Major VW Problem - Check Before Buying

I worked as a VW technician during the VW emissions crisis, that was a crazy time, seemed like every customer was complaining about their VW.

So, are Volkswagen’s reliable? VW is a reliable car, their cars score highly in reliability tests, but all cars have a weak link.

In this post, I’ll cover the 2.0 Tsi engine issues, common VW problems, and the emission scandal.

When I was a kid growing up, the VW bug was the trusty family wheels to have. My friend’s dad had one and there were eleven in the family. Sounds like an impractical car for a large family, you’d think so, but no. Everybody loved it and it’s the only car they owned that I can actually remember.

VW got it right with the Bug and they’ve had a few numbers one hit since then, the Golf being the stand-out superstar.

Unfortunately, the VW satisfaction scores have taken a beating since the Dieselgate scandal broke.

Many customers I met at the dealership after dieselgate, felt cheated by the brand. Part of my job at that time was to test drive with the customer and verify their complaints.

Mostly there was no real complaint, the customer was either looking for comfort or wanted to vent at staff. Hey, I don’t blame them, I owned a diesel VAG too.

Point is, the poor satisfaction score was not a direct result of a slew of new faults or breakdowns, but more a vote of how pi**ed they were at the company.

2.0 Tsi Gas Engine Faults

There’s one major failure that potential buyers should be aware of. Some of the gas engine models are suffering from premature engine failure. The failure is caused by a faulty timing chain tensioner. Many have been recalled and repaired, but not all.

The 2.0 Tsi gas engine uses a timing chain to keep the top and bottom halves of the engine in time. Tsi stands for Turbo Stratified Injection, it’s a high-pressure direct fuel injected with a turbocharger. Not unlike the diesel, Tdi set up.

The troublesome engines affected include engine codes CCTA, CBFA, CAEA, CDNC, CAEB, and CPMA manufactured mostly between 2008 and 2013. It’s fitted to lots of Vw models and some Audi’s.

The CBFA is a California-compliant engine. You’ll find the engine code on a sticker on the engine cylinder, a sticker inside the door, and inside the front cover of the owner’s handbook.

So what’s the problem?

These engines are known as interference type engines, meaning if the timing goes out, really expensive components will collide and cause a lot of damage, in some cases total destruction.

The timing chain tensioner’s job is to keep the timing chain taught, when it fails, the tension is released from the chain which allows the chain to slip on the cam and crank gears. This means the engine is out of time, and the valves will hit the pistons.

Repairing this type of damage isn’t cheap, we’re talking thousands of dollars. Often a VW garage won’t attempt to make this repair, instead will only quote for a new engine.

The engine can be repaired but will require, new timing chain, guides, tensioners, valves, valve guides, possibly cams, depending on the damage, head gasket set including bolts, and a new front engine cover.

The procedure is a little technical, but it isn’t brain surgery. A special tool is required to hold the crankshaft timing in place, other than that it’s straightforward.

Symptoms

An early symptom is a loud rattling noise, not unlike a diesel engine, rough running with lots of vibration, and possibly an engine light on.

Using a scan tool may show codes for cam, crankshaft alignment errors. The faulty family of tensioners can be viewed and identified by removing an inspection plug on the engine cover.

But too often, the car just stops dead on the road, a really quick crank speed is a bad sign, it suggests the top and bottom halves of the engine aren’t connected.

Other Issues

Also common, carbon build-up in the cylinders which can cause misfires and poor running.

This engine is also famous for intake manifold issues, water pump leaks, and oil leaks. The manifold has been revised, replacing isn’t difficult or too expensive. The water pump is pretty easy to fix if caught in time.

A bad PCV (positive crankcase ventilator) also known as the oil separator, regulates air pressure inside the engine. Problems associated with PCV failure include misfires, oil leaks, and rough idling.

The oil leaks are a little more work, the rear main seal, variable spool valve seal, and camshaft bridge leaks are common.

