1.6 fsi engine any good?

[martin33100]

Hi, I know alot about 20v 1.8T's and vag diesels but not much about the 1.6 FSI. The reason I ask is my mum and dad have been looking at a 2007 1.6 fsi golf plus with 21k on it. They only do around 4k a year now so not worth getting the diesel. After I had a look on the net it seems alot of them suffer cam chain tensioner problems, running problems when using 95 ron fuel and the inlet valves gum up due to no contact with the fuel due to direct injection. Any views would be great on this, thanks in advance Martin.

[JON76]

Hi, I know alot about 20v 1.8T's and vag diesels but not much about the 1.6 FSI. The reason I ask is my mum and dad have been looking at a 2007 1.6 fsi golf plus with 21k on it. They only do around 4k a year now so not worth getting the diesel. After I had a look on the net it seems alot of them suffer cam chain tensioner problems, running problems when using 95 ron fuel and the inlet valves gum up due to no contact with the fuel due to direct injection. Any views would be great on this, thanks in advance Martin.

I have the 1.6FSI engine in my Audi A3. It has done 36k miles, and I have had none of the problems above. The only problem I have had is a fuel pump failure but I believe this is quite rare on the 1.6FSI. I have always run mine on 95 ron fuel without any problems. Contrary to what you might read on the net, this engine does not need to be run on 98 ron. I had read the same, and asked the chief technician at my local Audi dealership if it was the case. He confirmed that the engine can be run on 95 ron with no detriment to the running. 98 ron fuel is reported to give better performance, I have occassionally put a tank of 98 ron in it but can tell no difference whatsoever.

All in all I think it's a good engine, not the most powerful, but it's got a fair bit of poke to it around town and also keeps its speed up well on the motorway. The only criticism I would have is that it's a bit noisy and does clatter a bit when cold.

[martin33100]

I have the 1.6FSI engine in my Audi A3. It has done 36k miles, and I have had none of the problems above. The only problem I have had is a fuel pump failure but I believe this is quite rare on the 1.6FSI. I have always run mine on 95 ron fuel without any problems. Contrary to what you might read on the net, this engine does not need to be run on 98 ron. I had read the same, and asked the chief technician at my local Audi dealership if it was the case. He confirmed that the engine can be run on 95 ron with no detriment to the running. 98 ron fuel is reported to give better performance, I have occassionally put a tank of 98 ron in it but can tell no difference whatsoever.

All in all I think it's a good engine, not the most powerful, but it's got a fair bit of poke to it around town and also keeps its speed up well on the motorway. The only criticism I would have is that it's a bit noisy and does clatter a bit when cold.

The noise on start up could be the cam chain tensioner, i found this on another vw site:-

MK 5GOLF DRIVER. I've got the exact same problem on my 07 plate 1.6 FSI which I bought last October. Only 20K on the clock and noisy metallic slack-chain sound on startup (worse on a cold start) and low-rev 'stalling' noise accelerating away which clears with higher revs and speed. Just had this in to Hawco VW for a warranty claim (runs out in Apr) and they contacted VW for advice and were told to carry out technical instruction TPI2009810/16 which is:

remove

exhaust front pipe, sump, EGR valve and timing chain cover to;

replace

camshaft positioner (tensioner) and refit the above.

This is a known FSI issue and provided you can pin someone down at your VW garage that has the knowledge, the fact that this is a recognised fault even on low -mileage cars may hopefully work in your favour despite being out of warranty. The positioner is not filling with oil at the correct rate. Unfortunately for me, despite curing this problem (and yes it is still a noisy engine anyway) they have created a louder and more irritating noise from somewhere else in the process and the car is now back in the garage for more work. The TPI described is a minimum of 8 hours work. Also got an annoying underfloor rattle over rough ground at low revs which sounds like it could be fuel line or exhaust heat shield - happy days!

