EGR cooler

[KernowLad]

Well I've had the two bits sorted on mine (butterfly window fastener and control panel replacement) but as they tested it, an engine warning light came on; the EGR cooler needs replacing! Why is modern faux emission reducing diesel technology so unreliable?! I bl**dy hate it! Yes it's good they found it (if it had gone just after warranty expiring I would have kicked up a massive fuss) but I now have to kill another two hours in Exeter with my kids.

A very long day wasted. Thanks VW.

 

[KernowLad]

It's four cylinder diesels; they are all total cr*p.

This our third vehicle with one; 21k miles, three years old, two EGR faults. They just aren't reliable and any "efficiency" is shot apart by constant failure of EGR valves, DPFs, DMFs, etc.

Our six cylinder diesels was 100% reliable in six years and 45k miles.

 

[KernowLad]

On the upside though (!), we had an ECU update and the van is definitely quieter and smoother than it was.

 

[owen_h]

On the upside though (!), we had an ECU update and the van is definitely quieter and smoother than it was.

is this due to the ECU update though or the new EGR cooler? Not 100% sure what the purpose of an EGR cooler is but would guess it reduces the temp of the 'air/exhaust gasses' being fed into the engine and cooler air gives you a bigger 'bang' so more power.

 

[KernowLad]

I'm not sure!
I had an (VW) ECU update on a mk4 R32 Golf which completely cured a nasty flat spot in the power delivery; so I assumed it was a similar thing. Doesn't mean I'm right though!

 

[KernowLad]

The catalytic converter light just came on. VW assist on the way.


ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

 

[KernowLad]

It's an EGR fault again.

This van might be moving on once it's fixed.

 

[frog]

I feel ŷour pain Kernowlad it's very frustrating when stuff screws up. Sadly the root of the cause is in you second post 21k miles in 3 years is just not enough for a modern diesel engine. They have had to mess with them soo much to get the emissions anything like acceptable it's messed up the reliability of them. Mega high injection pressures, egr, oxidising cats and dpf are ok if you do high miles and reasonable engine speeds (2.5k plus) but if you do short trips or don't give the engine a bit of hard work regularly it's a recipe for issues.

 

[2into1]

Sadly the root of the cause is in you second post 21k miles in 3 years is just not enough for a modern diesel engine. They have had to mess with them soo much to get the emissions anything like acceptable it's messed up the reliability of them. Mega high injection pressures, egr, oxidising cats and dpf are ok if you do high miles and reasonable engine speeds (2.5k plus) but if you do short trips or don't give the engine a bit of hard work regularly it's a recipe for issues.

That is very interesting and if true, important for Cali owners. I guess VW's focus in manufacture is white-van-man blasting up and down the motorways everyday - hardly the life MOST Cali's encounter. Perhaps the Cali rental fleets can shed some light on this as their's do the highest mileages.

 

[frog]

It would be interesting to hear from he fleet owners, as you say they do more miles and I would possibly suggest that a rental vehicle might be driven a bit harder than a vehicle owned by oneself. (Guilty as charged )

Kernowlad don't be too hard on the poor old 4 pot engine, if the 6 potter was treated in the same way with emission control, it would be the same.

 

[AlanC]

Ours is an ex rental Cali and has a mileage currently standing at 72K after 4 years. The engine light came on in December which was the rear exhaust temp sensor. Other than that it has been faultless

We did 2670 miles this year while on holiday and I took the opportunity to push the speed up when on a German autobahn to 100mph. Wilf (Calis are male apparently) didn't miss a beat.

As I commute only a short distance each day, I have been worried about the Exhaust Gas Regulator but hope this trip has cleaned it sufficiently for another year.

My previous Transporters (T4 and T5) have been work vehicles doing about 15K a year (low by some stadards) and have been totally reliable.

Incidentally I was told by my dealer that the 1.9 engine is designed to use a small amount of engine oil in the exhaust cleaning process, so it is perfectly normal to need to top the oil up between services every 1k or so. It may also account for why the EGR can get oiled up.

Alan

 

[Californiaman]

I don't believe mileage covered over time is an issue particularly. How those miles are covered probably makes a difference. Our Cali has only covered ~20k in three years but they are very rarely short start/stop type journeys. That said, my Navara had an EGR fail in the first year and that does 20k per year!

 

[snowy55]

The EGR was replaced on my Transporter when it was 3 years old 60k miles, but that was due to condensation under the black plastic cap where the wires plug in, all the circuit board and components were green and corroded.
The VW Assist man wouldn't let me photo it, against company policy because they don't went it posting onto forums.

I had found this Assist guy stopped in a lay by, a couple of miles from my house, just as he had finished another job, mine had just gone into "limp mode" so I pulled in front of him to stop him escaping :laugh2 .

