VAG 1.8T cold start issue
Discussion
Morning All.
My other half has had an issue with her 2001 Leon Cupra since she bought it a month ago. It drove fine on the test drive but a tad lumpy at idle. They said they would sort it before collection. The engine management light was on but the battery was dead(car had been there a while) at the time so I thought it was linked. They replaced a coil pack and It was all fine on collection (light out and car running fine).
It seems to have a problem when starting from cold. Some days it is fine, some days not. It will start and idle very lumpy. When you attempt to pull away it cannot cope and kangaroo's (if that's even a word). You can over come this by over revving it and slipping the clutch until its moving. As soon as you dip the clutch to go for 2nd it will be lumpy again. It will hesitate if you accelerate, unless its very very gentle increase. It seems to not respond to accelerator inputs at all and the power dies.
My memory isn't that great but I think if you bully it and accelerate hard it seems to "get better" quicker. Sorry for the really bad fault write up, I only drive the car at weekends when I am back in the UK
The garage sold the car with a 3 month warranty and they have replaced the thermostat and the temp sensor (expansion tank) and the issue is still there (temp now sits at slightly over 90).
They have been fine with taking it back but its a pain in the arse getting back to the garage and taking time out of work to do so. I am hoping I can find out what the issue is and then make some suggestions too them as they are pretty much stabbing in the dark with the help of a fault code reader…
Any ideas welcomed…
LP
My other half has had an issue with her 2001 Leon Cupra since she bought it a month ago. It drove fine on the test drive but a tad lumpy at idle. They said they would sort it before collection. The engine management light was on but the battery was dead(car had been there a while) at the time so I thought it was linked. They replaced a coil pack and It was all fine on collection (light out and car running fine).
It seems to have a problem when starting from cold. Some days it is fine, some days not. It will start and idle very lumpy. When you attempt to pull away it cannot cope and kangaroo's (if that's even a word). You can over come this by over revving it and slipping the clutch until its moving. As soon as you dip the clutch to go for 2nd it will be lumpy again. It will hesitate if you accelerate, unless its very very gentle increase. It seems to not respond to accelerator inputs at all and the power dies.
My memory isn't that great but I think if you bully it and accelerate hard it seems to "get better" quicker. Sorry for the really bad fault write up, I only drive the car at weekends when I am back in the UK
The garage sold the car with a 3 month warranty and they have replaced the thermostat and the temp sensor (expansion tank) and the issue is still there (temp now sits at slightly over 90).
They have been fine with taking it back but its a pain in the arse getting back to the garage and taking time out of work to do so. I am hoping I can find out what the issue is and then make some suggestions too them as they are pretty much stabbing in the dark with the help of a fault code reader…
Any ideas welcomed…
LP
Edited by Lord Pikey on Wednesday 9th March 10:50
Sounds like something on the intake rather than coolant temperature monitoring.
Perhaps Air-Flow/Intake Temperature sensors??
Might be worth taking to a dealer for diagnosis only (usually £50-£60!) then present your garage with this information, if it helps then perhaps suggest they pay for the diagnosis!
Perhaps Air-Flow/Intake Temperature sensors??
Might be worth taking to a dealer for diagnosis only (usually £50-£60!) then present your garage with this information, if it helps then perhaps suggest they pay for the diagnosis!
Mine had similar issues when I first got it. It's recommended to clean the throttle body, this takes ten minutes and some carb cleaner.
Mine turned out to be cracks in the breather pipes under the inlet manifold, replaced these and it runs better than it ever has done.
Have you pulled the coil packs out? If the metal body is going brown its a sign they're on their way out
Mine turned out to be cracks in the breather pipes under the inlet manifold, replaced these and it runs better than it ever has done.
Have you pulled the coil packs out? If the metal body is going brown its a sign they're on their way out
Edited by bstw on Wednesday 9th March 11:32
I had exactly the same symptoms on my Mk4 Golf 1.8T MY02 (which I think uses the same engine).
