1.4 TSI with cylinder deactivation - long term reliability?
Discussion
If you do a bit of searching on here you’ll find various threads me & ‘JackReacher’ either started or contributed to on this engine, mine in a Golf with DSG, his wife’s I seem to recall in a manual Leon.
We had at a similar time & mileage, mine from Sept 14 to March 19 & 86k miles from new. It was a company car so was originally doing 25k pa.
That I have a search out for one as a winter car tells you all you need to know about my views on it, despite having much ‘better’ engined cars since……
We had at a similar time & mileage, mine from Sept 14 to March 19 & 86k miles from new. It was a company car so was originally doing 25k pa.
That I have a search out for one as a winter car tells you all you need to know about my views on it, despite having much ‘better’ engined cars since……
Had one in a Seat Ateca since 2017. No problems. I think it’s a good little unit and I even like the noise it makes on 2 cylinders.
Have had conflicting advice about whether the cambelt needed changing or not. IIRC the original info from Seat was it had to be changed at 60k or 5 years, then later it changed to lifetime.
We had it changed as per original schedule. It was hard to tell old belt from new.
Have had conflicting advice about whether the cambelt needed changing or not. IIRC the original info from Seat was it had to be changed at 60k or 5 years, then later it changed to lifetime.
We had it changed as per original schedule. It was hard to tell old belt from new.
The wife leased a new Audi A3 back in 2014 with this engine. Only did about 20k in it, but it was without issue. We liked the engine so much, that in 2017 when the lease had to get returned, we bought a second hand Leon FR with the same engine. A 2015 car with about 15k miles.
We still have the Leon today and its now on about 75k.
Engine wise there have been no issues. It gets serviced every year at Seat as required, although we held off on the cam belt change. Both front wings however are bubbling away quite badly at the top of each arch. The Seat dealer are claiming fold corrosion, so its not covered by their anti corrosion warranty.
s.
Apart from that, it goes pretty well.
We still have the Leon today and its now on about 75k.
Engine wise there have been no issues. It gets serviced every year at Seat as required, although we held off on the cam belt change. Both front wings however are bubbling away quite badly at the top of each arch. The Seat dealer are claiming fold corrosion, so its not covered by their anti corrosion warranty.
s.Apart from that, it goes pretty well.
I've owned a July 2018 Leon FR 1.4TSi DSG since May 2019. It's only done just over 40k miles. Only problem has been a leaking water pump - a common fault I was told - changed under warranty. Needed a new battery in October 2024.
I think it's a great engine with good low down torque, better than some 1.6T engines. Well matched to the 7-speed DSG. Cost me £14.5k when bought from a main dealer. Has averages 45mpg & over 50 on Gloucestershire to Sheffield trips. Cruises at 70mpg showing 2200rpm. 0-60 in 8s good enough for me.
If it wasn't for the unreliable infotainment system, 'tablet' on top of dash & lack of decent air-con controls with knobs & buttons I would have replaced with a 1-2 year old 1.5TSi DSG by now.
I think it's a great engine with good low down torque, better than some 1.6T engines. Well matched to the 7-speed DSG. Cost me £14.5k when bought from a main dealer. Has averages 45mpg & over 50 on Gloucestershire to Sheffield trips. Cruises at 70mpg showing 2200rpm. 0-60 in 8s good enough for me.
If it wasn't for the unreliable infotainment system, 'tablet' on top of dash & lack of decent air-con controls with knobs & buttons I would have replaced with a 1-2 year old 1.5TSi DSG by now.
Thanks all. Been doing some reading on various forums and the two most common engine related problems are fuel rail bolts shearing and weak water pumps. I think the fuel rail issue is confined to certain model years only though. I also wonder if there’s any long term issues associated with the 2 cylinder mode.
cliffords said:
My sister's engine has failed at 70k
It needed a new inlet camshaft and followers etc . All told with a cambelt and all the ancillary components and labour it was £3.5k to repair. Garage did say they had started to see a few fail , cylinder 3 I believe, Skoda .
