2.0tfsi engine failures

Gurner

Gurner

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Hi B7 people, I currently have a b6 2.0 petrol. Nothing fancy, but it's been a great reliable car, lovely to drive of course but I want something a bit more exciting as I don't get out on the motorbike so much these days since my son was born.

So I've been looking at a 2005 b7 2.0tfsi s line with 75k on the clock, but I've been put off by recent talk of these engines failing due to chain, oil pump failure and oil starvation issues by around 80k.

Just wonder if you guys can give me any idea of how common these issues are - if it's only one in a hundred cars I can probably handle those odds, but if it's worse than that...

Also, while I do a lot of 30 min to 2 hour journeys I also do a lot of shorter ones, like one mile to work if it's ******* it down, or a trip to the supermarket for the weekly shop. I understand that these kind of journeys can make the problems worse.

All opinions greatly received... :beerchug:
 
Hi,
I recently purchased a 2006 2.0tfsi Avant Quattro s-line special edition and i am very pleased with it and its performance for a 2.0 engine.
The 220bhp engine really did surprise me and i just cant keep out of the thing, just a real buzz driving it, and fuel consumption is fine.
I find it very comparable to my old 944 turbo to drive performance wise, just the boost just keeps going on the A4 whereas it used to tailoff a bit on the 944.

anyway, i was not aware of any of these issues to be honest prior to purchasing mine, did a bit of research and it was a well rated car.
Mine had only done 29k when i purchased it a few weeks back and has a full 12 mth audi warranty, so i think it was agood buy.
I dont tend to get in a panic when i see these sort of issues if the car has a good and full service history, after all its a car and parts do wear out etc and fail, just need to reduce the odds of getting one with issues to start with.
i do 2 long trips to cumbria every year for our hols, otherwise short trips etc as i work from home, never had any issues before with this sort of usage with my other cars , dont see why it should be any different now, provded the servicing get done correctly and on time, not an issue for me.

In summary for me then after a few weeks , brilliant car and the most enjoyable driving car i have had for some time.
If you get one , i dont think you'll be disapointed.

What bike have you got, i am a big bike fan like you, i too dont get out on much on it anymore either, so the car sort of fills the void.
rob
 
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Hey Gurner,

You would be 100% correct in almost everything you said, were it be the parts that fail near the 80k mark to the short journeys etc. As to how common it is, well I would say its quite common as the reality is that they all the same engines and all seem to have the same issues as they all work on the same principle of the oil pick up , timing chain and so forth.

Sorry Rob but I wouldn't put it down to fact that if it has a full service history then its all good as none of the parts mentioned are serviceable parts. And actually a lot of the cases a full service history especially from Audi is a lot of the time a bad thing which causes a lot of the issues to begin with. Having said that some of the issues mentioned can be heard quite easily once the vehicle is started.

By no means Gurner do I want to put you off as any B7 owner would say as much as they have there issues they are great cars to live with and as Rob said you do just want to drive them more and more as its a very pleasant and enjoyable experience.

Even if you do, do frequent trips my advice would be to change the oil quite frequent anything from 4000-6000 miles. Also they like to build up on carbon as they dont heat up during short trips so its vital that the vehicle gets to 90 deg as fast as possible.

My advice would be what ever you plan on doing put a budget of around £600-£1000 aside to cover for the faults. Thou once the faults have been attended to then you should have happy motoring.

Hopefully this helps, oh if you planning to go the quattro route they are a bit more on the thirsty side. Don't say I didn't warn you :icon_thumright:

Oh lastly were abouts in South West you based?
 
As far i havent found my quattro that thirsty, one of my previous subaru legacy's (2006) with the 2.0 engine was terrible on fuel even with a very light foot, it makes my a4 a real fuel saver, in the same period of time back to back against the legacy i have used allmost half a tank less in the a4 driving in the same style and milages.
sounds like a plan to me...

rob
 
All in the same boat with these cars :p mines just hit 79K! As soon as service and minor things out the way im going to bite the bullet and have my cam chain and tensioner replaced.
 
Again Rob nothing personal, just speaking from a lot of experience regarding these engines. Sadly a lot of people of in the dark regarding the engines and I rather give them the harsh truth upfront than sugar coat things.

