Hard Start / No Start - Is your intercooler frozen? Check Here!

Someone was smoking crack if they thought it was an hour in and out, mine took 3-4 hours but they busted a HP AC when they didn't reinstall it correctly.

CBRacerX said:

In the shop now getting worked. So all the stars aligned!

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Driven 200 miles on the update, no issues. The dealer (North Penn) gets top marks for making this easy and not fighting over the fix. Bravo!

Took the technician most of the day, and dealer provided free loaner car. I showed up before paperwork was complete and they just handed me the keys and offered to mail to me when done. Really a class act. Asked about others getting this done and was told that the warm weather has stopped the requests

Intercooler Kit

Does the intercooler kit replacement come under the 36000 mile warranty or the 50000 power train warranty? Since ice ingestion from the IC could damage an engine one would think VW would take preventative measures such as upgrading the IC.

HKS

CBRacerX said:

Driven 200 miles on the update, no issues. The dealer (North Penn) gets top marks for making this easy and not fighting over the fix. Bravo!

Took the technician most of the day, and dealer provided free loaner car. I showed up before paperwork was complete and they just handed me the keys and offered to mail to me when done. Really a class act. Asked about others getting this done and was told that the warm weather has stopped the requests

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The normal rule for VW is that only the engine itself - and not even the ancillaries - are covered under powertrain.

IIRC, it's anything lubricated by oil except the turbo, and the water pump. Even HPFP failure is a gray area.

bhtooefr said:

The normal rule for VW is that only the engine itself - and not even the ancillaries - are covered under powertrain.

IIRC, it's anything lubricated by oil except the turbo, and the water pump. Even HPFP failure is a gray area.

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I went under this presumption, and since I have 33K now (and it climbs 400 miles a week at least) this needed to be done right away, despite entering a heat wave

I didn't think of it as a warranty item. I thought of it as more a recall-like item to fix a faulty design.

More like a silent recall. You have the problem, they fix it.

the tsb has where and how much the dealer charges VWoA, it maybe a warranty or TSB "good faith" repair but either way VWoA shells out quite a bit of cash to have these kits installed.

Can't bee to much cash they only estimate 600 vehicles will be affected

VW estimated 600? Do they have their head in the sand?

I think my dealer billed VW $1,100 - $1,300 for the job.

Softrockrenegade said:

Can't bee to much cash they only estimate 600 vehicles will be affected

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600??? Wow. Every single effected owner must belong to tdiclub! What an odd coincidence...

GraniteRooster said:

Since you are out of warranty, a tune is cheaper than the kit and may well fix issues due to modified EGR routine... AND a tune adds power

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Do you mean something like this?

I'm not impressed by the way things have turned out with the intercooler icing business. I asked about it when I was shopping for the car since I'd been following this thread for a few weeks by then, but the sales manager told me straight up that they weren't allowed to sell new cars without the fix already installed, and that's why the parts for the retrofit were so scarce at the time. A mechanic at the same dealership told me just last week that this is not the case at all. I guess there is one born every minute, and I happened to be one of them!

On the other hand, it seems to me that nobody will know whether the new intercooler kit will actually prevent the problem until we put some miles on it over this coming winter. If the tune is known to work for sure, then I wonder if it might be better to go with that for peace of mind? Will it void your powertrain warranty if the HPFP decides to do its thing on you?

I checked with my dealer about the fix installed on my car last week, about whether or not there is really a "C" fix and this is what he wrote me:

To put your mind at ease, we have found out that the kit installed in your car is the correct, up to date and only one for North America. There apparently is a “C” kit available but it is for European engine types only.

Enjoy your TDI and have a great Canada Day weekend.


And, this is what VW Canada replied to my concern about the problem happening again next winter and possibly after the warranty runs out:


Thank you for contacting Volkswagen Canada Customer Relations and bringing your inquiry regarding your vehicle’s intercooler to our attention. Your satisfaction is of the utmost importance to us and we appreciate your time in allowing us to assist with this matter.

The safe and intended operation of our vehicles is a very high priority to us, and I have documented your concern for our internal records. At this time, we recommend monitoring the performance of your vehicle as the weather begins to cool. Doing so will ensure that your local authorized Volkswagen Dealership can evaluate any potential concern and ensure that any potential concerns are addressed properly. We do not, however, anticipate a reoccurrance of the issues you have experienced as this replacement was performed based on research from our technical experts in the field.

I appreciate your providing me with the opportunity to respond to your inquiry and hope you find this information useful. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me through our Customer Relations Center at (800) 822-8987. If I am not available, one of my associates will be able to assist you or please visit us on the web at www.vw.ca.





All for your information!!


PS: I was extremely happy with my dealer's service and their replying to my concerns in a timely manner. Way to go Volkswagen Waterloo (Ontario)!

So... There IS a (C) revision in the Ukraine (go figure similar weather to us!!!)

http://www.real-avto.com.ua/parts/vag-1k0198803c/info/


Thanks to google translate!! ... Does someone have access to ETKA or something that can get a picture of the (C) revision

Simple stupid question , if my car was built on 3/12 do i need the intercooler kit installed as a preventive measure or not? Or do i have it already from the factory installed and how to find out if i got it already? Or do i need to wait till the problem occurs?

bmwM5power said:

Simple stupid question , if my car was built on 3/12 do i need the intercooler kit installed as a preventive measure or not? Or do i have it already from the factory installed and how to find out if i got it already? Or do i need to wait till the problem occurs?

