unbolted the shift cable from the transmission (careful there is a washer underneath.

Also, the thumb button on the gear shifter was sticking, we put some wd40 and waited for that to work its magic. Seemed to help quite a bit.

Happy to answer any constructive questions.

-SaturdayProjects™