loss of power

hi ive got a mk4 53 plate golf and for the last couple of weeks i have had a loss of power there were some occasions that the car had picked up. ive taken it to my local garage in swansea which is the registered repairer because it is under warranty and the mechanics said that it was fine i said i wasnt happy with it so eventually with a struggle they booked it into vw sinclair in swansea they said that they had done a diagnostic check and said nothing was found. im new to all of this i really don't know what to do any ideas.

many thannks

filly

Hello and welcome. What is the engine in this car?

hi there thanks for gettin back its a 1.9 gt tdi 150 bhp is there anything else you need to know.

I had a similar problemwhen I first bought my TDi 150. It seems that the Fuel Hose had been squashed so there wasn't enough fuel for the turbo to be activated.

Two common problems spring to mind when there are no fault codes stored, the Air Mass Meter which is a huge problem on all modern VAG products and is affordable and easy to fit and the other is a faulty turbo which is neither affordable or easy to fit and is a common failing on the ARL 150PD engine, I have one to do next week.

wat do u suggest i look at first it is under warranty but the garage which is the registered repairer up here said there is no lack of pwer but my uncle is a diesel fitter so maybe i could ask him to look at it many thanks for getting back

It would help if you could get someone who knows these cars to drive it and experience the problem. Does the problem come and go?

hi there yeh it does come and go but the last week or so it seems to have got worse il let my uncle look at it he is a diesel fitter for coaches so hopefully he mite no because the garage which i have been going to are no help at all and said that all problems would show up a message thank u very much 4 getting back it has been so stressful not knowing wat to cos my dad doesn't no anything bout cars

If its under warranty, ask them to replace the Air Mass Meter. It's a common problem as mentioned by Crasher, and the Diagnostics won't pick this up in their tests, unless they do extensive checks to analyse the bhp output etc - which I very much doubt they will.

Apart from that, no idea what it could be. Do let us know how you get on though.

Have you experienced a juddering at very high speeds, above 80 ish MPH, even though you should not be going that fast? Ask your uncle to check the engine at idle, to see if the engine shakes, almost as if it is missing on one cylinder and if the exhaust fumes smell odd and oily, rather like they aren’t fully combusted. Also ask him if he thinks the turbo sounds excessively noisy, basically whistling too much. Do you know if the engine could possibly have been chipped/remapped/modified in any way? It may be worthwhile seeing if the VW dealer knows if the car has had or is due for any software updates. Don’t give up; you have consumer rights to ensure this car is as it should be, if you don’t get satisfaction you need to start getting heavy with threats of Trading Standards and solicitors letters.
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ok thanks very much 4 that i will see wat i can get done thank you. im guna get my ignition switch done because it sounds like it struggles when it starts i think that i have bought a dodgy car

Hi,

I am new to this site, i just joined and i have been reading through all the posts regarding MAF/loss of power as my golf TDI 115 GT 2001 has been experiencing exactly the same symptoms as lots of people have described.
1. turbo kicks in around 2000rpm, then after 2400/2500 rpm, it completly dies
2. struggles up hill (although its managable)
3. does struggle to get to high speeds quickly (for a turbo anyway)

A lot of people who had these problems mentioned that it struggled to hit 70/80.. but my car can hit over 100 (oops!).
Anyway, i might take a chance and just order a new MAF and fit it

My question is.. is this a wise move? as described by a few people, the VAG COM and other generic machines may not pick this fault up?!

Sorry for the nature of the question, and any replies would be greatly appreciated.

A fault code read first is still a good idea in case it turns out to be a boost problem.

thanks mate, i have booked it into a garage that claims they have the same fault reader as VW... i am hoping nothing comes up which will indicate a new MAF!
Thanks for your reply

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i am hoping nothing comes up which will indicate a new MAF!

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Why not? They are cheap and easy to fit! Would you rather it indicated you need a new turbo?

sorry mate, but i said i am hoping nothing comes up so IT IS a new MAF, which i am hoping as like you said, its cheap and easy to fit.. thanks

I would definately go for the MAF, and if that doesnt work then the thrust sensor as well. Even go as far as the temp sensor. They are all 10 minute jobs max and you will either get a good result, or none at all with these changes.

Other things to look at on the ARL 150 are:

Intercooler bottom hose clips. If they (either end) are broke - which they do - then under boost you will suck in more air then is required. Another result is lots of black smoke out of the exhaust.

Intercooler itself. After high milage the FMIC collects sludge and oil which obviously has an adverse effect on power.

Inlet manifold. Again, this gets clogged up with sludge and carbon deposits.