[mowki]

Hi there,
I have been having the exact same noise / rattle with my 57 plate golf 1.6FSI - low miles - 26K - noise reported from new - car checked both service and outwith service intervals - even had service manager out for a drive with me ( think they thougth I was ditsy lady driver and fobbed nme off with all sorts of excuses ... anyway year 3 that camshaft tensioner belt replaced under warranty - same thing developed after about 9-10 months - in for year 4 service last month and told this would need done again....dealer contacted VW and offered goodwill gesture of 70% off bill , I'm unhappy as feel this is a recurring problem, is known and funny how they did nothing til year 3...I've been back onto VW customer service and dealer and they have upped their goodwill to 80% , leaving me a bill of approx £150..... should I pursue this further or do you think this is as good as it gets
might also add car been serviced at dealer since new and signed up for 2 year service plan.
Re comments on fuel i do try and put in tank of 98 ron every so often and do think it runs more smoothly ... maybe psychological though!!
cheers.

[martin33100]

Hi there,
I have been having the exact same noise / rattle with my 57 plate golf 1.6FSI - low miles - 26K - noise reported from new - car checked both service and outwith service intervals - even had service manager out for a drive with me ( think they thougth I was ditsy lady driver and fobbed nme off with all sorts of excuses ... anyway year 3 that camshaft tensioner belt replaced under warranty - same thing developed after about 9-10 months - in for year 4 service last month and told this would need done again....dealer contacted VW and offered goodwill gesture of 70% off bill , I'm unhappy as feel this is a recurring problem, is known and funny how they did nothing til year 3...I've been back onto VW customer service and dealer and they have upped their goodwill to 80% , leaving me a bill of approx £150..... should I pursue this further or do you think this is as good as it gets
might also add car been serviced at dealer since new and signed up for 2 year service plan.
Re comments on fuel i do try and put in tank of 98 ron every so often and do think it runs more smoothly ... maybe psychological though!!
cheers.

Hi, sorry to hear about your problem. Because of the FSI faults I ended up getting the Tdi for mum. I spoke to our local VW dealer technician and he even said go for the tdi. As for waranty I thought VAG gave two years on new parts? so why are they trying to get you to pay some of the bill for another tensioner as they only put it on 9-10 months ago? I am seeing my friend tomorrow that has only just left Audi, I will ask his views on this, I know he did some tensioner mods on the A3 1.6FSI.

[mowki]

Thanks -that would be great to get some advice -I'm really not happy about paying anything as you say part only replaced 9-10 months ago. they say the warranty on the part already replaced expires with the warranty of the car?? You'll love this - I was told today that the 2 year warranty on the new part would only be valid if i contributed to the cost - if VW paid the whole cost then the warranty would not apply... sounds a bit suss to me.
Hubby has a 03 VW passat which started to bubble & rust over front wheel arches at 7 years and he did battle with VW to get resprayed as paint warranty was for 10 years - they weren't keen at all but we did a lot of research - got a good VW parts man who backed up that this was a common problem and they eventually did the job so we are well prepared to do battle again - would appreciated any advice from your pal.

[martin33100]

Thanks -that would be great to get some advice -I'm really not happy about paying anything as you say part only replaced 9-10 months ago. they say the warranty on the part already replaced expires with the warranty of the car?? You'll love this - I was told today that the 2 year warranty on the new part would only be valid if i contributed to the cost - if VW paid the whole cost then the warranty would not apply... sounds a bit suss to me.
Hubby has a 03 VW passat which started to bubble & rust over front wheel arches at 7 years and he did battle with VW to get resprayed as paint warranty was for 10 years - they weren't keen at all but we did a lot of research - got a good VW parts man who backed up that this was a common problem and they eventually did the job so we are well prepared to do battle again - would appreciated any advice from your pal.

Just found this on a VW site and it sounds like there get out clause:-

All Volkswagen Original replacement parts carry a warranty for a period of 2 years/unlimited mileage, from the date of purchase. Items with warranties in excess of 2 years will be advised to you at the time of purchase. The 2 year warranty does not apply to parts fitted under the terms of the vehicle warranty, which are warranted for the remaining period of the vehicle warranty.

[mowki]

wouls still be interested in what your pal has to say

[martin33100]

Hi, I spoke to him today and he said that Audi have the same policy as VW, ie if a part is fitted under the 3 year warranty it is warranted until the 3 years is up. All I would say is speak to VW and see what they can do, they can't say there was never a problem with the fsi tensioners as its a very known fault.

[mowki]

thanks again - have been back onto VW customer care - they have allocated case handler and will come back to me.
I've said I would be willing to pay a small contribution. will let you know how it goes - thanks again for your interest.