2011 JSW continuous fuel injector issues

Hi,
I'm not sure if there has been anything posted before regarding this issue but I have not been able to find anything closely related. I bought my 2011 JSW with 38K miles. Around 45K miles is when I started having problems. From a cold start the engine would run rough. Eventually the check engine light came on. Took it into VW and they replaced a faulty fuel injector. Second time I took it in they replaced 2 injectors. Third time they replaced the 4th injector. I thought I was in the clear but the same problem keeps happening. One of the injectors that was replaced was faulty. The warranty expired and I'm still having the same issue. The engine sometimes even stalls when shortly after I start it. I've had the fuel filter replaced at VW and they didn't mention any foreign objects such as metal shavings from the fuel pump in the fuel lines.

Has anyone heard of a similar issue? Someone on Edmunds.com has the same issue with the same model car. So I was wondering if it has something to do with the year. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Andy

this sounds like water in the intercooler to me. give me a minute and I will give you a link to a long thread. Just want you to know that we are not in the typical "weather" for you to have this problem. here is the link to the relevant thread, this does not effect most at this time of year but member, Planecrazy, seems to have symptoms through out the year.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=302863

Ok thanks. It also runs fine once it's warmed up. Is that also one of the symptoms?

Do you know what codes are coming up?

I'm looking at some of the old invoices from VW and some of the codes that are coming up are:

P0263 for cylinder 1
P0266 for cylinder 2
P0272 for cylinder 4

I'm not sure where the other invoices are. Those just happened to be close by.

Thanks

Those are DTCs for cylinder contribution/balance. Not really injector-specific, looks like they were just throwing parts at it because they have no idea.

Does sound like water in intercooler to me, but I would not think it is cool enough for that to happen.

oilhammer said:

Those are DTCs for cylinder contribution/balance. Not really injector-specific, looks like they were just throwing parts at it because they have no idea.

Does sound like water in intercooler to me, but I would not think it is cool enough for that to happen.

Click to expand...

Does the water in the intercooler stay in there until it is drained? Is it possible it's in there from the winter which is why I'm still having these problems?

About 6 months ago I had code P0263 come up 3 or 4 times over two days. It would trip,I would clear it, a while later it would trip again, I'd clear it, it would trip again, and I would clear it again. Each time the engine did a stumble firs then the code came. The code has not come again. The engine has had a few times it did not run smoothly, but no codes.

The check engine light hasn't come back on in 5,000 but it still runs really rough and sputters when I first start it up until it's warm. I checked to see if there was water/condensation in the intercooler and I got nothing. Not even a single drop of oil came out.

Has this just started suddenly? Is there any connection to a specific tank of fuel? Has the filter been changed recently? Does the preglow period appear differently as shown by the indicator?

oilhammer said:

Has this just started suddenly? Is there any connection to a specific tank of fuel? Has the filter been changed recently? Does the preglow period appear differently as shown by the indicator?

Click to expand...

I'm at 70,000 miles and this has been going on since around 45,000 miles. I don't believe it has anything to do with a specific tank of fuel but I've tried filling up at different stations to see if it makes a difference. I've had the fuel filter changed by the dealership and that didn't make a difference either. Preglow period is also normal. Once my car runs for a while it's fine. Occasionally when I start it there is not sputtering. Think this is the beginning of a serious issue? Something with the fuel pump?

pannell---this member seems to be having the same problem. Question to the more knowledgeable out there: Could this be caused by air getting in the system? We have seen many reports of the fuel filter not being seated correctly causing leaks, anyway this could be a contributing factor?

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=422993

Air in the fuel system is what I was thinking, too.

I'd want to try and see if both the lift pump in the tank and the auxiliary fuel pump under the hood are both working.

I also wonder if you ran the fuel pump relay via VCDS a few times before starting the car (when you suspect it would act up) to see if it changes anything.

I'd also want to check rail pressure at start up when it is suspected to act up, and when it doesn't act up, to see if there is any difference.

I don't think it has anything to do with the injectors.

Ok, thanks for all the help! I'm going to have to buy VCDS and go from there. Hopefully I will have some good news in a few weeks.

Hi Pannell151, and Oilhamer. As mentioned by waltzconmigo, I'm having what sounds to be the start of the same issue with my car.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=422993

I will have access to VCDS and will take some readings next week, hopefully they can be of help to you as well...

Eric

That would be great. Thank you very much!

I've had the CEL for #2 injector come on about a dozen times since 40K but I've never noticed any performance issue (so far) so I just erase the code and carry on. Sometimes, I've had two in the same day, other times it'll be months between them. Most have occurred in the winter months, but not all.

