Golf 1.9TDI Turbo Broken

[mmxwll]

Hi guys,

I just joined and posted this in the Newbie thread but thought I should post here also...

I bought a second hand 2006 Golf 1.9TDI at the start of the year. Great car, fantastic to drive and super super efficient. Only had one owner before myself and had all log book services complete. The car has done 104k and I started to do a bit of research into what involved in the 105k service and phoned around last week to get some prices. All well and good.

Unfortunately over the weekend I got into some trouble. About 100kms out of Brisbane going up a hill slight, I pressed down on the accelerator and started to notice the car lost power and was starting to slow down. Pushing down on the accelerator again a few times the car was still moving along but still slowing down. I pulled over, stopped the engine and checked again. When pushing the accelerator a high frequency whirring noise could be heard. Also noticed black smoke coming from teh exhaust. Jumping a few steps forward, RACQ turned up, checked the computer which showed a "turbo error", so i got the car towed back to Brisbane.

The car is now at a mechanic and they have explained that the turbo has pretty much destroyed itself and would need replacing along with oil pipe, gaskets etc. As it is coming up to the 105k service, I have asked them to quote this servce also and while it is apart to quote for the timing belt change (120k service usually I think).

With the a replacement turbo quoted at about $2200 (parts only), timing belt, water pump and 105k service the total bill is about $5000. This includes removing and refitting the Turbo and sump. As you would understand this is a fair chunk of money and I am in the process of getting some other quotes.

So, I fully understood that the parts and maintenance costs of this vehicle would be more than your average non-european car when I purchased and also the risks of buying a used car. I suppose I am just telling my story to get some insight as to whether this is a reasonable cost to do this work and if anyone else has had a similar issue. The mechanic is yet to decipher exactly what cause the turbo to fail. I am slowly getting my head around the technical aspects my problem as it is all fairly new to me.

Anyways, great to finally get involved in the forum. It's a wealth of information from what I've seen so far.

Any help is greatly appreciated,

Mark

[GoLfMan]

Sad to hear about your experience Mark.

That surely is a premature death of a turbo, the cost of replacing one is never going to be cheap (unless you source parts and do the work yourself). The timing belt and waterpump is a pretty fiddly job on this motor and it takes a couple of hours and the parts themselves aren't exactly cheap! So all in all that cost sounds about right.

Replacement turbo's can be had from overseas much cheaper, but you also run risks of lack of warranties, shipping damage and what not. Its a risk I am willing to take, and will when the time comes.

I also did my timing belt early. Its cheap insurance in my books.

Hope it eventually works out and that you begin to enjoy you VW experience again.'

[Greg Roles]

PLEASE get Jimmy at Alba European - Jmac on here to give you a quote.

I can't recommend anyone more highly in Brisbane.

You can get a replacement turbo from the USA or UK for half that, and again talk to Jimmy, but that's what I would be doing - will mean your car is off the road for an extra 10 days while it arrives. Replacing a turbo really isn't that big a deal, just often hard to access.

I'd look into KermaTDI in the USA for a turbo, but you may have to go to the UK to get your exact turbo model.

If you do that the repair bill should effectively halve....

[GoLfMan]

also Boraparts has nicely priced turbo's from the US

Darkside developments in the UK also stock turbo's I believe

Jimmy IS the man to go to in Brisbane. Well said Greg

[mmxwll]

Thank you very much for your comments guys. Much appreciated.

Jimmy would have been my 1st preference as per the recommendations on this forum, but I believe he is on holidays at the moment unfortunately. Til the 26th.

I'm in a bit of a dilemma as the car is already at one mechanic and it would involve another tow to get it anywhere else. That and I 'don't quite trust myself to get the right turbo + gaskets + oil hose and whatever else might be needed to get the job done. It's been an unfortunate series of events really. haha.

A colleague suggested that I might get some luck talking to VW about drive train warranties? Keeping in mind I am the 2nd owner and the car has 104k on it.

[GoLfMan]

I'm in a bit of a dilemma as the car is already at one mechanic and it would involve another tow to get it anywhere else. That and I 'don't quite trust myself to get the right turbo + gaskets + oil hose and whatever else might be needed to get the job done. It's been an unfortunate series of events really. haha.

A colleague suggested that I might get some luck talking to VW about drive train warranties? Keeping in mind I am the 2nd owner and the car has 104k on it.

Ask around here, plenty of ways to find out which parts to order

Worth a shot with VWA, maybe ask for good will? Not sure how it will go though.

[stickshift3000]

Sounds like bad luck, but these things happen. Premature turbo death isn't common, but no brand or model of car is immune to it.

As said, do a bit of homework on the forum and you should be able to save a fair bit of the cost on that initial quote.

[mmxwll]

Cheers guys, Update so far,

Just got off the phone with VW about a 'good will' / drive train warranty type thing and unfortunately it isn't eligible. With the car's age, the fact that I am not the original owner and the fact that the car hasn't been serviced with VW everytime, I am pretty much on my own.

I'm heading out to the mechanic in the morning so I can get a better understanding of the problem. Will make a decision from there.

Thanks again.

[Greg Roles]

Rent a Getz till the 26th. Will save you thousands.....

[phaeton]

Mums 1.9 TDI turbo failed a month or two back (45k on the odo), was replaced under extended warranty est $2500 in repairs

[Transporter]

Maybe you could do just the turbo and leave the rest of work for later.

[Preen59]

Rent a Getz till the 26th. Will save you thousands.....

That's what I'd do for sure, mate.

[Ezza2206]

Sorry to dig up an old thread. Though I think I have a similar issue. Same car 07 1.9tdi golf mk5, got a high pitched whining sound when accelerating & decelerating. From what I can ascertain it is most likely the turbo. I haven't had any major issues with it yet, the noise is just annoying.

I'm in Melbourne and wondering how much it will cost to actually replace it?. I'm thinking that the car shouldn't fail too soon since the noise doesn't always happen. Therefore I'm hoping I could perhaps order the turbo from somewhere cheaper. Then I'd be looking for a mechanic near Heidelberg in Melbourne (where I currently reside) to fit it. There is a VW specialist called Volkstech not too far from where I live. Was thinking I may get them to have a look over the car and diagnos it, then potentially fix it.


Thanks for any replies, or do you guys think I should make a new thread? Still getting use to this forum since I only recently bought this car.

[davoidd]

Have the same problem pretty much 2005 2.0 TDI, had been making noises for some time. Then finally gave up last week just suddenly lost boost completely. I used the torque on my phone app and got error P0299 Turbo / Supercharger Underboost. A mechanic friend believes the turbo has failed have done 250k so have done a few. Not sure which way to go though. Can get a reco turbo and new one or slightly larger turbo. The VW dealer wanted $3500 to fit a new turbo. Can get a reco one for about $500 or so from the UK.
Does anyone have any ideas for the best place to get it repaired in Australia?

[Umai Naa!!]

Try GCG in Sydney.

Honestly, it won't be cheap.