Can somebody explain VAG engine fault codes please?
Discussion
My wife's Seat Ibiza 1.2 Tdi has developed an intermittent fault and the engine management light comes on and off. It coincided with the cold weather but that could be coincidence. No noticeable drop in engine performance is noted.
It went in to the Seat dealers today who advised that the car does (has had) some fault codes logged but as the engine management light isn't currently illuminated they couldn't say what was at fault so they did nothing to try and repair the car.
Isn't the point of the fault code that it tells the technician what is wrong with the car or am I misinformed and it only works when the engine management light is on?
I'm a bit underwhelmed by the response the garage gave by telling my wife to come back when the light is on as the garage is a 50 minute round trip from where we live. Likewise the car is still under warranty.
If anybody could update me in the codes and illuminated/not illuminated enhpgine management light, I'd appreciate it.
PS - the car is driven regular long distances and we've never seen the Dpf light come on before anybody asks.
It went in to the Seat dealers today who advised that the car does (has had) some fault codes logged but as the engine management light isn't currently illuminated they couldn't say what was at fault so they did nothing to try and repair the car.
Isn't the point of the fault code that it tells the technician what is wrong with the car or am I misinformed and it only works when the engine management light is on?
I'm a bit underwhelmed by the response the garage gave by telling my wife to come back when the light is on as the garage is a 50 minute round trip from where we live. Likewise the car is still under warranty.
If anybody could update me in the codes and illuminated/not illuminated enhpgine management light, I'd appreciate it.
PS - the car is driven regular long distances and we've never seen the Dpf light come on before anybody asks.
find a local garage with vcds would be my advice. They'll clear the codes, let you run it for a week or 2 and then rescan it. Probably at half the price of the dealer.
Your experience with the dealer was typical in my experience. They'll charge £75 for a scan and really IMO with an intermittant light they can't diagnose on a single scan. They'll then want £75 for each scan which may or may not have stored a fault code. This was on my dads focus.
In my experience with VAG group cars and vcds it will log the code of an intermittant ecu light. I've seen fault codes logged even with no warning lights.
Your experience with the dealer was typical in my experience. They'll charge £75 for a scan and really IMO with an intermittant light they can't diagnose on a single scan. They'll then want £75 for each scan which may or may not have stored a fault code. This was on my dads focus.
In my experience with VAG group cars and vcds it will log the code of an intermittant ecu light. I've seen fault codes logged even with no warning lights.
I got one of these then download the app, paid £9 for the full app in the end so I could turn off the light.
£20 and its the best thing I have bought.
The Engine warning light produced the codes on the Mrs's car turned out to be a solenoid on the air intake, £30 part then minutes to fit. Dealer wanted £360.
My car, another air intake problem and turned out to be an adjustment!
No idea how much the dealer would have wanted for that!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tsing-ELM327-Diagnostic-S...
£20 and its the best thing I have bought.
The Engine warning light produced the codes on the Mrs's car turned out to be a solenoid on the air intake, £30 part then minutes to fit. Dealer wanted £360.
My car, another air intake problem and turned out to be an adjustment!
No idea how much the dealer would have wanted for that!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tsing-ELM327-Diagnostic-S...
Thanks all
The point is that the car is new enough to still be under warranty (therefore I won't be paying anything) and they chose to do nothing. It sounds like codes would have been logged that would have enabled them to work out what is causing the engine management light to come on.
The point is that the car is new enough to still be under warranty (therefore I won't be paying anything) and they chose to do nothing. It sounds like codes would have been logged that would have enabled them to work out what is causing the engine management light to come on.
Those OBD readers work on most cars made after 2000. It will tell you what fault codes the car has and has had. Something the dealers VAG COM should be able to do.
Provided you don't turn off the light from the OBD reader app they would not know you have investigated. It gives a good peice of mind when the light does come as you may know what the fault actually is.
You will get a code with a letter then 4 or 5 numbers I think. Pop that into Google and someone usually has the answer.
