Golf 118 TSI Engine Failures and Service Campaign 24S4

[triode12]

and another to the list....

a relative bought his 118TSI less than 12 months ago....it has been back to the dealer on at least 6 occassions each time was as a result of the engine light coming on...each time they could not find the fault....until...

6 weeks ago he noticed a distinct drop in performance...car was taken to the dealer....and the problem found as a split piston ring, cylinder 3 or 4 from memory...this is now apparently fixed/repaired.

car is back at the dealer because he is now having problems starting it.

not a happy camper

I note what has been said about the general air/fuel mixture situation and the resultant damage this can cause if its not spot on.....however can i throw my 2c in and say (what may turn out to be a silly statement) but i have always held concerns about this engine in so far as being obviously small in capacity with bolt on equipment in order to increase the performance.

Is it the case of asking too much from a 1.4?...please feel free to shot me down if i am way off the mark

I haven't read/heard of the MkV GT/GT Sport engines having the same issue. Like others have said here, it might be the OEM tune (in the bid to improve fuel economy) of 118 TSI that is causing the issue.

OR VW may have gone too far in it's quest to cut costs in the MkVI that they have compromised reliability.

[Intensive]

Had another last night, came BACK from a dealer and is worse then before, 14k on it and second engine already.

My had 11400 on it when the problem occurred. Interestingly I don't seem to be getting the same fuel economy with the new engine. Will keep an eye on it over the next week or so and see if my paranoia is realised.

[Brendan_A]

My had 11400 on it when the problem occurred. Interestingly I don't seem to be getting the same fuel economy with the new engine. Will keep an eye on it over the next week or so and see if my paranoia is realised.

You'll have to let the new engine run in before you start seeing good fuel economy.

[cme2c]

My had 11400 on it when the problem occurred. Interestingly I don't seem to be getting the same fuel economy with the new engine. Will keep an eye on it over the next week or so and see if my paranoia is realised.

It's a new engine so not run in. That said, I'll be interested to see if your economy improves.

[AdamD]

I haven't read/heard of the MkV GT/GT Sport engines having the same issue. Like others have said here, it might be the OEM tune (in the bid to improve fuel economy) of 118 TSI that is causing the issue.

Guy_H has said that one of the ten failures he knows about in Brisbane was on a car flashed by APR. It's not a big sample size, and that car may have been running in stock mode primarily, but regardless, it casts at least some doubt on the tune alone being the culprit.

Perhaps, as you say, it's more of a cost-cutting reliability issue.

As a new VW owner (I don't yet have my car) coming from a line of absolutely bulletproof Hondas, reading this thread has got me more than a little concerned. While I've not bought a 118TSI, the scale and significance of this problem is pretty dramatic, and I'm surprised that VW haven't jumped on it long before it got to this stage. (Dozens of catastrophic engine failures in Australia alone - how was this not picked up in R&D?!) As it stands, this isn't sending a good message to consumers that VW is proactive about reliability issues, or concerned about the longer-term consequences for its brand image.

[Guy_H]

I just paid the cash & logged onto erwin

https://erwin.volkswagen.de/

and had a good look around with 118TSI VIN numbers & engine code & can not find any "campaigns" on engine failure / replacement.

Mid you, it can take a long time to filter down to this official VW technical site. Maybe Australia is ahead of the curve?


Maybe a post with actual owners with actual failures would be good to focus the extent of the problem.

[dopey]

Same as any modification & any warranty, NO unless the modification is proved to be the cause. From what this post is saying there seems to be a recognised manufacturing problem & there are several cases with the same failure. No one is left out in the cold without warranty, form either VW or APR.

Well that eases my mind a little - as soon as our 15k service is done I'll be getting a flash. I plan to just leave the car in "APR mode" all of the time as well.

Interestingly, our car seems to be not the best on economy compared to the claimed figures - it's close but isn't miraculously thrifty no matter how "economically" by the book I drive it. Whether there's different states of tune out there, or whether it's an actual manufacturing defect with something else causing these dramas I'll probably never know, but I'm sure as hell keen to find out.

[triode12]

Well that eases my mind a little - as soon as our 15k service is done I'll be getting a flash. I plan to just leave the car in "APR mode" all of the time as well.

Interestingly, our car seems to be not the best on economy compared to the claimed figures - it's close but isn't miraculously thrifty no matter how "economically" by the book I drive it. Whether there's different states of tune out there, or whether it's an actual manufacturing defect with something else causing these dramas I'll probably never know, but I'm sure as hell keen to find out.

