Mk6 Golf and EGR valve issues

jeallen01

Ref Diagnostics costs, I agree with Retrogamer about the Bluetooth reader and Torque app - they work very well, and you can get some live engine data whilst driving as well.


OTOH, for about £50-60 you can get a decent standalone code reader which can sometimes give you more info.


Once you find the relevant codes, then finding more info on line is generally quite easy.


Would not be without something like the above as it
has saved me many £'s over the last 10 years with VAG cars.
(For instance, my wife's Mk IV Golf appeared to be running cold, and was more thirsty than it should have been, most of the time but I could not be sure whether it was the thermostat, the sensor or the gauge that was wrong. However, the Torque app showed that the sensor and the gauge appeared to be OK, and so it was probably the thermostat - changed that and the car now runs at normal 90C indicated water temp and uses less fuel!. Cost of the BT dongle/App and thermostat was less than the cost of the diagnostics at even any indi garage!

jeallen01

Retrogamer wrote: »

MAF replacement
Ebay or Euro Car Parts. As long as it's Bosch it's fine.
Approx £100-£130.
You can get them for around £35 sometimes but they're not made by Bosch and often fail quickly.
QUOTE]


I have to disagree with you on this one because I did buy an exchange Bosch unit from ECP some years ago, but it failed after about 6 months (and the failure issue was quickly pin-pointed by the VCDS code-reader lead and s/w that I was using at the time )


I then bought a "genuine" Bosch replacement unit from a VAG parts supplier - that cost hardly any more and came with a 2 year warrantee, which has never been needed in the 5 years since (and, if your local Trade Parts Specialists, who distribute to the VAG dealers, will deal with the public - some do, some don't - then get it from them as it will generally be cheaper than the dealers!).


I also bought a similar MAF for the wife's Golf from the same place, and that has also been fine for the last 3 yrs or so.

jeallen01

Retrogamer wrote: »

EGR Valve and water cooler replacement ....
As for the cooler, it doesn't need to be replaced unless it has a hole in it somewhere or is blocked. I've never seen or heard of either happening. Some garages seem to replace them to generate more revenue for the parts department.

I also have to disagree with you on this one: there have been many incidents of VAG EGR cooler failures - just look at the various VAG-centric forums (such as BRISKODA) and you will find them. I've had mine (on the 2.0L TDI 140 BHP BKD engine in my Octavia II) leak, but appeared to have cured that with some Silver Seal sealant!

pjr1525_2

I also had a problem with the egr valve on my 2010 golf tdi. I was quoted an eye watering £900 repair bill, the VW dealership said VW were supplying the parts and I need only pay for the labour costs £ 530. The fact that they didn't have the car's service history makes me think that they know the valves are faulty how else would they agree to supply the part just on the car's age and mileage 50000 I look forward to the day when they admit it and give me my money back.

chrisheatons

I'm fairly sure I'm having this problem. 2010 reg, 60 plate 1.6 TDI Golf, 80,000 miles.

Engine coil on constantly, power hasn't gone and it's not in limp mode but the emission control light is also up constantly. There are various other problems which have followed this:

Power steering intermittently failing/working.
Parking sensors not responding.
Brake fault warning light.
ABS warning light.
Traction control warning light.
Cruise control, speedometer and fuel gauge not working.

It sounds like the problems plenty of people have been having with EGR valve, and a possible ABS fault.

It's booked in for a diagnostic next week at my local VW garage...thanks to all the helpful advice I'm hopeful I won't get taken for a ride, but I'm not certain...

BeenThroughItAll

chrisheatons wrote: »

I'm fairly sure I'm having this problem. 2010 reg, 60 plate 1.6 TDI Golf, 80,000 miles.

Engine coil on constantly, power hasn't gone and it's not in limp mode but the emission control light is also up constantly. There are various other problems which have followed this:

Power steering intermittently failing/working.
Parking sensors not responding.
Brake fault warning light.
ABS warning light.
Traction control warning light.
Cruise control, speedometer and fuel gauge not working.

It sounds like the problems plenty of people have been having with EGR valve, and a possible ABS fault.

It's booked in for a diagnostic next week at my local VW garage...thanks to all the helpful advice I'm hopeful I won't get taken for a ride, but I'm not certain...

Get the battery and alternator checked out first, if I were you.

jeallen01

Don't know about this aspect of the Mk 6 Golfs, but the Mk 4' suffered a weird and common problem (had it twice myself on my TDI, and met/heard of others who had on other models!) - if the brake light switch was faulty, then some of the symptoms you describe were present (especially the engine coil/glowplug symbol was on constantly).

carparts

The best place I've come across for buying new car parts is a car parts comparison company compareparts.co.uk, my lexus needed a new EGR valve and I picked it up for £350 from them

Monkeystolemysock

I'm heavily pregnant, on holiday with my parents who are both disabled and the coil light is flashing on my 2011 2.0 TDI Tiguan. Nightmare! I think I'll have to ring VW Care tomorrow, my car is still under warranty until October, but I really don't need this stress! Coping with my Dad and his dementia is difficult enough!!!! Can't believe what I've read on the forums-I'll let you know how I get on .....

Monkeystolemysock

Update..... I rang VW Care this morning. The guy told me not to drive the car at all, but to take it to a VW Garage. I explained I was on holiday with disabled parents etc. he suggested I just rung the breakdown and got taken to a VW dealer when I'm ready to go home! I mentioned that I'd read about the issues on this forum, at which point he said he'd allocate a case worker to me and gave me a reference number. I told him my car was still under warranty but he said he couldn't comment until it had received an inspection from an authorised VW mechanic.
Apparently my case worker will contact me in the next 48 hours to see how I'm getting on.
Just by pure luck and coincidence, half an hour later, I received a sales call from Inchcape VW in Chester, which is where I purchased my car, telling me my MOT is due in six weeks time and that they'd like to book me in. I unleashed a torrent of hormonal angst on the poor, unsuspecting guy.
He listened and came up with the following gem-"You have VW Assist-why can't they help you?" He gave me a phone number for them. I rang and within half an hour, an AA guy had turned up, confirmed its my EGR valve and took me to a VW dealer. They've arranged a courtesy car and will sort the repair out. They've confirmed the car is under warranty, but still haven't confirmed what the likely cost to me will be.
I will update further.
But basically, thanks to VW Care for not actually being very helpful and pointing out that VW Assist would be able to help me!!!!!