What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
VAG 1.4 TSI turbo failure
I own a March 08 VW Golf 1.4 TSi GT 170 which is now just over 3 years old, has covered 24,000 miles and been maintained on the VW three year maintenance plan.
Earlier this week the car ground to a halt and would not restart. The car is now at the VW dealer. Their diagnostics found two sensor related isssues (N75?) but when dismantling commenced it was clear that the turbo had failed big time. The impelor waggled about completely freely. I presume the bearing had failed completely.
My questions are:
Is this a rare occurence or something that is a known issue?
What could be the likely extent of the damage?
What is likely to have happened to the elements of the bearing. Could they be ingested into the engine?
Would the "cat" be damaged by oil or other parts from the turbo?
What sort of good will claim would be reasonable for such a failure so soon out of warranty and with such lowish mileage and full VW service history. Obviously I feel they should meet the full cost - is that unreasonable?
Earlier this week the car ground to a halt and would not restart. The car is now at the VW dealer. Their diagnostics found two sensor related isssues (N75?) but when dismantling commenced it was clear that the turbo had failed big time. The impelor waggled about completely freely. I presume the bearing had failed completely.
My questions are:
Is this a rare occurence or something that is a known issue?
What could be the likely extent of the damage?
What is likely to have happened to the elements of the bearing. Could they be ingested into the engine?
Would the "cat" be damaged by oil or other parts from the turbo?
What sort of good will claim would be reasonable for such a failure so soon out of warranty and with such lowish mileage and full VW service history. Obviously I feel they should meet the full cost - is that unreasonable?
Asked on 26 June 2011 by PBC
Answered by
Honest John
First TSI water cooled turbo failure I've heard of. You have to hope that none of the bits have been ingested by the engine. Yes, any bits of metal in the cat will cause hotspots. Will now note this in car by car breakdown.
Tags:
technical issues
Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.
The Good Garage GuideSimilar questions
My Mk5 Volkswagen Golf, with hybrid stage two turbo, was making a whistling noise. It's now stopped and won't restart, plus lost all oil. The exhaust shows signs of oil in end pipes. What could this be?
I own a 2008 Volkswagen Golf with 68,000 miles on the clock. Recently the ESP warning light has come on. Pressing the ESP button has no affect. Will this cause an MoT failure?
Given its notorious nature...
I purchased, privately, a Mk5 VW Golf 1.9 TDI on an 07 plate with a full service history just over one year ago. Approximately two weeks ago the ESP warning light came on. I took the vehicle to my local...
Related models
.jpg?width=115&height=75&rmode=crop)
Decent handling and comfortable on the move, impressive TSI engines, massive improvement over the previous Golf, high-economy Bluemotion models, high quality feel of interior, five-star Euro NCAP safety rating.
Elsewhere on 
.jpg)
