Jetta - Volkswagen :: 2011 TDI - Momentary Loss Of Power
Aug 19, 2012
I have had the car sense it was brand new and sense I have had it I have had this problem. I mostly notice a problem soon after starting the engine up and come to a stop, but is not limited to that all the times. When I come to a stop the car will feel like it is struggling to maintain an idle as I sit at the light or stop sign and it will actually shake the car a bit. I have noticed when it does do this the fan is on and it might be related to having the alternator trying to keep up with power draw.
I have noticed a loss of power when I am driving down the road it will cut out for maybe a half a second and come back. Usually doesn't happen more than once in one trip. I have brought it to the dealership multiple times to try and see if the can hunt down a problem but it keeps coming back with a clean bill of health. So my question is it something that is normal with diesel engines or is it something that I should take a further look at.
And while on the topic of diesel engines, my uncle a mechanic for diesel engines suggested that I spray a small amount of propane into the air intake to burn up sludge to keep the engine relatively clean. Need to get second opinion of that idea before I try it?
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My 01 VW Jetta with 181690 miles started having intermittent loss of power a year ago:
1) it never conks out;
2) it loses power on the highway at 70 or in town at 25;
3) engine is usually hot, about an hour into a trip, but now does it cold, too;
4) weather doesn't matter: dry or wet;
5) check engine light flashes while it happens
6) it feels like it's running out of gas but isn't.
Mechanics have tried the following: Note: every time I brought it in to be looked at, the symptoms above were happening :
1) March 2013: replaced coil pack and it ran fine until Sep;
2) Sep 2013: ran Dx on check engine light: "arching all over the place" so replace spark plug wires;
3) Dec 2013: got oil changed
4) Jan 2014: ran Dx and was told crack in piston;
5) Jan 2014: got second opinion and told wrong spark plugs were used (single electrode vs triple electrode)-replaced all spark plugs; got car inspected and had oil changed again as it was dirty;
6) Feb 2014 mechanic is stumped, but found an article about clean oil and changed the oil again. Oil was down almost a quart.
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2001.5 V6 Tiptronic ... A few times in the last couple of months I've felt what I think is a quick lapse in power, like 1 sec. or less. I say "think" because sometimes a bump in the road, traction related, or some other perceived issue can feel strange, especially when cruising along on a smooth cruise-controlled drive.
Each time this has occurred I've been in cruise control, freeway driving, relatively low speeds (65 MPH) . No other signs of anything wrong, chimes, flickering lights, vibration, nothing.
I can't be sure this time around but it seems in the past it's been on the same stretch of freeway, perhaps the same spot. In other words perhaps just a subtle anomaly in the road ...
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The car started rough idling and a few weeks ago while driving "lost power" momentarily. I went to take a look at it and even just idling it will randomly drop 1000 rpm, or when the gas is one in P it does the same thing. also the dash lights dim at the same time.
I pulled these codes (below). I cleared the codes and tried to replicate with no luck. The car had been sitting in a parking lot outside for a few days and it has been -15C. I asked if it seemed to only happen when it was warm (the week before it was +10C) and they said yes. It has been another week (still cold) and the codes have not returned.
Quick google of these codes suggests maybe a throttle position sensor and/or loose battery connection.
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It did this funny thing about 4-5 times over a span of about 24 hrs before dying and then won't start. It was like hitting the limit on a speed governed car.....sudden momentary loss of power..and it seemed to be when accelerating if that matters. The thing I'm sure of at this point is that the fuel pump is not coming on when the key is turned, I know that sound well, but also checked it at the external connector with a test light for thoroughness. I also found a blown fuse under the hood which coincided with a little smokey smell inside the car when the fuse was replaced and blew again.
There is no spark as well. My Haynes book says that the PCM is behind the passenger kick panel but I only see the eecv and it doesn't smell burnt. The IFS is good. There is power at the coil packs. Fuel pump relay fuse is good. Is it more likely the ccrm since it contains the fuel pump relay and PCM relay or could it still be the eecv? It feels like one part failed but is causing more than one "problem", no power to fuel pump and no spark.
