VW Touareg OBD Error After Garage Service Visit

Had a similar situation with my 2014 VW Tiguan. The onboard diagnostics showed system readiness codes right after routine maintenance. The root cause was that the battery had been disconnected during service, which cleared all readiness monitors. Getting the system back to ready state required: Driving the car through a specific cycle, Multiple cold starts, Highway driving for about 20-30 minutes The car diagnostics need to complete certain test cycles to clear the pending codes. This is normal and not a serious issue. In my case, it took about 3 days of regular driving for all monitors to complete their self-tests. The emissions test monitors are particularly sensitive and need specific conditions to run their checks. If your garage disconnected the battery or reset the ECU during service, this explains the pending status. Worth noting: Avoid getting an emissions test until all readiness monitors complete their cycles, as the test will fail even if the exhaust system is perfectly fine. This is typically not a mechanical problem, just the onboard computer needing time to run through its diagnostic cycles.

Had exactly this problem with my Touareg too. Everything cleared up after following a specific drive cycle to reset the onboard diagnostics. Remember you need to do some highway runs and city driving to get all systems through their test sequence. What caught my attention in your reply, did all vehicle inspection monitors eventually complete their cycles? Also curious how much the diagnostic check cost you at your shop? My car diagnostics showed everything was fine after about a week of normal driving, but wondering if you encountered any other issues since then?

Since my first post, I can confirm all vehicle inspection monitors completed their cycles successfully. After seeing the mechanic for a system check via OBD2 diagnostics, they confirmed everything was working as intended. Best part, the diagnostic scan was completely free of charge. The drive cycle approach worked perfectly, just as mentioned earlier. After completing several highway runs mixed with regular city driving, all onboard diagnostics returned to normal status. The check engine system is now showing all monitors as ready. Important note for others with similar issues: no additional problems have surfaced since the readiness monitors completed their cycles. The key really is patience and following the proper drive cycle pattern. Once all systems run through their test sequence, the vehicle inspection status typically stays complete unless the battery gets disconnected again. A quick tip for future reference, keeping a record of when system readiness issues occur can help track if there are any patterns related to maintenance visits or battery work.

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies. Wanted to share how my situation got resolved. Took the car to a different mechanic who actually explained the whole system readiness process properly. The diagnostic check cost me 65€ and revealed the previous garage had reset the engine control unit without letting the necessary tests complete. The exhaust system sensors needed time to calibrate through various driving conditions. Following the new mechanics advice, I: Did several cold starts over 3 days, Drove normal routes mixing city and highway, Let the engine idle properly after cold starts, Avoided aggressive acceleration After about 5 days, all vehicle inspection monitors showed complete and the error message disappeared. The OBD readiness tests finally passed, showing all systems working normally. The best part, no issues since then and my car passed its emissions test last week without any problems. Learned my lesson about finding a mechanic who actually explains what they are doing with the cars computer systems.