I'm certainly not interested in replacing injectors, as long as there are no performance issues. But I have wondered if it's a harness issue.

I have had the same problem

I have a 2010 JSW TDI and had the same problem with injectors failing. My story is a long one, but I will try to condense it to a reasonable length.

We purchaced a 2010 TDI JSW in 2012, within the first week of owning the car the check engine light came on, took it to dealer they said it was a faulty injector, they replaced it an the tech did say that sometimes the injectors on these engines go bad, but once you replace all four you should be fine. 7 replaced injectors later, and no credible theories from the dealer other than bad diesel we returned the car to the dealer and got a new one (same model year same everything) thinking we just got a lemon.

As a precaution we stopped filling up at the suspected "bad diesel" station, everything was fine until we filled up at the "bad diesel" station and bing, the check engine light comes on. We take the car to the dealer, they replace the bad injector, and while they are at it I have them flush the fuel tank and re-prime the fuel system. When they did that they said that there was a lot of muck that came out with the fuel, so it turns out it probably was the "bad diesel" fueling station that was the culprit.

Fast forward 9 months, no fuel injector problems, still not filling up at the "bad diesel" station, when bing, the check engine light comes on again. Sinking feeling in the stomach, we still have not used the "bad diesel" station, the bad fuel must be coming from multiple sources. We have the injector replaced and the fuel tank flushed and re-primed again.

This is when I found out about 2microntech.com. I got on to TIDClub and I corresponded with Andrew at 2microntec. He engineered an advanced fuel filter system for our 2010 JSW to save our injectors. Since having the advanced fuel filter system installed (it is basically a 2 micron fuel filter that catches the fuel before it goes into the engine to catch any sediment or impurities in the diesel before they have a chance to muck up any more injectors) we have had no injector problems. The advanced fuel filter system was installed back in March and we have had no injector problems since. The car has been driven from Colorado to Seattle, WA and back and all around the Denver area with no issues since installing the advanced fuel filter.

I would recommend contacting Andrew and 2microntech.com to see if they can get you a similar set up.

Best of luck!

Pannel or UglyBoos---any updates or data to report on the tests mentioned by oilhammer?

The only update I have is that my car is getting worse and worse. It now stalls almost every time I start it. I'm suspecting multiple fuel injectors are bad now. I'm going to take it back to the dealer soon. I'm just hesitant because my warranty expired and it costs about $300 per fuel injector. I will definitely look into the advanced fuel filter that ticklilly mentions in the previous post.

UglyBoost91 - Any update?

pannell151 said:

The only update I have is that my car is getting worse and worse. It now stalls almost every time I start it. I'm suspecting multiple fuel injectors are bad now. I'm going to take it back to the dealer soon. I'm just hesitant because my warranty expired and it costs about $300 per fuel injector. I will definitely look into the advanced fuel filter that ticklilly mentions in the previous post.

UglyBoost91 - Any update?

Click to expand...

Hey P151:

I live nearby (Hockessin DE), have VCDS and having similar issues. My engine is running rough occasionally, random no start on first attempt (although I do hear the pump run when I switch the key off and back on again, whereupon it will start right up), and just got a P0266 code last week. Cleared it and got it again. Really bugging me because I love the car, so practical I slap myself every time I think about getting a new GTI to replace it.

I'm going to swap my #2 injector with another cylinder tomorrow to see if the problem follows it.
Willing to help you too.

What dealer are you working with?

Rodon said:

Hey P151:
I live nearby (Hockessin DE), have VCDS and having similar issues. My engine is running rough occasionally, random no start on first attempt (although I do hear the pump run when I switch the key off and back on again, whereupon it will start right up), and just got a P0266 code last week. Cleared it and got it again. Really bugging me because I love the car, so practical I slap myself every time I think about getting a new GTI to replace it.
I'm going to swap my #2 injector with another cylinder tomorrow to see if the problem follows it.
Willing to help you too.
What dealer are you working with?

Click to expand...

Thanks, I really appreciate it. Yes, it sounds like you are having the same issue. I've been going to Garnet VW. I've had every cylinder pull a code within 20,000 miles of driving it. And the dealership said that they were just faulty fuel injectors. I like that dealership but it has to be something else. Let me know if you have any luck finding out what the issue is. Thanks!

I've had some similar symptoms. Have had about 3 instances of hard start/no start on first attempt. Engine cranks fine when it happened. Second attempt after waiting a minute or so works every time. I also have times where its running rough and in one case almost stalled at a red light. My car has 95,000 miles and has never had a code. These symptoms are spread out through the 3 years I've had it. A large majority of the time the car has no issues. Its entire life has been in South FL so cold weather goes out the window.

2011 Golf TDI 2dr Manual