Mk6 Golf and EGR valve issues

amanofgreatpromise

I've had exactly the same problems with my Golf.
No warning lights just juddering and lack of power. Last week the car became dangerous and udrivable so got it to a local mechanic who read the fault codes and got the EGR fault. He advsed me to take it to VW as its a big job.
VW rang me back today. The woman on the phone explained there was no warning lights on when they received it but there was an EGR fault stored on the ECU. She said the technician had updated the ECU software and the problem should be solved.
If the problem comes back she said the EGR will need to be replaced. The quote was £1000! I mentioned I'd read this was a bit of a common problem with this engine and she said "It's not really a common problem. We've done a few of these jobs but not loads". A quick search on google and this forum tells me otherwise. What should be my next step if the problem returns? Speak to VW customer care? Doesnt sound like this dealership will be prepared to admit there is a problem.

nervousnovice

My experience with VW Customer Care was that the guy I spoke to was very apologetic about the problems I had, but steadfast in saying that it was not anything to do with VW fitting a 'not fit for purpose part' (i.e. the EGR valve)

When I said that it appeared to be occuring on a regular basis, he said that not everyone on the internet would be telling the truth ! They also said that they did not know how many times the EGR valve had failed in Golfs.

So I would speak to VW Customer Care and would endorse the advice above (Mackinnon 1000) and be calm and assertive.

bluesnake

I have a really old car that due to unforeseen circumstances is now scrap. Looking at the new ones from around, did see quite a few DPF, EGR and turbo issues. This made me want to buy another old car as they could be cheaper to run with less problems, however in my search found two companies that grabbed my interest.

http://www.sinspeed.co.uk/egr-removal-egr-problems-exhaust-gas-recirculation-egr-removals-egr-delete/

Also this one does a few types of ecu
http://www.ecutesting.com

gilbert_and_sullivan

nervousnovice wrote: »

My experience with VW Customer Care was that the guy I spoke to was very apologetic about the problems I had, but steadfast in saying that it was not anything to do with VW fitting a 'not fit for purpose part' (i.e. the EGR valve)

When I said that it appeared to be occuring on a regular basis, he said that not everyone on the internet would be telling the truth ! They also said that they did not know how many times the EGR valve had failed in Golfs.

So I would speak to VW Customer Care and would endorse the advice above (Mackinnon 1000) and be calm and assertive.

I seem to recall unfortunate owners of Discovery 1's having a similar response from the service desk when their gearboxes failed, 'never known that before sir', usually just out of warranty.

All you can do is remember the service or lack of it and vote with your feet when you want another car.

thedude_

Hi, thanks everyone for posting. Thought I would add my experience on here.

2010 Golf 2.0 TDI 44k miles. I bought it at 35k miles from Car Giant with one previous owner (fleet car) but it has always been maintained by VW service centre.

I have been getting the flashing glow plug/engine management light come on and off for a year now. It only seemed to come on after a long motorway journey i.e. going to gatwick airport and back to nw london. The light would come on and I would loose power. I could still drive and the car would still very slowly get to 70mph but with hardly any power.
When I get home and turn it off the next day it was always fine.
When I took it in to VW for an MOT last year (April) I did tell them about it and they ran a diagnostic but they couldn't see any errors.

The issue has become a lot of more frequent and it happened last Monday on the M25 on my way to south london about 45 minutes into the journey. This has never happened that quickly as it always took a lot longer to kick in. Next day it came back after a 20 minute journey. Later that day drove all the way back from south london to nw london via the city and the car was fine no issues. I took it VW on Wednesday and they said there were two options 1)Software Update £120, or 2) EGR Cooler approx £1,000. Did the software update and the next day the glow plug came back with a loss of power 1 hr into the journey on M25.

I guess I am going to have to bite the bullet and take it in tomorrow. VW Collindale have said if the fault returns then it will require re testing to confirm it is the EGR cooler.

I will update you all with what happens. If it is the EGR cooler then at least I have this thread to help with getting the costs down.

amanofgreatpromise

I've had the software update done and all seems fine up to now.
I was speaking to one of the mechanics in the dealers and when I told him about the EGR he just smiled unsurprised and said "big problem and expensive".

nervousnovice

Further to blue snakes links, I was directed to americantechnology.co.uk as a magic solution, but I was not convinced it was an answer.

As to whether EGR valves are of any value, my local garage blanked off the valve to make the car drivable. It worked fine and passed the MOT emissions test. But, the engine warning light came on after about 100 miles, and despite being switched off by the garage, another 100 miles and it was back on. This, plus my breakdown service saying if I had the same fault again, they would not pick me up, lead me down the complain to VW path.

Agree about voting with your feet, and will never again by a 'reassuringly expensive' VW.

jp_1

Well I think its happened to me too. 1.6 Bluemotion 59 plate

Had my DPF light come on- no biggie revved the car as usual- but this time the DPF light stayed on for two days- weird I thought normally it goes out after my motorway runs.

Then today halfway through my journey to work (which is mainly A roads and motorways) the coil light starts flashing and I got a loss of power as the car went into limp mode. Queue my calls to my local VW dealership. They cannot see my car until Monday so I will see what happens. I will use this thread as my ammo!

My question right now is 'Can I still use my car in limp mode to get me to work? Is it OK for the car?

I need it for the next two days and I do a 70 mile return journey daily.

Your opinions are appreciated and I won't hold you to it

thedude_

jp_1 wrote: »

Well I think its happened to me too. 1.6 Bluemotion 59 plate

Had my DPF light come on- no biggie revved the car as usual- but this time the DPF light stayed on for two days- weird I thought normally it goes out after my motorway runs.

Then today halfway through my journey to work (which is mainly A roads and motorways) the coil light starts flashing and I got a loss of power as the car went into limp mode. Queue my calls to my local VW dealership. They cannot see my car until Monday so I will see what happens. I will use this thread as my ammo!

My question right now is 'Can I still use my car in limp mode to get me to work? Is it OK for the car?

I need it for the next two days and I do a 70 mile return journey daily.

Your opinions are appreciated and I won't hold you to it

I have driven the car numerous times limp mode but only to get back home 20 miles or so. I did ask the guy at VW and he said better not to or only to do short journeys.

teresa43

We bought a 59 plate 1.6 blue motion last July from a used car dealer in Exeter. There were a few strange running issues from the off, but codes said it was faulty air flow meter which was replaced by our local garage.

Still had issues, took it to original dealer who said local garage hadn't programmed the new part into the system (disputed by local garage who say it is a plug-and-play part), billed us for the diagnostic(!) and sent us away.

After many more limp-mode scares on the a-road, it finally gave up the ghost on Boxing day and wouldn't run at all.Took it to a VW specialist in Plymouth who said the EGR was faulty, £1000 to fix. The RAC Warranty that came with the car refuses pay for this problem, so I took the car back to the original dealer and said fix it or give us another car:mad:

He has just phoned me to say that the specialist in Plymouth got it wrong, and that the air mass sensor/throttle control module "or, you know, one of those electronic sensor things" (he's a tiny bit patronising) had got dirty and he had cleaned it and it runs like a dream. He said that the Plymouth specialist had disconnected the EGR as part of the diagnosis, and in doing so had also disconnected this sensor, so they thought it was the EGR but really it's this sensor. Anyone know what he's talking about?

After reading this thread, I don't believe him at all, and think we will have to replace the EGR soon anyway. So our possible course of action is to confront the dealer and demand an exchange car even though we have had the car for nearly 6 months, which might take a bit of a fight. Wish us luck