Does anyone know how to prevent such a thing happening, like replacement an extra filter or....
Posting this to assist others and explain the early symptoms I experienced and the process of dealer check, diagnostic and replacement work. etc.
it won’t be one of my shorter posts but it will be as factual and comprehensive as I can be, Including several suggested places to find further information On tinternet.
There is no way to prevent the HPFP from failure. ( none that vw actually encourage).
VW do not recommend fuel additives, despite VW using cetane booster additives to solve various other issues!
VW : Poor Fuel, mis fuelling with wrong Fuel (I.e Petrol in Diesel or visa versa) are reported as a cause of HPFP failure!
Edit: out of fuel situation as suggested by Loz
No of these applied to my issue.
some HPFP fail at very low miles, with no apparent reason !
I have read of pumps failing at 300 miles !
some do not fail even at very high miles 300,000 !
Search the Internet for VW HPFP.
in those searches you should be able to find a video of a TDI and TSi High pressure Fuel pump failure.
one vid from The Humble Mechanic is a good starting point for your reasearch and give a good understanding of how the pump work & fails (suggested watching)
there is limited cohesive information on HPFP failure on the Transporter range, however there is evidence to suggest the problem is more widespread that VW would probably ever admit!
Go over to our friends in the T5 / T6 forum For further instance of HPFP failure, where costly repairs have been paid for !
shout out to
@Loz maybe be kind enough to copy and paste this in the T6 site So others may benefit?
VW do not admit there is an inherent fault, however if you are unfortunate enough to have an issue, VW have a Technical Product Information (TPI) to advise the dealer how to diagnose.
VW will not disclose the TPI number or content of the TPI, (although the fact that a TPI is in place shows VW are aware of the issue)
If the dealer suspects an issue with the HPFP, the dealer will obtain a peice of equipment from VW, this is attached to the return fuel line (back to tank) the pump system is them run, the fuel is filtered by the test machine, the VW tech inspects the fuel filter (on the test machine) to determine if there is any “swarf” (metal particles) in the system. (again the fact that VW have a piece of equipment to diagnose swarf in fuel would suggest they are more than aware of the issues with HPFP across the VW range)
During the test period, if one bit of swarf is observed in the test filter, the whole fuel system ( I.e anything that the fuel has touched will need to be replaced, this includes :
* Fuel tank out: Either replaced of flushed thoroughly
* Remove and replace all fuel lines, high and low pressure.
* remove and replace High pressure Common Rail
* remove and replace High Pressure Fuel Pump
* Remove and replace Low pressure fuel Pump (lift pump)
* remove and replace all injectors
* remove and replace fuel filter.
* recalibrate fuel system according to factory spec for yor vehicle.
* Extensive road test to Ensure correct operation of fuel system.
I had an very very intermittent issue When starting, occasional hesitation to start, normal engine turn over speed, fails to start normally first time, second time always started and ran fine, no other issues with engine power. (Whilst driving etc)
my van had done 14500 miles, when one day it failed to start first, second and third time, each time the engine turned over at normal (high) starting revs, the van failed to start, the key stayed in the ignition on position, whilst The engine turned over, trying to start, warning lights went out as normal on start up.
Vw assist attended: No fault codes relevant to the non starting issue !
VW assist could not start the Van at all, despite normal turn over, good battery health checks etc.
VW assist arranged Flat bed truck to deliver to VW dealer.
VW dealer got it started,, but it ran “very Rough” this is an indication of HPFP failing ( Running rough on start up).
Dealer did manage to get the van running very rough.
Eventual they managed to get the engine to run correctly, they carried out a road test.
Van drove fine under all condition, even when under load going up hill ( when the fuel pressure in the common rail reaches silly pressures delivered by the HPFP)
however when restarted van ran rough ! (very lumpy idle and lack of revs when accelerator pressed whilst stationary)
Vw dealer spoke to VW who provided the diagnostic kit (as above)
Initial dealer filter test showed no sign of Swarf in the system!
I Spoke to dealer, following the initial road test and ”swarf” test, who confirmed the van would start, but still ran rough at start up most times,
possibly a failing Injector?
but van did not exhibit any issues during test drive, which would potentially rule out a faulty injector(s) : failing / blocked / damaged injector should become apparent during normal driving when the van is under load and the common rail fuel pressure / load is at a massive pressure.
Dealer was not happy that the van would not consistently start correctly and ran rough at start up more times than not
( google rough starting for more research)
despite the van driving normally and delivering normal (good) power throughout the engine range when being driven for the entire road test !
Dealer asked if they could keep the van to perform another test cycle on the VW supplied test kit. ( Naturally I agreed).
at this stage the dealer had ordered the parts if required to be replace, (Kudos to the dealer).
Next day I got a call from the dealer to advise, the second test had picked up “one peice of swarf in the test kit filter“!
The work I detailed above was carried out By the Dealer under Warranty.
The failed pump is returned to VW / supplier for investigation, presumably all other parts go in the bin!
my research had suggested the cost would be IRO £7000 !
A very costly experience for those who are unfortunate to have a HPFP fail out of warranty!
I will obviously follow this thread and provide more info if I can assist Anyone.
