Losing power on Sharan TDi up hills

[khalidkhan]

Hi all,
i've got a '98 Sharan TDi and have had this problem for a while. If i drive up a steep hill or after run on the motorway the engine seems to lose a massive chunk of power. It will rev freely but just won't pick up any speed
beyond about 40mph without a huge struggle. However, if i turn off the enigine for a few seconds and set off again everything is OK. Have had air mass thingy changed by VW dealer, then various tubes changed but all to no avail. One dealer said it needed a new turbo (which costs loads) whereas another has said it's something electronic.
Any help welcome before i'm suckered into paying a huge wedge for a new turbo.
thanks
k

[devonutopia]

Any fault codes? What about the boost / thrust sensor. That can cause limp mode. Do you find the turbo is fine on starting up, but then suddenly cuts out, and you can re-ignite the turbo by turning off/on at ignition (and then I bet goes into limp mode again quick?)

Really do need to get fault codes looked at though - and find out precise codes logged. If the MAF is changed, only other things left are boost sensor, and possibly the fuel temp one too.

[khalidkhan]

Thank you for that. The garage did quote some codes but i can't remember them off the top of my head. Will look into it. Generally the car starts fine and runs around town fine. The problem really only occurs after pushing the accellerator (up hill or dropping gear to overtake) or after a motorway run and then coming into stop/start town traffic.
Once i've turned engine off and on again, it's ok until the next heavy throttle.
By the way, not sure if makes any difference, the car is automatic gear box.
cheers

[sal]

it could be the wires on the air mass meter just fiddle about with them a bit.
i am having starting problems with mine, i have changed the fuel filter, glow plugs but still cranks over then starts after a minute. could it some sort of fuel sensor? and where are they located on the engine?

[Chilly]

Hello,

I had a similar problem with my Passat 130 TDI. After a new MAF, EGR rebuild and a new turbo (>£1000), it turned out to be a boost control valve (£27). It's an electronic valve that controlls the vacuum to the waste gate.

It should be a relatively cheap thing to try (cheaper than a new turbo)

Hope this helps.

[hartfell]

i keep losing the turbo after about 1 mile,if i switch engine off and restart its ok for about 1 mile to 12 miles and does the same again,anyone have any ideas?was told by specialist that turbo had carboned up and to try hitting it with a piece of wood,which had no effect,vehicle done 57500 miles.

[oais1]

Khalid,

I have the same problem with my TDI engine , automatic. What was the solution in the end?

Please advise.

Oais


Hi all,
i've got a '98 Sharan TDi and have had this problem for a while. If i drive up a steep hill or after run on the motorway the engine seems to lose a massive chunk of power. It will rev freely but just won't pick up any speed
beyond about 40mph without a huge struggle. However, if i turn off the enigine for a few seconds and set off again everything is OK. Have had air mass thingy changed by VW dealer, then various tubes changed but all to no avail. One dealer said it needed a new turbo (which costs loads) whereas another has said it's something electronic.
Any help welcome before i'm suckered into paying a huge wedge for a new turbo.
thanks
k

[Tim Sowter]

Hi

I had a simlar problem with my sharan tdi. The dealer fixed it under warranty but it went wrong again. They found that they had routed some hoses to the turbo wrongly and they had worn through.

This may not be relevant but you never know

good luck

[hartfell]

hi,i,ve taken my sharan to vw dealer in dumfries,the mechanic took it for a drive and the first thing he said was he thinks the turbo,s faulty and needs replaced(approx£1200)but their going to check it this week and i,ll let you know the outcome,thanks Ian.

[adamss24]

READ THE POSTS GUYS BEFFORE PAYING THE DEALERS MONEY AND YOU COULD SAVE A WAD OF CASH. UNLESS THE TURBO IS SMOCKING OR MAKES BAD NOISES ITS NOT GONE. BEFORE YOU CHANGE THE TURBO CHECK THE BOOST HOSES, ACTUATORS OR THE AIRMASS METER. GET THE CAR SCANNED ON ANOTHER PLACE AND POST THE CODES DEFINITIONS ON THIS FORUM. LORD O LORD !

[silverdales]

I had this problem and tried everything, in the end I had to have a new turbo -££ I took it to specialists www.vagtech.co.uk (http://www.vagtech.co.uk) and they were brill, I sourced a turbo and got them to fit it and they liased with the supplier to ensure the correct one was supplied. Good Luck Mine was the red eye engine 110bhp

[hartfell]

i,ve had a new boost sensor fitted and airmass fitted and hoses checked,and still have the same problem.

[cumbriankeith]

I had this problem with my 03 Golf GT TDi 130 PD, 50k miles - main dealer said it was definitely the MAF and changed it - turbo shut down still happened - went to a diesel specialist and they diagnosed a sooted up turbo (the vanes don't change angle correctly and cause overboost). A turbo refurb cost about £200 paid by the car dealer I got it from as it was still under warranty

[tim-spam]

This problem is often caused by the VNT mechanism sticking due to carbon build-up. Dealers usually replace perfectly good turbos to cure this problem, which it does - the VNT mechanism is, after all, part of the turbo. However, it's a bit like replacing the whole car to fix worn out brake pads!

The cure is to remove the turbo to access the VNT machanism, thoroughly cleaning and then re-fitting.

If you look at the turbo from under the car, you will see a ring of 5 bolts, which attach the rotor bearing housing to the exhaust manifold, 2 of which secure the actuator with no washers. If these are removed, the rotor bearing housing, together with the induction side of the turbo can be removed after disconnecting all hose / pipe connections. The VNT mechanism is left behind in the exhaust manifold and is held in place by 3 torx screws. This is the bit that needs to be cleaned until it operates smoothly.

For a more detailed description, look here: pics.tdiclub.com/data/517/8078TurboRemovalHOWTO.pdf

I hope this helps.

[skyeman]

Hi there I yhink that this will be an air mass sensor problem, I was told by some-one that has experience of this that if you unplug the sensor, it will be the first electrics the engine side of the air filter then if the engine runs fine it will be the sensor. Though I havw never tried this and is second hand info so let me know if it works?
Alternatively get any good indepentant garage to do you a dyagnostic usually cost you £25 but should tell what the problem is.

[cumbriankeith]

Tim
That's a great article about cleaning the turbo etc - I guess that's what got done to mine.
Also it's a permit to rev the lump now and again - I'll have to print the relevant, last paragraph and show it to her in the next seat when I give it some rice and she raises her eyebrows!

[Smalls]

I also had exactly the same problem, and got it 'half fixed' for £200. I was told it was a faulty 'soleniod' I think.

Now it doesn't lose turbo anymore and runs fine except:

Starting the engine when it's already warm, it gives a burst of revs of its own accord, and then the glow plugs flash as a warning. The car runs fine but has no turbo even to start with.

Starting the engine from cold its as good as new and the turbo doesnt fail me.

I am going to take it back (I'll probably get told that this is a seporate problem which also affects the turbo and get a hefty bill#2!) and will post here what the problem was, in case that helps

[PeterinScotland]

Regarding the hill climbing issue raised by the OP, I found this could be avoided by using the Cruise Control button (instead of the accelerator) to accelerate up a hill. Had a Sharan with this problem for two years, never gave me any other issues after I learned this trick, which I must have used for a year or so. I didn't immediately discover I had Cruise Control, and was pleasantly surprised as the car was about 15 years old when I bought it.