So maybe you’re thinking, yes but surely a low mile fresh VW won’t give these kinds of problems. I’m afraid they do, I’ve seen them give this kind of issue with as little as 20,000 miles on the clock.

The best advice here, if you are going to buy a 2.0Tsi engine VW or Audi, check that the faulty tensioner has been replaced and insist on written verification from the garage.

A three-cylinder 1.2 Tsi engine, sold in Europe between 2005 and 2017 and 1.4 Tsi sold between 2008 and 2012 all gave very similar tensioner problems. The engine codes for the 1.2 Tsi – CBZA, CBZC, and CBZB, and the code for the 1.4 Tsi – CAVD. They were all fitted to the smaller VW, Seat, and Skoda model cars.

Effected Vw Cars

2012–2014 Beetle
2012–2014 Beetle Convertible
2009–2012 CC
2009–2012 Eos
2008–2012 GTI
2008–2010 & 2012–2014 Jetta
2009 Jetta SportWagen
2008–2010 Passat
2008–2010 Passat Wagon
2009–2013 Tiguan

Effected Audi Cars

008–2012 A3
2009–2012 A4 Avant
2009–2013 A4
2010–2013 A5 Cabriolet
2010–2013 A5
2012 A6
2011–2012 Q5
2009–2012 TT
2009–2012 TT Roadster
Volkswagen steering wheel

Common VW Complaints

I use the word complaints here, but if the VW is a used model, it will naturally require some of these components during regular maintenance. In my own experience, I found that poor or no maintenance caused some of the problems listed below.

This is a list of the more common VW complaints, you’ll find some faults will be applicable to all models, as lots of components are shared across the range, including engines and transmissions.

This list isn’t here to stop you from buying and enjoying your VW, I’m not in the business of bashing any brand. Every make and model ever made has bugs, which by the way, the manufacturers will rarely admit to.

Parking brake stuck on – Rear caliper failure or park brake switch failure
Brake lights won’t work – Brake pedal switch faulty
Trunk won’t open – Electronic trunk handle failure
Rear brakes dragging – Adjust handbrake bracket
Noisy brakes – Rear brake rotors corroding
Suspension noise – Console control arm bushing worn
Dashboard noise – Worn centre clips
Airbag light on – Broken clock spring/ wiring tension fault
Locked out – Door latch faults
Engine no start – Fuel pump camshaft wear
Engine light on – DPF filter blocked
Engine light on – Clogged EGR valve
Engine light on – Coil pack failure
Grease in wheel arch – CV boots torn
Air condition not working – Pump failure
Engine misfire – Carbon build-up
Engine cranks, but no start – In tank fuel pump failure
Engine cranks, but won’t start cold – Glow plug control module failure
Radio won’t work – Failures
Engine light on and in limp mode – Throttle pedal failure
Epc on – Throttle body/wiring fault P0221 + P0121
Tsi engine failure – Timing pulley, tensioner and chain faults
Tsi engine noisy – Cam and chain wear
Camshaft failures – Oil starvation
High pitched noise – Alternator pulley failure
Engine vibrating badly – Timing chain tensioner failure
Gas engine rough idle – Throttle body dirty
Diesel engine lacks power – Turbo fault
Major recall – Takata airbag recall
Poor running and hesitation – Faulty MAF sensor
Window drops down – Window regulator failure
Water leaks – Sunroof drains blocked
Engine vibration – Dual mass flywheel failure
Oil consumption and leaks
Noise from the engine bay – Engine mount worn
Intake manifold flap failure
Volkswagen Tdi engine
VW Emmissions Scandle

In 2015 the Dieselgate story broke. VW was caught cheating the diesel engine emission test, with approximately ten million cars affected, this was a sizeable problem.

Dieselgate

The scandal only affected diesel engines and only certain engine types, about a half-million cars in North America and eight and a half million cars in Europe, that’s not counting commercial vans.

