Problem just started monday...

Pull out of side road, 1st, 2nd, stick it in 3rd, put foot down runs up to 3500rpm as normal then zonk no acceleration even with foot on floor at 55Mph :( eventually gets up to 60...

Pull into layby - revs up to 4000+ no problem out of gear, brakes not hot, tyres not flat. Try again down road.. still no oomph, will accelerate but feels like the wifes astra 1.6 auto (slow!). Stall at roundabout (pulling away in 2nd!). Restart & acceleration back again!

Has happened several times since - fine if I drive <3000 rpm (although did happen at about 2800 once), but hit 3500 and it (sometimes) reoccurs - not always but I don't feel like pushing my luck on the wrong side of the road! Always clears if you turn the engine off.

No warning lights on.

No difference if I turn ASR off.

Cause? Suggestions?

I think fuel starvation - can't get instantaneous MPG display below 20mpg when it happens (can get single figures normally), also lots of little airbubbles in clear feed pipe from fuel filter.

Worth changing filter? How difficult is that - does it need bleeding or will the electric pump just push the fuel through?

Someone did suggest MAF meter as a possible?

Can't get it into garage until end of month & I have to go down to the Isle of wight on Monday (250mile trip)...

if u r gettin air bubbles in fuel line u definately need 2 get your fuel system bled.

Maybe the car's ecu has gone into a "safe mode" because it has detected a fault somewhere.

I would definately get the car checked out via it's diagnostics.

Similar thing happened to my friend's fabia diesel in Germany and it turned out that a hose to the turbo had been chewed by a small mammel, thus letting in extra air and the ecu went into the "safe mode".

Hope it's something simple and not too expensive.

i had exactly the same symptoms on my 90bhp estate, after checking out the MAF sensor, N75 valve and a few other of the regular things to check, it turned out to need a new turbo !....luckily the car was still under warranty.

Thanks for the hints - I don't think it is the ecu going into safe mode (I did think about that) as I am sure there should be a warning light showing in that mode, also because it is intermittent - unless the ECU is 'crashing'.

I am not sure about it being the turbo - I suppose it could jam/stall over a certain RPM but I wouldn't expect it to clear just by turning off & restarting. It has already had a new turbo at the first service - fortunately under warranty!

(51 model - elegance so 110Bhp engine currently on 76K miles!)

When my mates Fabia lost power, there were no warning lights whatsoever.

As I said we thought the turbo had gone AWOL.

I was driving the Fabia back from Belgium to Germany, it seemed OK until about 3000rpm then the engine wouldn't go any further, travelling along the autobahn was fine at this engine speed about 75 mph but every time we got to an incline the car would just slow down, no matter how far the throttle pedal was pushed down, i.e right to the floor.

Then on the level the car would again pick up speed to about 75 mph and stay their.

Touch wood, it is nothing serious like my mates and is only a hose.

get it checked out at a decent dealer and I hope it is good news for you.

All the best, mate

Just lateley on my octavia i had a similar problem. revs but no acceleration,

under warrenty they told me it was the air flow meter to the air filter.

hope tjhis helps a little

new to forums:thumbup:

Air Mass Meter

Brother had similar problems. Noticed no whistle from the turbo. Replaced the air flow meter with no difference. Then found a rubber hose had come off in the engine bay up behind the air filter (just under the windscreen). Pushed it back on and was back to normal

Eddie

I just can't believe it, just got the same problem, so car is going in on Monday to Horbers in Bury who have informed me that it is the air sensor, as previously mentioned.

Apparently this is a common fault.

If the boost is coming and going id suspect a sticking turbo.

If the boost has gone and its flat all the time id suspect the air mass meter.

As for the air bubbles its quite normal to see the odd few bubbles flying through.

My 2001 TDI 110 did exactly the same thing.

The garage changed all the usual suspects MAf etc... BUT...

The only fix was a new turbo.

Lucky for me it was under warranty from the garage I bought it from (2nd hand)

So they stumped up the

This is why the turbos need changing..

They should do this...

Great animation!

Do all the TDI's have that variable valve turbo thingy?

Yes they do on Skodas.

an update - the problem seems to have gone away (touch wood!) - I drove very sedately (OK - keeping <3000rpm!) the 250miles down to the Isle of wight without any problems (I didn't want it to go 'flat' in lane 3!). However once there, on the way back & since I have driven 'normally' (change up at 3000-4000) & the problem hasn't reoccured. It seemed to have gone after I filled the tank up before going down which is odd as it was the same garage as I had used before! I was on the point of getting a cheap Data lead and a copy of VagCom & grabbing some data to look for clues - would have been a good excuse to have a play anyway !

I'm having a similar problem on my 52 plate Octavia l&k tdi, 77000 miles. Again, accelerate "under load" e.g. up a slip road, and get to 3000rpm, engine gives a quick rush and you can feel the power just drop off. After that it is like the ecu deliberately limits your acceleration/turns off the turbo until you restart the engine.

Its been to a local dealers (Claybank in Eccles) and had the MAF and MAP (thrust) sensors replaced. However, the problem is still there. It is so inconsistent too - its been fine for the last few days, even trying to "break" it with some harsh acceleration. This weekend will see the car doing 500 miles or so, so will see what that brings.

It is a recognised failure on this engine - see www.honestjohn.co.uk and look up the Octavia or VW Passat etc. There is a whole reem of reasons for it, starting from a relay change all the way to replacing the entire Turbo.

Here's hoping it is just the relay!

Got the car repaired at Horners and it WAS the air flow meter 04 (part number 038906461C) that needed replacing and the car is now going like a dream.

Cost for the meter and labour was a total of

is the air flow meter the same thing as the MAF?

Sorry but i'm just curious

Hi all,

This is my first post on this forum as I only purchased my 2000 Tdi 110bhp Octavia SLX 2 days ago.

As above I have only had this car for two days and I am already getting the problems mentioned in this thread. I purchased the car because it was VW based and for its renowned reliability. I am very worried I will have to pay out lots of money just to get this diagnosed let alone fixed.

I am even more worried by the statement below that I found on the web. Could this really be true ?

"Power loss on TDI 110s down to same problem as on Golf Mk IV. VAG acknowledges a fault with the ECU (038 906 018 BM) and specifies an upgraded unit (038 906 018 GQ) at

I did'nt think the 90 bhp had the variable vane turbo.

If VAG aknowledges this fault then shouldn't it be done FOC?

My car is the 110 TDI Elegance (2002, 67K) and would seem this could happen to mine (hasn't yet, touch wood).

Having said that all the gear pull very well apart from 3rd which has a very linear accelaration with the foot down...