Ignition Coil Fail Rate - 1.8T engine

[skodaw]

As requested by GAFF -- a poll to list no of failures.

[skodaw]

I've voted no failures --- but then again I've replaced all mine already.

Abuse my posistion ? Moi ? -- you better believe it

[DGW]

Dave, did you replace with the J or L?

[skodaw]

Denis

I fitted J's -- but now have L's with J's for spare

[DGW]

Dave, what is the policy on disposal of the removed coil packs? Return to Audi, scrap, or let the owner keep them?

[skodaw]

Denis

We have not been given any firm decision on this at the moment,currently we store them.

Previously we have had to provide evidence of failure - i.e osciliscope print,but now we no longer required to do this - so we may not need to send them back either.

Most of our customers are just happy for them to be replaced,but I suspect if one ask's I will let him keep them.

[Neil RS]

2

don't know if the current one is the dodgy one still or the improved version:confused:

[studioman]

One failure - all repleced by Skoda no problem

ps still carry two J suffix in boot tho...

[Quinten]

No failures... but mine were all replaced when I bought my car already, so maybe I should ask the previous owner?

[fen_l&k]

No failures for me :D

[studioman]

fen, can't be driving hard enough then!

Having said that mine went in Halfords car park when starting up, hhmmm.........

[fen_l&k]

Missed my sig then, Studioman? One advantage of a TDi engine.

:D

[DGW]

Originally posted by fen_l&k in this post

No failures for me :D

[Tech1e]

The failiure rate should drop right off now as Bosch have admittied what the problem is with the coil pack.

Its caused by an incorrect air gap at the top of the pack which overheats and causes the pack to fall apart. This is due to the coil packs being made in South Africa rather than Germany as it was a few pence cheaper......whoops.

[GAFF]

skodaw,

Thanks for posting the poll for me.

[msoames21]

This'll make you laugh, at one point (this is just for the uk) 5000 were on back order! Bosch ballsed up big time, cos those packs were used in 1.8 T, W10's and various other engines!

Matt

[JaneC]

None for me. But I did persuade Skoda to replace them all as a precautionary measure FOC.

Jane

[Stefan]

Took my VRs in for it's first Variable service, 16,000 miles and the indicator showed "service".

I asked at service reception, "whats going on with the coils, on the VRS?, I have heard horror stories about failures".

The guy on reception siad "yes, we have had a bulletin about that" and wrote CHECK COILS on the docket.

When I picked my car up in the evening they had replaced all the coils for the L model and I signed the warranty claim.

A result I think. Bet BRISKODA have played a big part in moving things along. Thanks!!!!

Stefan

[Stuart_J]

First failure at 18000 miles, luckily I had a spare so the man from the AA came & changed it (it was no 4, the awkward one & I was on Holiday at the time)

Dealer replaced the other 3 at the service a couple of weeks later with no quibles

[retr0nut]

The previous owner of my VRS had 2 actual failures at different times in it's 2 1/2 years.

On the second occasion he had all 4 replaced with the revised versions.

However, I have noticed a slight issue which might be linked.

My local dealer recently had the car for a 40,000 mile service (inc. spark plugs) and since this time the car has a tendancy to lurch at slow speeds seemingly unable to decide whether to spin the turbo or not and resulting in a kangaroo motion.

Another noticable trait is loss of power followed by full on lurch upon quick pull away from stand still.

The new dealer claimed that a coil pack had slightly 'popped off' and was arcing thus causing the problems. They claimed that this was probably not reinstalled correctly when it had gone in to the other dealer for its service.

However, the problem does not seem to have gone away even after the coil pack has been repositioned.

The previous owner has said that when the coil packs actually break down you know all about it and so I don't think this is the case yet but it might be another one on the way out ?

I had also heard once that these symptoms could be a leak in the turbo system (diaphragm in the actuator or something).

If anyone has any advice to offer then it would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Retr0nut

[mannyo]

Retronut, sounds like another is on the way to failure.

[ZootyRS]

Retr0nut,

Does this lurching only occur when the car is cold? If so, it appears to be a common trait of the 1.8T (see below).

You may notice the engine is noisy (whiny) for a couple of minutes on a cold start. This is an emmisions control system that pre-heats the catalyst. On my car, if I try to take power at the point where this system shuts off then I get the kangaroo effect. This happens to coincide exactly with the length of time it takes me to get through the car park at work and join the road. I approach an almost blind Give Way preparing to stop, see it's clear, take power, and boing boing boing... Some day I'm going to see how far I can boing down the road!

Other references to this phenomenon:

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/showthread.php?t=472

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1491

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/showthread.php?t=5772

You've got me thinking though... I reckon I'm experiencing this more since my last service when the remaining old coil packs were swapped for new ones. Probably just imagining it though!

Zooty

[retr0nut]

Dear All,

The car has come back from dealership today and they claim to have found a kinked O ring in one of the turbo pipes. I am hoping this will go some way to resolving the issue with power loss.

However, I must say that that zooty's comments are quite true in such that most of the problems do appear when the car is still warming up. That's not to say I plant the throttle when it is cold, it eith happens at pull away (normal speed) or when travelling slowly teetering on the initiation of the turbo spin up.

In any case I will monitor the situation closely as it could well be the fact that both the trait and the O ring were causing similar symptoms and appearing to be caused by the same fault.

Still, it does not appear to be the coil packs which is a good sign as all were replaced with new ones in January 2004 and I would be questioning the longevity expected from these items.

I wonder if the dealership that gave the car the 40,000 service have caused most if not all of my problems as the previous owner claims to have had 2 issues with coil packs and that's it ?

Hats off to SWAN in Chichester and the Skoda Customer Service Centre whom have at least had the decency to work towards a resolution and honour the costs incurred even though I have just gone out of warranty.

I'll keep you posted with updates as necessary.

Cheers,

Retr0nut

[Fasterbaby]

So should these be replaced FOC by the dealer when servicing? Mine has just had a service but am not sure if they have been replaced, is it easy to see if it has been done?

[KLB]

So should these be replaced FOC by the dealer when servicing? Mine has just had a service but am not sure if they have been replaced, is it easy to see if it has been done?

Yes, any of the rogue batches of coil packs should be replaced FOC while the car is in for any work whatsoever.

You probably don't need to worry too much; it's pretty unlikely that there are any dodgy coil packs still in circulation. Once VAG had admitted there was a problem, most dealers geared up to inspect and replace them as a matter of course.

It's not too difficult to check which variant of coil pack you have (there are some pictures on the site somewhere, but I can't find them just now). Basically, you just remove the engine cover, then read the serial number on each coil pack. This may involve unclipping the electrical connector, as the serial number is close to it. Look at the last letter of the part number - latest (reliable) versions end in "J" or "L".