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View Full Version : Touran Cooling Fans and 'Intake manifold flap motor problem?



Matt B
03-01-2007, 03:55 PM
Sorry for the long note but please read as I’m a bit baffled!!

I have a 04 Touran 2.0TDI Sport which I have had from new, it has just past 80K miles and it has been a good car. However the week before Christmas when the fog was bad a warning came on the display ‘Emission workshop’ and the orange engine light came on. This was after a long run, stopped for 10 minutes, then the engine started back. The car ran fine (and still is) I booked in to the local VW dealer straight after Christmas for a diagnostic check and the computer displayed two faults:
1) ‘Cooling fans inop’ 2) ‘Intake manifold flap motor faulty’ The VW dealer said it needed the two cooling fans replacing and the intake manifold flap motor (what the hell is this?!) replacing,(part no. 038128063G) the total cost being £742. I have a non VW after market warranty (due to passing the 60K mileage) and they will only cover the cooling fans (there are two of them) which is £340. The VW dealer recommending leaving the car as it was not safe to use (they said it would overheat) I didn’t leave the car, the cooling fans are on back order from Germany and will take 2 weeks+
The car is working as normal and I can not get it to ‘overheat’ I want to test the cooling fans myself. The temp rises steadily to 90 deg.C (as it always has done) but I can not get it to go above this (despite leaving it idling on the drive for 90mins.) therefore the fans have not started. The fans rotate freely and the fuse is OK.

My questions (at last!) are:
1) At what temp should the fans cut in and is it likely that both cooling fans should fail
2) Would the failure of the cooling fans coincide with the failure of the ‘intake manifold flap motor’
3) Would the car run normally if these two items had failed? ( I have driven it for a for nearly two weeks without any noticeable effect)
4) My local non dealer village garage (the traditional type!) finds it highly unlikely that the cooling fans would fail, and also investigated with his VAG parts supplier who advised him that they had supplied 26 ‘intake manifold flap motors’ last year (2006) which was extraordinarily high) He has a A4 had doesn’t always believe stored faults!

I have had the faults cleared but they returned straight away on start up. I am concerned that I am going to have the work done by the VW garage only for the fault to lie elsewhere (maybe a simple fault)

Two things that may have a factor: 1) I had a new timing belt and pulleys fitted by a VW dealer in mid November. 2) The car has always had from day one a minor slightly irritating fault where the idle can be lumpy (small judder) at times (noticeable on an incline) The fault could never be traced or rectified so in the end I just lived with it (it is intermittent and only noticeable to people if you point it out)

Can any one help before I spend money?

Matt B