2003 tdi Diesel 1.9 Passat Estate Sport EGR valve problems

**passattt** · 08-07-2012,02:12 PM

Hi,

I have a 2003 passat estate automatic tdi 1.9L diesel sport. Recently it was accelerating really slowly particularly noticeable when pulling out at junctions etc. Also when I'm waiting in traffic and braking it sort of judders or "bucks" when I brake. Also the AC doesn't seem to be able to produce cold air anymore and just acts like a fan. I wasn't sure if these problems were all related and caused by an underlying problem or not.

So I took it to my local garage and the mechanic said that there was a problem with the EGR valve and that it was probably causing all these issues. He quoted £400 to replace it - not sure but that seems to be pretty expensive to me!

My car knowledge is very limited and my most complex car repair was replacing a lambda sensor in a Seat Ibiza!

Anyway is changing (or perhaps just cleaning) an EGR valve a simple enough task for me to do myself? If so could someone give me a step by step to doing this?

Here's a photo:

**caldirun** · 08-07-2012,03:53 PM

Originally Posted by passattt

Hi,

I have a 2003 passat estate automatic tdi 1.9L diesel sport. Recently it was accelerating really slowly particularly noticeable when pulling out at junctions etc. Also when I'm waiting in traffic and braking it sort of judders or "bucks" when I brake. Also the AC doesn't seem to be able to produce cold air anymore and just acts like a fan. I wasn't sure if these problems were all related and caused by an underlying problem or not.

So I took it to my local garage and the mechanic said that there was a problem with the EGR valve and that it was probably causing all these issues. He quoted £400 to replace it - not sure but that seems to be pretty expensive to me!

My car knowledge is very limited and my most complex car repair was replacing a lambda sensor in a Seat Ibiza!

Anyway is changing (or perhaps just cleaning) an EGR valve a simple enough task for me to do myself? If so could someone give me a step by step to doing this?

Here's a photo:

See the post "I replaced some hoses today", I think you have a vacuum leak, it could be the EGR but the hoses are chaffed by the useless plastic covers that are placed over the engine, bin the covers and replace all the hoses.
I have just noticed the colour of you coolant, if it is brown as it appears on the photo you may have big trouble on the way.

**passattt** · 08-07-2012,04:37 PM

Originally Posted by caldirun

See the post "I replaced some hoses today", I think you have a vacuum leak, it could be the EGR but the hoses are chaffed by the useless plastic covers that are placed over the engine, bin the covers and replace all the hoses.
I have just noticed the colour of you coolant, if it is brown as it appears on the photo you may have big trouble on the way.

Thanks so much for your reply. Yes you are right the coolant colour is brown - what kind of big trouble am I in for

?

I'll have a look at the hoses post and see if I can do it.

Is it worth trying to clean the EGR valve?

**caldirun** · 08-07-2012,04:52 PM

I would drain and flush the cooling system then replace with G12, and hope it stays pink, if not something is getting into the cooling system that should not.
EGR is easy to remove and clean, do the inlet manifold at the same time, why did the mechanic suspect the EGR? did he scan for error codes to come to this?

**passattt** · 08-07-2012,05:01 PM

Thanks I'll work out how to drain and flush the cooling system. Yes he did the computer scan and came to the conclusion it was the EGR. How do I locate the EGR and remove it for cleaning?

**caldirun** · 09-07-2012,07:05 AM

The EGR is the device sticking through the plastic cover to the left of the oil filler, do the vacuum pipes first, much cheaper, easier and far more likely to be the problem. Don't expect the air con to start working though, no chance of that being the same problem! get it re gassed.

**smithy602179** · 09-07-2012,08:51 AM

does the secondary air fan start when you start the engine up ??? if not press and hold recirc button and econ button at same time and see if you get any error codes on the climatronic display.

Here are a few instructions on how to decipher useful information from the VW Climatronic control panel. Especially attractive is the fact that you do not need any sort of diagnosis equipment, and can read out one value or the other while stopped at a light, for example.
The description of reading error codes, performing the control surface test, and onboard-diagnosis is limited to the Hella control unit, as pictured below. This unit is found in the Golf IV [ed: in Europe] and in the Passat 3B/3BG. Externally identical control units from VDO were also used in some of the same cars, which have the same pinouts, but whose Self-diagnosis channels are assigned differently. User beware! Reading the Internal Error Memory: Ignition ON. To activate the readout: Press and hold the „ECON“ and „Recirculate“ buttons simultaneuously for about 2 seconds. Any error codes present will now be displayed. To scroll to the next error code, press the „Warmer“ button. When all codes have been displayed, „000“ is displayed.
If there are no errors present, „444“ is displayed.
To clear the error codes: After the last code is displayed, (i.e. after „000“ is displayed), press and hold „ECON“ for at least 2 seconds. „444“ will be displayed as confirmation that there are no more codes present.
To exit the Internal Error Memory Mode: briefly press the „ECON“ button.

**PCDoctor** · 09-07-2012,09:09 AM

Hi Passattt

I Think most people will agree with me here but focus on the brown water first..

Low power and poor air con are your lowest issues.. brown water is not a good sign and could be expensive or very cheap fingers crossed

Dont spend any money on anything else until you have that water replaced with G12 and then go for a 50 mile run around and re check once cooled down....

**passattt** · 09-07-2012,11:33 AM

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your help!

I will check do something about the coolant later today or tomorrow morning.

I did the quick check of the AC and the error came up 318 00 - I don't know what that is but could that point to the same problem that's causing reduced power?

VAGMAN2 · 09-07-2012,01:13 PM

318 - Air Conditioning Pressure Switch Failure

As for the brown coolant, don't panic just yet - when I bought my Passat, a previous owner had mixed coolants (hence they gone brown). The brown sludge seems to taint the expansion tanks, even after flushing out, so just have a look at the colour of the actual coolant first (in the tank) - if the coolant is brown, then DO empty/flush/re-fill. If you do have to replace, I always use Comma G30 as it's equivalent to what VW use and cheaper.