Hi there,

I have recently purchased an 06 vRS and it seems that it suffers the stutter at low RPM and rough idle as described in multiple places on this forum. I have tried digging through the threads and have concluded that:

• It is a EGR issue
  
• A Skoda dealer may (partially) rectify it with a new part
  

Now the car is out of warranty does this still apply or am I reading old news (the posts are dated 06'? I would also be interested to know if it is harming the running gear or leading into a larger issue so that if the dealer won't repair it then I can work out whether to get it done elsewhere.

Regs

JIBYC

Hi, there is a guide on how to fix it and what part numbers you need here -> http://www.fabia-vrs.com/technical-info/blt-engine-hesitation-fix/

Yes as said do the hesitation fix, i bought the part from a VW dealer and once fitted it sorted the stutter problem immediately!

2 years on still working well

not trying to hijack the thread but just had the 40,000 mile service done (fuel, air,oil and pollen filters and oil change)on our 11 month old vrs and before the service i couldnt really notice the 'stutter' but since the service it is deffinately there. Also getting more vibration at idle and a noise similar to 'exhaust blowing' low in the revs when accelerating which clears after 2000ish revs. I swear theres also a very slight drop in power...The air filter removed was absolutely sh@gged and im wondering if im noticing the stutter now that the engine is now breathing properly. Also the 'chirp' noise i used to hear for 1-2 secs from the EGR valve when accelerating hard has stopped.

Anyone any ideas, this is deffo since the service

chris

Hi there,

I have recently purchased an 06 vRS and it seems that it suffers the stutter at low RPM and rough idle as described in multiple places on this forum. I have tried digging through the threads and have concluded that:

• It is a EGR issue
  
• A Skoda dealer may (partially) rectify it with a new part
  

Now the car is out of warranty does this still apply or am I reading old news (the posts are dated 06'? I would also be interested to know if it is harming the running gear or leading into a larger issue so that if the dealer won't repair it then I can work out whether to get it done elsewhere.

Regs

JIBYC

I have an '07 plate vRS that I have owned for a few weeks now. I have experienced the same issues as you have. The 9mm gasket mod (link detailed in this post) is definitely worth doing, and will make it a lot smoother with the hesitation/stutter issue, although in my case not 100% perfect, but its fairly easy to do and well worth 2 quid and 15 mins of work.

Although I do suffer from the rough idle issue, and seemingly a few people do on the BLT (06 onwards) engined cars. I dont know of any definitive answer/solution for this problem, as most people have detailed putting a load onto the engine seems to smooth the idle, i.e. A/C on or heated rear window on. I would love to know what causes this problem and what can be done to cure it.

Sometimes on mine it is really bad and lumpy and really feels it is 'missing', an almost running on 3 cylinders feel to the car. This is another thing that takes the shine off my car for me a bit

Definitely dont waste your time visiting a Skoda dealer for the hesitation issue as they charge approx 50 quid for the job (when out of warranty), and use a VW part to do it anyway, a part you can buy yourself for approx 2.06 and fit in about 15 mins

Lewwy

not trying to hijack the thread but just had the 40,000 mile service done (fuel, air,oil and pollen filters and oil change)on our 11 month old vrs and before the service i couldnt really notice the 'stutter' but since the service it is deffinately there. Also getting more vibration at idle and a noise similar to 'exhaust blowing' low in the revs when accelerating which clears after 2000ish revs. I swear theres also a very slight drop in power...The air filter removed was absolutely sh@gged and im wondering if im noticing the stutter now that the engine is now breathing properly. Also the 'chirp' noise i used to hear for 1-2 secs from the EGR valve when accelerating hard has stopped.

Anyone any ideas, this is deffo since the service

chris

Is this the 1st air filter change on your car? I am assuming so, I have just changed mine, I think that 40k on an air filter is ridiculous, and it cant help stuttering issues on an engine. It is strange that you have never experienced this stutter before now. It sounds more like something has been not reconnected/or accidentally knocked possibly at your service. Most people that experience this stutter on the BLT cars have it from day one. What year engine is your car? A chirp noise from the EGR doesnt sound too clever either. How bad is the vibration at idle. Is it the lumpy idle issue as seen on other cars?

