Check brake pads light on dash

There is a sensor on each of the front (not sure about the rear) brake calipers that indicate via the dash light when brake pads are worn down and need replacing. The wire is probably broken on one or both of the front wheel calipers. If there is enough slack in the wire you can just splice it back together with **** splice connectors and seal with heat shrink insulation. My '02 Passat has had it happen twice, first on the drivers side, repaired wire and light went out, then the other side broke, repaired the same way and haven't had any problems since.