VW Lupo OBD Warning After Mechanic Service Fix Tips

Recently had a similar situation with my 2006 VW Polo TDI. The check engine light appeared right after routine maintenance, showing incomplete system readiness status during an OBD2 scan. The issue often occurs when the battery gets disconnected during service work, which clears the onboard diagnostics memory. The car needs to complete several drive cycles to restore all system readiness monitors. This affects the exhaust system monitoring in particular. For my case, it took about 150km of mixed driving to get all monitors ready. Here is what worked: Drive at steady highway speeds for 20 minutes, Perform several cold starts, Include city driving with stops and starts, Avoid aggressive acceleration No additional mechanic visit was needed. However, attempting an emissions test before all monitors are ready will result in automatic failure. The system needs time to validate the exhaust system and emissions controls are working properly. This is typically not a serious issue unless warning lights persist after completing the drive cycles. Monitor the check engine status, if it stays on after 200km of driving, then a diagnostic scan for fault codes would be warranted.

Thanks for explaining your experience. I had nearly the same problem with my Lupo last month. The OBD readiness monitors needed a reset after routine service too. The drive cycle method you described worked perfectly and the check engine light finally cleared itself. Before finding your post, I was about to schedule another mechanic visit. Just curious, what did the original service work cost you? Also, have you had any emission system warnings pop up since completing the computer reset procedure?

Thanks for the update about your Lupo. Glad the drive cycle method helped resolve your OBD readiness issue. The onboard diagnostics showed all monitors ready after I completed the reset procedure, and I have not seen any exhaust system warnings since. My initial concern actually turned out to be quite simple, the system readiness check was incomplete because of the battery disconnect during routine service. The mechanic confirmed this during a free follow-up OBD2 diagnostics scan. Best part, fixing the readiness monitors cost nothing extra since it just required normal driving. For anyone dealing with similar issues: make sure to complete several drive cycles after service work before scheduling a vehicle inspection. This gives the car computer enough time to validate all emission control systems are working properly.

Since your experience helped solve my issue, I wanted to share how it all worked out. After the initial service work, which cost me 320€ for a major service including timing belt replacement, I was worried about those warning lights. Followed your driving pattern suggestion instead of rushing back to the mechanic. After about 140km of mixed driving over three days, the computer reset completed and all the system readiness monitors cleared. The onboard diagnostics now show everything is working normally. No exhaust system warnings have appeared since then. Just passed the vehicle inspection last week with no issues. Really saved me from an unnecessary mechanic visit and helped me understand how the drive cycle reset works on these cars.