Hi everyone; can any of you help me to understand why my husband's Octavia "1U" model 1.9TDi (81kW) does 'hiccups' occasionally.  It happens intermittently but when it does, it is when accellerating.  Apart from this problem, the Octavia runs really sweetly and economically.

 

It has done 191,000km (about 108,000 miles)

 

Appreciate suggestions that will lead me to remedy the problem before it gets worse.

 

Cheers.

Edited 8 October, 201411 yr by Pascale

Bonjour Pascale,

 

Your English is much better than my French, so I'll answer in English, and put alternative names for techical terms.

 

I had a similar sounding problem with my car, also with a "drive by wire" thottle control, at a similar milage when picking up the throttle out of corners. It was the throttle position sensor (a variable resistor or rheostat) which eventually failed. From my garage, I understand that this can be diagnosed by at least some engine diagnostics programmes, possibly before a complete failure, which puts the car into "limp home mode" (runs at 1200rpm, but at least that's fast enough engine speed to make top gear available on a flat road).

I had an issue like what you describe with my 110 TDI.

Cleaning out the gunge that had formed around the EGR fixed it

hickup could be the onset of stick vanes in the turbo..... (not enough to cause limp-home to trigger)

I had an issue like what you describe with my 110 TDI.

Cleaning out the gunge that had formed around the EGR fixed it

You are very kind to offer a solution, but please, what is "gunge", and "EGR"? Can't find those words in my French-English dictionary.

Thanks,

P

Bonjour Pascale,

 

Your English is much better than my French, so I'll answer in English, and put alternative names for techical terms.

 

I had a similar sounding problem with my car, also with a "drive by wire" thottle control, at a similar milage when picking up the throttle out of corners. It was the throttle position sensor (a variable resistor or rheostat) which eventually failed. From my garage, I understand that this can be diagnosed by at least some engine diagnostics programmes, possibly before a complete failure, which puts the car into "limp home mode" (runs at 1200rpm, but at least that's fast enough engine speed to make top gear available on a flat road).

Thanks very much, Ken. Did you replace the failed Throttle Position Sensor yourself? Or could you at least point out where we can find this gadget? Btw. I had never heard of a "limp-home" mode, but it is a very welcome thing as long as one is not too far away from home.  :-)

You are very kind to offer a solution, but please, what is "gunge", and "EGR"? Can't find those words in my French-English dictionary.

Thanks,

P

Gunge is a colloquialism. Have you ever seen a mixture of oil, dust and carbon particles that has become thick enough to be sticky. That is gunge.

EGR is a Three Letter Acronym (often shortened TLA) for Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve.

Thanks very much, Ken. Did you replace the failed Throttle Position Sensor yourself? Or could you at least point out where we can find this gadget? Btw. I had never heard of a "limp-home" mode, but it is a very welcome thing as long as one is not too far away from home.  :-)

Here in the UK, the TPS isn't available separately but only as part of the throttle pedal assembly. It's an easy thing to replace mechanically/physically, but it needs setting up to tell the Engine Management System that it has a new sensor, and what the limits are. So I got a garage to do it.

 

Also, it won't always work, but if the car goes into limp home mode and the Check Engine Light comes on, stop at the roadside, switch off and count to 5 then start again. That may get the car out of limp home (probably will if mbames is right in #4 above).