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Having problems where sometimes the car won't go into gear, other times it's fine? The problem started after some hard acceleration in 3rd, there was what felt like a momentary loss in power. I dipped the clutch as I thought a boost pipe had popped off, all was fine (still seeing boost when revved). After this it got progressively harder to get gears, finally resulting in not being able to get into gear at all.
I found I could get it into 1st with the engine off and could go up gears normally, but couldn't change down without stopping and turning the engine off. The clutch is working fine, the biting point is normal. The problem seams to come and go randomly, it will work fine for a while and then start playing up again. When working the gearbox feels normal, there is no grinding or wining noises. I can move between gears normally and do clutch less gear changes.
There is now a vibration which can be felt at 1000rpm when stationary. It feels like it coming from the engine/gearbox and seems like something is out of balance as it shakes the whole car. The car is on 91k, supercharged running 470hp & 370lb/ft (at flywheel) and is fitted with a Spec stage 3+ clutch and solid flywheel.
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When I take off from a start it will intermittently stumble or hesitate, seems to be around 1500 rpm. have also noted it at higher speed while cruising. its more like a momentary power cut than a miss fire.
So far I have done the following
new fuel filters
clean MAF
new PCV valve
new spark plugs
check all hoses and plugs etc
injector clean
checked techstream for codes. there is one for a heated O2 sensor but dont think thats it.
2002. SC430
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I have a problem with my 2004 Santa Fe, 2l diesel. Will try to keep this short!
When driving it suddenly 'heaves' (not sure how else to describe it), then it cuts out. I wait about a minute and then it restarts.
At first there was no 'heave' but there would be a momentary loss of power (I thought it was the clutch). Then it progressed to the 'heave' and then cut out, this happened now and then. Very quickly it started to do it every time I drove it. My neighbor mechanic blew down the fuel line, said the fuel pump in tank sounded ok, seemed to do it more when below quarter of tank.
So I kept tank topped up, it seemed ok, then on one 11 mile journey it did it 3 times, the last time the engine management light came on, crawled it home, after which it would not start at all. The computer said it was either fuel rail or coolant sensor. Neighbor replaced coolant sensor, it started ok. Tried it next day - 6 miles and it heaved and cut out again. This time no light coming on.
I've read about cam sensor, crank shaft sensor, fuel pump at back of engine...
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The primary electric fuel pump in the fuel tank of my 2004 W12 failed last month, shortly after I had set out on a cross-Canada trip from Vancouver Island to Toronto. The whole process of diagnosing and identifying the cause of the problem, mitigating it so that I could continue the trip, and finally replacing the fuel pump was kind of complex, so, here's the write-up.
The problem presented itself as a surging of the engine - a momentary loss of power - at normal highway operating speeds. The onset was progressive, but it didn't take very long - only about 60 miles of driving - from the first little cough of the engine until total failure of the pump. The first indication was failure of the car to maintain speed (while on cruise control) when climbing hills. That progressed to failure to maintain speed on flat surfaces, and finally led to the car coasting to a stop, engine stalled, at the side of the road.
I soon learned that if I floored the accelerator pedal and held it against the floor, the car would cough and burp for a few seconds, then take off like a rocket. So, for the next 40 miles, I coaxed the car into the next city by flooring it, accelerating to about 80 MPH, then coasting until the speed dropped to 20 MPH, and flooring it once again and accelerating to 80 MPH. Fortunately, I was on a remote road with few other cars, and no police.
I checked the fuses for the two fuel pumps - fuses 34 and 35 in panel C (above the left battery), and they were both OK.