I will agree with you that the Boxer engines are very thirsty and moving to engine of choice you have will definitely see a noticeable improvement over the Subaru. But to be honest you cant really compare apples with pears they 2 different beasts.
 
The question that pops into my head now about this subject is this.
Are these failures due to a badly designed engine or specific components within the engine.
Surely if the failures are at an approx milage etc and affect the same components etc there is a clear case that audi are at fault.

This then leads to the question , have there been any recals etc about the problem since introduction of the engine in question.
If its a well known and documented issue are there any recommeded solutions to it or revised parts .

I'd be interested to know just in case my goes tits-up in the near future.
 
No offence taken sir,
I've have a wide range of high and low performance cars over the years so i'm no newcomer to fuel consumption etc, either good or bad.
My 964 carrera4 (3.6 )had better fuel consumption than a 2.0 subaru boxer, the subaru boxer engine is great, its the drive by wire setup, ecu and the ecu's management of fuel and driving style etc that is the problem.
 
A4Rob said:
The question that pops into my head now about this subject is this.
Are these failures due to a badly designed engine or specific components within the engine.
Surely if the failures are at an approx milage etc and affect the same components etc there is a clear case that audi are at fault.

This then leads to the question , have there been any recals etc about the problem since introduction of the engine in question.
If its a well known and documented issue are there any recommeded solutions to it or revised parts .

I'd be interested to know just in case my goes tits-up in the near future.
Click to expand...

I wouldnt put it down to bad engine design. I would just say that these things happen as you said yourself that parts get worn and wear out. The only part I would mention regarding bad engine design is the engines being very thirsty on oil and this is a flaw with the motor as no engine should drink as much as these engines do. Thou some are just lucky with oil consumption.

The rule of thumb among the enthusiasts is that to keep a eye on the vehicle between 80-100k miles as that is were a lot of the issues seem to be coming more apparent.

There is recalls but sadly they never landed in the UK. Most of america got the fixes for PCV, Oil Pick up, engine rebuilds due to oil consumption as well as pump failure etc. The petrol engines in the UK only got the coil pack recall and the valve cover revision.

To sum it up really the oil pick up clogs either from long service patterns, short driving trips, incorrect oil grade etc. There is a revision part for this having said that doesn't mean it will 100% cure the issue thou will prolong it in a sense.

As for the chain Audi don't consider this a serviceable part but I see it if it has a chain or cam belt or both which in our case it has both it should be a normal serviceable item every 60k miles.

The oil pump failure is it a hit and miss not much you can do to prevent it to be honest. Unless you remove the oil pump unit and delete the shafts.

Otherwise easiest way is to do a oil pressure test and see. That will tell you striaght away if you in the clear or not. But generally you will get a low oil pressure warning on the dash. But that warning does mean a few things but thats a whole another story on its own.

And btw the 964 is one of my fav shapes really coming up in value.
 
Thanks guys, that must be a great car Rob, bet it's a lovely drive with only 29k on it. My B6 is virtually faultless and that's done 112k! Did have to replace the breather hose though.

I ride a Street Triple R at the moment. Only the 5.2 R8 comes close in terms of acceleration, although it's got 40 mph extra top speed over the bike - but they're just a little out of my budget... I reckon 200 hp in a car should be sufficient to stop me nodding off at the wheel though. What are you riding?

So Giosabcsl, your assessment is that most of these engines will fail? One of the most concerning things I guess is that you don't seem to get much warning before the failure. Other than with the chain which you can hear, with the oil pump or pickup blockage it sounds like you just get an oil pressure light followed quickly by a dead engine before you can say "I'd better pull onto the hard shoulder"! I live over in Bath, by the way.

Interesting that you were discussing Subaru's - I've been considering an Impreza as well, but the fuel consumption is insane! Looks like the best you can hope for is 25 mpg which seems nuts when the Audi is so much better with virtually the same power. Not to mention a generally classier machine.
 
Im thinking about getting the cam chain and tensioner, cam belt and tensioner with the water pump and the oil pick up pipe done on our DTM (its at 67k and think its got a slight noise at the back of the engine on the right hand side) gonna cost a few £££ tho lol Any idea on the cost of the parts ??? Love driving the thing, very economical in comparison 2 our last few cars!
 
