Mk6 Golf and EGR valve issues

ipjeffrey

2011 Golf S Tdi 1.6 - Type E189 diesel engine

Car just coming up to 47,000 miles no real issues with the car up to this point - flashing yellow coil and limp home mode on local journey a few days ago. Warning lights disappear after turning off ignition but returned after a short distance. After a while the solid yellow engine symbol came on which pg 297 of handbook states is "fault in catalytic converter" Handbook covers both petrol and diesel so I assume that this message relates to an EGR (Engine Gas Recirculation) problem.

On another site I have read it suggests that in these circumstances when put on diagnostic reader it should show one of the following codes 16785/P0401/001025 - Engine Gas Recirculation : Insufficient flow.

My car was bought at 12 months/11,000 miles from local VW dealership and has been serviced by them since (4 Services in total - last one in July 2015.)

Will need to book the car in for diagnostic but suspect that it will be the common fault repeated on preceding 15 pages!

It appears that this is a known fault on Volkswagen/Audi/Skoda/Seat engines, and it would appear that they are now fitting a modified part. I understand that on the Mk5 golf the offending part had the same problems but was more accessible, but on the Mk6 they decided to hide it away 4 hours work away!

As previously stated in another thread this is a non service part - there is little the car user can do to avoid the problem thus it calls into question whether the component and therefore the car is "fit for purpose" which is a requirement that goes beyond the warranty period.

I would have thought from what I have read that this is classic fodder for Watchdog - somewhat more widespread that the recent story they did on clogging fuel filters on Hyundai cars recently. It would also be "topical" given the other issues VW have on their plate and I would have thought it could give an easy consumer win to get them to concede that this is a defective part.

I will start with the dealer to see what they say initially - I will try and get an undertaking that if it is the "classic" problem that they will do all necessary diagnostic work as part of the rectification package that I will be asking them to discuss on my behalf with VW.

I will log the issue on the Watchdog site - hopefully if this keeps coming up on their radar one of their researchers will pick up on it?

I will update when I have some further news.

will_jlr

Hi all,

I've been watching this thread closely for the last few days as I have also fell 'victim' to the shoddy EGR on a 61plate golf mk6 1.6 TDI.

Had limp mode on the way home (flashing glowplugs) and then engine management. Was in the 4th lane on a very busy motorway when limp mode came on - Great!!!

Anyway, took a snapshot using VCDS (Diag tool) which gave me DTC: P0403 - Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Valve (N18) faulty

Took it to the dealership to explain the problem and tell them my understandings of some customers receiving free part (EGR unit) plus an 80 - 50% supplement straight from VW.
Dealership then told me to hang on while they check my 'loyalty' to servicing @ VW.
To give a bit of background, I only bought the car last year and have serviced it twice myself with genuine VW parts & oils bought only from the dealership. I'm a diagnostics engineer for JLR so would like to think I know how to do a service and also diagnose my car.
Anyway, the dealership told me, as I wasn't loyal, they wouldn't be able to offer any goodwill as VW HQ will only offer it under these circumstances. They also offered to fix it at book price for £1190... ha
They advised me to call VW customer services, who said I had to have someone at a dealership diagnose my car and send a report first. I explained I had already diagnosed it myself and this was a common problem with the EGR, and for this reason I don't want to pay over £100 for a scan unless i'm guaranteed a goodwill supplement as I already know the outcome. This turned out to be a barrier in the conversation as they wasn't willing to talk about any possibilities until VW had diagnosed it. They also mentioned about my 'loyalty' in the conversation and said it's completely up to the dealership. (Funny how the dealership and VW HQ played each other off)

Anyway in the end I managed to book it in my local garage for £460. I can't be bothered with all the aggro and stress. This EGR is not fit for purpose. An EGR is not a serviceable item so servicing 'loyalty' is irrelevant in this case. Yes EGRs block up and yes they do need cleaning now and again, but why the hell have they located it in the worst place ever, why are they such a shoddy part (why else would replacement parts be modified) why are VW paying for the part and half labour for some people (tells me they know it's a design failure and therefore accept liability), and why can't they be cleaned out (from what I've been told there a sealed unit, also these EGR cleaners you spray down the inlet manifold make no difference as it's bypassed (although not 100% confirmed))

Anyway, as stated, the car is booked in privately and then it's getting sold.
Just wish I was 'loyal' like VW were about their emissions!!
One cheesed of X VW customer - bye -and good luck to everyone else with the same problems

PS forgot to mention if your also thinking of selling - the depreciation over one year of ownership is OVER 50% since the emissions scandal.

