My 2011 VW Transporter 2.0 BiTDi (twin turbo diesel, 180 hp) has run 285,000 km. Last year it spewed a lot of grey smoke every other day or so for a couple of weeks and consumed a lot of oil. Then it went away. This year, some 15,000 km later, the grey smoke has returned and with it, the heavy oil consumption. During its most smoky periods, it consumes about 1.5 liters (near same as quarts) over a 750 km (460 mile) distance. However, then it may run twice the distance with no oil consumption or smoke. The times when it smokes seem to increase in frequency, though.
When it smokes, heavy acceleration will make it smoke a lot more (James Bond would envy the cover). However, when it does not smoke, heavy acceleration does not produce any smoke whatsoever.
I recently purchased a Mobilscan device and let it read the ECU while driving. It has one error message that comes up: “P2196 system too fet at high load 2” (I assume it should be “too fat”, i.e. to rich fuel-air mixture).
Another error code sometimes also shows up, P0299 turbo pressure “A” too low. It then also seems to go into limp mode. This usually happens when going uphill at moderate or high throttle. (Turbo pressure readings are typically from 1.0-2.6 bars, but once in a while it seems to read 0.9).
Finally, the diesel particle filter light sometimes comes on, also typically when going uphill at moderate or high throttle.
When the car smokes, it often seems like the O2 sensor reads zero, while the Lambda sensor reads around 0.3-0.5, whereas their usual readings/averages are around 300 mV for O2 and 1.4 (lambda).
Aside from this, the engine seems to run just fine. There is no water in the oil, nor does it consume water (i.e. seems like the head gasket is ok). Valve noise seems normal. No smoke of any kind upon start-up or when cold. (Note: A few months ago it was running rough and was diagnosed by VW as having a faulty diesel pressure regulator. They wanted 1,200 Euros to replace it, so I did it myself. While waiting for the new part, it started running smoothly again – perhaps because I had used a diesel additive to clean up the system. I still replaced the regulator.)
So far, I have taken off the rubber hose on the intake side of the first turbo and the blades are dry and the turbo spins fine, no slack. The other turbo I cannot inspect. I have taken off the pipe into the EGR-valve and it too looks ok (no build-up of particles). I plan to check are the intercooler (for cracks). The temperature of the intake air is typically warmer than the outside temperature, which strikes me as odd when it has an intercooler.
An employee at VW parts department believed it is the turbo leaking oil into the exhaust. Replacing it is extremely expensive (5 - 6.000 euros). I have a schedule for a proper diagnosis by VW (on August 8th), unless I can figure it out myself in the mean time. Adivce is welcome.
When it smokes, heavy acceleration will make it smoke a lot more (James Bond would envy the cover). However, when it does not smoke, heavy acceleration does not produce any smoke whatsoever.
I recently purchased a Mobilscan device and let it read the ECU while driving. It has one error message that comes up: “P2196 system too fet at high load 2” (I assume it should be “too fat”, i.e. to rich fuel-air mixture).
Another error code sometimes also shows up, P0299 turbo pressure “A” too low. It then also seems to go into limp mode. This usually happens when going uphill at moderate or high throttle. (Turbo pressure readings are typically from 1.0-2.6 bars, but once in a while it seems to read 0.9).
Finally, the diesel particle filter light sometimes comes on, also typically when going uphill at moderate or high throttle.
When the car smokes, it often seems like the O2 sensor reads zero, while the Lambda sensor reads around 0.3-0.5, whereas their usual readings/averages are around 300 mV for O2 and 1.4 (lambda).
Aside from this, the engine seems to run just fine. There is no water in the oil, nor does it consume water (i.e. seems like the head gasket is ok). Valve noise seems normal. No smoke of any kind upon start-up or when cold. (Note: A few months ago it was running rough and was diagnosed by VW as having a faulty diesel pressure regulator. They wanted 1,200 Euros to replace it, so I did it myself. While waiting for the new part, it started running smoothly again – perhaps because I had used a diesel additive to clean up the system. I still replaced the regulator.)
So far, I have taken off the rubber hose on the intake side of the first turbo and the blades are dry and the turbo spins fine, no slack. The other turbo I cannot inspect. I have taken off the pipe into the EGR-valve and it too looks ok (no build-up of particles). I plan to check are the intercooler (for cracks). The temperature of the intake air is typically warmer than the outside temperature, which strikes me as odd when it has an intercooler.
An employee at VW parts department believed it is the turbo leaking oil into the exhaust. Replacing it is extremely expensive (5 - 6.000 euros). I have a schedule for a proper diagnosis by VW (on August 8th), unless I can figure it out myself in the mean time. Adivce is welcome.
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