EPC Light

[Gilesmengland]

Hi All -

Got a Yeti 1.2TSi - a couple of weeks ago after a 20 mile a-road trip, I dropped someone off then as I moved off again the EPC light came on and the car went into limp-home mode. ("Limp" is a great description, I think an electric milk cart would beat it away from the lights !"). Restarting the motor cleared the problem.

Popped in the garage - "Keep your eyes on it, if it happens again let me know".

Happened again this morning - will get it booked in.

Anyone else had similar issues ?

G

[Gilesmengland]

Will answer my own post.

"Needs a new turbo"

12k miles in 18 months. Hope the new turbo lasts a bit longer.

Edited 5 July, 2011 by Gilesmengland

[leckman]

Has your car been off the road the last week and a half or have you been driving it?.

[Gilesmengland]

Parked up at Manchester airport all last week. Pinged the fault light when I came off the motorway on the way home.

Happened again last Saturday.

[leckman]

What was the performance of the engine like with the faulty turbo?,power wise and fuel consumption for example.

[The Plumber]

Not the first Turbo replacement I've heard about on the 1.2TSI. Electrically actuated which is a fairly new innovation I belive on VAG engines. The 1.4 and 1.8 use the old pneumatic system.

TP

[Gilesmengland]

What was the performance of the engine like with the faulty turbo?,power wise and fuel consumption for example.

Still exactly the same as before ! I thought it was a faulty sensor or something, so quite surprised with the diagnosis !

[Tae]

My Yeti is in the garage since Monday. It started sometimes last week when I was stopping at the traffic light then to move when it's green, it started to jerk then EPC lights comes up and couldn't go beyond 2nd gear. Had to pull on the side road, stop the engine and wait for few mins restart again, it was normal then happened again on route to work few times and then finally the engine symbol light also comes up. Booked into Skoda in Stockport, no problem on the morning I took car in. They said keep an eye, bring it back if it happens again.

Couple days later till last Monday, same problem happened again. Had to stop/start again several times but finally made it to garage. I was told it needs to replace "turbo" which has to order and it'll be around 3rd August...my Yeti is 1.2TSI, so I'm not happy at the moment!!!!!

[dhuerva]

Exactly same story and exactly same outcome for us.

We have just had the turbo replaced under warranty after 49000 km. Our problems started 900 km away from home, during a holiday. After experiencing the ECP, engine lights and "limp back home mode", we took our SM to a local Skoda dealer. After having it plugged to the computer, we were given a "Sporadic error in the Supercharger" diagnose. The dealer rubbed the error from the log and told us to drive back home and to take it to our home dealer if we experienced the problem again.

And it did... several times during the trip back, when coming to a stop at a toll or petrol station and then trying to accelerate again. Luckily, a quick turn off / on the ignition would exit the "limp back home mode" and allow us to drive normally again.

So here we are, we just collected the car with a new turbo.

After this experience we are quite scared that this might happen again... off the warranty period.

Any hints on how to extend the life of our turbo?

Should we pour some drops of expensive champagne every time we fill the tank?

Thanks lads

My Yeti is in the garage since Monday. It started sometimes last week when I was stopping at the traffic light then to move when it's green, it started to jerk then EPC lights comes up and couldn't go beyond 2nd gear. Had to pull on the side road, stop the engine and wait for few mins restart again, it was normal then happened again on route to work few times and then finally the engine symbol light also comes up. Booked into Skoda in Stockport, no problem on the morning I took car in. They said keep an eye, bring it back if it happens again.

Couple days later till last Monday, same problem happened again. Had to stop/start again several times but finally made it to garage. I was told it needs to replace "turbo" which has to order and it'll be around 3rd August...my Yeti is 1.2TSI, so I'm not happy at the moment!!!!!

[geem]

This may be my first and last post on the forum. I have had a 1.2TSI SE for a year with no problems. Have just returned from a two week holiday in France and was going to be writing a glowing report about what a wonderful car it was but then remembered that my EPC light come on transiently in La Rochelle. Back to Edinburgh with no further problems and good consumption (~42mpg)over the 2,500 miles. However two days ago the EPC light came on again, remained on and car entered the dreaded "limp home mode" just outside the main dealership in Edinburgh!. Dumped car and keys and next day heard that a new turbo required. I've done 16K miles over the last year so this seems to be a similar mileage to other "turbo" victims. Turbos said to be on back order so dealership contacted Skoda UK and a new Vauxhall Insignia (hired car)supplied this afternoon. The service from the dealer (Chathams)has been excellent so far. Yeti expected back at end of week but can the new turbo now be trusted? Does anyone know more about the electronic turbo problem and if new replacement parts have been been modified to improve longevity?

[Edmundo]

I had to change turbo in February on 24.000 km (15.000 miles), and now again on 51.000 km (32.000 miles). This is now more than "small problem". People will start to get to 15.000 miles and there will be more reports about this.

Is there any info about changes on turbo to make it better? My Yeti will be out of warranty in June 2012. and after that I will have to pay for costly repaires every few months :(

[dhuerva]

Twice replaced? That's scary Edmundo... Have already done 64000Km on ours and only have 1 month remaining of warranty.

The second turbo now has 15000km on its shoulders...

Fingers and toes crossed for it not to pop again...

[lok]

Our 1.2TSi is 10K kms so far, and there was no glitches so far,

but there is too many posts about turbo problem on 1.2 to forget about it.

I would like to see a sticky poll in Yeti forum..

Is this problem with VW/Seat 1.2TSI cars also?

[speedsport]

As a matter of interest, how hard do you drive your car?

That's not meant to be derogatory, but if your turbo is working hard in the last 10 minutes toward the end of a journey, it's wise to leave the engine ticking over for a couple of minutes when you reach your destination to allow the turbo to cool down. If the engine is turned off too soon, a (very) hot turbo will cause the oil in the bearings to break down and lose its lubricicity. An odd occasion isn't usually a problem, but if it happens regulary, for example if you drive up a steep hill or are towing immediately before your destination, then damage is more likely to occur to the turbo if you don't let it cool down a little first.

[Gilesmengland]

I always "simmer" both my cars (petrol and diesel turbo) after a run (usually to my wife's annoyance at the motorway services !).

I understand the issue with the turbo failure is the electronic actuation - presumably blade angle for variable boost.

[frigiliana]

As a matter of interest, how hard do you drive your car?

That's not meant to be derogatory, but if your turbo is working hard in the last 10 minutes toward the end of a journey, it's wise to leave the engine ticking over for a couple of minutes when you reach your destination to allow the turbo to cool down. If the engine is turned off too soon, a (very) hot turbo will cause the oil in the bearings to break down and lose its lubricicity. An odd occasion isn't usually a problem, but if it happens regulary, for example if you drive up a steep hill or are towing immediately before your destination, then damage is more likely to occur to the turbo if you don't let it cool down a little first.

That description could conceivably apply to my potential driving situation being at the top of a steep hill am i too assume a 1.2 TSI turbo could suffer premature failure ?

[speedsport]

That description could conceivably apply to my potential driving situation being at the top of a steep hill am i too assume a 1.2 TSI turbo could suffer premature failure ?

It could apply to any turbo, petrol or diesel. It does rather depend how the turbo is cooled. Some are cooled by oil circulating from the engine, some use a water feed from the engine's cooling jacket. It varies between manufacturers, and sometimes between different engines from the same manufacturer. A couple of minutes at idle is all it usually takes to reduce the temperature sufficiently... unless the turbo is literally red hot!