Have they identified a cause?It needed a new inlet camshaft and followers etc . All told with a cambelt and all the ancillary components and labour it was £3.5k to repair. Garage did say they had started to see a few fail , cylinder 3 I believe, Skoda .
AI1601 said:
cliffords said:
My sister's engine has failed at 70k
It needed a new inlet camshaft and followers etc . All told with a cambelt and all the ancillary components and labour it was £3.5k to repair. Garage did say they had started to see a few fail , cylinder 3 I believe, Skoda .
Have they identified a cause?It needed a new inlet camshaft and followers etc . All told with a cambelt and all the ancillary components and labour it was £3.5k to repair. Garage did say they had started to see a few fail , cylinder 3 I believe, Skoda .
Edited by cliffords on Tuesday 4th February 07:42
A timely thread as I have been looking at these cars as a possible replacement for a diesel 3 series (F30 vintage). I want to downsize and move to petrol from diesel, but keep decent motorway MPG. This 1.4 TSI seems to do all of that. Another contender is the previous generation Vauxhall Astra K 1.4 Turbo with the 150 BHP engine, but again that seems to have issues and uses more fuel I believe. I do like cars from this sector. Big enough to be family cars (although in my case both my girls are now over 18 with their own transport) but fairly light by modern standards and fun (ish) down a challenging road! SO it seems this IS an engine with which to tread carefully. Shame. Anyone know if the newer 1.5 TSI is any better? I am sure when they were new I read reports of the good old VAG timing chain issues surfacing.....
First time I’ve heard of issues with the 1.4 140/150, and I still keep an eye out for one as a winter/station car (in all its VW/Skoda guises) as I enjoyed mine so much. Though it seems logical the added complication of the two cylinder mode could cause issues, as per later diesels.
Re the 1.5 I recall reading there’s a specific issue, though I forget what, not very helpful I appreciate!
Plus as I understand it they require an expensive specialist tool to set up a new cambelt as it needs to be 100% accurate, which not many garages will invest in thus making a change circa £1k. Albeit VAG’s change of view on longevity of changes means it may not be as big an issue.
PS greatly enjoyed your readers view on your MK1 Focus
Re the 1.5 I recall reading there’s a specific issue, though I forget what, not very helpful I appreciate!
Plus as I understand it they require an expensive specialist tool to set up a new cambelt as it needs to be 100% accurate, which not many garages will invest in thus making a change circa £1k. Albeit VAG’s change of view on longevity of changes means it may not be as big an issue.
PS greatly enjoyed your readers view on your MK1 Focus
greenarrow said:
A timely thread as I have been looking at these cars as a possible replacement for a diesel 3 series (F30 vintage). I want to downsize and move to petrol from diesel, but keep decent motorway MPG. This 1.4 TSI seems to do all of that. Another contender is the previous generation Vauxhall Astra K 1.4 Turbo with the 150 BHP engine, but again that seems to have issues and uses more fuel I believe. I do like cars from this sector. Big enough to be family cars (although in my case both my girls are now over 18 with their own transport) but fairly light by modern standards and fun (ish) down a challenging road! SO it seems this IS an engine with which to tread carefully. Shame. Anyone know if the newer 1.5 TSI is any better? I am sure when they were new I read reports of the good old VAG timing chain issues surfacing.....
I test drove an Astra SRi Turbo (150) before purchasing my Leon FR 1.4TSi (150). The Leon had noticably more torque, particularly a lower revs, & was better equipped. Both 2018 models. I also wanted an auto & the Leon's DSG was definitely better than the Astra's auto.
My Wife has an Audi Q2 with the 1.5 TFSI engine, 150hp and it goes very well, quite decent performance whilst returning mid to high 40s mpg overall and will manage 50mpg on a run.
Only 17 months old and 9k miles so far but we're very happy with it - it does inform us that it's in 2-cylinder mode under certain driving conditions but it's not at all noticeable when/how/if it changes.
