Volkswagen Bora (1999 - 2006) - 2000 1.9tdi Loss of Power when towing

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Wed 16 Jul 2008 10:26
2000 1.9tdi Loss of Power when towing - moclass8
Just recently Bought a 2000 Bora 1.9tdi Sport a couple of months ago and its been great up until last weekend when i finaly got around to towing my caravan with it. The problem i am having is that it keeps loosing power i.e it will be quite happily cruising along at 60mph and for no reason it just looses power. We were traveling for over a hour before it began and dropped us down to 20mph (in any gear). it just feels like the turbo has stopped working and the engine wont rev. It doesnt seem to matter if its going up hill down hill or on the flat. once the problem happens it doesnt clear and i have to stop and turn the ignition off which seems to do the trick which then makes me think its an electrical problem !! but then it happens again further down the road. I am getting no fault lights or engine managment lights its not over heating and the engine should pull my small caravan no problem as it is well under the weight limit . Any Ideas ??

Edited by Webmaster on 16/07/2008 at 19:03

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Wed 16 Jul 2008 21:10
2000 1.9tdi Loss of Power when towing - George Porge
Even though there are no lights etc on the dash fault codes will be stored inside the cars ecu, you need to have these codes read, note them down and report back;o)
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Sat 19 Jul 2008 14:43
2000 1.9tdi Loss of Power when towing - Mr.Tee43
I believe. your trouble is that the variable vanes on your turbo are sticking, causing it to over boost when subject to load.It then goes into limp home mode until it is reset by turning the ignition off then back on.

I had the exact same problem with my Bora TDi and it always happened going up a steep hill with plenty of acceleration.

The car did not log the fault on the ECU and was only found by the dealer by taking it down there when the fault occurred and not turning the ignition off.

It was then diagnosed as a sooted up variable vane.As the car was still under warranty, they put on a new turbo but I reckon it could be sorted out without having to replace it.

I think the problem comes from not giving it a good workout and giving it some "beans"

This would be consistant with only revealing itself when towing with the additional load on the turbo, and I would hazard a guess that normally you are a gentle driver or the previous owner was.

They really need a good workout from time to time !



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Sun 28 Sep 2008 14:22
2000 1.9tdi Loss of Power when towing - bbharvi
You could have done the turbo in by reving it to high in gears, try to flush the oil and also clean the cars engine up and leave it running to see if theirs any loss in power.
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