2L 180 engine

[JohnCalifornia]

Hi, I’ve been lurking in the background for over a year now keeping an eye on prices etc and generally doing research on these camper vans. I know the early 2L 180BHP engines had serious problems and the 140bhp ones are the more reliable unit. Did these 180BHP ones get any better with age ? I’ve seen a very nice 2015 year which fits my criteria mileage, colour etc.
Thanks in advance for any replies

 

[Perfectos]

Hi John,

you’ve opened Pandora’s Box with that question.

my best advice would be do some searches here & on the T6 forum So you fully understand the whys and wherefores etc.

the short answer is yes some of the later 180 engines have experienced problems similar to the earlier EGR issues (catastrophic engine wear) to what extent / frequency these vans are affected no one really knows, not all 180 engines are affected, but suffice to say a new engine will be £10K+ if you needed to replace it.

a simple compression test would be an indication of engine wear and is relatively inexpensive thing to do Prior to purchase.

Best to DYOR, there is a lot of info here and on the T6 forum, if you really want to scare yourself there is a face book group on the subject, but be warned it can get a bit vitriolic I have heard.

good luck, keep us posted of progress and if you purchase the van.

 

[JohnCalifornia]

Yeah I know this subject has had a lot questions raised on here. I nearly purchased a 2010 180 BHP last year but got put off with all the horror stories. Anyway a year later I have a bit more funds available and have seen a 2015 180BHP at a VW dealership which I think is a great price. It’s an approved vehicle so will have warranties etc but will only be used for holidays so probably won’t do more than 2k miles a year which may not be enough miles to manifest any issues while it is still under warranty. Unfortunately i can’t afford any newer than around that year that’s why as it’s a VW approved vehicle I think it’s a very good deal. Not so if it’s gunna cost 10k 2 years later for a new engine. There are a couple of 140bhp ones on here that look very good value too. Wish I had a crystal ball……..

 

[Cali Phillip]

A warranty from VW approved and confirmation the erg cooler have been changed might be ok.
Have a look at this article from a well regarded VW tuner, the 180 engine doesn't make 180 in std form it seems as well as the egr issues. In the lasted video they are tuning a 150ps EU 6, comments that they have seen erg cooler issues on later biturbo transports so the singel turbo is a safer bet.
Can you afford a new engine would be may question if it does go wrong ~£7k.

2.0 BiTDi Engines. What to know!

The idea of a 2.0 BiTDI Transporter or Amarok sounds great, and with quoted figures from the factory round the 180bhp mark, it sounds like the perfect platform to start with

www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk

 

[Cali Phillip]

A warranty from VW approved and confirmation the erg cooler have been changed might be ok.
Have a look at this article from a well regarded VW tuner, the 180 engine doesn't make 180 in std form it seems as well as the egr issues. In the lasted video they are tuning a 150ps EU 6, comments that they have seen erg cooler issues on later biturbo transports so the singel turbo is a safer bet.
Can you afford a new engine would be may question if it does go wrong ~£7k.

2.0 BiTDi Engines. What to know!

The idea of a 2.0 BiTDI Transporter or Amarok sounds great, and with quoted figures from the factory round the 180bhp mark, it sounds like the perfect platform to start with

www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk

 

[WelshGas]

Hi, I’ve been lurking in the background for over a year now keeping an eye on prices etc and generally doing research on these camper vans. I know the early 2L 180BHP engines had serious problems and the 140bhp ones are the more reliable unit. Did these 180BHP ones get any better with age ? I’ve seen a very nice 2015 year which fits my criteria mileage, colour etc.
Thanks in advance for any replies

You’ll have to make the final decision.
I have a 2014 180 biturbo ,on my drive, that has covered 121,000 miles, as of yesterday, with less than 250 mls oil usage between oil changes, so rarely topped up, carried out annually. Annual milage back upto 15,000/yr following Covid.
Besides normal service items on the engine I had the EGR valve changes at 900 miles/ 2 weeks post delivery due to an electrical fault, so an original EGR valve as far as I am concerned.

 

[JohnCalifornia]

Yeah I understand it’s not every car that’s affected and if you google any car they all have their issues. I’m gunna email the dealers with an interest in the car so no doubt they will be on the phone to me on Tuesday. Gives me a chance to get some questions written down to ask them…..

 

[WelshGas]

Yeah I understand it’s not every car that’s affected and if you google any car they all have their issues. I’m gunna email the dealers with an interest in the car so no doubt they will be on the phone to me on Tuesday. Gives me a chance to get some questions written down to ask them…..

There are 2 problems that affect this engine.
1. Engines built between 2010/2012 had a problem recognised by VW. In fact they issued a TPI detailing the engine numbers affected and the approved repair process basically engine block replacement.

2. Post 2012. Heavy oil consumption affecting some engines. How many No one knows. Cause? There is damage to cylinder bores caused by Aluminium particles supposedly fro the EGR oil cooler, but why? Lots of theories but no facts. Is something affecting the oil cooler alloy causing it to breakdown or is it an inherent fault in the oil cooler? If it was the latter then I would expect all EGRs to breakdown and all engines to be affected, but they are not.

 

[SusiBus]

WelshGas.
You must get fed up answering this question. Well done for covering it comprehensively yet again.

 

[JohnCalifornia]

Thanks Welshgas, I understand this has been covered many times on this forum but was unsure of the newer 2015 ish models. I suppose it’s luck of the draw. I’ll see what warranty the VW dealer offer before I make any rash decisions. Thanks for all responses and im glad I joined a great forum. I’ll keep everyone informed of the decision I make

 

[vmaxkiddy]

If you’re planning on only around 2000 miles a year wouldn’t it better to hire one and avoid any potential problems like this ?

 

[JohnCalifornia]

Funny you should say that as we have just hired one for 2 nights, Friday and Saturday and returned it yesterday. It was a 23 reg grey Cali and it was great hence why I’ve got the bug again. It was our first time in one and wanted to hire one before we spend a boat load of cash on one. It cost £350 for 2 nights but did pay a bit more for early pick up and late drop off. I think I was a bit misleading with the 2000 miles bit as we did over 200 this weekend and didn’t really go that far so it’s gunna be more like 5000 but who knows what’s going to happen when the weather is nice and we want to go somewhere at the drop of a hat. They are over £1k a week to hire and the company we used are already fully booked up so not too easy to hire one I don’t think. If we get one we will have it for a few years (hopefully) and the money we would lose on it should not be too much hence why I’m looking at Calis rather than a converted transporter, even though the prices of both aren’t far apart. I would also consider using it as our weekend car too (I have a van for work) .

 

[WelshGas]

Funny you should say that as we have just hired one for 2 nights, Friday and Saturday and returned it yesterday. It was a 23 reg grey Cali and it was great hence why I’ve got the bug again. It was our first time in one and wanted to hire one before we spend a boat load of cash on one. It cost £350 for 2 nights but did pay a bit more for early pick up and late drop off. I think I was a bit misleading with the 2000 miles bit as we did over 200 this weekend and didn’t really go that far so it’s gunna be more like 5000 but who knows what’s going to happen when the weather is nice and we want to go somewhere at the drop of a hat. They are over £1k a week to hire and the company we used are already fully booked up so not too easy to hire one I don’t think. If we get one we will have it for a few years (hopefully) and the money we would lose on it should not be too much hence why I’m looking at Calis rather than a converted transporter, even though the prices of both aren’t far apart. I would also consider using it as our weekend car too (I have a van for work) .

My personal opinion, these are based on a commercial vehicle and are built to be used. Once again a personal view, low milage Californias seem to attract more problems than high milage. Also the service costs/ mile are higher for low milage as there are a number of service items that are time or milage related, eg: Cambelt 4yrs/ 80,000 miles, likewise DSG or Haldex oil changes . All these should be done even if the milage is low.
Others will no doubt disagree.

 

[JohnCalifornia]

I know what you mean but there are a lot of Calis that are very low mileage, obviously only used for holidays and weekend getaways rather than Dailey drivers. I would fell more comfortable with a low mileage than a high mileage, more psychological than anything else…… Most converted transporters seem to be higher mileage possibly due to been converted after it’s been a work horse for a few years

 

[George Sharpe]

Hi, I’ve been lurking in the background for over a year now keeping an eye on prices etc and generally doing research on these camper vans. I know the early 2L 180BHP engines had serious problems and the 140bhp ones are the more reliable unit. Did these 180BHP ones get any better with age ? I’ve seen a very nice 2015 year which fits my criteria mileage, colour etc.
Thanks in advance for any replies

I have a 2014 180.
Little or no oil usage.
Erg failure after 45,000 miles. Replaced by independent vw specialist for £600

Maybe I’ve been lucky but I’m happy enough with that

 

[big-cali-al8989]

I picked up a 2015 180 last October with 25k on the clock as only used for family holidays, it is now my daily .
It had the revision C egr cooler so I booked it in with Darkside to replace with the revision D cooler, it had a compression test before they started any work on it and came back with good numbers so proceeded. Thankfully it uses no oil and drives really well.
I would highly recommend getting a compression test on it before purchase mind as once I knew of the issue, it was stressful until I found out it it was ok and I hadn’t got a looming £10k bill.

 

[sbmcd]

I've had a 2014 180 from new, type D EGR now at 125k miles with no oil consumption issues. There are options to eliminate the potential EGR risk, plenty information out there if you do a little research on line.

 

[JohnCalifornia]

So I’ve had numerous conversations with the dealer where I have seen the Cali I’m interested in. It comes with a 12 month warranty which I’m happy about. How do you know which type of EGR is fitted in the van? Also I have noticed on some 2015 models that some have different controls where the heated seats controls are. Was the a mild facelift to the interior in 2015?

 

[sbmcd]

So I’ve had numerous conversations with the dealer where I have seen the Cali I’m interested in. It comes with a 12 month warranty which I’m happy about. How do you know which type of EGR is fitted in the van? Also I have noticed on some 2015 models that some have different controls where the heated seats controls are. Was the a mild facelift to the interior in 2015?

The EGR ID plate can be seen next to the oil filter, take a photo with your phone on flash.

 

[WelshGas]

So I’ve had numerous conversations with the dealer where I have seen the Cali I’m interested in. It comes with a 12 month warranty which I’m happy about. How do you know which type of EGR is fitted in the van? Also I have noticed on some 2015 models that some have different controls where the heated seats controls are. Was the a mild facelift to the interior in 2015?

As above for EGR.

There are 2 types of Heater/AirCon system.
Manual or 3 zone Climatronic.
The 3 zone system allows different temperatures, R front, L Front and Rear.
Also I believe that the Manual system can be without rear AirCon, just ambient/heating rather than cooling in the rear, but I'm not sure if that applied to the California SE.

 

[WelshGas]

So I’ve had numerous conversations with the dealer where I have seen the Cali I’m interested in. It comes with a 12 month warranty which I’m happy about. How do you know which type of EGR is fitted in the van? Also I have noticed on some 2015 models that some have different controls where the heated seats controls are. Was the a mild facelift to the interior in 2015?

The fact that it is being sold with a 12 month warranty is good and shows the Dealer has some confidence in the vehicle.

 

[pjm-84]

Or the dealer passes on the risk to the warranty company.

The issue is with the cooler. My 2015 180 doesnt burn oil and is at 66k miles. However I tracked the aluminium content in the oil from new and have had regular / annual oil changes. I also had the EGR blanked at 44k and watched the aluminium content within the oil drop since.

 

[WelshGas]

Or the dealer passes on the risk to the warranty company.

The issue is with the cooler. My 2015 180 doesnt burn oil and is at 66k miles. However I tracked the aluminium content in the oil from new and have had regular / annual oil changes. I also had the EGR blanked at 44k and watched the aluminium content within the oil drop since.

I very much doubt the Warranty Company would accept a substantially increased risk, according to some, of major claims without a risk assessment or vastly increased premium, or even refusal if there was a significant risk. After all their business model depends on minimal claims.

 

[Blueeyedboy]

When I sold my 2015 California to VW Dealer they said that the warranty doesn’t cover the 180 issues for new owner. But as a dealer they would have to cover it themselves for the first 3months.

 

[pjm-84]

I very much doubt the Warranty Company would accept a substantially increased risk, according to some, of major claims without a risk assessment or vastly increased premium, or even refusal if there was a significant risk. After all their business model depends on minimal claims.

The TDV6 in the Landrover was a ticking time bomb and in the end the warranty company excluded known design issues. However quite a few managed 20k claims on the warranty before they said enough..... dealer doesnt care.