Only 17 months old and 9k miles so far but we're very happy with it - it does inform us that it's in 2-cylinder mode under certain driving conditions but it's not at all noticeable when/how/if it changes.
acme said:
First time I’ve heard of issues with the 1.4 140/150, and I still keep an eye out for one as a winter/station car (in all its VW/Skoda guises) as I enjoyed mine so much. Though it seems logical the added complication of the two cylinder mode could cause issues, as per later diesels.
Re the 1.5 I recall reading there’s a specific issue, though I forget what, not very helpful I appreciate!
Plus as I understand it they require an expensive specialist tool to set up a new cambelt as it needs to be 100% accurate, which not many garages will invest in thus making a change circa £1k. Albeit VAG’s change of view on longevity of changes means it may not be as big an issue.
PS greatly enjoyed your readers view on your MK1 Focus
Ahh, thankyou! Yes I am a passionate fan of the MK1 Focus, which I guess explains also my interest in the Leon FR TSI, as it is in many ways a car cut from the same cloth. The Leon of that generation always got great reviews for its handling and ride I recall. I would look at a Focus ST Line but the risk of buying a 1 litre ecoboost does put me off somewhat!! The Leon FR 150 seems to be in that sweet spot area of offering decent performance, very good fuel economy and £35 annual VED (for one registered before 1 April 2017) without the need to run a diesel!Re the 1.5 I recall reading there’s a specific issue, though I forget what, not very helpful I appreciate!
Plus as I understand it they require an expensive specialist tool to set up a new cambelt as it needs to be 100% accurate, which not many garages will invest in thus making a change circa £1k. Albeit VAG’s change of view on longevity of changes means it may not be as big an issue.
PS greatly enjoyed your readers view on your MK1 Focus
Having driven them in period I remember being astounded, compared to my Cavalier the ride quality & handling was eye opening. I always hoped for one as a works hire car & not the Merc C classes we sometimes got!
That was my conclusion in early 2014 when I had to order my company car, despite it being more costly than the 2.0 TDI Golf on BIK!
Never regretted my decision over 4.5 years & 86k miles, (sadly!) logged on a spreadsheet brimming it each time & 46mpg. On a long motorway trip at around the legal limit it could do 50mpg, helped by the DSG in seventh at 2200rom. The engine was frankly like a sewing machine, & about as loud!
That was my conclusion in early 2014 when I had to order my company car, despite it being more costly than the 2.0 TDI Golf on BIK!
Never regretted my decision over 4.5 years & 86k miles, (sadly!) logged on a spreadsheet brimming it each time & 46mpg. On a long motorway trip at around the legal limit it could do 50mpg, helped by the DSG in seventh at 2200rom. The engine was frankly like a sewing machine, & about as loud!
greenarrow said:
A timely thread as I have been looking at these cars as a possible replacement for a diesel 3 series (F30 vintage). I want to downsize and move to petrol from diesel, but keep decent motorway MPG. This 1.4 TSI seems to do all of that. Another contender is the previous generation Vauxhall Astra K 1.4 Turbo with the 150 BHP engine, but again that seems to have issues and uses more fuel I believe. I do like cars from this sector. Big enough to be family cars (although in my case both my girls are now over 18 with their own transport) but fairly light by modern standards and fun (ish) down a challenging road! SO it seems this IS an engine with which to tread carefully. Shame. Anyone know if the newer 1.5 TSI is any better? I am sure when they were new I read reports of the good old VAG timing chain issues surfacing.....
Avoid! Avoid! Avoid! the Astra! The 1.4T suffer from LSPI issues, it's so common its a matter of when rather than if. And when it happens it's a new engine and likely write the car off.It's so common that Vauxhall actually specify the exact type, brand and specific bottle of oil that should be used to try and mitigate it (doesn't always work) The problem is your average backstreet garage wouldn't know know this and throw any old stuff in - I wouldn't touch one, especially not without main dealer history.
How do I know?! My sister bought one in 2020. I did my research and told her just about important it was to always use main-dealer for this very reason. She stuck to it for the first two services, and then the next ones in 2023+24 she told me after they were completed, they were done at Halfords as she was bit skint that month
6months later...you can guess what happened. New engine needed and the car was a write off. Shame as well as it was an Elite model with all the toys and a really nice place to be.
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