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I have a Golf SW built on April 2012 and does not have the upgraded Intercooler.You have to wait for the problem to occur before they will address the frozen Intercooler problem.
Welcome to the Frozen Intercooler Club

Can you buy the kit and upgrade yourself ? How does it look like? Obviously dont want to wait till problem occurs and damages the engine

Need for LP EGR

Thank you for explaining that. It is perfectly logical that high intake manifold pressure would prevent EGR gas entry.Thus a need for LP EGR before the turbo.

HKS

bhtooefr said:

Low-pressure EGR.

Comes out post-DPF, comes in pre-turbo (meaning it's getting compressed, and then expanding into the intercooler).

The 1Z/AHU, ALH, BEW, BHW, and BRM all have a high-pressure EGR - comes out pre-turbo, comes in immediately before the intake. The problem is, high-pressure EGR doesn't work when under high boost. So, you need low-pressure EGR, that's unaffected by boost, to get the levels of NOx reduction that VW needed.

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EGR Cooler

740GLE said:

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Maybe a better EGR cooler would help. Let the condensate drop back to the exhaust flow.
HKS

LP EGR failsafe condition?

Does anyone know what hapens if the LP EGR valve electrical connector is left off? Would the EGR valve be closed or open?

If the failsafe condition is closed then removing the plug would fix the condensate problem. You might need to connect a load resistor to fool the computer in thinking it was connected.

Just thinking out loud.

HKS

biglipps66 said:

I may come off sounding dumb here but.....

Has anyone tried finding the hoses from the LP EGR and dumping it to the atmosphere and plugging the intake/ pre turbo tube area? Are there some funky sensors in that area that would KNOW for SURE if the tube wasnt leading to the intake??

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The VW stuff is smarter than that. They tend to measure intake air mass, and if it doesn't go down when LP-EGR is requested, they know the LP-EGR system is failed, and they throw a code.

But, there's a flapper in the exhaust to increase backpressure, to let the LP-EGR work. That flapper's power can be disconnected, and LP-EGR won't work.

bmwM5power said:

Can you buy the kit and upgrade yourself ? How does it look like? Obviously dont want to wait till problem occurs and damages the engine

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About $900 for parts. I found it listed on some parts suppliers lists, doesn't mean you can really get one. Install requires removal of front clip. Expect install to take 4 hours or so (if you can find complete instructions) and probably entails flashing a patch into ECU which you probably won't be able to get.

P.

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using Tapatalk 2

There are plenty of parts out there that VW won't let you order without a ticket number and a VIN. The HPFPs a couple years back were one example, and I'd be unsurprised if intercooler kits are the same way.

Find a _good_ dealer and tell them about your symptoms this past winter. You should get taken care of. Then make sure you buy your next VW from them!

Worked for me.

HKS said:

Does anyone know what hapens if the LP EGR valve electrical connector is left off? Would the EGR valve be closed or open?

If the failsafe condition is closed then removing the plug would fix the condensate problem. You might need to connect a load resistor to fool the computer in thinking it was connected.

Just thinking out loud.

HKS

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Here is a writeup by someone who disconnected his LP-EGR.

PDF Engine writeup 90 pages

Thank you very much. Now I know about potentioneters on the EGR valves.

HKS

See the PDF documentation.

flyboy320 said:

Here is a writeup by someone who disconnected his LP-EGR.

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on the waiting list....

I am on the waiting list (so I am told) to get the renovation kit for my 09 TDI sport wagon, yet no one, including the dealer, can tell me when I'll get it. It's already been 6 months.

Does anybody here know how to contact whoever is in charge of these kits directly so I can plan things out? (can't resell without the repair first).

thanks

VT-VW-TDI said:

Does anybody here know how to contact whoever is in charge of these kits directly so I can plan things out? (can't resell without the repair first).
thanks

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You can't sell the car without the updated intercooler kit? Why?

sgoldste01 said:

You can't sell the car without the updated intercooler kit? Why?

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This is why:

"For sale: 2009 VW TDI with a repair record on file with the local dealer and VW USA showing recurrent intercooler condensation problem, not yet fixed. Will probably stall out at least once each winter requiring tow to nearest VW dealer (50 miles away) for temporary fix. Condensation problem may not affect engine life, or maybe some minor effect, or maybe catastrophic depending on what mechanic you talk to. Renovation kit may be on its way, someday, but I can't really tell if or when it may arrive. Will include snow tires."

Add to your description, "There is some evidence that even after the kit is installed, the problem might occur again anyway."

The way I see it, if VW can sell the 2012 TDIs without the intercooler kit, then you can sell your TDI without the intercooler kit. Who says you must sell a used car that's better than the manufacturer's configuration?

Finally got my "one time, good faith" install of the cold weather intercooler kit (not sure which version...?)
Only took +/-6 months! Luckily we had a rather mild winter after my initial episode in January.
All I can say to the people that are told they are not going to replace the IC without the dealer being able to reproduce the condition is CALL VWoA directly and all of a sudden your service people become your best friends (even put me in a brand new Tiguan for a few days over 4th of July!)