As "bstw" refers to above, the throttle body was the culprit.
I had the problem investigated at the stealers and they suggested various repairs to cure the problem, totalling around £320 of my hard earned... sod that I thought.
So, based on some forum advice, I cleaned the throttle body using the following excellent guide:
http://uk-mkivs.net/forums/p/127279/857711.aspx#85...
...and it cured all my idling/flat spot/kangarooing issues in one go. All for about £5 and half an hour under the bonnet.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Paul
As "bstw" refers to above, the throttle body was the culprit.
I had the problem investigated at the stealers and they suggested various repairs to cure the problem, totalling around £320 of my hard earned... sod that I thought.
So, based on some forum advice, I cleaned the throttle body using the following excellent guide:
http://uk-mkivs.net/forums/p/127279/857711.aspx#85...
...and it cured all my idling/flat spot/kangarooing issues in one go. All for about £5 and half an hour under the bonnet.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Paul
Lord Pikey said:
Morning All.
My other half has had an issue with her 2001 Leon Cupra since she bought it a month ago. It drove fine on the test drive but a tad lumpy at idle. They said they would sort it before collection. The engine management light was on but the battery was dead(car had been there a while) at the time so I thought it was linked. They replaced a coil pack and It was all fine on collection (light out and car running fine).
It seems to have a problem when starting from cold. Some days it is fine, some days not. It will start and idle very lumpy. When you attempt to pull away it cannot cope and kangaroo's (if that's even a word). You can over come this by over revving it and slipping the clutch until its moving. As soon as you dip the clutch to go for 2nd it will be lumpy again. It will hesitate if you accelerate, unless its very very gentle increase. It seems to not respond to accelerator inputs at all and the power dies.
My memory isn't that great but I think if you bully it and accelerate hard it seems to "get better" quicker. Sorry for the really bad fault write up, I only drive the car at weekends when I am back in the UK
The garage sold the car with a 3 month warranty and they have replaced the thermostat and the temp sensor (expansion tank) and the issue is still there (temp now sits at slightly over 90).
They have been fine with taking it back but its a pain in the arse getting back to the garage and taking time out of work to do so. I am hoping I can find out what the issue is and then make some suggestions too them as they are pretty much stabbing in the dark with the help of a fault code reader…
Any ideas welcomed…
LP
This has coil pack written all over it My other half has had an issue with her 2001 Leon Cupra since she bought it a month ago. It drove fine on the test drive but a tad lumpy at idle. They said they would sort it before collection. The engine management light was on but the battery was dead(car had been there a while) at the time so I thought it was linked. They replaced a coil pack and It was all fine on collection (light out and car running fine).
It seems to have a problem when starting from cold. Some days it is fine, some days not. It will start and idle very lumpy. When you attempt to pull away it cannot cope and kangaroo's (if that's even a word). You can over come this by over revving it and slipping the clutch until its moving. As soon as you dip the clutch to go for 2nd it will be lumpy again. It will hesitate if you accelerate, unless its very very gentle increase. It seems to not respond to accelerator inputs at all and the power dies.
My memory isn't that great but I think if you bully it and accelerate hard it seems to "get better" quicker. Sorry for the really bad fault write up, I only drive the car at weekends when I am back in the UK
The garage sold the car with a 3 month warranty and they have replaced the thermostat and the temp sensor (expansion tank) and the issue is still there (temp now sits at slightly over 90).
They have been fine with taking it back but its a pain in the arse getting back to the garage and taking time out of work to do so. I am hoping I can find out what the issue is and then make some suggestions too them as they are pretty much stabbing in the dark with the help of a fault code reader…
Any ideas welcomed…
LP
Edited by Lord Pikey on Wednesday 9th March 10:50
I've had two VAG 1.8Ts now and both have had similar issues. A full set of coil packs will cost you £100 or thereabouts (there are 4) but a hookup to VAG com will hopefully identify which ones are shot (perhaps they all might be).
I will eat my foot if it's not the coil packs.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff