skoda turbo problem

[toffee]

I have a skoda fabia tdi 1.9 51reg. It has started being sluggish to drive and is out of warranty unfortunately. It felt to drive like the turbo had gone and when I rang the skoda garage they assured me that it wouldnt be the turbo and would be some 'air' thing. I have taken it to my local trusted garage and have been told that because of the engine model, the whole turbo thing needs to be replaced and this will cost 600 pounds for the turbo then labour on top of this. I totally trust my garage and am not questioning what they say is wrong.
They have offered the option of a second hand turbo but say this is risky. They have also suggested leaving it as it is. I am just wondering if any one has any experience of similar thing and whether you would recommend trying a second hand turbo or not?

 

[raceinon69]

are you 100 % turbo have you checked all the main pipes form intercooler vw audi prone to the lower ones blowing off ,you will get lots of black smoke and no go also a lot of hissing noises in cockpit
hope this helps

 

[nobody]

Turbos are quite reliable on the vag tdi's.

Much more common is a maf (mass air flow) sensor failure, worth a go since the maf can be had for under £100 on exchange from the dealer.

(on 4 vag tdi's weve owned had 0 turbo probs, 5 mafs failed)

 

[toffee]

thankyou. When we rang the skoda garage they suggested this air mass thing. Said that they had lots of problems with this but hadnt had any turbo problems. Car was out of warranty so we took it to our local garage. I will have to check if they meant the air mass thing but what they said was that had my car been a different model then it would simply have been a case of taking off a part and changing it. However, apparently ( and my garage rang the skoda one to check), my model of car has an engine where if this problem happens, the whole turbo has to come out, hence the cost. ( The six hundred was a part exchange).
AAAArrrgghhh.... why do engine makers do this to us????

 

[tim-spam]

Your local garage is very much mistaken - your problem is 99% certain to be the MAF. You can get genuine Bosch exchange units for araound £68 + VAT and fit it yourself in about 15 minutes.

 

[toffee]

thanks for that, I will ask them about this as Im still driving it with the problem.
I was told that the problem was the particular type of engine that is in my car. Apparently, the part that is at fault ( I guess the air mass bit) would not have been a dear job had it occurred on a different engine.
They say that my particular engine is a problem as the whole thing (turbo)needs to come out???
I dont know what engine it is other than that it is the original one that comes in a 1.9 turbo diesel fabia comfort, 51 reg plate??
do you know?

 

[empip]

Click 'ere my dear

Reisconnecting the maf sensor
« Reply #1 on: 5 05 2005 »
Disconnecting the MAF puts the system into LOS (loss of signal) sometimes called limp mode, the air mass is calculated from other sensors, throttle position/revs etc the engine won't perform 100% but better than relying on the signal from a dead MAF!
Regards Steve Harvey

I guess he means if the MAF sensor is giving an incorrect, rather than no feedback... If you see what I mean.
No idea if right or wrong but just had a google on the problem.

 

[toffee]

thankyou empip!

 

[tim-spam]

I was told that the problem was the particular type of engine that is in my car. Apparently, the part that is at fault ( I guess the air mass bit) would not have been a dear job had it occurred on a different engine.
They say that my particular engine is a problem as the whole thing (turbo)needs to come out???
I dont know what engine it is other than that it is the original one that comes in a 1.9 turbo diesel fabia comfort, 51 reg plate??
do you know?

The MAF (or air mass meter) physically has absolutely nothing to do with the turbo. It basically measures the mass of air being drawn into the engine and from its signal, the engine ECU can calculate the amount of fuel and turbo boost required by the engine. If the MAF is at fault, it can be easily and inexpensively changed - period. You do NOT have to change the turbo to change the MAF - period. Exactly what part do they say needs replacing? Exactly what is do they say is so different about your engine (which is fitted to Golfs, Boras, Passats, Sharans, Beetles, Ford Galaxies, Seat Alhambras, Seat Leons, Seat Toledos, etc, etc)?
Some questions I would ask are:
1) Was the power loss sudden, or did it get worse over time?
2) Does the car emit black smoke?
3) Does the power return briefly to normal just afer starting the engine?
4) Does the car make more noise than usual?
5) Can you improve the acceleration slightly by pumping the accelerator?

 

[toffee]

It happened suddenly..
No black smoke (though that said, Ill get someone to stand behind and look but nothing that I can see in the mirror..)
not sure about the noise and Im going to check yr other questions tomorrow.
incidently, I have also noticed that the heater fan when turned up is suddenly very noisy.. ??
I am sad about the problems with my little car as I really like it to drive..
Im hoping its not going to be problem after problem.
Also.. (sorry) it locks itself.. is this normal?

 

[tim-spam]

On most VAG group cars, if you unlock the doors and do not open something within around 30 seconds, the car will re-lock itself - this is a security measure against unintentional unlocking.
I would urge you to visit your local Skoda agent for their diagnosis - your local 'trusted' garage may indeed be trustworthy, but lack the knowledge to properly identify your car's problem.
I heard a similar tale from my local (and very trustworthy) garage, which I use for MOT's. He had a customer with a Passat TDI, which had 'lost all of its boost'. He fitted a new (secondhand) turbo unit, with the car spending 2 weeks off the road waiting for the parts and the local man to learn how to do this particular job. Guess what - no improvement. To be fair, the customer was not charged for the work, so was not too distressed. The car was then taken to VW, who changed the MAF - problem fixed and lessons learned all round.

 

[toffee]

yes... Im going to take it back to where I bought it.
Im terrified about the price.... but Im going to ask them to look first and give me a price then decide.
Thank you... really, its appreciated.
It means that I dont go to the garage like a total fool. thank you.

 

[tim-spam]

You will also find a mine of useful information at www.fordgalaxy.org.uk in the technical section - just use a search for power loss. Remember that the diesel Galaxy has a very similar engine to your car. Hope this helps.

 

[Porker]

I have a Seat Alhambra 1.9TDi. I have had the car for three years and 12 trips to a main dealer still haven't sorted this!! It's even had a new Seat engine during this time. Anyway I digress. I have done a LOT of research on this topic.

As the previous posts suggest 99% of the time it is the MAF. This is easily replaced in about 5 minutes on my Alhambra. It is a plastic thing in-line with the air intake pipes and has 1 plug to it from the ECU. I don't know what the dealer would quote for this part but I have been quoted £300 by Seat before and you can pick the part up for less than £100 last time I looked.

tim-spam's description of the MAF is spot on. They are delicate things and get dirty easily. Failing this it could be:
Wiring to MAF dodgy
Sticky variable vane in turbo due to carbon (unlikely)
Various horrible little sensors (I had a few replaced that made no difference)
leaky vacuum hoses (this appears reasonably common)
Throttle transducer. (happened to my Dad on his diesel Galaxy (VW engine)

In my experience the two main dealers near me had no idea what was wrong and don't have a clue about diesels. You soon realise youv'e got more idea than they do. They just change bits until the problem goes away and charge you for it.

You're best bet is to check out the MAF and failing this I would go to a turbo specialist, not because I think it's the turbo (because I don't) but because they seem to understand better than most. If you have a laptop and are willing to fork out for a cable (you can get them on-line) you can run some pretty good diagnostic software from a company call Ross Tech http://www.ross-tech.com/

 

[Rog200455]

I had the same problem on my Passat TDI and it was the MAF (it's always the MAF!). Has your fuel consumption got better? Mine did whilst the MAF was faulty.