fuel leak from engine bay - now what ?

[wavejd]

I have a 2010 JSW with ~7500 miles. So far, the only problem I have had was when I picked up the car new at the dealer 9 months ago (the TPMS dash light was stuck on). Anyway, it's been a good ride so far but as I was coming back from a 200+ mile trip yesterday (99% highway), I started to smell a strong diesel smell. I thought it was from a truck in front of me but as I pulled into my driveway, I realized that was not the case.

I opened up my hood and a cloud of burning diesel smoke greeted me. Nothing too bad but clearly something was leaking and burning off on the hot exhaust piping somewhere. It was dark at the time but with a flashlight, I could not see it spraying out anywhere. There was and still is no "check engine" light on the dash.

Anyway, I went out this morning when it was daylight to look it over a little bit more. With the engine running, I could still not see the leak but there was about a pint of diesel on the ground where it had been dripping off the back edge of the skid plate.

Since I could not diagnose it any further and did not want to drive it to the dealer 5 miles away in the current state, I had AAA tow it to the dealer. They said they would look at it within 24 hours. I'll post what they find when they find it but I am curious if anyone has any ideas what I might be in for.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[glennco]

Cracked HP fuel line at 6k here. It was leaking so bad the computer went into limp home due to low fuel pressure.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Wow, that is low mileage for these type of issues.
Hope these are the one-off's vs. something larger.

 

[wavejd]

I did get the update from the VW dealer this morning. It seems there is a high-pressure leak coming from the #4 cylinder / diesel injector. They indicated that this is a sealed unit and it should never leak where it is leaking. They indicated that the regional VW folks are now directly involved in the diagnostic / root cause analysis of the problem because this was the first one they have seen in the Northeast region.

They are giving me a no-cost loaner for the duration of the troubleshooting so I guess at this point, I just have to wait while they sort it out.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

interesting! - at least they provided wheels and "are looking into it!"

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Sorry to cross post, but sounds familiar...

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/forum/f19/fuel-leak-5802/

 

[740GLE]

How is it everytime something goes it's always the first they've heard of it?

 

[brenodo]

interesting! I just posted about this elsewhere... it was the #2 injector for my sportwagen...
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/forum/f19/fuel-leak-5802/#post26539

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

How is it everytime something goes it's always the first they've heard of it?

HUH? well how many random posts on here do you read? - Speaking for myself, there is a lot of random things/posts and i certainly don't read all of them.

 

[scdevon]

Not unheard of, but pretty rare.

Not that it affects you because your vehicle is under warranty, but these CR Piezo injectors list for $500 bucks a piece with no known RELIABLE way to recondition them at this time.

The old days are gone where you could take them apart, lap the surfaces or replace just the nozzles, copper washers, etc.

 

[scdevon]

HUH? well how many random posts on here do you read? - Speaking for myself, there is a lot of random things/posts and i certainly don't read all of them.

I think he was talking about the dealer denying that they had ever seen or heard leaking injectors.

 

[wavejd]

Just to close out this story. It took my VW dealer about a week to get the right parts to fix the issue but in the end, they did end up replacing the cylinder #2 injector and connecting fuel lines for cylinder #1 & #2. It was all covered under warranty with no cost to me for the parts / labor / loaner car. While I am disappointed the failure had to happen in the first place, the dealer handled it well. Time to get back to enjoying what has been otherwise a trouble-free ride.

 

[740GLE]

HUH? well how many random posts on here do you read? - Speaking for myself, there is a lot of random things/posts and i certainly don't read all of them.

I probably spend too much reading about all the problems people have with these cars and how the dealers handle them.

 

[brenodo]

removed orig post and replaced with this - I failed to remember I posted here just a few posts up... DOH!