Hi, my car( Skoda Octavia elegance 1.9tdi 2002 model estate) is recently labouring to start. But will turn over after about 5 or 8 tries with a cloud of white smoke( diesel smell) on cold start. Starts up pretty sharpish the rest of the day with little smoke.

Now once it gets going, it is fine till I rev past 3000rpm and it seems to my untrained eye that the engine struggling to stay alive and runs rough and turbo cuts out and on and out.  But seems like the engine keeps going.

 

It's done only 110000 miles and I would be heart broken to let her be scraped. She is an old girl and I would like to try and keep her on the road of possible. 

 

Any help diagnosing and any help with vag reader as a generic plugin off eBay did not have any codes and also no eml. 

 

Please help point me in the right direction!!!

Edited 5 September, 20187 yr by Magicmason20

May be a bit peripheral to the problem - but when was your fuel filter last changed?