Once you have that you will know if the dealer is trying to fob you off.
Provided you don't turn off the light from the OBD reader app they would not know you have investigated. It gives a good peice of mind when the light does come as you may know what the fault actually is.
You will get a code with a letter then 4 or 5 numbers I think. Pop that into Google and someone usually has the answer.
Once you have that you will know if the dealer is trying to fob you off.
It'll probably end up being g495 exhaust gas temp sensor. Always found that Seat dealers tend to be pretty slack with diagnosing faults. It's not that hard to rule out which fault code is causing the customers complaint, need to know when it was first noted and roughly how many times its happened and another other tidbits like speed or rpms.
The fault code usually lists such environmental conditions for that exact reason. If it's happened multiple times, yet you've got 4 codes showing 1 occurrence and another showing 10, you're halfway there.
Give the dealer a gentle nudge next time, or be an "awkward customer" and request a loan car so you can leave it with them to sort out.
The fault code usually lists such environmental conditions for that exact reason. If it's happened multiple times, yet you've got 4 codes showing 1 occurrence and another showing 10, you're halfway there.
Give the dealer a gentle nudge next time, or be an "awkward customer" and request a loan car so you can leave it with them to sort out.
OP, I work on older VAG stuff, but VAGCOM is truly excellent. The dealer clearly doesn't know what they are doing. Unless the systems have changed recently they will flag up a fault when it occurs and store it in the appropriate ECU, then if it is engine related it will bring on the MIL light. If it's any other system it will bring on the appropriate light for that system, e.g. ABS. If you have 3 stop start cycles with the fault absent or cured the MIL light will then switch off. The fault however is still stored in the ECU and can only be deleted manually with a code reader or laptop.
The best way to proceed is to use VAGCOM to do a full diagnostic and save the results. Then delete all fault codes and drive the car to see if any re-occur. These are then the actual fault. Having said that, dianostics is a bit of an art, as you can have a fault code indicating a particular unit is faulty and it can simply be a wiring fault or bad connection. The wife's Beetle brings on the MIL light fairly often and the code is for the upstream lambda sensor. As she drives 2 miles to her work and back every day, the engine never gets warm enough to clean the cat and sensors. When it happens I simply thrash the arse of it up a country road near the house and it's good as new!
Best of luck and non illegitimus carborundi.
J
The best way to proceed is to use VAGCOM to do a full diagnostic and save the results. Then delete all fault codes and drive the car to see if any re-occur. These are then the actual fault. Having said that, dianostics is a bit of an art, as you can have a fault code indicating a particular unit is faulty and it can simply be a wiring fault or bad connection. The wife's Beetle brings on the MIL light fairly often and the code is for the upstream lambda sensor. As she drives 2 miles to her work and back every day, the engine never gets warm enough to clean the cat and sensors. When it happens I simply thrash the arse of it up a country road near the house and it's good as new!
Best of luck and non illegitimus carborundi.
J
chasingracecars said:
Those OBD readers work on most cars made after 2000. It will tell you what fault codes the car has and has had. Something the dealers VAG COM should be able to do.
Provided you don't turn off the light from the OBD reader app they would not know you have investigated. It gives a good peice of mind when the light does come as you may know what the fault actually is.
You will get a code with a letter then 4 or 5 numbers I think. Pop that into Google and someone usually has the answer.
Once you have that you will know if the dealer is trying to fob you off.
You have to be careful with OBD readers the OBD2 specification states they have to report faults, it doesn't state they have to report the correct faults. I know of several EMS systems that don't report correctly.Provided you don't turn off the light from the OBD reader app they would not know you have investigated. It gives a good peice of mind when the light does come as you may know what the fault actually is.
You will get a code with a letter then 4 or 5 numbers I think. Pop that into Google and someone usually has the answer.
Once you have that you will know if the dealer is trying to fob you off.
Also they don't see everything that the primary EODB does.
Gassing Station | Audi, Seat, Skoda & VW | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff