Hi folks,

I'm having a strange problem with my 2001 Octavia 110TDi. When I try to accelerate in the higher gears (4th and 5th) the engine suddenly looses power when I hit 2200 rpm. I feel a 'blip' through the throttle and power falls off quite dramatically. Performance becomes very sluggish indeed. This happens particularly often when I drive up hill - which in Wales is pretty d**m often! I can temporarily 'cure' the problem by switching off the ignition, waiting a few seconds, and restarting.

My gut feeling is that this is something to do with the Air Mass Meter ( I think it called that) or maybe some of the associated sensors - but I'd like to hear what you guys think. I'm on my third Air Mass Meter since new, but the car has only done 118000 - so it's pretty much just run in!

TIA

Huw

Either MAF or sticking vanes in the turbo.

If you unplug the MAF and it runs better with it unplugged then I'm afraid you need MAF number four :yes:

If you can get it fault code scanned and it comes up with the code 17965 (overboost) then your turbo vanes are sticking and the turbo will need to come off and be cleaned. This can be due to the car not being revved high enough on a regular basis.

Thanks for the reply. Your input is much appreciated

I just took the car out for a spin now to test it some more. I could happily red-line the car through the gears and everything worked great. I got up just below the red-line in fourth before I had to back-off (traffic). I kept on 'pushing' the car and no power loss was experienced. I guess that excludes sticking vanes - or is my logic faulty? Also, being able to hammer along at the red-line with the turbo working fine would seem to suggest that the MAF is fine ... BUT I can pretty much guarantee that when I drive home tonight and accelerate 'normally' up a hill in 4th or 5th I'll get the same power-loss problems (limp mode?) as before :(

Is there a 'driving-up-hill-in-a-sensible-manner' sensor which might be causing the problem?

Cheers

Huw

Thanks for the reply. Your input is much appreciated

I just took the car out for a spin now to test it some more. I could happily red-line the car through the gears and everything worked great. I got up just below the red-line in fourth before I had to back-off (traffic). I kept on 'pushing' the car and no power loss was experienced. I guess that excludes sticking vanes - or is my logic faulty? Also, being able to hammer along at the red-line with the turbo working fine would seem to suggest that the MAF is fine ... BUT I can pretty much guarantee that when I drive home tonight and accelerate 'normally' up a hill in 4th or 5th I'll get the same power-loss problems (limp mode?) as before :(

Is there a 'driving-up-hill-in-a-sensible-manner' sensor which might be causing the problem?

Cheers

Huw

Sticking turbo vanes causes overboost when the engine is under load. You may well reach the red line revs with low load but not climbing a hill. In the early stages of the problem it depends on engine temperature and previous load history.

I had this on my engine, usually when accelerating up an on-ramp to a motorway type road when previously had just been pottering around town. Try this: next time you get low power, stop the car when you can, turn off the engine and then restart the engine. Normal power will will be resumed until you ask for full power again at which time the overboost will trip the engine into the limp-home mode. Turning the engine off resets limp-home mode to normal again.

Do a search on here about sticking turbo vanes. I had my turbo mechanically cleaned but some people have claimed that a larger than normal dose of fuel additive can be effective for a while.

I can pretty much guarantee that when I drive home tonight and accelerate 'normally' up a hill in 4th or 5th I'll get the same power-loss problems (limp mode?) as before :(

There's another member lives near me with a 110 TDI who texted me last week having had exactly the same thing happen, he was accelerating up a hill on a motorway in 5th and it went into limp mode. Scanned it and sure enough it was the overboost problem, we also took both our cars to a Skoda mechanic on Sat morning who diagnosed sticking turbo vanes as the problem with his.

:+1: for sticky vanes. Sounds like a classic case. I find mine to stick more when the engine is cold and it stutters around 2,000rpm. But when warm when booting it in 4th/5th for an overtake it sometimes does it (generally on an uphill).