1.8TSI and 2.0TSI engine failures

[stever750]

Rob e, I know what you are saying and yeti man makes a valid point too. What I am saying is it is a worry when you read as much hype on forums about the failure, all be it its only 10 on here, the issue is when you phone the dealer they say they know nothing about the problems although there has been at least 2 tech bulletins about it, and suk wont even or cant tell me if my car, being a late 2011 is fitted with one of the up dated tensioner. Too cut a long story short, if I had the cash to change the car I would, my faith in the vag group cars has faded over the last 5years due to the usual problems that are noted on briskoda.net

In which case you'll never by another car from anyone. I had a previous generation Honda accord, top of the jd power surveys etc etc, and if you work within the auto industry you'd understand why they do, despite that mine ended up being a new cat and clutch at 95k, must as the warranty expired. I got nothing at all from the dealer or from huk. If you think that's bad, try owning a Ford one it starts to have "issues". I'd much rather have the risk of a tiny chance of engine expiry for which the manufacturer is replacing, even sometimes when outside of the warranty period, than the multitude of individually smaller but collectively a much greater financial and time consuming burden.

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[boston1920]

Well I've just had my local Skoda dealer advise me that my 2009 / 35k Octavia VRS engine (FSkSH) is damaged beyond repair. Something to do with the belt tensioner. It needs a new replacement engine at a cost of........wait for it.......£5200 !!

As the car is two months out of warranty Skoda UK have offered to pick up 70% of the cost leaving me just £1550 to pay - Yippee!! The good news is they'll also give me 60k miles and 2 years warranty on the engine.

To be fair the dealer appears to be trying quite hard on my behalf and so far everyone is very calm ; although deep down I'm in a state of shock and disbelief!

The irony is that it is (or was) a really good car.

Hey Ho

[stever750]

Are there any 2009 high mileage failures? Most seem to be under 50k, have they been driven lightly, normally or hard?

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[boston1920]

Personally I wouldn't say I drove the car hard at all nor have i done excessive miles (15000 miles in 24 months) However it's a VRS and I guess you don't buy one to potter to the shops in at 20mph! Its a superb car for overtaking but even then you don't need to push it ; indeed I've owned plenty "performance" cars before and to be fair this one has probably topped them all because of its smooth power supply.

[Yeti_Man]

Are VW, Audi and Seat seeing these same failures on their 2 litre tsi's, does anyone know?

[JB-)]

Are there any 2009 high mileage failures? Most seem to be under 50k, have they been driven lightly, normally or hard?

One of the ones on here failed at 86k, but most seem to be in the 30k's

Are VW, Audi and Seat seeing these same failures on their 2 litre tsi's, does anyone know?

Yes they are. Seems to be worst on VW Tiguan's going on internet searches.

[JB-)]

boston1920, did yours fail whilst the engine was already running or as you started it?

[JD52]

Well I've just had my local Skoda dealer advise me that my 2009 / 35k Octavia VRS engine (FSkSH) is damaged beyond repair. Something to do with the belt tensioner. It needs a new replacement engine at a cost of........wait for it.......£5200 !!

As the car is two months out of warranty Skoda UK have offered to pick up 70% of the cost leaving me just £1550 to pay - Yippee!! The good news is they'll also give me 60k miles and 2 years warranty on the engine.

To be fair the dealer appears to be trying quite hard on my behalf and so far everyone is very calm ; although deep down I'm in a state of shock and disbelief!

The irony is that it is (or was) a really good car.

Hey Ho

That's a good point about the warranty. I believe that the new engine in my car is not covered by any warranty as it was replaced under the original warranty, which has now expired, and I did not contribute anthing towards the cost. Apparently, if I had been invoiced for, and paid, just 1p towards the cost of the replacement then it would be warrantied under the normal consumer laws.

[boston1920]

boston1920, did yours fail whilst the engine was already running or as you started it?

No - I had driven it about 50 miles the previous day without hiccup and the next day it wouldnt start with all sort of warning lights. Recovery vehicle to Skoda dealer and the rest as they say is history.

[JB-)]

Failures update:

I'm keeping a list of failures I become aware of. I've only collated Octavia failures, and Golf failures because they are similar, to see if there is any obvious pattern. Where there are blanks it's because I haven't found the information.

If anyone wants to suggest other things to look at be my guest. I've got all the links to these.

Edited 8 March, 2013 by JB-)

[stever750]

Failures update:

I'm keeping a list of failures I become aware of. I've only collated Octavia failures, and Golf failures because they are similar, to see if there is any obvious pattern. Where there are blanks it's because I haven't found the information.

