Massive loss of power

[gizmogold]

Hi all,

Hope someone can help - I've had a problem with my A3 2.0 TDI for some time now in that the coolant bottle drains through every 2 weeks or so. I've been in to 2 garages who have taken the bottom tray off and had a look at the engine & can't see any leaks anywhere in the system.

However, on driving in to work this morning I had got up to 80mph on the dual carriageway and there was a shudder and I lost power, there seems to be around 50% power loss and I can't get higher than 75mph.

Would this indicate a broken turbo in mind it won't go above 75mph?
There is no whirring/chattering/whistling noise which seems as though it has cut out if it's not working.


Thanks guys!

[dod1e]

Get your car read for fault codes then post them here and someone will be able to advise.

Sounds like you have lost turbo boost for whatever reason, there are a number of possible causes. are there any other symptoms, like excessive black smoke?

The cylinder heads of these engines are known to crack, which is a worst case but would explain the obvious internal coolant leak path.

[johnand lenka]

Hi I had same problem with leaking 3 months ago, audi replaced radiator after a long investigation, thats all good now, but 2 weeks ago i then had a power reduction issue and the car lost most of its power. the engine management system was shutting the turbo down.
This is now confirmed and audi have the car waiting replacement of a new turbo (cost to me 2K) as out of warranty by 3 months and 72K miles
Wish you luck

[A3_FSI_2.0]

head gasket/cracked cylinder head would be my suggestion too like dod1e, especially as its a know issue on the TDI. On a petrol engine I know you can put the probe used to measure the emissions for the MOT test into the top of the expansion bottle to measure if there is a leak between the cylinder and the water jacket. Not sure if this is the same on a diesel. Maybe a pressure check may see if a cylinder is down on pressure?

[gizmogold]

I've taken the car in to an Audi specialist & had a diagnostics ran - they are saying that the no. 1 cylinder glow plug isn't working probably as a result of a problem with a porous cylinder head on this cylinder.

Can anyone tell me if this rings true? It seems crazy to me that this could be true whereby a cylinder head can be prone to water getting into the system.

I've also been told that the turbo is faulty, God help me if the water's made it's way through there too.

Added to the fault with the inlet manifold flap causing the radiator fans to stop working & therefore the car potentially over heating I'm looking at up to £2500 to fix the lot (with 2 year guaranteed Audi parts). Roughly 20+ hours labour.

Does anyone smell a rat here? Can this really be true?

[gizmogold]

btw - the engine has a slight "shudder" sometimes when idling and on starting up. There doesn't seem to be clouds of black smoke when starting, only when moving off in the cold.

[dod1e]

I've taken the car in to an Audi specialist & had a diagnostics ran - they are saying that the no. 1 cylinder glow plug isn't working probably as a result of a problem with a porous cylinder head on this cylinder.

Can anyone tell me if this rings true? It seems crazy to me that this could be true whereby a cylinder head can be prone to water getting into the system.

I've also been told that the turbo is faulty, God help me if the water's made it's way through there too.

Added to the fault with the inlet manifold flap causing the radiator fans to stop working & therefore the car potentially over heating I'm looking at up to £2500 to fix the lot (with 2 year guaranteed Audi parts). Roughly 20+ hours labour.

Does anyone smell a rat here? Can this really be true?


Yes, it does ring true, Crasher posted on here someitme in the last 24 hours saying he had a car in with identical problems, unless you are the customer he was talking about...... Also, bear in mind that "porous" could mean "cracked" and if any of the lost coolant has ended up in the sump it wouldnt do the turbo much good

[dod1e]

Go to quick links at the top, then todays posts, and look for the one titled something like "VW Golf Turbos Failing"