The next day, I visited a VW dealer in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and together with the parts manager and one of the technicians, we looked at the Self-Study Guides (SSGs) for the Phaeton, and looked at wiring diagrams. Eventually, we came to a tentative conclusion that the primary electric fuel pump in the fuel tank had failed. The SSGs stated that the primary electric fuel pump (the pump on the right side of the car) operates all the time, and the secondary electric fuel pump (the pump on the left side of the car) only operates during starting and during 'periods of high demand'. That made sense to us - the car started fine, and worked OK when the accelerator pedal was held to the floor (high demand). It just didn't work worth a darn at any other time... the engine would stall, or, the car would not accelerate at all.
Here are two illustrations taken from the SSGs that describe how the fuel delivery system works. The first image is taken from the 'Phaeton Overview' SSG, which applies to all vehicles. The second image is taken from the W12 engine SSG. I kind of suspect that all the Phaetons operate in the same way, regardless of engine, because the fuel tank in all the Phaetons has the same shape - two lower lobes, which means two pumps are required.
Descriptions from the SSGs
I think that there may be an error in the description above. My experience suggests that the right hand pump (identified as G6, above) is the primary pump, and the left hand pump (identified as G23) is the one that switches on during starting and periods of high demand. Note also how the identification of G6 and G23 in the illustration above is reversed from what is shown in the illustration below. I believe that the text and illustration below is correct, and the text and illustration above is incorrect.
The 'effects of failure' in the description above would, I believe, make sense if it was the left-hand pump that failed. In my case, the right hand pump failed, and the effects of failure that I experienced were as I set them out in the beginning paragraphs of this post - quite different from the 'effects of failure' of the left hand pump that are described in the SSG above.
After coming to the tentative diagnosis that the primary electric fuel pump (the right hand pump) had failed, we checked the parts stock status in North America. There was one pump in stock, but it was in the United States, and being that it was a Thursday, the pump could not be delivered before the following Tuesday. I didn't want to spend that much time waiting for it, so, we started thinking about other possible solutions.
If we could somehow get the secondary electric fuel pump - the pump on the left side of the car that only operated during starting and heavy demand - to operate, that just might put me back on the road again. So, I removed the plastic cover from the small relay that operates the secondary pump, and wrapped a rubber band around the relay, thus keeping the relay in the closed position. A short test drive proved that this solution worked just fine, the car once again operated normally. The only "problem" was that the last 25% of the fuel in the tank would be unusable, because that fuel would be left behind in the right-hand lobe of the tank - the lobe with the defective primary fuel pump.
Electric Fuel Pump Relays
Here is an illustration from the Phaeton wiring diagrams identifying the various relays above the left battery.
Here you can see the two relays for the electric fuel pumps. They are identical part numbers.
Here you can see the relay for the secondary electric fuel pump, with a rubber band wrapped around it to keep it continually closed.
Aside from the loss of use of the last 25% of the fuel in the fuel tank, the car worked just fine with the secondary electric fuel pump running all the time. There were no problems noted even under heavy acceleration. It was, however, necessary to physically remove the rubber-banded relay from its position in the relay panel whenever the car was shut down for more than half a hour. The power to this relay comes from Terminal 30 (battery direct) - it is not switched on and off with the ignition as Terminal 15 power is. This meant that if the rubber-banded relay was left in position overnight, the left hand battery would totally discharge, because the fuel pump would operate continuously all night. I discovered this the morning after the first night...
So, for the next 8 days, I drove across Canada, removing the relay each night and replacing it each morning. I didn't bother to remove it when I stopped for meals or fuel. The rest of the 3,000 mile trip was uneventful - except once, when I let the fuel tank run down a bit too close to the 1/4 full mark, and the car began surging again because the left hand lobe of the fuel tank (with the functional secondary pump) had emptied out. That was a close call, but I managed to get to a gas station and refuel.
After arriving in Toronto, I called the parts staff at my home VW dealer and ordered a new primary electric fuel pump. I discovered that the left and right hand pumps are slightly different (the various hoses coming out of the pumps are different), and I also discovered that a pump costs about $400. The parts staff suggested I order two seals (one for each side of the tank), because I would have to remove both the right and left fuel tank covers to change the right pump. The seals were not expensive.
