EGR Valve advice for VW Owner affected by 'emission scandal'

jameswatts1990

Hi all

We've recently had to take in the girlfriend's VW for diagnostics, which showed the EGR valve and part of the circulation system would need replacing.

This car is a '11 plate Volkswagen Golf Hatchback 1.6 TDi Match 5d that was confirmed via letter to be affected by the 'emissions scandal'.

My question is, in an effort to reduce emissions, more engine gases were circulated through the EGR valve, essentially increasing the rate of wear and tear on this part. As such, do we have a case to request this replacement free of charge or at least a reduced price?

Currently, we are looking at anywhere from £500 to £1000+ for getting this replaced through VW.

Thanks!

mark5

jameswatts1990 wrote: »

Hi all

We've recently had to take in the girlfriend's VW for diagnostics, which showed the EGR valve and part of the circulation system would need replacing.

This car is a '13 plate VW golf that was confirmed to be affected by the 'emissions scandal'.

My question is, in an effort to reduce emissions, more engine gases were circulated through the EGR valve, essentially increasing the rate of wear and tear on this part. As such, do we have a case to request this replacement free of charge or at least a reduced price?

Currently, we are looking at anywhere from £500 to £1000+ for getting this replaced through VW.

Thanks!

Was it a soft top, the 13 plate should be a mark7 ?

There's a huge thread on here already about mk6 egr issues.

jameswatts1990

Sorry, this is an '11 mk6 Volkswagen Golf Hatchback (09-12) 1.6 TDi (105bhp) Match 5d (Not sure where I got 13 from!)

I've found the thread you mentioned, so I'm going to read through that now.

Still, if you have any additional advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

bigjl

EGR valve problems are not unusual in modern diesels.

Though there does seem to be a fair few people with issues with their VAG diesels.

First thing would be to remove he EGR and get it cleaned properly.

TerraClean do an EGR cleaning service, which would mean you wouldn't have to take the valve off yourself.

The VAG emissions scandal was cheat software to get through US emissions regulations in pre Ad Blue (Euro6) diesels from what I have read.

So UK vehicles never needed the cheat software to meet EU emissions but were fitted with it.

And as UK vehicles are not tested the same way as US vehicles annually and only have a visual smoke test it was never going to be needed as the vehicle is not put on a rolling road.

If you have full VW Service History then you could try for a good will contribution.

As far as getting VW to pay for a new EGR valve I would be doubtful.

To meet emissions targets the engine is being made to consume its own exhaust. You will always get a build up of crap in there regardless.

Cleaning your EGR valve is something you should be doing every year once outside warranty imho.

forgotmyname

The EGR was designed to circulate engine gasses around it.

The cheat feature only came into play when the emissions were being tested, in the UK thats only for the MOT which would be a couple of minutes max.

bigjl

forgotmyname wrote: »

The EGR was designed to circulate engine gasses around it.

The cheat feature only came into play when the emissions were being tested, in the UK thats only for the MOT which would be a couple of minutes max.

The cheat function specifically works when the car is on the emissions rig apparently, front wheels moving and rear wheels not. So the vehicle realises it is being tested and alters the mapping for better emissions.

I don't think it is possible for it to work on the road.

In the UK there is no rolling road, just a smoke test (on diesels)

mark5

mark5 wrote: »

Was it a soft top, the 13 plate should be a mark7 ?

There's a huge thread on here already about mk6 egr issues.

My advice would be to get the manifold cleaned out the same time you get the egr done.

Avoid cheap/poor quality fuel,
Oil and filter change every year, (using correct oil)
Regular air filter changes,

What sort of use does the car get?

forgotmyname

bigjl wrote: »

The cheat function specifically works when the car is on the emissions rig apparently, front wheels moving and rear wheels not. So the vehicle realises it is being tested and alters the mapping for better emissions.

I don't think it is possible for it to work on the road.

In the UK there is no rolling road, just a smoke test (on diesels)

So their faulty EGR will have nothing to do with the emission scandal? Not even a teeny weeny bit..

mark5

forgotmyname wrote: »

So their faulty EGR will have nothing to do with the emission scandal? Not even a teeny weeny bit..

Every car producer has issues with EGR valves, my dads replaced a few in his Fords, my mate who runs a garage says he does them on a weekly basis, all makes of diesels. He says Ford Mondeo's are his biggest culprit but that could be because there is a Ford factory near by and a lot of locals drive Fords.

EGR valves have been causing problems for years, the VW defeat software was designed to put a Car in a different mode for test conditions to cheat the U.S. testers.

The biggest cause of EGR/DPF problems is using diesels for short runs or stop/start driving.
Driving style, (driving hard off the mark etc)
Poor quality fuel,
Poor servicing etc.

daveyjp

I had an X type Jaguar, Ford diesel engine. The EGR failed at about 15,000 miles and was told to expect to have to replace it every year!

Needless to say I quickly sold it on.

Johnmcl7

forgotmyname wrote: »

So their faulty EGR will have nothing to do with the emission scandal? Not even a teeny weeny bit..

No, aside from the fact it's not remotely unusual for this type of repair to be needed on any diesel engine, in practice VW engines do not have higher levels of nitrous oxides than other manufacturers. While other manufacturers may not have fitted defeat devices, they've been bending the rules so far to have a similar outcome in that their engines pass EU testing yet produce far higher levels of nitrous oxides in real driving.

John