Lewwy

Is this the 1st air filter change on your car? I am assuming so, I have just changed mine, I think that 40k on an air filter is ridiculous, and it cant help stuttering issues on an engine. It is strange that you have never experienced this stutter before now. It sounds more like something has been not reconnected/or accidentally knocked possibly at your service. Most people that experience this stutter on the BLT cars have it from day one. What year engine is your car? A chirp noise from the EGR doesnt sound too clever either. How bad is the vibration at idle. Is it the lumpy idle issue as seen on other cars?

Lewwy

hi Lewwy

thanks for the reply. the car is an 06 plate and looking at the state of the filter i assume it is its first change. My thoughts were that maybe the engines breathing better now and its just made the throttle more responsive and thats why it suddenly noticeable? idle seems a little more lumpy but nothing too bad but there does seem a deffinate slight loss in power/boost when accelerating.I seem to remember reading that the chirp noise at max boost was normal. Like i said this has also disappeared since the service.

I've just done the hesitation fix on my vrs tonight, I haven't taken it for a drive yet but Im sure all will be well

The price for the gasket at the moment is £1.81

disconnect the egr valve....2 minute job...fix's the stutter and stops inert exhaust gas re entering engine...2 birds ..one stone..

hi Lewwy

thanks for the reply. the car is an 06 plate and looking at the state of the filter i assume it is its first change. My thoughts were that maybe the engines breathing better now and its just made the throttle more responsive and thats why it suddenly noticeable? idle seems a little more lumpy but nothing too bad but there does seem a deffinate slight loss in power/boost when accelerating.I seem to remember reading that the chirp noise at max boost was normal. Like i said this has also disappeared since the service.

Your car does have the BLT engine then, which is the one known for the stutter and rough idle. If you have not had it long then you arent going to know what it is like to drive with a clean air filter fitted. The loss is power/boost that you describe definitely points towards something having been disturbed/disconnected, although not much should have been touched on a service that would affect a car in that way. I havent heard of the chirp noise before - i shall have to read up about that one. As for the stutter I cannot beleive that some people put up with it. The guy I bought mine from had owned it from brand new - 3 yrs and 26.5k, I buy it from him and within 2 days I couldnt stand the stutter and did the gasket mod!! I probably only covered 150 miles before I had to do it.

I would look into getting this done if I was you - it will be the best 2 quid you will spend on your car!

Lewwy

Your car does have the BLT engine then, which is the one known for the stutter and rough idle. If you have not had it long then you arent going to know what it is like to drive with a clean air filter fitted. The loss is power/boost that you describe definitely points towards something having been disturbed/disconnected, although not much should have been touched on a service that would affect a car in that way. I havent heard of the chirp noise before - i shall have to read up about that one. As for the stutter I cannot beleive that some people put up with it. The guy I bought mine from had owned it from brand new - 3 yrs and 26.5k, I buy it from him and within 2 days I couldnt stand the stutter and did the gasket mod!! I probably only covered 150 miles before I had to do it.

I would look into getting this done if I was you - it will be the best 2 quid you will spend on your car!

Lewwy

lewwy,

did you fit the standard 9mm gasket or did you drill it out a little? just wondering if youve had any warning light come on yet

cheers

chris

lewwy,

did you fit the standard 9mm gasket or did you drill it out a little? just wondering if youve had any warning light come on yet

cheers

chris

No I just fitted the 9mm gasket, didnt drill it out at all. Havent had the CEL come on YET! I have read about people who have covered over 20k with this mod and have not yet seen the CEL light, so it can be different for different cars. I would go with the 9mm to start with and see how it goes, you can always drill it out later on if you have an issue with the CEL

Lewwy

Looks like a case of pulling off the engine cover and removing two bolts, swapping and putting them back in. I assume that this pipe only carries exhaust gas and so I shouldn't find anything nasty in there?