Here are two pictures that illustrate where the pumps sit in each lobe of the fuel tank. Note the fuel filler port on the left side of the pictures (as we know, it is on the right side of the car) for orientation.
Phaeton Fuel Tank, showing pumps
Fuel Pump Access Panels
Below is a picture that shows where the access panels to the two fuel pumps are. It's easy to get to these access panels, just remove the carpeted panel from the floor of the trunk.
Here's a close-up of the right side (primary) electric fuel pump access panel.
The instructions (from the VW Repair Manual, or the ELSA / ErWin system) for replacing the fuel pump are quite well written. The repair manual suggests that the fuel tank be drained before replacing a pump. I didn't want to drain the tank, so, I ran the fuel level down as low as I dared (remembering that 1/4 full is effectively 'empty' with a failed primary pump). That proved to be adequate.
There are a heck of a lot of steps involved in disconnecting all the hoses and loosening the various components before the pump can be removed. I strongly suggest that anyone attempting this task have a printed set of instructions before starting disassembly.
The fuel pump has quite a few hoses and connections on it, but fortunately, each connector is unique in design, thus it is not possible to hook things up the wrong way when installing the new pump. It is possible to 'lose' a hose inside the tank... for this reason, I attached a small piece of string to each hose I disconnected from the pump.
The process goes more or less like this:
1) Remove the two 404 relays, to ensure no power is sent to either fuel pump.
2) Lift the rubber cover, and remove the electrical connections from both pumps (left and right).
3) Using a special tool, lift up the three fasteners that hold the cap over top of the access panel (these are NOT threaded fasteners!)
Here is a side view of the three fasteners that hold the plastic cap in place - they are friction fit, not threaded.
4) Now you have a clear view of the access panel. It will probably be dusty and rusty, and should be vacuumed clean before proceeding, to prevent crap from falling into the fuel tank when the cap is removed. The rust is due to condensation forming on the cold metal part whenever the car is filled with cold fuel from an underground storage tank.
5) A special VW tool is used to remove the locking ring from the access panel.
6) After removing the locking ring, I buffed it up with a wire brush to remove surface corrosion.
7) The plastic access cap can now be lifted. There are two electrical connectors on each fuel pump, but three possible fittings on the plastic cap. Fortunately, the three fittings are keyed differently.
8) This is what you see inside the tank after removing the plastic cap.
9) After following all the detailed instructions for disconnecting and stowing hoses, disconnecting the fuel measurement probe from the pump housing, etc., it is possible to lift the pump out. It will be full of fuel.
10) The old and new pumps, side by side. I was very surprised at the amount of crap that was trapped in the filter screen at the bottom of the pump. The car only has 60,000 miles on it, and I have always used premium fuel in it.
11) I was also a bit surprised at the discolouration of the pump components. Below you can see the old and new pumps side by side.
12) It is necessary to get access to the opposite side (in this case, the left side) fuel pump, because hoses from each pump travel horizontally across the tank and connect to the other pump.
13) Here you can see a new hose from the right side pump connecting into a T fitting above the left side pump. It is easy to thread this hose across the top of the inside of the tank.
14) As mentioned earlier, there are three possible fittings on the base of each plastic cap, but only two connectors within the fuel tank. Everything is keyed, thus improper assembly is not possible.
Once the new pump has been installed, the hoses connected, and the fuel measuring probe reset into the side of the new pump, re-assembly of everything is quite straightforward. I replaced the rubber ring around the access panel opening on each side of the tank, and I also buffed up the locking rings using a wire brush (to remove corrosion) on each side.
It was not a pleasant job - your hands get covered in fuel, and there are some hazards associated with working on an open fuel tank with vapour escaping, but it is not a particularly difficult job. It is time-consuming, though.
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I have intermittent loss of the windshield wipers, AC/heater fan and lights (and the brake light is lit even with brake off). I can turn the bright lights on by pulling the lever. Other electronic things work- radio, inside lights, turn signals. Usually if I turn the car off and start over it goes away. Fuses appear ok. It's a VW Jetta 97 GLS with about 75K miles. where to start?