He changed it on my driveway in about 40 minutes whilst he chatted to me. He didn't look at his hands because he had done so many. He got out the exact tools he needed. He always carried this part on his van as a spare and he had "half a dozen" more kn@ckered ones at home with the same fault if VW decided they wanted them back for inspection. He had to keep them for so many months.

This was on a 140 I understand the 180 engine has "o joy" 2 EGR's one for each turbo! and is a much longer job.

 

[frog]

Californiaman you are correct, I didn't make it clear in my first post and made a generalisation. It's not so much the annual mileage that is the issue, it's the short, slow trips that are the killers.
Sorry for not making that clearer before.

Egr valves have always been an issue, vauxhall even used to supply an egr blanking plug for the Astra !!!!! DPFs are a newer thing and it's them that really need the longer, faster runs to alow the regeneration process to take place effectively. Even then, they are classed as a serviceable item with a life of about 80k miles.

 

[KernowLad]

Why should we have to have the type of journey dictated to us? If they can't make them survive short journeys, don't sell them.

 

[KernowLad]

Why should we have to have the type of journey dictated to us? If they can't make them survive short journeys, don't sell them.

 

[snowy55]

Yes I know it's rubbish but my owners hand book on p393 says in relation to DPF regeneration,

" Volkswagen recommends that you avoid making short journeys"

Then it says "Does not apply in China"

So presumably vehicles in China are not fitted with DPF's, which makes a joke of the whole situation.

 

[KernowLad]

The new Freelander (called Discovery Sport now) has just come out - looks pretty good but four pot diesel only rules it out completely for me.

The full fat Discovery has proper engines so could be a possible future contender.

 

[frog]

We shouldn't have types of journey dictated to us but the bottom line is that the Diesel engine is a horrid smelly, polluting thing and in an effort to get it cleaner manufacturers have had to take some pretty serious measures..
Consumers have made the decision to choose diesel over petrol because of the economy so manufacturers have just provided us with what we want.

Hmmm a v6 twin turbo Cali developing 300+ horse power...............

 

[KernowLad]

We shouldn't have types of journey dictated to us but the bottom line is that the Diesel engine is a horrid smelly, polluting thing and in an effort to get it cleaner manufacturers have had to take some pretty serious measures..
Consumers have made the decision to choose diesel over petrol because of the economy so manufacturers have just provided us with what we want.

Hmmm a v6 twin turbo Cali developing 300+ horse power...............

Corners could be interesting…!

It's a weird thing - they managed to get CO2 levels lower on diesels, "made" everyone buy them yet they are completely unreliable now and diesel is more expensive.
For the small gain in mpg you get battered with replacement DPF/EGR valve/whatever costs, you're not "allowed" to drive on short journeys and they sound fricking horrific.

So glad our car is now a petrol!

 

[frog]

It's not really the co2 that's the problem. The two things that are the problem are oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter.
Nox was delt with by the egr valve and using it to lower combustion temps below 900 odd degrees, the only problem with that was it then produced particulate matter !!! Bring on the dpf or diesel particulate filter..........this is designed to filter out the nasty sooty bits which, during dpf regeneration, are turned to ash.
Sadly by reducing nox we create soot and vice verser.


Stick with the 4 pot oil burner just give it some beans every now and then !

 

[KernowLad]

So I had it fixed.
I drove 20 miles.
The warning light came back on again.

A driver is currently winging a courtesy car over while it gets checked over. 6 days of warranty left… tick tick tick...

 

[frog]

Ahhhhhhhhh how frustrating..............stick with it and think of the good times. They will fix it eventually, dont forget if all else fails there is always VW customer servic at head office but give the dealers a good chance first.

 

[KernowLad]

The wife and I had a good chat about it last night with a view to selling it.

We came to the conclusion that a (non Cali) replacement could just as easily go wrong, would depreciate more and would just be a bit rubbish (we wouldn't spend as much - probably get a smallish 4x4) compared to the Cali.

So it's staying for now (the idea of selling it was actually making me feel a bit ill!). It's a PITA but they are trying to sort it out and as you say, it's given us many good times and fits our "lifestyle" very well.

The thought of being "stuck" in one place (e.g. hotel/villa/apartment) with a hire car (or our own car if we ferried it over) just isn't really very "us" - we like to move about, stay in places we like a few nights, move on if we're not so sure.

And apart from a rather heavy thirst, it's a useful normal vehicle too - carries loads of kit, does a bit of light off roading and you can always make tea in it if it rains!

Anyway, I hope this gets sorted - it's rather distracting from work but it's not exactly the end of the World.

My (9 month old)BMW got scraped today when I got boxed in by a HUGE tractor, had to get out of the way and lightly clipped a very low wall.

BAD VEHICLE DAY!! :cry:

 

[smgcowfoldparts]

The full fat Discovery has proper engines so could be a possible future contender.

now they are nice vehicles but go wrong and are very expensive to run. Mine was more expensive to service and maintain than my M5 and is more expensive to service and maintain than my Supercharged Range Rover.

cheers