Question concerning P026A code thrown 2013 Passat TDI

Codester

Member
Joined
May 4, 2020
Location
Mississippi
TDI
2013 Passat SE TDI
Hey everybody I am new to forum. I just purchased a ‘13 Passat TDI with just under 60k miles on it CPO. I love it. It is an exceptional vehicle. That being said, the check engine light came on a few days ago and my diagnostic tool read P026A which from research on here I found meant something along the lines of “Failing charge air cooler”. I took it in the next day, driving roughly 70 miles with the CEL on. The dealer called yesterday and said they have to replace intercooler. My main concern is the damage done already to the turbo. It is CPO which means 2 year warranty, but I would like some advice or shared experience about turbo failure after this code. Like I said, I drove approx 70 miles with this CEL on. I didn’t drive it hard, but was through traffic and interstate. Should I be concerned of the condition of my turbo? I know they won’t replace turbo unless they absolutely have too... but would like any and all advice! Thank you in advance and God bless!
 

Tom in PT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Location
Twilight Zone, WA State
TDI
2005 Passat sedan - SOLD; 2013 Passat DSG; both purchased new
You should try less drastic measures first: clean the sensor at the top of the intercooler; pull the hose at the bottom of the intercooler and clean out the green oily gunk in there, and clean the intercooler as instructed by flyboybob in a thread (search for that thread, I do it annually). Do all that and clear the code and see if it comes back. When I had this code pop up a few years ago I replaced the sensor and cleaned the intercooler and no codes since. Turbo is just fine. . .

By the way, many (probably most) dealers are clueless in repairing these cars. The dealer I took it to went off on tangents and only when I pointed out the possibility of the sensor being faulty did the go in the right direction. Take the dealer recommended fix of intercooler replacement with a huge grain of salt. When I left the dealer after the initial "repair" the code popped up again on the way home, 10 miles away from the dealer.
 
Last edited:

Codester

Member
Joined
May 4, 2020
Location
Mississippi
TDI
2013 Passat SE TDI
You should try less drastic measures first: clean the sensor at the top of the intercooler; pull the hose at the bottom of the intercooler and clean out the green oily gunk in there, and clean the intercooler as instructed by flyboybob in a thread (search for that thread, I do it annually). Do all that and clear the code and see if it comes back. When I had this code pop up a few years ago I replaced the sensor and cleaned the intercooler and no codes since. Turbo is just fine. . .

By the way, many (probably most) dealers are clueless in repairing these cars. The dealer I took it to went off on tangents and only when I pointed out the possibility of the sensor being faulty did the go in the right direction. Take the dealer recommended fix of intercooler replacement with a huge grain of salt. When I left the dealer after the initial "repair" the code popped up again on the way home, 10 miles away from the dealer.
Thank you for the input! Since I bought it Friday and it threw the code Sunday, I immediately took it to VW dealer since it’s under CPO warranty. I don’t know enough about these vehicles yet to go messing with different hoses and what not when the VW dealership can take care of it properly under warranty. That being said, they said it would need a new intercooler so I’m gonna have to trust their judgement. Hopefully the issue will be solved. That’s great that you’re turbo is still running strong! That makes me feel a lot better. Thanks again and God bless!
 

Tom in PT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Location
Twilight Zone, WA State
TDI
2005 Passat sedan - SOLD; 2013 Passat DSG; both purchased new
Good luck with it. Maybe the VW dealer will throw a whole bunch of parts at it and one of them will actually solve your issue and you get a free ride on it all since it is CPO.

By the way, these cars tend to have problems with the heater core and deliver poor heat on the passenger side in the wintertime. You don't have to worry about that now in Mississippi, but come December if your passenger can't keep warm return it to the dealer. There is an extended warranty on the faulty heater cores.

If you do ever plan on doing your own maintenance like oil and fuel filter changes, you will save $$$ and learn a lot more real fast about your car.
 

Codester

Member
Joined
May 4, 2020
Location
Mississippi
TDI
2013 Passat SE TDI
Good luck with it. Maybe the VW dealer will throw a whole bunch of parts at it and one of them will actually solve your issue and you get a free ride on it all since it is CPO.

By the way, these cars tend to have problems with the heater core and deliver poor heat on the passenger side in the wintertime. You don't have to worry about that now in Mississippi, but come December if your passenger can't keep warm return it to the dealer. There is an extended warranty on the faulty heater cores.

If you do ever plan on doing your own maintenance like oil and fuel filter changes, you will save $$$ and learn a lot more real fast about your car.
Oh I know it I’ve never taken a vehicle in for maintenance before. Like I said if I hadn’t just gotten it 2 days prior to CEL, I would’ve tackled it myself. It’s really just the principle of the thing considering it basically was just driven off the lot and the so called “112 point inspection” of CPO was performed.. And hopefully it will be all ok after this. I am hoping it wasn’t a complete failure and the turbo wasn’t that stressed. As far as maintenance though, not a stranger to filter exchange and oil changes. Truthfully it’s bugging me having someone else mess with my vehicle. More of my own OCD though. I thank you for all the information and input. Lord willing I will have it back tomorrow! And I will remember that about the heater core. So glad I went with CPO I almost bought private party
 

flyboybob

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2003
Location
sumwhere, oregon
TDI
'12 passat tdi se dsg, ‘15 passat tdi sel premium
hi codester!

i’m sad that you’re having this problem w a car you otherwise enjoy. here’s the thread tom mentioned:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=492363

with now close to 200K miles on the clock, i haven’t had any issues like this since vw replaced the turbo in my car under the “dieselgate” fix extended warranty.