Dunno, but it won't be cheap! On the plus side, there are several of these cars still running on Ebay with over 140k. Someone is even asking £6000 for an '06 with more than 160k! There are two listed as spares or repairs though, one with the oil light on, the other with a broken chain.
 
Ive just got an oil pickup pipe from audi for my service... £35 inc vat for the pipe mate. I believe the chain and tensioner etc comes in partwise at roughly £170 for what you need. Labour will destroy the wallet on chain and cam tensioner lol. Cambelt, tensioner and waterpump will usually be normal replacement of around £450.
 
Gurner said:
So Giosabcsl, your assessment is that most of these engines will fail? One of the most concerning things I guess is that you don't seem to get much warning before the failure. Other than with the chain which you can hear, with the oil pump or pickup blockage it sounds like you just get an oil pressure light followed quickly by a dead engine before you can say "I'd better pull onto the hard shoulder"! I live over in Bath, by the way.
Click to expand...

Again dont quote me on this but I would say there is the high probably as the average joe wont know the difference between a variable service and a long life service. Its us poor *******s that actually care about our vehicles that suffer due to thier incompetence.

The chain is very noticeable. The oil pump is a tough one "generally" they dont fail its the oil pick up that starves them of oil or the oil pick up starves the head/chain tensioner of oil and in turn the head goes. The oil pick up is literally 1 bolt/screw holding it in and the part cost roughly £30-35. But its getting to it that is the pain as it can be anything from 2 hours labour.

But yes you are about correct with the fact of getting the oil pressure light, pull over to the hard shoulder etc In some cases its just a few bent valves etc but there is worse scenarios but again you never know how a car has been treated. I dont believe any BS from any seller enthusiast or not because they never going to tell you the faults let alone the true history as its money to them regardless how they go about it as sadly this is the nature for most human beings.

imotepify said:
Im thinking about getting the cam chain and tensioner, cam belt and tensioner with the water pump and the oil pick up pipe done on our DTM (its at 67k and think its got a slight noise at the back of the engine on the right hand side) gonna cost a few £££ tho lol Any idea on the cost of the parts ??? Love driving the thing, very economical in comparison 2 our last few cars!
Click to expand...

You dont need to change the chain or tensioner unless you got some serious noises or you getting fault codes otherwise enjoy it. As for the waterpump what is your concern with that or is it just ingeneral due with the cam belt?

As for the noise on the right side if you refering to were the big brass gold looking thing is sticking up about 10cm long if not longer. That is the high pressure fuel pump. That thing always makes a noise. But if you getting a metallic noise then you got some slight issues especially in that area. As under the high pressure fuel pump is the cam follower and those are renowed to wear through especialy if you have the earlier BUL engine.

Parts wise:
Oil pick up 30 -35 ( labour anything from 2 hours onwards) Thou oil and filter will be needed unless they save your current oil. But for the sake of say £45 for oil and filter Id just change it to fresh oil.

The chain, tensioner, bolts, gaskets, rubbers etc £170 ( Labour anything from 4-6 hours) And the garage should have the locking tool kit for this job unless they good at what they do as you can get away with not using it.

Waterpump is around £100 i think from audi
But they have a fixed price for the cam belt from audi.

The only real draw back as I have mentioned many times is the fact that its a shame all the issues are from various parts of the engine rather than all in one place. cam chain being the rear, oil pick up in the sump etc
 
I've been a owner of a 2.0 tfsi quattro for about 16 months now. also bought it at the stage of 110k on the clocks..
now 120,5k on the clocks without major issues (doing mostly city driving/short trips). I do get the oil pick up changed next week as a preventive measure though.
but in overall I'm quite happy with 2.0T engine /the car itself.
I guess the whole engine failure thing is about how was the car looked after before you get it (questionable), and how you are going to treat it.
see my case in only 10,5 K miles of ownership I overhauled the brakes,changed the cambelt regardless what the service book stated (don't trust anyone)
2x oil change/minor service and now the pick up replacement. all done just so'd I can sort of sleep well at night not having to worry about health of my pride and joy.
 
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Gurner said:
Hi B7 people, I currently have a b6 2.0 petrol. Nothing fancy, but it's been a great reliable car, lovely to drive of course but I want something a bit more exciting as I don't get out on the motorbike so much these days since my son was born.