Inlet manifold - FMIC top hose (rubber) This is on the LHS of the engine and is large in diameter. Give ig a squeeze and if it feels soft then replace it. As the boost pressure goes up on demand, the vacuum caused makes the hose collapse somewhat, decreasing the air pressure required for more power.

EGR. Same as the inlet manifold.

The ARL turbo generally either works, or doesnt. If it is worn, you will hear the bearing being excessively noisy and louder whirring than a good turbo. If the bearing fails, trust me, you'll know! The cars goes into limp-mode with obviously no power. Then you will need a new turbo AND a new catalytic converter, due to oil ingression.

hi there im interested in what crasher was saying as ive got a mk4 03 golf tdi and mine starts juddering and the engine starts chugging, the esp light comes on ,it does it first thing in a morning or iif the car has been standing. vw have failed to pick up the fault so im ripping my hair out as i dont know what to do

If the ESP light comes on that should store a code although the code has been known to disappear when the car has been switched off. In instances like this I ask the customer to drive straight to me if they can, without shutting it off so I can do an immediate scan. In your example I would suspect the brake light switch.

when you put your foot down it misses then starts shuddering.i gave it to a mechanic to take home one night so that when he drove it in the morning he could put the computer on when the fault came on and guess what it didnt do it, rippping my hair out someone else mentioned the brake pedal switch

They are so cheap, about £8, that I would replace it as a precaution, it is cheaper than Regaine!

hi i hav been taking my car and for because of the loss of power and im still not getting any luck i have phoned the car shop who i have bought it off and asked if they had changed the air mass meter they said it was done last year some time but the warranty company who i am takin the car to said that it might be faulty but they will get in touch with vw for that. have u got any other suggestions to where the lack of power is coming from. it has been on a roller test and they said that they couldnt find anything at first but after the fourth ot fifth attempt there were hardly any revs. this problem has been going on for ages and i dont know what to do. i have gone beyond the manager in the warranty place and spoke to regional and area manager i want to give the car back i dont knw wat else to do.

any other suggestions at all i would be very greatful.

You need to put the warranty to one side and have the car inspected and tested by a VW specialist or a VW main dealer which you will have to pay for and the most sensible thing to do would be to have a new genuine VW Air Mass Meter fitted to eliminate this as a possible issue as they are not very expensive and take minuets to fit. This should get the problem pinpointed or even cured at which point you can go back to the dealer/warranty company and tell them what has been diagnosed/done and to fix it plus reimburse you for the diagnostic/repair work carried out elsewhere. If they don't play ball, start legal proceedings against both parties. If you keep going like this they will just string you along until the warranty runs out and then wave you goodbye. I do have a feeling it is the turbo that is at fault, they are becoming a very common failure on the ARL 150 engine, I diagnosed two as being faulty last week.

how much is a turbo?

£724.61 inc. VAT plus fitting and the gaskets/nuts required plus occasionally the main oil feed pipe twists on removal and requires replacement which is £29.31 and is fiddly to fit so you can expect a bill of just about £1k. I only use genuine VAG exchange turbo’s as they come with a full labour inclusive two year warranty (no matter who fits it) and with how unreliable the ARL turbo is, that is a definite bonus.

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Originally Posted by Crasher

Have you experienced a juddering at very high speeds, above 80 ish MPH, even though you should not be going that fast? Ask your uncle to check the engine at idle, to see if the engine shakes, almost as if it is missing on one cylinder and if the exhaust fumes smell odd and oily, rather like they aren’t fully combusted. Also ask him if he thinks the turbo sounds excessively noisy, basically whistling too much. Do you know if the engine could possibly have been chipped/remapped/modified in any way? It may be worthwhile seeing if the VW dealer knows if the car has had or is due for any software updates. Don’t give up; you have consumer rights to ensure this car is as it should be, if you don’t get satisfaction you need to start getting heavy with threats of Trading Standards and solicitors letters.
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Hi,
Sorry, not trying to hijack this thread, but I've got a TDi 115 that keeps going into Limp mode and usually at around 80mph. I think I can feel a juddering at this speed before it goes into limp mode. I've also noticed a slightly eratic idle when the engine is warm. Is this a common problem with an easy fix? I appreciate its difficult to be specific but when you mentioned about the juddering at motorway speeds I thought I'd ask.
Many thanks

mike.

Hi Mike, you need to get a fault code read done which may show a boost error, 17965.

My daughters tdi was suffering from loss of power, now, thanks to those in the know about the maf sensor, the car now runs fine and pulls great throughout the rev range.
Using car forums can save a lot of time and money, I recently cured my renault blower with a 71 pence thermal resistor from maplins, thanks to a renault forum.
Thanks again guys.