If your car isn't burning excessive amounts of oil, you can still prevent this.
The failure begins with corrosion in the EGR cooler.
The aluminum from which the cooler's fins are made oxidizes and crumbles, and the fragments – through the exhaust gas recirculation system – enter the cylinders and start wreaking havoc there.
These aluminum particles act like sandpaper – damaging the cylinder walls, pistons, and rings.
Then, getting into the oil, they are carried along with it to all lubricated engine components, causing their gradual seizure. It's exactly as if we had added sand to the engine oil.
The first symptom of failure is excessive oil consumption, followed by a loss of oil pressure, then turbocharger seizure, and finally complete engine seizure. Simultaneously, the DPF and Catalytic Converter become clogged.
According to Volkswagen's instructions, whether the engine shows initial symptoms or has completely seized, it needs to be replaced, and at the same time, replace the DPF and catalytic converter, probes, sensors, and the turbocharger assembly.
Such a faulty EGR was installed in all Volkswagen T5 Transporter Caravelle Multivan and California vehicles with 2.0 TDI engines with 180 HP
The faulty EGR cooler is installed in 140,000 VW T5 2.0 TDI vehicles with CFC and CFCA engines produced from 2008 to 2015 (according to the German weekly Auto Bild)
Unfortunately, there are few vehicles in which it was factory installed, as in the fall of 2015, production of the CFC engines was discontinued in favor of the new CXE units with a completely different design.
If your engine already shows signs of damage (burns more than 0.3 liters of oil per thousand km), then replacing the EGR will not suffice. An engine overhaul or even a replacement will be necessary.
If you own a Volkswagen T5 with a 2.0 BiTDI 180 HP engine, code CFCA
produced before March 2015, then in your vehicle, for sure (unless someone has already replaced it) there is an EGR cooler installed with the flaw described above.
If you want to be sure, read the part number from the sticker on top of the cooler.
If your cooler has one of the above numbers, and you still do not have symptoms of engine seizure, replace it as soon as possible. You can still prevent engine damage.
Such a part is available at authorized Volkswagen service centers (by order). It costs 4859 PLN.
However, at our place, these original improved EGR coolers are always available off the shelf.
The replacement of this part can be done while you wait (it takes about 4 hours) at a scheduled appointment.
Beware of fakes. These are not flaw-free EGRs.
Some automotive shops offer much cheaper replacements for this component. Unfortunately, these are replacements for the withdrawn faulty EGR, not the improved one. They have the same flaws.
These flaws, of course, like in any old cooler, will only reveal themselves after some time (probably after the warranty expires) but will cause just as much damage as the original faulty EGR.
If your engine does not yet show symptoms of seizure, schedule a replacement of the faulty EGR cooler as soon as possible to prevent this.
If your engine already shows signs of damage (burns more than 0.3 liters of oil per thousand km), then replacing the EGR will not suffice. An engine overhaul or even a replacement will be necessary.
Do you have questions regarding CFCA engines?
We will help you make a decision.
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