Octavia 2 FL, 2009 1.9tdi. Yesterday, during a sportier drive, out of nowhere my handbrake light started briefly blinking and beeping for a few seconds, then back to normal. I don't know if it's a coincidence but a driver behind me also started flashing at me at the same time the beeping happened. My first thought was that my brakes overheated from high speed braking so I pulled over and inspected for smoke/heat or any other visible stuff. Nothing. Checked for brake fluid leaks and level, nothing. Everything was completely normal. Started driving slowly to hear if there's anything going on, it was perfectly normal, so I'm really confused as to what happened.

Could be an instant or sudden warning of different pressure, it surely has recorded something if you have a reader to retrieve..

Fixed it. For anyone looking for the same problem:
 

Error: Handbrake light would blink 3 times and also beep 3 times. The beeps are higher pitched and more frequent than the one that happens when you forget the handbrake pulled.

Solution: Added brake fluid. Over years, the fluid container can become tinted yellow which makes it hard to see how much fluid there is. In my case there was almost no fluid so at first I was fooled and thought it's actually filled. On the second attempt I stuck a flashlight right to the container which made it much clearer to see that it was actually little to no fluid. Topped up and everything is now mint.

I wonder where the leak is.

9 minutes ago, Breezy_Pete said:

I wonder where the leak is.

 

I don't think there's one. I just did brake work on the rear a few days before the error started appearing. The calipers were stubborn so I assume brake fluid must have spilled out the reservoir while I was compressing the pistons? Then, as the brake pads started wearing down (lots of km, sporty driving style, lotta breaking), the slight difference in brake fluid pressure from brand new pads to slightly worn pads was enough to start throwing up errors.

 

Anyway, I'll keep an eye on the level and a bottle of brake fluid with me. If it goes down again I'll get it to the mechanic