So I've been looking at a 2005 b7 2.0tfsi s line with 75k on the clock, but I've been put off by recent talk of these engines failing due to chain, oil pump failure and oil starvation issues by around 80k.

Just wonder if you guys can give me any idea of how common these issues are - if it's only one in a hundred cars I can probably handle those odds, but if it's worse than that...

Also, while I do a lot of 30 min to 2 hour journeys I also do a lot of shorter ones, like one mile to work if it's ******* it down, or a trip to the supermarket for the weekly shop. I understand that these kind of journeys can make the problems worse.

All opinions greatly received... :beerchug:
Click to expand...

Hej Gurner,

I think on balance for the amount of 2.0t's out there versus the issues, I think one could argue that they appear reliable enough....although when they go....they go BIG!!
Certain engine codes appear to be more resilient than others, however, think you can just be lucky too. Some drink oil some don't. End of the day you need to do your homework check the maintenance history and generally keep your wits about you. Don't be fooled by the VAG FSH malarky....those long life service intervals are a mind f#ck for these engines imho! For the record my 2.0t BGB engine is now at 235,000kms ( original clutch, turbo etc ) and I am running a stage 1 MTM remap for the past 30,000 kms. I change my oil & filter every 10 - 15,000kms and use a Dimple magnetic sump plug MAGNETIC DRAIN PLUGS.

Good Luck,
A
 
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Molnboman said:
Hej Gurner,

I think on balance for the amount of 2.0t's out there versus the issues, I think one could argue that they appear reliable enough....although when they go....they go BIG!!
Certain engine codes appear to be more resilient than others, however, think you can just be lucky too. Some drink oil some don't. End of the day you need to do your homework check the maintenance history and generally keep your wits about you. Don't be fooled by the VAG FSH malarky....those long life service intervals are a mind f#ck for these engines imho! For the record my 2.0t BGB engine is now at 235,000kms ( original clutch, turbo etc ) and I am running a stage 1 MTM remap for the past 30,000 kms. I change my oil & filter every 10 - 15,000kms.

Good Luck,
A
Click to expand...

Hah good going!!
 
Any ideas as 2 the costs for sorting the hpfp cam follower problems?
 
imotepify said:
Any ideas as 2 the costs for sorting the hpfp cam follower problems?
Click to expand...

What problems do you have? The cam follower or hpfp? Do you mean replacement? The cam folower is 30 quid and no more than an hours labour......the HPFP is a much more expensive on the other hand. An APR repair kits cost a couple of hundred and I think a new one is 4 - 500 notes I think.
 
Hi its just a noise a the moment sounds like its from the back on the right hand side, will investigate more over the next few days, not sure if its the chain and tensioner or something else lol could do with someone with the same engine near to Haverhill or Bury St Edmunds 2 compare ;-)
 
imotepify said:
Hi its just a noise a the moment sounds like its from the back on the right hand side, will investigate more over the next few days, not sure if its the chain and tensioner or something else lol could do with someone with the same engine near to Haverhill or Bury St Edmunds 2 compare ;-)
Click to expand...

Can you post a video clip up? Bare in mind, these engines rattle like f%ck!

BR
A
 
I'd check your cam follower, my previous car a Golf GTI Mk5 had the same issue. When I checked the follower the surface had worn right the way down and almost through !
 
Hi, how much is this part and how hard are they 2 get 2 and fit also any ideas on the part number? (soz about all the questions lol)
 
I haven't had the car for a while now but the part was about £30, it's not a difficult job really. It took me about an hour from start to finish having never done it before, I could probably do it now sub half hour. This is an excellent guide from Mk5 Golf GTI forum, it's got the part number in the somewhere as well, the only difference is the Audi engine is mounted north/south as opposed to east/west
Well worth checking/doing if you own a 2.0 TFSI engine Audi
How to change Fuel Pump Cam Follower on 2.0 TFSi
 
Thanks fella, thats a good guide. Not sure if I need 2 worry about setting the TDC or just get on with it lol.
 
Dont worry so much about tdc, But I would worry about making sure the pressure is lowered otherwise you can say goodbye to your fingers :applaus:
 
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