SEAT Common Car Fault - Advice Needed

ruthyo

Hi folks, after a dashboard alert on my SEAT and a visit to a retailer's partner garage, my car now needs a new turbo, which was a great surprise to me, especially the cost of £1600 (warranty ran out in Dec). The thing is, my car has only done 17k miles and the technician said the fault was common for the brand and model. 
The garage said to contact SEAT as they might provide a goodwill gesture towards it (normally they would but they'd just reopened themselves after lockdown and said they didn't think SEAT were contactable). Anyway, SEAT were very responsive and communicated with the garage and have offered to cover 34% of the cost, meaning it will still cost me around £1000, which will be a real struggle for me. 
I feel like they should cover more of the cost as they know it's a common fault and the car has such a low milage (it's four years old). 
Anyone got any advice? Or tips of things to go back to them with? 
Many thanks, 
Ruth

AdrianC

Only 17k in 3.5yrs is as likely to be a contributory factor in the failure as a reason for them to simply extend the warranty. Should warranties be unlimited time, just a mileage cap?

Just think about how many other VAG products are on the road using the same engine - without problem. If it was a manufacturing issue, it would have failed before now.

Diesel...?

photome

Is it an Ibiza.  My son had problems with his turbo just out of warranty , I know it’s no help to you but his went in to limp mode and he took it straight to garage who fixed it for a few hundred pounds ( it didn’t need a turbo just a part of the turbo).  

Goudy

If it's a 1.2 TSi, then there's a known fault with the turbo actuator (I think VAG/SEAT call it the Charge Pressure Control Actuator).

The vanes in the turbo carbon up and stick causing the actuator position sensor to play up so it detects an overboost, trips into  limp mode and cause a EPC light.

You could ask a mechanic (who doesn't sell expensive turbos) to manually check the turbos vane actuator arm moves freely, it might just want a wiggle and a waggle to free it off.

AdrianC

Goudy said:

The vanes in the turbo carbon up and stick

That definitely won't be helped by short-journey, never-warm, only-pootled usage, because the vanes will never get actuated.

photome

Goudy said:

If it's a 1.2 TSi, then there's a known fault with the turbo actuator (I think VAG/SEAT call it the Charge Pressure Control Actuator).

The vanes in the turbo carbon up and stick causing the actuator position sensor to play up so it detects an overboost, trips into  limp mode and cause a EPC light.

You could ask a mechanic (who doesn't sell expensive turbos) to manually check the turbos vane actuator arm moves freely, it might just want a wiggle and a waggle to free it off.

that may have been the problem on my sons, his is the 1.2. didnt need a £1000 turbo as per the OP

Goudy

AdrianC said:

Goudy said:

The vanes in the turbo carbon up and stick

That definitely won't be helped by short-journey, never-warm, only-pootled usage, because the vanes will never get actuated.

Yes, lots of cold starts and short trips with have the fueling in it's enrichment setting more often causing more carbon to build up on the vanes.

Nearly every town and city has it's fair share of independent VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda specialists, I would find one of them.

I've not worked on the latest VAG's, but the earlier versions (around 2008 on to when I don't know)  had a technical bulletin to replace the bush on the pivot to the actuator arm in the side of the turbo housing as the pivot/arm tended wear rattle and sometimes jam.

ruthyo

AdrianC said:

Only 17k in 3.5yrs is as likely to be a contributory factor in the failure as a reason for them to simply extend the warranty. Should warranties be unlimited time, just a mileage cap?

Just think about how many other VAG products are on the road using the same engine - without problem. If it was a manufacturing issue, it would have failed before now.

Diesel...?

Thanks for comment and good point. No, it's petrol.

ruthyo

Goudy said:

If it's a 1.2 TSi, then there's a known fault with the turbo actuator (I think VAG/SEAT call it the Charge Pressure Control Actuator).

The vanes in the turbo carbon up and stick causing the actuator position sensor to play up so it detects an overboost, trips into  limp mode and cause a EPC light.

You could ask a mechanic (who doesn't sell expensive turbos) to manually check the turbos vane actuator arm moves freely, it might just want a wiggle and a waggle to free it off.

Thanks. The garage said it needs  a new turbo due to the charge pressure actuator being seized onto the waste-gate and unable to be free'd off. It's a 1L Ateca so not the same model unfortunately. 

AdrianC

ruthyo said:

Goudy said:

If it's a 1.2 TSi, then there's a known fault with the turbo actuator (I think VAG/SEAT call it the Charge Pressure Control Actuator).

The vanes in the turbo carbon up and stick causing the actuator position sensor to play up so it detects an overboost, trips into  limp mode and cause a EPC light.

You could ask a mechanic (who doesn't sell expensive turbos) to manually check the turbos vane actuator arm moves freely, it might just want a wiggle and a waggle to free it off.

Thanks. The garage said it needs  a new turbo due to the charge pressure actuator being seized onto the waste-gate and unable to be free'd off. It's a 1L Ateca so not the same model unfortunately. 

But I'll bet it's the same issue. The three-pot 1.0TSi is the same basic engine as the three-pot 1.2TSi, and it's going to be very closely related to three-quarters of the four-pot 1.2TSi.

Very small engines in reasonably heavy vehicles are great for paper emissions and economy, but they have to be very complex to produce the kind of power required. 115bhp per litre is the kind of figure that used to be reserved for performance cars like BMW Ms and Ferraris only a couple of decades ago.

Goudy

I doubt the actuator is seized, I believe these have a motor driven actuator rather than a vacuum diaphragm actuator and if arm/pivot that operates the wastegate/vanes within the turbo has seized, it's probably ruined the motor in the actuator as it can't work against so much resistance of the seized arm, but then again it might not.

I would expect any decent mechanic should be able to disconnect the actuator arm from the wastegate/vanes (it's only one E clip) and test if the actuator still works and now as the arm/pivot is free from the actuator, they could then lever the pivot to free up the wastegate/vanes, but you'd need to convince them and by the sounds of it your garage is already counting your money.

Another option would be a reconditioned turbo or have yours reconditioned, ACP Turbos list the 1.0 TSi one for around £340 exchange.
Turbo Solutions have them as well, https://www.turbocharger-solutions.co.uk/products/seat-ateca-1-0l-p-turbocharger-16-onwards-1633-970-0024

But ring an indie VAG specialist and ask them, they'll know better than most if the turbo and actuator can be saved first and if not, best/cheapest way forward. £340 and a couple of hours labour is better than £1600 discounted to £1000.