Hi,

I have a 02 Octavia estate TDI (110) on 96K miles and shortly after I bought it, it started to Kangaroo when I get to around 1.5-2k RPM. It doesn't always happen, but it seems to happen more often on hills. It feels like a hesitation of some sort, like the engine is going, then stopping and it usually only lasts a few seconds but it's quite disturbing. It also makes a strange noise whilst it's doing this Kangarooing, like a duck quacking or something (no, there's no duck under the bonnet - I checked).

Does it sound like a turbo issue? I may be able to convince one of my mates to borrow his VAGCOM if that would help, but I've had no warning lights. Thanks for any help given.

Ross

Edited 20 January, 201016 yr by cha1n

Oh, just a bit more information.

It's usually when I'm trying to accellerate quickly (2nd/3rd gear), or the engine is under more load (like going up a hill) when it occurs and the car sometimes struggles starting in very cold weather. When I first bough the car, the owner stated that it failed to start once in -15 and that he suspected that one, or more of the glow plugs may need replacing at some point. Not sure if this helps..

airflow meter maybe..

try disconnecting the wiring plug from the airflow meter and drive it , if its better then you need a new one

Dunno about the kangarooing, although I'd think it's a boost pressure, fuel supply or throttle position sensor issue, if not the MAF (qv). Any of those need codes reading and understanding before spending out money!

I am sure the glow plugs are a red herring in this context though; they're a device to help with cold starting, and if the engine's idling on all 4 within 3s of a cold start, they're about ok.

Dunno about the kangarooing, although I'd think it's a boost pressure, fuel supply or throttle position sensor issue, if not the MAF (qv). Any of those need codes reading and understanding before spending out money!

I am sure the glow plugs are a red herring in this context though; they're a device to help with cold starting, and if the engine's idling on all 4 within 3s of a cold start, they're about ok.

Thanks for the replies.

My gut feeling tells me it's fuel supply or turbo related, I've got caught in the trap of buying numerous sensors to try and solve a problem with an old car, so I wont get caught again. I'll get vagcom hooked up and see what I can see! I jsut thought I'd post this on the off chance it was a common problem, or if anyone else had experienced it. It started only a few days after I bought it, so I suspect the previous owner knew about it, the Bastar... never mind.

I had a good kangaroo moment when leaving work on Monday, with a cold engine, I suspect it is the turbo VVT getting stuck a bit. Then when I was about 20 miles from home (+1hr15) into my drive home, going up a hill, I pulled out to overtake a vehicle doing about 50, was along side doing the NSL [ :-) ], and then the f*****g thing went and overboosted and decided to go into limp home mode. I managed to get past, limp up the hill and cycle the ignition on the down hill. Little b******d.

look for an overboost fault code in vagcom.

Edited 20 January, 201016 yr by mbames

Well Cha1n, I'd start with the rocommended MAF test, because it's free (disconnect the electric plug on the intake between the filter box and the turbo), then physically examine the intake pipework from the turbo to the manifold, including the crankcase ventilation and servo vacumn pipes, then go to a VCDS session with someone who knows how to read codes and discount red herring values.