Help Needed. Am I Being Misled Again? - Petrol Heads

[BigJoe#1]

I have a mechanical problem with a car that is going to have to be fixed. The fix is going to cost over £1300.00 - not that that is an issue at this stage. However the principle behind it is an issue to me.

We have a VW Golf Match MK6 1.6 TDI and yes it is caught up in the VW Diesel emissions scandal.

The problem we have is that the Exhaust Gas Recycling (EGR) valve is knackered, kaput, broken, not working and its worth noting this is a very common fault with cars of this year. The part alone will cost £390 plus six hours labour due to where this item is located - at the back and bottom of the engine.

Now the function of the EGR is to recycle the exhaust gasses, or emissions - it basically filters the Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) from the exhaust emissions - to prepare the gas to be re-injected back into the engine to increase efficiency and performance of the engine based on temperature and mix. So I understand this so far.

Now VW have declared that they have knowingly and deliberately misled people into buying these cars because the exhaust emissions are up to forty times greater than the test results actually show. This because the test apparatus are identified by software in the car which in turn produces a level of emission which is not true in the real world driving circumstances - clever huh?

My basic mind tells that this EGR valve now has to, in fact, work up to forty times harder to clean the emissions that are actually produced from the engine to recycle them back into the combustion process, therefore it is reasonable to assume that working forty times harder it is likely to fail sooner than would be reasonably be expected if the circumstances were what Volkswagen declared them to be. That in turn is a pretty good reason to assume that is why the EGR valve has failed.

My problem is not that VW are denying this, after all they've all been fed the party line and i would expect nothing else. The problem I have is how come some small independent garages are also saying the same thing? What they're saying is "its not related". I just cannot fathom it out.

Using my best logic I just cannot see how this denial can be made.... any thoughts anyone?

 

[blueinsa]

Is the car not still under manufacturer warranty mate?

 

[BigJoe#1]

Is the car not still under manufacturer warranty mate?

Sadly not. Though I am reading on many VW forums that when pressed VW are stumping up 100% of the cost for cars out of warranty. That to me, whilst nothing like an admission of guilt suggests that they do know something.

 

[blueinsa]

Sadly not. Though I am reading on many VW forums that when pressed VW are stumping up 100% of the cost for cars out of warranty. that to me, whilst nothing like an admission of guilt suggests they know something.

I Have had similar issues with a mazda 6 mate. Driving along nicely when all of a sudden, no power and engine warning light on. Similar to yourself, its a filter used to scrub exhaust gases that has built up a carbon deposit and clogged up. Expensive fix normally but it was the first time it has happened so a reset managed to sort it followed by the following action and advice of one of the techs...

Drive it like a fucking madman once a week and he meant like a madman. Full revs, every gear for a good few miles. It burns the deposits off that build up far too quickly when the car is being driven normally. Every car manaufacturer now has the exact same issues as the EU stipulates ever decreasing co2 emmisions.

Now on to yours, argue like fuck with them and point them to the page after page of owners with the same issue, as well as their own lies recently and their history of fixing these things for some customers gratis. If they do it for one, they should do it for them all.

Also you want proof its fucked and doesnt just need a clean by way of a reset on the computer and then thrashing like fuck to burn of the carbon as its designed to do.

Best of luck with it mate but remember going forward to drive the car appropriately at least once a week to get rid of the carbon deposits and stop the same thing happening again which they dont tell customers when we are buying the fucking cars!

 

[big phil]

Hi Big Joe. The EGR isn't there to clear the harmful gases, its main function is to stop unburnt fuel from escaping into the atmosphere. Furthermore, the emissions scandal was VW cars recognising when they were being tested and performing differently, so under normal conditions it would be be operating normally. £390 for the part sounds about right but under no circumstances should it take more than an hour to change, so around £500 all in. As others have said, you need to give diesels a good thrashing at least once a week, but this is more to clear soot out of the exhaust, it won't affect the EGR at all.

 

[Two Gun Bob]

I would not have a diesel car thrown at me after my experiences
They are not fit for purpose if you are doing stop start or round town trips
What they do not tell you is you need to take it for a good weekly blast down the motorway to clear it out
A Common fault with the EGR valves but worse to come is the DPF filters then clogging up.
I successfully removed my EGR valve and cleaned away the carbon build up
Same old symptoms with engine management light and limp mode
I managed a forced regeneration but only temporarily curing the issue for three months

Enough of the messing around as time off the road is money lost so I had the DPF completely removed and the ECU computer remapped because a replacement DPF is £1500 plus ..ohh yes !
I now drive petrol cars and offset the fuel difference with the additional seating charge of a six seater Zafira
Shocking state of affairs !

 

[DiscoSteve]

Welcome to Euro IV, V and VI compliance - don't you just love the bastard EC

 

[big phil]

Welcome to Euro IV, V and VI compliance - don't you just love the bastard EC

Reckon that topic might be covered in another thread Steve!

 

[Two Gun Bob]

Welcome to Euro IV, V and VI compliance - don't you just love the bastard EC

Indeed pal indeed !

 

[BigJoe#1]

Thanks all for the comments.

Big Phil, in the MK6, unlike the MK5 where the EGR valve is located conveniently within the engine, the valve is hidden away low down n the engine and is between 4 and 6 hours labour to change.... I have been to four garages and they all say the same, even the main dealership.

I have been quoted £540.00 for the job using genuine VW parts so not too bad. The £1300.00 was from VW... No shock there then?

I get what you're saying re the valve and the filtration but in my view normal is what it tells the test machine is what its doing, if it wasnt performing like that "normally" it would fail the emissions test. To me "normal" isn't producing 40X more emissions which the valve now has to deal with, I consider normal to be what the manufacturers declared n their literature, but I do fully understand what you're saying. however like I said Ive no mechanical engineering knowledge save o level physics a very long time ago... But. Will be having some correspondence with VW over the coming weeks. Basically they've lied to me about this car and the answer to the question, would I have bought the car had I known then what I know now.... NO! Is the very clear answer.

All I wil say in their defence is they did say that it would need to be given a blast down the motorway at least once a month.