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A couple weeks ago I had to have both lower ball joints replaced on my '01 XLS 4WD with the 6 cylinder engine. The garage's alignment machine was on the blink, so the mechanic told me to it woudl be fine to drive, and to bring it back this week when the machine was fixed.
The Escape seemed to drive fine until today, coming home from work, the Escape veered slightly to the right, and there was a brief sensation in the steering wheel as if it had been disconnected, as if something slipped. Then the steering was back, and although I was tracking straight down the highway, I noticed the steering wheel was turned to the left. It seemed to steer fine, although I had slowed way down.
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Twice now I've been driving and there was a few second lull where pressing the gas did nothing. The first time I was passing a car on the right, and the other I was pulling out between two cars to make a left on a busy road. Is there some kind of collision detection system that's causing the loss of acceleration? It's odd that the 2 times it happened I was so close to other vehicles. It's concerning since I needed to pull out quickly the second time and I was stuck for a few seconds without acceleration.
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I have a 2011 Jetta 5 spd, was driving today and suddenly I could not shift in 4th, 5th or reverse. This is the first time this as happen, I have never had any issues with the far. I don't know much about transmissions. The clutch seems to be working fine as I can shift with ease from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.
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We purchased our 2011 Jetta SE Automatic brand new - first people to drive it - and have had virtually no problems up until this summer. The car has stalled on us dozens of times now and been to two different dealerships for service a handful of times and no one knows what the problem is. We found that the car typically stalls when we're slowing down; however, it recently stalled when we were in Park. When it stalls, the steering wheel locks up, the breaks are nearly impossible to push and everything seems to shut down except the radio. We're virtually a sitting duck for other cars.
When this happens, we're able to put the car back in park, turn it off and back on and drive fine for a while. It seems to be happening more frequently but the dealership hasn't been able to replicate the issue - there are no codes left on the computer and they've literally taken the car apart and can't find anything wrong. They've even 'driven' it for 200 miles and still, nothing. Initially we were told it was bad gas, then we were told it was an operating system update. Now they're trying to tell us that it's our driving style but multiple people in my family have driven the car with the same effect - stalling spontaneously while slowing down, stopping or trying to break.
We've also noticed skipping or slipping between gears when we're at higher speeds but I'm not sure if that's related. It almost feels like your foot falls off the accelerator or slips while you're driving but instead you're actually applying constant pressure.
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My wife's 2011 Volkswagen Jetta (2.0 I believe) is misfiring again. We took it to the dealership about 6 months ago and they said that the ignition coil had gone bad. They replace the ignition coil and said that the plugs needed changing as well. I went to Auto Zone and got some decent plugs and changed them myself at home without much problem. It seemed to work with the problem (although it didn't seem to completely fix it) for a while, but it just recently went back to misfiring. The current symptom is that it seems to misfire when the car is warming up, but misfires less when the car is warm.
The dealership says that the plugs that we got were not recommended by the dealer (they recommended Bosch) and that they need to be replaced. I think this is BS and it is not going to fix the problem.
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Jetta starts making a noise on the front left side when I turn sharp rights like in parking lots. There is no VW dealer within a 2hr drive. Take it to local auto repair shop. The guy says it's the wheel bearings on the front left. The Jetta makes a different sound originating from the left front than originally still when turning right sharply.
BTW this sound isn't very loud and is not grinding or popping more of a whoopwhooopwhoooop Go home take off tire. One lugbolt twists off with fingers. First bad sign. Rotors on front not pretty but pretty smooth brake pads look brand new. Still really thick no uneven wear.
Do a sharp left u turn to get to auto parts store. Afs/bulb failure pops on. Solid warning light yet all the bulbs are working fine.
Turn car off. Go buy rotors. Ask about light no one knows. Go back out start car. Light is gone.. okay that was weird.