In my experience, the twin charger 1.4L engine isn't that great (wrt to fuel economy) for stop/start city driving, it gives decent economy but is no where near small car levels. You must remember that the MkV and MkVI golfs are heavy cars.

Where the 1.4 TSI engine truly excels for fuel economy is when you use it for long distance driving. I average between 550-600 kms per tank (city driving) but get 750-880 kms per tank for long distance jaunts (carrying two persons with a packed suitcase weighing approx 10-15kg).

[cme2c]

I just paid the cash & logged onto erwin

https://erwin.volkswagen.de/

and had a good look around with 118TSI VIN numbers & engine code & can not find any "campaigns" on engine failure / replacement.

Mid you, it can take a long time to filter down to this official VW technical site. Maybe Australia is ahead of the curve?

Or maybe it is something about Australia. The "tropical" situation that denies us 199kW Rs and BlueMotion may have a ring of truth to it.

Maybe a post with actual owners with actual failures would be good to focus the extent of the problem.

My wife's 118TSI has to go in for some minor warranty work (a 3rd brakelight) Talking to the technician I said something along the lines of " it's minor, not like an engine failure" he said," How did you know about that?"

[cktsi]

Interestingly, our car seems to be not the best on economy compared to the claimed figures - it's close but isn't miraculously thrifty no matter how "economically" by the book I drive it. Whether there's different states of tune out there, or whether it's an actual manufacturing defect with something else causing these dramas I'll probably never know, but I'm sure as hell keen to find out.

I notice you live in Sydney which can be quite hilly. So this depends on which Sydney district, but generally I would expect Sydney drivers to be getting worse economy compared to cities that are flatter such as Melbourne.

I live in a particularly hilly part of Sydney & commute between hilly parts (nw and eastern suburbs) and my long term average seems to be around 7.4 l/100km - and I'm not exactly sparing with the throttle either ! ; )

I think that's a fairly good effort for predominantly suburban driving.

In non-peak commutes I've seen comsumption bang on 6.5l/100km.

Flatter areas in Sydney such as around burwood / rhodes / some inner west areas / bankstown should see better figures as they're flatter.

[cme2c]

I haven't read/heard of the MkV GT/GT Sport engines having the same issue. Like others have said here, it might be the OEM tune (in the bid to improve fuel economy) of 118 TSI that is causing the issue.

OR VW may have gone too far in it's quest to cut costs in the MkVI that they have compromised reliability.

I looked to see if there were problems with the twincharger engines in the GT before I put my money down, and there just weren't any reports. Mines fine, but I would like to see the resolution of this problem.

[dopey]

Most of our commuting is in the CBD and Inner West, we do encounter some slight undulation but nothing major. The total average for our car is about 10l/100km. Probably thanks to all the traffic, but either way quite thirsty in my opinion. Will be interested to see if this changes after the "software update" they do at the service.

[Greg Roles]

Wow that does indeed sound unusually high. Perhaps you could reset the ECU back to learning mode by disconnecting the battery for 30 mins, and then see how it goes from there?? You'll lose your radio stations and non stock MFD options, can't see any other downsides??? People???

[Corey_R]

I notice you live in Sydney which can be quite hilly. So this depends on which Sydney district, but generally I would expect Sydney drivers to be getting worse economy compared to cities that are flatter such as Melbourne.

I live in a particularly hilly part of Sydney & commute between hilly parts (nw and eastern suburbs) and my long term average seems to be around 7.4 l/100km - and I'm not exactly sparing with the throttle either ! ; )

I don't know... what goes up, must come down
Sure you use more fuel going UP the hills, but if you drive correctly, you don't use ANY fuel going down the hills. If you're above a certain RPM, in gear, no accelerator, the car's fuel supply is disabled.

[cktsi]

Most of our commuting is in the CBD and Inner West, we do encounter some slight undulation but nothing major. The total average for our car is about 10l/100km. Probably thanks to all the traffic, but either way quite thirsty in my opinion. Will be interested to see if this changes after the "software update" they do at the service.

yeah constant stop start traffic will murder fuel consumption. Also factor in hot weather so the aircon works harder. I can get 10 in cbd driving in summer on a trip. If your trips are very short your average will be high as each time to engine will use more fuel during warm up.

If you really want to put your mind at ease try driving out from inner west through west city link then up victoria rd then back down to parra rd via centennial drive. Maybe do this outside peak weekend like in evening. You should get below 8. Thats a mix of stop start and semi freeway conditions.

Today from nw to east i did 8.3 via gore hill but its a warm day and i used aircon rather than open sunroof and traffic was heavy in spots.