Passat 125TDI Please Help!

[antone_86]

So - for reference:
2007 MY08 Passat 125TDI, 110,000km, full service history.

I had huge problems with my Passat today and it left me in a very dangerous situation. School holidays, car packed, heading to the Sunshine Coast from Gladstone.

Bruce Highway southbound between Turkey Beach and Bororen, QLD, 105km/h set on cruise control, AC on, lights on, stereo on, wipers on as there was a little rain about.

Out of nowhere the engine warning light illuminated and the MFD read "Engine Fault: Workshop!" The car then disengaged it's cruise control and lost all power, grinding to a halt and stalling on a black spot on the Highway where there is next to no room for the B-Doubles to sneak past and very small areas to pull of in.

So, stuck in the middle of the road over the crest of a hill waiting for a truck to come from behind at 110km/h I cycled the ignition and the car started and drove another 150m or so and again, the light illuminated and whooshka, no power, pull over... this time it decided to konk out close to an area with some grass thankfully.

So I call up VW Roadside Assist, they send someone out. I am waiting in the car and attempt to start it a few times, just turning the engine over for 3 or so seconds to no avail. RACQ man arrives... he does the usual stuff that I had already done, checks oil, this that and then says "well I can't do more for you here, will it start/run?" I explained to him what happened above, and I cranked the engine and it turns over and fires up perfectly!

Next thing you know we've headed back to Gladstone and the car runs the 45 minutes perfectly like nothing had even happened!

A little background: 4 weeks ago, on the odd first start of the day I'd cycle the ignition and the car would not start on the first try and threw a fault code / message. After cycling the ignition the second time it started up straight away. This has happened over the last 4 weeks only a handful of times and for all intensive purposes the car has ran fine throughout this period. We have had a fair amount of rain in the past few days.

So... my list of possibilities?

1. Rail pressure sensor?
2. Crank angle sensor?
3. Injector?
4. Fuel pump?
5. Other sensor?
6. Bad diesel?

Closest VW dealership is Rockhampton, 115km North of Gladstone on a very busy stretch.

Any thoughts, comments or ideas are appreciated.

Anthony.

[passatpout]

Probably injectors. Take out extended warranty or a second mortgage before getting them replaced (cost is in the $1000s). Have a look at some of the other threads about this (sounds very similar to what mine did).

[OilBurna]

I agree same here I had battery light come on then engine fault on the MFD cranked but wouldn't fire. Replaced all 4 at a cost of $3854.

[antone_86]

So... car is at VW in Rockhampton after a rather scary trip up in the rain...

They cant look at it properly till this afternoon but they plugged in the VAG tool to have a peak.

It flashed with 7 faults! They ranged from an injector valve on cylinder 1 to steering angle sensors and speed sensors? I sense I am about to become less wealthy.

So now... back in Gladstone, no car, no word of what's happening with it...

Starting to think I should have bought the petrol model... my Golf GTI's been hassle free and is older...

[ope126]

So... car is at VW in Rockhampton after a rather scary trip up in the rain...

They cant look at it properly till this afternoon but they plugged in the VAG tool to have a peak.

It flashed with 7 faults! They ranged from an injector valve on cylinder 1 to steering angle sensors and speed sensors? I sense I am about to become less wealthy.

So now... back in Gladstone, no car, no word of what's happening with it...

Starting to think I should have bought the petrol model... my Golf GTI's been hassle free and is older...

Hi Tony,

Sorry to hear about all your faults mate...
But in your sig you say it's a 2008 Passat, so would not this work all be covered under VW Warranty?

Or is it a 2007 and out of warranty?

[ope126]

My bad, just read the start of your thread.
2007 VW Passat.
If it is just out of warranty with a full service history, I would be taking this up with VW.

When you say full service history, is that VW service? Or independents?

[OilBurna]

I would take it up with VW especially as it is a known fault with the injectors and the replacement part has been changed. They are also changing the wiring harness as well.

[ope126]

Tony, as per OilBurna's thread...http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/f27/...ked-52361.html

[guthrie]

My old 2007 passat (103kw tdi) did the same thing 3 months out of warranty. A goodwill request to VW took a few weeks to resolve.. but they picked up all the costs in the end

[ope126]

Would I be out of line asking what type / brand of fuel you have used since owning the vehicle?
I am wondering if some of the more "grocery" branded fuels / independents might be causing issues with our Diesels.

I use the same bowser at the same BP Service Station for each and every fill (Diesel Ultimate).

[guthrie]

I used BP ultimate 90% of the time (in WA). Rural towns like Albany, Margaret River didnt have ultimate... so a couple of tanks were "regular" diesel from BP.

[OilBurna]

any updates antone hope it gets resolved quickly

[mebius9]

Seems like another fuel injector failure case...
I'm wondering if it's got anything to do with driving style of the owner (too slow or too fast?)
or there is actually a high rate of failure with Piezo electric injectors.
Any thoughts guys?

[antone_86]

Update, update, update!

Okay - so a quick report on where things are at!

VW Rockhampton, currently underwater I suppose, tested a few things out and carried out a bit of work.

Initially they changed out the fuel filter and cleaned the fuel lines which did not resolve the issues. They also drained the tank and tested the fuel. Results of this: fuel filter quite dirty, fuel not the best quality - a lot of dirty diesel around up north apparently. So all cleaned out and replaced - no resolution of the vehicle though.

Then VW started heavier diagnostics - they got in touch with VW Tech who advised them of further tests they wanted carried out and the test, send results, recieve more tests based on results sent etc. tag game ensued.

Finally they have decided that the follow work needs to be carried out - 1. Remove and replace injector wiring loom, 2. remove and replace injector #1. All up around $4000- worth of work.

Thankfully, given the car was only just out of warranty, time wise and km wise and had a full log book service history, VW Australia has decided to come to the party and has stated that they will pay for all of the repairs.

Lesson to be learnt here I feel - TAKE YOUR CAR TO A VW DEALERSHIP!

1. There's no way Joe Blogs Automotive (JBA) could have diagnosed this...
2. There's no way JBA would have paid for it...
3. There's no way I'd trust / feel confident with JBA carrying out these repairs without VW Tech Assist back up...

So let's hope that these repairs fully deal with the issues and get the car back on the road again.

Thanks to Rockhampton Prestige VW for all their help and work so far and for the positive result achieved with VW goodwill, and thanks to VW Australia for backing up their product.

Let ya'll know how things get on!

[antone_86]

Someone (God?) doesn't want me to have my car lol...

So... got an update from the dealership today...

All the car is okay - out of the floods! BUT! All parts arrived except the injector that is stuck with TNT freight outside of Rockhampton! Ha!

AND it gets better! Even if I could somehow magically teleport the injector to the dealership there's no way I could get my car as 1. The airport is closed due to flooding and 2. the road out of Rocky is closed due to flooding! And there's more rain on the way!

Oh dear... bah!

Life; be in it eh?