Modern diesel cars are designed to send un-burnt fuel into the exhaust system where it gets trapped in the NOx filter. This helps keep the NOx levels within legal levels.

Trouble is, sending un-burnt diesel into the exhaust pipe hurts fuel mileage, and bad fuel mileage hurts sales. And sales were pretty good, Volkswagen positioned itself as an alternative to electric cars in its “Clean Diesel “ marketing campaign.

VW Solution

Two software modes, a test (cheat) mode, and a real-world driving mode. The clever cheat software within the engine control unit could actually recognize it was being tested for emissions.

This prompted the computer to jump into test (cheat) mode, sending extra fuel into the exhaust system. The NOx filter then kicked into action, dropping the NOx values below the EPA and Federal legal requirements.

In the real world driving mode, diesel was prevented from reaching the exhaust NOx filter, which allowed the car to achieve great fuel efficiency. The engine was far from clean, it was actually pumping out between 8 and 40 times the permitted NOx levels.

Other manufacturers have achieved great diesel fuel efficiency, while still operating within legal NOx levels. However, it requires the use of some extra hard and software.

A Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)

This is a process where a urea solution is injected into a catalyst in the exhaust system.

The fluid used, commonly AdBlue is a mix of urea and distilled water, it requires its own tank, pump, injector, catalysts, and software. When injected through the hot catalyst, it helps reduce NOx levels by turning the gases into nitrogen and oxygen.

VW has now embraced this system for their latest type of model diesel cars, but retrofitting your old Tdi isn’t an option. So what does this mean for existing and future buyers of affected VW cars?

When owners realized the level of deception, they were left feeling helpless, disappointed, and angry. Eventually, VW put their hands up and started the repair process.

European VW

VW in Europe has been making software changes to the cars that have little to no effect on the NOx pollutant figures, and don’t seem to be coming up with any new solutions.

It appears, instead of finding a technical solution, they have lobbied the German government hard and convinced them to accept the current software as legal. They argued that the cheat software was in fact there to protect the car, a sort of protective limp mode.

The motor industry is extremely important to Germany and the VW scandal had the ability to pull the whole industry down.

North American VW

Volkswagen in North America began buying back affected diesel models. Vast previously abandoned parking lots in Detroit are now packed with once loved and otherwise perfect VW models. If your VW lives in North America, Volkswagen will offer to repair it, or buy it back and pay compensation.

Meanwhile, Congress has proposed not re-registering any Volkswagen that hasn’t had its emission recalls, so if you’re considering buying a used TDI, check those recall updates.

List of VAG cars affected in North America

2009–2015 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0L TDI
2010–2015 Volkswagen Golf 2.0L TDI
2010–2015 Audi A3 2.0L TDI
2012–2015 Volkswagen Beetle 2.0L TDI
2012–2015 Volkswagen Passat 2.0L TDI
2009–2015 Audi Q7 3.0L V-6 TDI
2009–2016 Volkswagen Touareg 3.0L V-6 TDI
2013–2016 Porsche Cayenne Diesel 3.0L V-6
2014–2016 Audi A6 3.0L V-6 TDI
2014–2016 Audi A7 3.0L V-6 TDI
2014–2016 Audi A8/A8L 3.0L V-6 TDI
2014–2016 Audi Q5 3.0L V-6 TDI
Vw Golf engine cover

Before buying a used VW or car or any used vehicle, it’s always worth investing just a few dollars to check the VIN number against the vehicle database. An audit with a company like VinAudit (links to VinAudit) will guard against Mileage fraud, Salvage rebuilds, Title washing, Vin cloning, and a ton of buying pitfalls.

VW are not bad cars, with all the bad news surrounding VW, you’d think buying one is a terrible idea. Not at all, it’s a lot like a stock market sell-off – it’s actually a great time to buy, once you know what you’re buying. You can check out Hot VW deals on offer right now by checking out the Edmunds.com Volkswagen link below.

Volkswagen

Are Volkswagens Reliable?