I was travelling uphill in 4th gear when the power disappeared from my car, the turbo wasn't giving it 'boost' and was very sluggish. I managed to park up and turn the engine off for 10mins.

I then re-started engine and continued my journey - 1st and 2nd gear was fine with the turbo kicking in, then it happened in 3rd gear, so switched it off again

I then decided to start it up and get onto the motorway to give it a 'good run' and try and clear the system, was going through the gears with the turbo kicking in and was fine for 3-4miles in 5th gear and it happened again..

 

What could this be?

no warning lights either

Probley not putting out enough boost. Scanned for any codes?

9 minutes ago, Stuart-h said:

Probley not putting out enough boost. Scanned for any codes?

I haven't, but it is now going in next week to have some work done (cambelt, waterpump, full service and a few other bits) I am praying it isn't anything that is going to cost mega £££!! If it is something major would it be 100% certain that my warning lights would come on?

Edited 1 April, 20179 yr by Pudq1

Have you checked the air filter? I once had a vehicle where the mechanic hadn't changed the air filter when the schedule said they should. A month later, it suddenly did exactly what you're describing. It was like flicking a switch and I intitally thought it was a major engine failure.

I have exactly the same problem since yesterday on my 2005 MK1 1.8T ARX. I stopped at a highway parking for about 15 seconds, I then made a quite fast re-entry to the highway while pushing a little on the second gear and after that there was a sudden drop on power, like a gas injection restriction from ECU. After 1 hour drive with the problem the spanner came out with the P0135 fault (O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Mulfunction). I had already the P0135 fault from time to time during the last year but the only strange thing was a sudden complete loss of power at low revs while slowly accelerating happening very rarely, about every 3 months. Power was back after I was pressing the accelerating pedal. So, I am going to disconnect the battery and remove the sensor to check whats there and come back with updates.

Sounds to me like the turbo is clogged with soot and dropping into limp home mode due to overboost.

On 1.9 engines used on the Mk1 with variable boost control, the actuator ring in the turbo would stick due to carbon build up. This prevented the vanes from moving to reduce the boost as the revs rise and the overboost forced limp home mode. No fault codes flagged up when I had the problem.

Switching off the engine a for only a few seconds resets limp home. Pulling hard in third or fourth up a hill would trip it again. Just don't try overtaking with full throttle if you need the power to get by safely.

Just thought I would update. 3 days after I made this thread I tried Mr muscle in the turbo and haven't had a problem since!!

On 5/20/2017 at 22:08, pikpilot said:

Sounds to me like the turbo is clogged with soot and dropping into limp home mode due to overboost.

On 1.9 engines used on the Mk1 with variable boost control, the actuator ring in the turbo would stick due to carbon build up. This prevented the vanes from moving to reduce the boost as the revs rise and the overboost forced limp home mode. No fault codes flagged up when I had the problem.

Switching off the engine a for only a few seconds resets limp home. Pulling hard in third or fourth up a hill would trip it again. Just don't try overtaking with full throttle if you need the power to get by safely.

i have this problem myself with my 07 mk2 2.0 pd tdi dsg but it had a new turbo last year so wondering if it could be something else as well

On 5/20/2017 at 22:08, pikpilot said:

Sounds to me like the turbo is clogged with soot and dropping into limp home mode due to overboost.

On 1.9 engines used on the Mk1 with variable boost control, the actuator ring in the turbo would stick due to carbon build up. This prevented the vanes from moving to reduce the boost as the revs rise and the overboost forced limp home mode. No fault codes flagged up when I had the problem.

Switching off the engine a for only a few seconds resets limp home. Pulling hard in third or fourth up a hill would trip it again. Just don't try overtaking with full throttle if you need the power to get by safely.

the problem is back again!! seems to only be doing it uphill and only when I floor it!!

1 hour ago, Pudq1 said:

the problem is back again!! seems to only be doing it uphill and only when I floor it!!

 

The Mr Muscle treatment does not last forever as it never totally removes all the hard built up.

Rather than repeating the treatment, try putting in some Forte Turbo Treatment or Cleaner (not sure of the correct name).

Worked for me on my Mk1 1.9  when the sticky vanes reappeared a few years after a total mechanical clean of the turbo.

just check first that it is compatible with the DPF.