Sparkles13

I purchased the a vw golf 1.6 tdi 2011 model beginning of dec 15... Day 2 a light for just number plate kept coming in intermittently was due to take to garage after Christmas but Christmas Eve the car lost power & the lovely " flashing coil" looking light came on. The car has full vw service history had done 100k miles, and I purchased a " gold unlimited wArranty " discounted price - but am truly gutted & disappointed , especially after what I have found on the net. The second hand dealer said appeared to be the Egr valve from diagnostics & couldn't do anything until today but said it was okay to drive ... The car had sane issue NYE & engine m/light came in. Green flag popped out said Egr too & cleared fault to get us home - it came on again & limp mode on the way home . Drive to garage today after the light/limp mode came on again ! They said it was the Egr no quote as said had authorisation code from warranty- which hope is correct as due to pick up tomorrow. Unsure if should cut my losses reading all I have?!? Such a disappointment - I had a 2005 vw golf 1.9 tdi - 120k miles that traded in in immaculate condition - most reliable car ever! This car I would like to already hand back. Reliability is paramount , am emergency services shift worker & don't want this in winter months in early hours of morning !... THANKS TO YOU ALL FOR THIS VALUABLE INFO ! I will too ring vw to see if this model should have had some software update etc as others mention?( or just earlier model)... Though I know my other half had 3 Egr valve replaced ( ford diesel van) then blanked it off due to all issues...... Finger x all is good from tomorrow .

bigjl

Raheel.Malik wrote: »

little_patients - you should of gone to another dealership to get your EGR resolved. VW should of taken care of you regardless whether you're the second owner of the car. My EGR went (see earlier post) and I decided to take it to VW Derby and see what they had to say about it, they quoted me £1,042! I said immediately, I am not paying for a common fault on the car. Reading several threads, and ringing up VW customer care (who are not helpful), I went in the next day and spoke with the same chap and just made up some nonsense about how VW customer care said that VW will recover the costs at least 70-80% of the final price, he understood that VW offer that service due to the number of faults and to say the least, its a common fault. Eventually, I was quoted £360 inc VAT for the replacement and labour charge (2 year warranty on parts and labour)

Although I was still unhappy with the price, I decided to take my chances elsewhere. So I continued on shopping and all mechanics I went to suggested, go back to VW, we can't beat that price. I took it to a VW specialist, they quoted £860. So with no other cheaper option, I stuck with VW and it should hopefully be resolved today! (16/12/15).

Furthermore, I have received an action today (16/12/15) on the emissions scandal and bad news to EGR fault users, the EGR does NOT come under the resolution.

2.0 + 1.2 engines - It is a simple 'software update' to the engine management. (30 mins to fix)

1.6 engine - Fitting a 'Flow Transformer' directly in front of the air mass sensor; and a 'software update' (1 hour to fix)

Do you think making something up about VW making a contribution will actually result in VW making a contribution?

The EGR issue is not related to the "cheat" software that the current scandal relates to as far as I have read.

EGR valves fail, it happens on many cars, by their very nature EGR valves are prone to failure.

Some more than others, some are easier to clean (mk3 Mondeo diesel is easy) some are harder (Renault Clio 1.5Dci mk3 would be one)

The EGR valves on the 2.7 diesel lump as fitted to PSA cars and Jaguar/Land Rover cars is another one prone to seizing, the valve fitted to later 3.0 Diesel engines is much better.

One other small point.

But isn't it a bit unusual for this many newbies to all have the same problem all at the same time?

I know some people might think increasing the online presence of this issue might help.

But it also might have the opposite effect and ruin the credibility of those with the fault.

I wouldn't hold my breath in getting contribution from VW.

Best bet might be to have the valve taking off and cleaned, along with the inlet manifold.

That would always be my first port of call with an EGR problem.

A main dealer will usually do what is quickest and most profitable, which is to fit a new EGR valve.

ipjeffrey

As I understand it VW knew that the EGR valve was a problem on the Mk 5 Golf. However I understand it is far more accessible and therefore much cheaper to resolve. The valve on the Mk6 golf was located by design in an area which means that it requires something like 5 hours of labour to replace. It is therefore not a DIY fix.

This is a sealed for life non service part in an inaccessible location and therefore if it is to be "fit for purpose" should be last the lifetime of the vehicle.

