2.0 TDI 140 - Misfire - anyone found a cure?

[oan17]

I know there have been posts about this before, but have not managed to follow any threads successfully or find a cure so far.

My 2.0TDI 140 has misfired occasionally since new, especially at low revs when you're just pottering along (usually below 1600rpm). There is no pattern to it, and you can't 'make' the car do it - so, needless to say, the dealer can't find anything wrong with it - at least, nothing comes up on the diagnostics. Furthermore, when you drive it from cold it is even worse, until the unit is fully warmed through.

Its not a huge issue, as 99% of the time everything is fine, but I'd like to know if anyone has managed to identify a solution to the problem. I know it's been raised before, and seems to be a feature of the VW sourced 2.0 TDI engine - certainly I've seen similar commets about VWs and SEATs with the same engine.

If anyone has found a solution, and can provide any evidence (diagnostic or otherwise), I'd be very grateful

Thanks

[richardjh]

is this a pd or cr diesel? my octavia 2l pd would sometimes run a little 'lumpy' when cold in cold weather. cant exactly mis-fire being a diesel:) i wonder whether it is an injector problem or possibly air measurement problem leading to the mix being wrong. another question might be the choice of diesel. just my 2p worth...

[oan17]

It's the PD version, and 'lumpy' is a good way of describing it, although it feels like a misfire in as much as there is a definite hesitation and reluctance to respond. If it was an injector problem I would have thought that it would show up on the diagnostic tool the dealer uses? Also, It doesn't seem to matter whether I use premium diesel or budget, the problem still seems to be there, sadly.

I've heard that a re-mapping of the CPU (if this is the right term) cures it, but have not found a definitive solution or evidence that I could use to explain to the dealer....

Edited 16 July, 2010 by oan17

[richardjh]

if you believe there is something wrong, stick with your belief. too many service teckies work on the principal that the customer is always wrong.

a big colour printer at work stopped working. i called the maintenance. the diagnosis was "you moved it in the wrong way and now the printhead is bust" that will be £800 please. well thank heavens for google. £50 for a replacemment fan and with a few minutes of my labour the printer is fine.

[Supurbia]

We're having this issue in our passat's

So far I've put a good quality inj cleaner in and it didn't sort it, main suspect right now is Tesco fuel, although the Tesco I use is an Esso site, things seem to improve with Shell, but until I get a few tanks through it I won't know for deffo if it is fuel or not, there is also a lot of users in the USA reporting this fault also, and I believe it's now being put down as a characteristic of the 2.0 PD engine rather than a fault.

[ABP]

My Altea 2.0 PD DSG can also have spells of 'Chunky' running as I would describe it.

Mainly when it has been run for a while and is hot.

It is always fine when it cools down and starts again in the morning.

All of the PD's I have had, Passat 1.9 115PS, Superb 1.9 130PS and this Altea XL 2.0PD 140PS have had this effect.

Think it is a characteristic, not good but not fatal, as I said just seems to be when the engine gets hot.

Maybe the CR170PS I have just ordered will have less of this problem, but as you can tell I still like these cars.

[mannyo]

I've not noticed any problems with PD140 DSG, it seems to run ok all the time. I have done 10K in the last 4 months and not had a problem, it is remapped now though so maybe thats why its better.

[vRS Dovit]

mine has almost a "stutter" effect. Only happens after i've been toodling along. A little blast seems to cure it, then it becomes less stuttery when ticking over. Mine has been mapped for a while, thinking it MIGHT be something to do with the air intake side of things.....................

[ozthecoz]

Thank god there are others with this problem - was starting to think i was imagining it lol.

What i notice most when it starts to run a little lumpy is that he gar shift indicators on the dash dont tally up - ie, driving along at 40 mph in 4th and the indiscator is saying drop to 3rd - so i drop to 3rd gear and th eindicator immediatly says drop to 2nd etc - if i then give the engine a blast it tends to right itself - also noticed its mainly when i have done a days driving and when fuel is getting low.

oh and mines a 140 bhp 2 litre with 4k miles on it

Edited 25 July, 2010 by ozthecoz

[gramardon]

My 2.0TDI 140 has also misfired occasionally since new. When this occurs I notice an overheating smell which I guess is coming from the DPF.