If anyone wants to suggest other things to look at be my guest. I've got all the links to these.

Which engine variant? All 2.0 TSi?

[Perc]

I talked to the parts guy at my Skoda dealer the other day.

"So what do I do if the engine craps itself 1-2 years after the warranty is up?" "... you better have all the stamps in the service book."

But he told me they had "done" 2-3 cars so far, as in 2-3 engine failures. And this is in a country where the Octavia has been a huge hit at least since the introduction of the Mk2. It's one of the most popular cars in Finland. I see them everywhere.

So I'm thinking (and hoping) that the issue is exaggerated.

[JB-)]

Which engine variant? All 2.0 TSi?

All Octy vRS or Golf GTI

[stever750]

All Octy vRS or Golf GTI

So, 20 known failures from 2009 - 2012

I'm guessing that VAG sell at least 100k of these engines a year, and that's a conservative guess, given the platform sells around 2+ mio yearly units in EU. That's a field failure rate of only 66ppm, which given the value of each claim is high, it won't be high up in the VAG to do list. It's a long way from triggering any kind of service action, although the failure cost/incident is very high which might set the threshold lower than other component parts.

For this to be a problem remotely interesting to the press you'd need to be at part per thousand failures. 66ppm is approx. where the OE tier would be for delivered quality.

[boston1920]

Good News or Bad News ?!

Ive just had SUK offer to contribute 80% towards the £5200 bill I'm facing for the replacement engine that the local Skoda dealer is installing as I write this. Apparently I'll get a full service and a new MOT plus a two year and 60k miles warranty on the engine. I'll still be writing a cheque for £1000. I'm relieved that I'm not having to pick up a £5k bill for everything but still miffed that my engine (head belt tensioner) has blown so early (or at all). To be fair my local dealer and Skoda UK seem to have handled everything quite professionally , with good communication and feedback.

Ironically have just received an invite to the launch of the new Octavia this weekend. Have attached a picture of the VRS without its engine !

Proof will be in the pudding when I get it back next week !

[DGW]

I would be content with that result. And a 2 year warranty on a new engine which should have the latest timing chain tensioner fitted would give me confidence to keep the car long-term.

[boston1920]

I would be content with that result. And a 2 year warranty on a new engine which should have the latest timing chain tensioner fitted would give me confidence to keep the car long-term.

Silly question .. but how do I establish if its got the latest timing chain tensioner ? Just ask the dealer I suppose ! Will they even know ?

[xman]

Didnt I read somewhere that in most cases SUK will give the dealer a recon engine to fit?

[DGW]

Ask about the tensioner, although the dealer may not know if being provided with a replacement engine to fit.

[JB-)]

Didnt I read somewhere that in most cases SUK will give the dealer a recon engine to fit?

In all cases. A brand new engine would cost a lot more than £5k

[m0bov]

Worth remembering if you got your octy new you are covered for 6 years under soga.

[rob_e]

Didnt I read somewhere that in most cases SUK will give the dealer a recon engine to fit?

In all cases. A brand new engine would cost a lot more than £5k

No, mine was a new engine. As far as I'm aware all of the failures have been replaced with a new engines and they appear to ship will all new ancilliaries also, so new turbo, starter, alternator etc.

It's simply not cost effective for VAG to deal with reconditioning of knackered old engines, plus running the risk that something else in that engine has been overstressed and will subsequently fail also leading to yet more customer dissatisfaction.

[boston1920]

No, mine was a new engine. As far as I'm aware all of the failures have been replaced with a new engines and they appear to ship will all new ancilliaries also, so new turbo, starter, alternator etc.

It's simply not cost effective for VAG to deal with reconditioning of knackered old engines, plus running the risk that something else in that engine has been overstressed and will subsequently fail also leading to yet more customer dissatisfaction.

I was assured that I am getting a spanking new engine (..although Ive just emailed them, again to get 100% reconfirmation !!)

[rob_e]

there's a build date on a sticker on the timing cover. mine was literally only a few months old when it was fitted.

[Aspman]

So I'm thinking (and hoping) that the issue is exaggerated.

Probably but it's such a big failure that the victims will make a lot of noise about it.

The only way to get an idea is to check for other engines and see if there are a similar number of reports or posts about them. My guess it that the TSI failure are a little above the normal level of catastrophic failures on other engines and marques. Otherwise you'd be seeing the same sorts of posts "XYZ engine failure list" on the net.