Is the stutter caused by an incorrect fuel/air mix at a certain engine speed then?

Looks like a case of pulling off the engine cover and removing two bolts, swapping and putting them back in. I assume that this pipe only carries exhaust gas and so I shouldn't find anything nasty in there?

Is the stutter caused by an incorrect fuel/air mix at a certain engine speed then?

The stutter is due to increased EGR flow at light engine loads. The original gasket was 24mm, and factory setting for EGR flow rate was high as well. The EGR flow reduces the combustion flame front speed and temperatures to reduce NOx gas. When you apply more power the EGR closes, but you get a stutter as the ECU adapts to the power demand.

Is it really THAT simple to do? I can just about change an airfilter you see! I asked the Skoda dealer to do this 'fix' under warranty at my last service and if anything, it seems to have made it worse - I really do find it spoils an otherwise good driving experience. Where can I get hold of the 9mm gasket? Cheers duys.

Is it really THAT simple to do? I can just about change an airfilter you see! I asked the Skoda dealer to do this 'fix' under warranty at my last service and if anything, it seems to have made it worse - I really do find it spoils an otherwise good driving experience. Where can I get hold of the 9mm gasket? Cheers duys.

You can get the gasket from any vag dealer iirc, I got mine from Skoda and it was £1.81 and has probably been the best money I have spent on the car ! The difference is amazing and the car drives so much smoother I couldn't believe it just from changing a small gasket.

The EML hasn't come on mine yet but if it does I'll just drill it out as it's easy enough to remove.

Edited 14 July, 201015 yr by r1chard

ok quick update,

just blanked off the egr vacuum hose and taken the vrs for a spin. The difference is incredible thats all i can say. All hesitation is gone and it feels like a different car. Warwick Hunt if your reading this, can i leave it like this without doing the ' elephant hose' mod aswell ? The reason i ask is that there is deffo alot more black smoke out of the back when pushing hard.

best regards, chris

ok quick update,

just blanked off the egr vacuum hose and taken the vrs for a spin. The difference is incredible thats all i can say. All hesitation is gone and it feels like a different car. Warwick Hunt if your reading this, can i leave it like this without doing the ' elephant hose' mod aswell ? The reason i ask is that there is deffo alot more black smoke out of the back when pushing hard.

best regards, chris

you can leave it as you like...your car...but your letting oil vapoured air re enter your engine what eventually coats your intake in oil,causing oil leaks out your boost pipe conections...cant see how it could make more black smoke as its a minimal amount of air thats drawn in from the ccv...your turbo will still draw enuff neccessary air to obtain required boost from the air intake side.

Edited 18 July, 201015 yr by warwick hunt

you can leave it as you like...your car...but your letting oil vapoured air re enter your engine what eventually coats your intake in oil,causing oil leaks out your boost pipe conections...cant see how it could make more black smoke as its a minimal amount of air thats drawn in from the ccv...your turbo will still draw enuff neccessary air to obtain required boost from the air intake side.

Thanks for the reply,

when the car was smoking i only had the vacuum hose blocked. I have since blocked the nozzle on the diaphram housing ( ufo) also and the smoking has stopped completely. Reading through the forum posts i struggled to clarify wether to block both or just the hose, i assume i need to block both ?

thanks, chris

Thanks for the reply,

when the car was smoking i only had the vacuum hose blocked. I have since blocked the nozzle on the diaphram housing ( ufo) also and the smoking has stopped completely. Reading through the forum posts i struggled to clarify wether to block both or just the hose, i assume i need to block both ?

thanks, chris

blocking the ufo inlet cannot make any difference cos when its all connected the vacuum only causes a rubber diaphram inside the ufo the lift the plunger that allows the egr gases into the inlet...once the vacuum pipe is blocked the egr cannot operate...cant see how blocking that can reduce the engine from smoking.

Edited 20 July, 201015 yr by warwick hunt