p0087 low fuel pressure 2009 passat tdi 140

Hi guys , ive read up a lot on this one and there is some scary stuff out there , this code has been cropping up for about 15000 miles now.
its intermittent , previous time it popped up the glow light flashes , limp mode and when I restart the engine its fine again , last time it was 6000 miles between faults ! id like to think its not the HPFP or the cam/follower.
this has had a full vw service history and always has European diesel fuel.
its had a fuel pressure sensor on the rail , and in the last 6 months 2 new fuel filters , fitted with prescision and care !
it always occurs when the engine is running between 1200 and 2000 rpm and on very low demand ie driving miss daisy !
since ive had the car its happened 6 times now , and can be a touch dangerous on the freeway/motorway/ autobahn ( country dependant )
through the gears its perfect , pulls like a train. Its also spot on at the top end. one thing I have noticed recently is it jerks a little when pulling off , sounds a bit perverted that ! but no seriously , its a touch hesitant at very low speeds , but not always .
I hope you can help guys , this is now starting to do my fruit in. I,m always a bit reluctant to go to far in case it gives up the ghost.
Please help.
Richie D
ps the car is a 2009 Passat tdi 140 common rail

Hi guys , ive read up a lot on this one and there is some scary stuff out there , this code has been cropping up for about 15000 miles now.
its intermittent , previous time it popped up the glow light flashes , limp mode and when I restart the engine its fine again , last time it was 6000 miles between faults ! id like to think its not the HPFP or the cam/follower.
this has had a full vw service history and always has European diesel fuel.
its had a fuel pressure sensor on the rail , and in the last 6 months 2 new fuel filters , fitted with prescision and care !
it always occurs when the engine is running between 1200 and 2000 rpm and on very low demand ie driving miss daisy !
since ive had the car its happened 6 times now , and can be a touch dangerous on the freeway/motorway/ autobahn ( country dependant )
through the gears its perfect , pulls like a train. Its also spot on at the top end. one thing I have noticed recently is it jerks a little when pulling off , sounds a bit perverted that ! but no seriously , its a touch hesitant at very low speeds , but not always .
I hope you can help guys , this is now starting to do my fruit in. I,m always a bit reluctant to go to far in case it gives up the ghost.
Please help.
Richie D
ps the car is a 2009 Passat tdi 140 common rail

Hello Richie, A very similar situation happened to a fellow UK member, (busandcamper), as well as a couple cars over the pond here.
The lines on top of the sending / lift pump assembly were simply reversed.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=371346 .
Otherwise, please share your email. I'll send a simply but lengthy troubleshooting plan. It involves testing the metering valve on top of the pump as well as inspecting high pressure internals of the pump head.

Hope it helps!!
tdi2micron@yahoo.ca
All the best,
Andrew

thanks a lot Andrew I shall check it out .

Check out this link......

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=387010

It helped me....

hi lads/guys , ive read the various posts and recommendations , thanks very much by the way. But unfortunately I,m no closer to finding the problem , well that's not quite true , I think ive narrowed it down to two commponents. rail regulator or hpfp quantity regulator. there were one or two areas I came unstuck , I aint got Microsoft office so couldn't do a graph , I aint got any high pressure test gear, I did a resistance check on both solenoids and got 5 and 6 ohms respectively , my multi meter is utter sh&te !
so heres what I don't get
1 no noise from lift pumps , one by engine mounting is quiet , very quiet. yes it is running , I tested it with vcds
hpfp has no contaminates , its clean.
Address 01: Engine Labels: 03L-906-022-CBA.clb
Control Module Part Number: 03L 906 022 QC HW: 03L 907 309
Component and/or Version: R4 2,0L EDC G000SG 3732
Software Coding: 0000072
Work Shop Code: WSC 84224 410 682440
VCID: 76E300530132E6AEBEF-8023
3 Faults Found:
000135 - Fuel Rail/System Pressure
P0087 - 000 - Too Low - Intermittent
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00100000
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 4
Reset counter: 255
Mileage: 96505 km
Time Indication: 0
Date: 2059.14.03
Time: 16:01:35
Freeze Frame:
RPM: 782 /min
Inj. Quantity: 12.9 mg/str
(no units): 17.0
Pressure: 264.0 bar
Pressure: 104.0 bar
Temperature: 27.0°C
Tank Cont.: 11.2 l
000135 - Fuel Rail/System Pressure
P0087 - 000 - Too Low - Intermittent
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00100000
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 1
Reset counter: 255
Mileage: 96648 km
Time Indication: 0
Date: 2059.14.06
Time: 05:33:28
Freeze Frame:
RPM: 1311 /min
Inj. Quantity: 8.8 mg/str
(no units): 5.0
Pressure: 256.0 bar
Pressure: 104.0 bar
Temperature: 15.3°C
Tank Cont.: 13.2 l
000135 - Fuel Rail/System Pressure
P0087 - 000 - Too Low - Intermittent
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00100000
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 2
Reset counter: 255
Mileage: 96695 km
Time Indication: 0
Date: 2059.14.07
Time: 06:23:24
Freeze Frame:
RPM: 1242 /min
Inj. Quantity: 0.8 mg/str
(no units): 15.0
Pressure: 248.0 bar
Pressure: 120.0 bar
Temperature: 15.3°C
Tank Cont.: 13.2 l

Readiness: 0 0 0 0 0

so here are the vcds codes and results.
please let me tell you when this happens and how the car runs :
it goes into limp mode when cold mainly , have a look at the temeratures ( ignore dates ) always when changing gear or at very low speeds and rpm, if I drive the car like miss daisy it happens if I drive it hard it doesn't. The tail pipe is spotless , I mean crystal clean , I know its got a dpf but this is permanently like it has a brand new pipe ! its running lean , and I can feel it. before it warms up it sometimes jerks a little at very low rpm
hpfp failure is rare in the uk , so ive been told. Flat out she runs great , shes good for 130mph , what do you think , is there anything else I can do to try and point it to one component or at least a component ? and , am I going in the right direction here ?
cheers boys , Richie D.

Both times, the fuel level is low, less than a quarter of a tank. I'd check the fuel sender for cracks; on some of these cars the fuel pumps are under ECU speed control so it's not impossible that higher res and load allow the lift pump to fight any leak.

Dunno how you'd check whether pressure control or quantity valves were faulty. You'd be looking for a leak on the rail valve or a blockages on the quantity valve tho.

no it starts instantly. I do have vcds so I can check fuel rail pressures. What is it supposed to be anyhow ?

Were you able to solve your low fuel pressure problem ? It almost 6 years now.

Its been 3 years . Have you fixed the problem for the low fuel pressure at common rail MIL code.