I have a weird fault on my Roomster with 1.6tdi  105 Engine. Firstly, it has NOT had the fix, I won't let SKoda near it following all the negative reports. It has only done 40k miles but has had a nagging EGR problem since new which they never got to the bottom of until it was out of warranty. It was replaced about 4k miles ago and I thought that everything was A OK. My wife  drives it virtually exclusively and I recently noticed that her fuel receipts were getting more frequent and when I checked the consumption the average had dropped from about 50mpg which has been the norm for the first 4 years of its life, to about 45mpg.  I recently used it for the first time in months whilst taking it in for its MOT and it felt rough and down on power. It passed without problem but because I mentioned my concerns they checked the diagnostics but could find nothing. Today I checked the average consumption and it is down to 38mpg so I took it out for a test drive and it just wouldn't pull. When I tried revving the engine it would not go above 2500rpm for most of the time even in neutral....just like being in limp home mode but there are no warning lights on anywhere.

Any ideas????

When did it last get a new air filter, or have you checked its condition?

When were the brakes last serviced. Cleaned, pins greased etc?

Tyre pressures adjusted recently?

New Airfilter last service  about 5K ago, brakes are checked and serviced regularly and none are binding, tyres pressures bang on......the key issue is that it wont rev. Sitting in neutral and flooring the throttle, in 10 attempts it only exceed 2500rpm once. 

^^^ That is exactly as it should be, not exceeding 2,500rpm in neutral.

 

I thought it was a power loss when driving that was concerning you.

A few thoughts

There is a rev limiter that keeps the revs below 2500 in neutral to protect the engine from over-revving.  Most modern cars have this feature.

I have an "unfixed"  47k mile old 105BHP 1.6TDi.  My average fuel consumption since new in June 2013 is 55 mpg - using fuel and mileage data not the computer.  The trip computer reads about 2-3 mpg optimistic

In cold weather and short town trips the fuel consumption (trip computer) drops into the mid 30's, cold weather A-road/motorway running sees it into the mid-high 50's.  In summer add 10mpg to those figures.  When my wife does a 2 mile supermarket run at any time of year the trip computer can read as low as 20mpg.

It definitely benefits from a good hard thrash every couple of weeks at this time of year.  Helps to keep it running sweet.

 

I tried revving it in Neutral to see if the engine pick up was as I would expect it to be, I wasn't aware of the limiter however this cannot be working consistently because a couple of times today I got it to go over 3500 rpm in Neutral.  It does feel down on power and just doesn't want to go.....I have a Ford Grand Tourneo Connect with the 1.5 Diesel and although the official stats say it has slower 0 -60mph figures, it will outgun the Roomster with no problem. I remember when I first had the Roomster being pleasantly surprised by the acceleration it exhibited. It has only done about 40k so it should be nicely run in by now and getting quicker.  I have monitored the fuel consumption since new and it has dropped noticeably since the new EGR valve was fitted. On the same 16 mile journey, same weather and driving conditions, the Ford turns in 48mpg consistently whilst the Roomster now barely gets over 40. It used to get over 50 with no problem and on French Motorway trips I have had it up to 60mpg. In the summer, on a long haul down the M4 I couldn't get it over 50mpg. It is frustrating the hell out of me. I am not going to pay Skoda their usual ransom for them to figure it out, I would like to get some idea before I take it in. As an aside, I bought the Ford after Skoda dropped the Roomster replacement and I am well impressed. As you can see from my "handle", I loved the Roomster when it was "well" but the Ford had been a revelation; free revving and quieter engine. Excellent fuel consumption for such a big vehicle; much lighter clutch and a six speed gearbox that makes the "Roomy" feel positively agricultural. Above all it is so comfortable. Anyone looking for a supremely versatile replacement for the Roomster, I can well recommend it or its slightly smaller 5 seat version.

Edited 3 March, 20188 yr by roomsterfan
correction

Does it feel really flat like there is no turbo? On my previous 1.6 I had this problem one day, so I called Skoda assist and no fault codes were showing. Fortunately the guy had had a similar problem with the same engine in an Audi and it was a sticky actuator on the turbo. A bit of lube and cleaning of the actuator and the car was fine again.

Thanks Moley, I will take a look at that....it does feel as though the turbo is not contributing much.

I agree that the recent very cold weather affects mpg quite a bit on this engine.  In addition to the useful info above, stuff that will help you diagnose what is going on ECU-wise:

 

1) Carista from Amazon.  £15 and you will get a 1mth subscription for free.  It picks up stuff that a lot of the other apps don't, even if you've had a bulb flicker, it knows.  You can also easily program your car like people do on VCDS

2) VAG DPF app (only works on android).  This will work with the Carista ELM327.  It tells you what your DPF is up to, but it also tells you what your EGR is cycling between (it should be 17-100% if your car hasn't had the emissions fix).  VAG DPF also tells you what software version your engine is running, handy if you're paranoid about the sneaky dealership doing an unauthorised update!  If your EGR is sticking open, then you will get rough idling and feeling like it wants to stall, if you put your foot down the EGR should close 100% and when stationary it also should close 100%, however you should get a light pop up if the ECU was commanding a closure and it wasn't happening.

 

If non of those work, you can do worse than buying a bottle of AR9400dmax and slinging it in the tank.  Some people scoff at it, but it is magic stuff when it comes to common rail engines and costs way less than any diagnostics.

 

ps your new EGR should have a 1yr warranty on it if it is that, but you will be charged £120 to look at it.

 

 

On 12/03/2018 at 23:37, globalste said:

I agree that the recent very cold weather affects mpg quite a bit on this engine.  In addition to the useful info above, stuff that will help you diagnose what is going on ECU-wise:

 

1) Carista from Amazon.  £15 and you will get a 1mth subscription for free.  It picks up stuff that a lot of the other apps don't, even if you've had a bulb flicker, it knows.  You can also easily program your car like people do on VCDS

2) VAG DPF app (only works on android).  This will work with the Carista ELM327.  It tells you what your DPF is up to, but it also tells you what your EGR is cycling between (it should be 17-100% if your car hasn't had the emissions fix).  VAG DPF also tells you what software version your engine is running, handy if you're paranoid about the sneaky dealership doing an unauthorised update!  If your EGR is sticking open, then you will get rough idling and feeling like it wants to stall, if you put your foot down the EGR should close 100% and when stationary it also should close 100%, however you should get a light pop up if the ECU was commanding a closure and it wasn't happening.

 

If non of those work, you can do worse than buying a bottle of AR9400dmax and slinging it in the tank.  Some people scoff at it, but it is magic stuff when it comes to common rail engines and costs way less than any diagnostics.

 

ps your new EGR should have a 1yr warranty on it if it is that, but you will be charged £120 to look at it.

 

Thank you to Globalste for his input. I am trouble finding the additive you quoted.....who makes it? When I do a search on the number you quoted, nothing comes up.  Thanks again.

 

Thank you to Globalste for his input. I am trouble finding the additive you quoted.....who makes it? When I do a search on the number you quoted, nothing comes up.  Thanks again.

Life would be so simple if £24.99 for some additive was the answer to the issues that Euro 5 TDI's have. 

 

But then for £24.99 or so then why not go with that, as Dr Pepper asked, 'What is the worst that can happen?