I have found this occurs if I fail to change to a lower gear and the engine revs drop below 1500 for a prolonged period. If I change up a gear at between 2000 and 2600 revs (as per handbook instruction) and change down a gear at 1500 revs the problem disappears. This does mean driving around town in 3rd gear.

I have come to the conclusion that the misfiring is caused by the DPF being unable to cope with the lower exhaust gas flow at low engine revs.

Edited 25 July, 2010 by gramardon

[Supurbia]

Mines not got a DPF and is a DSG model.

It only does it when cold cold, it's most noticeable at 1400rpm - 1800rpm, and is gone completely once the engine is warmed up fully, it's only under load as well, it won't do it simply reving it stationary, at first I thought it was the DSG and engine not getting on in sync, then I suspected fuel quality, but Tesco,Jet,Shell and BP all seem to still sufer it, today I'm on the new super dooper Shell stuff so I won't know until morning if anything has changed, other suspicions were the acc pedal, as it seems worse when on light throttle, until I can get a full service done on it I can't rule out a sticky follower, or a contaminated fuel filter, I know the air one is ok cos I checked it.

[9cc0]

i`ve got the same problem.

gear indicator goes down and down.

it cures itself when i floor it.

i live in norway.

[Supurbia]

i`ve got the same problem.

gear indicator goes down and down.

it cures itself when i floor it.

i live in norway.

I'm begining to think it's maybe a pedal fault, it only happens under light throttle, so unless the fuel is being backed off too much, it would suggest the pedal position and the reading to the engine isn't tallying up.

[cheezemonkhai]

Has anyone who has this issue tried cleaning out the EGR system, the throttle body and inlet manifold and refitted them with new seals?

I have a feeling this might well solve a series of problems.

[9cc0]

my car has runned 2000 kilometers, why should i do that when my car is new?

if i go to the dealership and say i read on this forum that maybe that can cure it what do you think they gonna say?

[RS3100]

I've had three cars where this has occured, 2 petrol (Vauxhall Cavalier CDX and Ford Escort Cosworth) and a diesel (Volkswagen Passat 1.9TD CL).

With the petrol cars it was the idle control valve which got gummed up due to the surfactants and cleaners in modern fuel. Injector cleaners never worked properly but taking the idle control valve out and cleaning with paint degreaser I got from Frost Autorestorations (Halfords do a similar thing), the fix would last for 30 - 40K depending on how many track days I did.

The Passat was always down to moisture build up in the fuel and every month when I would check the fluid levels under the bionnet (handbook said weekly) I would have to undo the drain on the bottom of the diesel fuel filter to run off the water that had collected in the bottom of it. Always collected the waste in a small container and addedd to my waste oil can for disposal down the tip. The only time the problem came back was when a local garage serviced the car and used an aftermarket filter with no drain on it but after a few words it was changed for the correct item.

[cheezemonkhai]

my car has runned 2000 kilometers, why should i do that when my car is new?

if i go to the dealership and say i read on this forum that maybe that can cure it what do you think they gonna say?

Ok happy boy.

Just go into your dealer and reject the car then.

There have been other Euro IV engines that have a stutter and it was down to the EGR system, hence the suggestion.

Some put in too much exhaust gas and so cause things to get lumpy.

[JPL1]

I know this is an old post, but I have had a similar problem with a Superb 2.0 TDi 140 with DSG. 40K miles, but done it since 3K. Used to be mid warm up, but now it's summer, it is from "cold" I.e. Mine seems to be when cool not cold. Misfire has now become a stutter, as if one cylinder is not firing. It lasts up to five minutes. If I open the window, the noise is scary! Really loud big end knock, far more than normal diesel clatter when cold.

Dealer has agreed to test drive it with me from cold tomorrow morning. Will post any progress.

[*murph*]

i had a simular issue with my mk5 golf with the bkd 140 pd engine manual non dpf where it would at cold it would almost misfire just one then be fine / a few month later i had fuel pump failure & it resulted in need both the one in the engine & the one in the tank needing replacing, now it feels a lot smoother & no mis fire issues. 

[lichfielddriver]

Forte diesel treatment, a whole can in half a tank of diesel ..... that will cure it