What does it mean if the EPC warning light comes on in a Volkswagen?

What does it mean if the EPC warning light comes on in a Volkswagen?

Since the inception of the motor vehicle, several manufactures have claimed that their brand of car, has sold the most units globally. But since there is no definitive comparative yardstick to measure the exact amount of units sold,  Volkswagen claimed that their Volkswagen Beetle is the "bestselling car in history", considering they had sold more than 21 million units. To be more exact, The New York Times, date July 31, 2003 stated that the very "Last Volkswagen Beetle" manufactured was in fact number 21,529,464. 

Ford on the other hand manufactured their 1 millionth Model T's during the last month of 1915, with total sales of 15 million units produced by 1927 when they ceased production. In 1972 Volkswagen broke Ford's record when their 15,007,034th Beetle came off the production line in Puebla, Mexico. 



Be that as it may, Toyota boasts that in reality, their Toyota Corolla is the "bestselling automobile in the world", after reaching their 40 millionth unit in July 2013. But regardless of their claim, Volkswagen is undoubtedly still the "bestselling automobile in the world" seeing that the Volkswagen Beetle didn't change its shape or form since 1945 up to and including 2003, whereas Toyota used their Corolla label for eleven generations of Toyota cars, built since 1966 and this very Corolla label is still in common use. Non-the-less, statistically Volkswagen has been the best selling car globally until late 1998; meaning the Volkswagen Beetle remains the "bestselling vehicle ever". 

Enter the Volkswagen Kombi, Volkwagen City Golf, Volkswagen Fox, Vokswagen Jetta, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Polo, Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen Kombi, Volkswagen Sharan, Volkswagen  Toureg, Volkswagen Amrok, Volkswagen Transporter and the list goes on. However this entire Volkswagen fleet doesn't come without their fair share of  problems. The most common of which is probably the EPC light accompanied by limp-mode home.

What is the VW EPC Warning Light, 

The Electronic Power Control warning light, is commonly known as the EPC warning light. It's a dashboard warning indicator that suggests that there may be a problem with your Volkswagen’s throttle system. The throttle system consists of the accelerator pedal, the throttle body, traction control, cruise control, and the ECU, which is collectively called the drive-by-wire system. 
The drive-by-wire system is also sometimes referred to as an Electronic Throttle Control (ETC), roughly described as a technology that electronically "connects" the accelerator pedal to the throttle, instead of a mechanical linkage. 

In a drive-by-wire system, an electric stepper motor determines the angle of the throttle valve. How wide it opens or closes, is calculated by a —closed-loop control algorithm— software controlled embedded system built into the ECU. The ECU makes decisions based on various input data from several sensors, among which are, the accelerator pedal position sensors, engine speed sensor,  vehicle speed sensor, and the cruise control switch. The Electronic Control Unit (ECU) can also be described as a computerized ignition / engine management system  that operates in conjunction with the stability and cruise control systems. When the EPC light comes on, it means the problem is not emission related, whereas the Check Engine Light (CEL)indicates emission related problems but when it lights up, can be accompanied by the EPC light. If the EPC warning light comes on in your vehicle, it is important to have it seen to as soon as possible, because it you don't invariable it's going to trigger again when you least expect it.

EPC Car Warning Light

When the EPC light comes on in your Volkswagen, its throttle may be limited in power, yet have sufficient power to drive the car to a dealership or mechanical workshop, but it shouldn't be driven elsewhere. This is called limp-mode-home. Limp mode home is  inherent in its the software design in order to to protect the car from run-away and  its passengers from possible injury. Volkswagen cars equipped with a Electronic Stability Program (ESP) program, will display its ESP light instead of the EPC light and may automatically trigger the car into limp-home mode. 

Vehicles fitted with Traction Power System (TPS) are also prone to enter into 'limp-home-mode'  which effectively prevents software glitches from initiating or activating unintended acceleration.  In 2011 the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) commissioned a team of NASA software engineers to evaluate software of late model year Toyota and Lexus vehicles, alleged to be the cause of  unintended acceleration collision, which caused the death of a passenger in a September 2007. 

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