if i were a betting man, i would wager that there isn’t anything wrong w the intercooler in your car (based on my own experience and the lack of NMS intercooler issue posts on this board). that said, you need to let the dealer “do their thing“ w the warranty work. but be persistent—if (or when?) the issue returns then bring it back to them and insist they repair it under warranty.

good luck w your new ride....enjoy it safely!

bob.
 

ratkc135

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2013
Location
Lawson, MO
TDI
2002 Jetta TDI, 2015 Passat
This oil in intercooler/dieselgate fix/turbo failure an issue with the ‘13s or is my ‘15 prone to the same issue(s)?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Codester

Member
Joined
May 4, 2020
Location
Mississippi
TDI
2013 Passat SE TDI
hi codester!

i’m sad that you’re having this problem w a car you otherwise enjoy. here’s the thread tom mentioned:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=492363

with now close to 200K miles on the clock, i haven’t had any issues like this since vw replaced the turbo in my car under the “dieselgate” fix extended warranty.

if i were a betting man, i would wager that there isn’t anything wrong w the intercooler in your car (based on my own experience and the lack of NMS intercooler issue posts on this board). that said, you need to let the dealer “do their thing“ w the warranty work. but be persistent—if (or when?) the issue returns then bring it back to them and insist they repair it under warranty.

good luck w your new ride....enjoy it safely!

bob.
Thank you for the input! I hope replacing the intercooler doesn’t start a domino effect of issues just from having to remove the required equipment to do the replacement. I knew going into buying a post dieselgate car it would most likely have some issue since they’ve literally been sitting there for years not being ran. I will have to gauge mileage after the new intercooler is installed. Another reason I don’t think the intercooler was completely failing is I was averaging between 48-50mpg the way to the dealer at 70mph in some places. So it would seem to me that it was either the sensor was damaged or faulty. Either way, praying I can pick it up today! Like i said before, I hate someone else messing with my ride lol. Thanks again
 

Codester

Member
Joined
May 4, 2020
Location
Mississippi
TDI
2013 Passat SE TDI
Ok so now they have ordered an intercooler, it’s been over a week and they were supposed to have it today. They are now saying it is in Mexico plant and with Covid 19 it’s not looking good and hasn’t shipped yet. I’m contemplating going and getting it and working on it myself. But it will void CPO warranty. Any suggestion? It was getting great mileage when I took it in so I think it possible that it is only a sensor issue. But can’t be sure. Any advice??
 

LabGuy

Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2019
Location
Near Savannah, GA
TDI
2014 Passat SEL
Ok so now they have ordered an intercooler, it’s been over a week and they were supposed to have it today. They are now saying it is in Mexico plant and with Covid 19 it’s not looking good and hasn’t shipped yet. I’m contemplating going and getting it and working on it myself. But it will void CPO warranty. Any suggestion? It was getting great mileage when I took it in so I think it possible that it is only a sensor issue. But can’t be sure. Any advice??
They should give you a loaner if your car is unsafe or might cause other damage to drive. I would do that.
 

Codester

Member
Joined
May 4, 2020
Location
Mississippi
TDI
2013 Passat SE TDI
VoA has been placing parts in quarantine. It sucks. We've had all kinds of stuff waiting.
Right! Supposedly VW of Mexico, where my tdi intercooler is, is now open and it is scheduled to be here next Tuesday.. that’s being said I’m not holding my breath as they have changed the scheduled arrival time two times already. Also, I was provided a loaner through enterprise at the dealership’s expense. And lo and behold if it isn’t a 2020 Jetta! This thing gets 50mpg, same as my diesel. Truly amazing what they are able to squeeze out of a gasoline engine these days! So while I very much yearn for my oil burner, I am pleased with the loaner provided. Will update everyone once the replacements have been made and/if anything else goes wrong. Lord willing that won’t be the case
 

Codester

Member
Joined
May 4, 2020
Location
Mississippi
TDI
2013 Passat SE TDI
VW ended up calling me a couple days ago saying the car was all done. Charge air cooler and sensor replaced.. don’t know how it magically got there in a day or two but thankful it was. The ol Passat rides just as good as it did before I took it in, but I guess it’s nice to get a free new intercooler from VW.
 

Tom in PT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Location
Twilight Zone, WA State
TDI
2005 Passat sedan - SOLD; 2013 Passat DSG; both purchased new
Suggestion: in a year from now, remove the sensor from the top of the intercooler and inspect. If you have the right tools it takes less than a minute. If it is all covered with green goo, clean it and do the cleaning procedure discussed earlier in this thread. Keep that sensor healthy and you should have no more problems with this code.
 

Codester

Member
Joined
May 4, 2020
Location
Mississippi
TDI
2013 Passat SE TDI
Suggestion: in a year from now, remove the sensor from the top of the intercooler and inspect. If you have the right tools it takes less than a minute. If it is all covered with green goo, clean it and do the cleaning procedure discussed earlier in this thread. Keep that sensor healthy and you should have no more problems with this code.
Where exactly is this sensor at that y’all are talking about? I can’t hardly see past the radiator. Is there some pics somewhere of what I’m looking for?
 

Tom in PT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Location
Twilight Zone, WA State
TDI
2005 Passat sedan - SOLD; 2013 Passat DSG; both purchased new
Its right at the center front of the engine, next to the upper portion of the radiator above the cooling fans. You do not need to remove the engine cover to access it.
 
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