Replace rotors anyway so they are nice and shiny lube up the important parts. Put everything back together.back out of garage stupid bulb light is back on... restart jetta Its off.
Start driving everything sounds fine... parking lot test left turns quiet right turn SAME FREAKING NOISE. It has never made any noise when driving straight or on curvy road just sharp right turns.
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My uncle was pulling his fiver to the beach yesterday with his 2011 f-350 6.7. He lost power, the truck got very loud, and there is a very strong stale kerosene smell in the cab. Strong enough to require the windows be down for ventilation. He was able to limp on into the campground and has an appointment with the dealership Monday. The truck has 19,000 miles and is still covered under the extended warranty.
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Truck = 2011 F250 150,000 miles, no modifications, stock.
Truck lost power yesterday, no boost, and no codes. When driving on Friday, I started moving from a red light. The truck seemed very sluggish. Then I noticed it downshift going up a small hill that it never downshifts before. I looked, and noticed the turbo gauge at 0, no boost. I pulled over, turned it off, then restarted it, but still no boost, and the truck is very under-powered. I looked over the area, and do not notice any leaks, also no leaks underneath. I hooked up my OBD reader, and no codes., the boost gauge is on zero, and the truck has lost significant power. I no longer hear the turbo spooling.
I have spent the past several hours searching sites and forums (Started with FTE ), and it seems that most believe a restart of the truck has solved it for them. However, this is not the case for me, a restart, even after letting it sit overnight did not resolve the issue.
I did see one reference that replacing a NOX sensor solved their problem. This brings up some interesting truck history. Back in June 2017, my truck threw the following codes, P207F and P20EE.
P207F - Reductant Quality Performance
P20EE - SCR NOx Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)
The message said I have 200 miles until reduced power. Since it was a Friday, not much I could do at the time so I let it sit overnight, and then the next morning the message was gone. I plugged in the OBD reader and cleared the only remaining code (P20EE), and its been a very happy truck until yesterday.
So my question, can a bad NOX sensor cause the issue of loss of turbo boost, with no codes? Is there another possible cause?
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Getting DTC P0401 on my 2011 with 92K miles. First time I got the CEL, we were on vacation, so I read the code, took a screen shot, then cleared it. Called my normal dealer, setup an appt, verified that they thought the truck was safe to drive. Coming home from vacation, I was pulling the TT in my sig, and noticed significant loss of power on hills that I have pulled many times before that I couldnt even hold 55 on now. Transmission dropped into 4th a couple times, on hills that it would sometimes stay in 6th, or at most drop to 5th.
CEL stayed off for a week , and came back on again. The funny thing is that after a day or 2, the CEL went back out on its own. I read the codes the P0401 is still there as a stored code(I did not clear this time). Around town the truck drives fine, the only thing I noticed was the decrease in power when towing. Truck is at the dealer now. TECH "isn't convinced" yet that there is a problem. He is not finished diagnosing yet, and I am sure that he has specific tests to run, but I am starting to fear that I will be getting the call to come get my truck.
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My 2011 6.7 suddenly lost power, started making noise and then stalled out.
After finding out that there are zero 24 hour service companies available in the LA area, I was able to get it towed to the local Ford dealer.the next day they told me it had dropped the #5 cylinder and that they would have to tear into it to find out what happened.
While I realize that any thoughts on the situation would be primarily idle speculation, what would cause this to happen at only 125,000 miles.
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I was driving my 2011 the other day home from work and experienced a rough idle. Normally the truck idles pretty smooth. I noticed when I was driving at highway speeds the truck seems to shake a lot. I pulled over and turned the truck off. I did a walk around and could find anything out of the ordinary. I started it back up and no more rough idle. However while i was driving at freeway speeds I could feel a momentary lack of power, then the truck would regain its speed. This would only last a sec or two.
I figured I'd give it a few days.... well now its gotten worse. Its doing the same thing but a noticeable difference in the lack of power. I still have boost pressure and the turbo seems to working fine. Im trying to figure out what it might be. I'll be taking my truck into ford again...
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