VW knew it was a problem component in their engine design so they should not have put it in such a stupid place on the Mk6. The design engineers should be accountable for this in the same way that they are being held to account for the "cheat software".

A cynic may conclude that VW deliberately put it in an inaccessible position so that their dealer network could make a killing on the replacement work? I am sure that this was not the case but VW should accept responsibility for their design fault.

A contribution to 50% labour charge is not much of a contribution when the labour charge is twice the price of a good independent!

Belloubec

I have a VW Golf 2011 TDI and after I had the car 8 months the car would lose power and it turned out it was the EGR valve - my car was still under warranty and VW replaced the part but the cost was just under £1000 with labour. The part and work is guaranteed too. Not had any problems with it since...except now that it is broken for other reasons!

MrKH

Hi I have a VW Golf MK 6 (2010) 1.6 TDi, 56,000 Miles

I have been experiencing problems with the EGR Valve or Cooler.

I was driving and suddenly the coil light (Glow plug Light) started flashing with the car going into limp made, I turned the engine on/off and the issue went away until a few days later the coil light started flashing with the engine management light coming on and the car going into limp mode. Again turning the engine on/off made the issue go away but the engine management light stayed on, I got the code read by my friend who is a mechanic and his diagnostic machine stated the following code: EGR Sensor A: Circuit Range / Performance Fault Code P046C00, he said it could be a faulty EGR Valve or something to do with the EGR system.

So I took my car to a VW Dealership who charged me £96 to diagnose the issue and they said my EGR Cooler had become faulty and needed replacing at a total cost of £986 (This included parts + labour) The parts in total cost around £400 and the rest was labour, as the EGR cooler is located right at the back of the engine it was a 4-6 hour job) I complained that this was a mechanical fault but they were reluctant to offer any good will at all.

So I decided to buy the parts of VW (£400) and have arranged for an independent garage to replace my EGR cooler at a labour cost of £120.

VW did say that after replacing the cooler that I would need to update the software at a cost of £96.

Total cost of replacing EGR Cooler £520 (£400 Parts + £120 Labour)

I have had the car back for a week and the issue seems to be resolved , I have not updated the software as I refuse to give VW another £96 for a software update.

dpay

I had the EGR replaced by an independent garage for a cost of £680 on Monday - I figured this was the easiest solution for my situation, I needed my car back as quickly as possible! I am going to contact VW customer service to try and recoup some of the costs, I have only done less than 40000 miles in a four year old car - this is disgraceful treatment by VW and I will also be contacting Watchdog, the garage owner told be they had replaced 8 of these units in the past 18 months on Audi and VW cars, and this is only a small independent guy!!! I don't expect to get anywhere with VW but will keep you posted.

Gymbunny2016

Hi there, I'm not one to post on forums. But your advice saved me £500 today so I'm pretty grateful about that! I had the same problem, Amber coil warning light Cameron car goes into limp mode etc. I took it into the dealer's today bearing in mind it's out of warranty, they called me later on and said it would cost over £850 to put right! I called back and explained that this was clearly a common fault, down to the manufacturer and that I had seen the fault remedied elsewhere for around £400 on the basis of online forums and customers sharing their experiences. If they couldn't reduce the price then I suggested I should take it up with vow customer service as I didn't think I was getting a fair price compared with that charged by other dealers.. They said they would think about it and come back to me. Sure enough later on today I got a call explaining that vw would provide the parts free of charge and offer a reduced labour cost, the total was less than £400! I've since collected the car, it's still an expensive repair but allot better than it could have been. It's definitely worth challenging!

[Deleted User]

Gymbunny2016 wrote: »

Hi there, I'm not one to post on forums. But your advice saved me £500 today so I'm pretty grateful about that! I had the same problem, Amber coil warning light Cameron car goes into limp mode etc. I took it into the dealer's today bearing in mind it's out of warranty, they called me later on and said it would cost over £850 to put right! I called back and explained that this was clearly a common fault, down to the manufacturer and that I had seen the fault remedied elsewhere for around £400 on the basis of online forums and customers sharing their experiences. If they couldn't reduce the price then I suggested I should take it up with vow customer service as I didn't think I was getting a fair price compared with that charged by other dealers.. They said they would think about it and come back to me. Sure enough later on today I got a call explaining that vw would provide the parts free of charge and offer a reduced labour cost, the total was less than £400! I've since collected the car, it's still an expensive repair but allot better than it could have been. It's definitely worth challenging!

Thanks, will be printing off this thread if our 2010 Golf Bluemotion ever suffers this. Cheers