P026A code and intercooler buildup

[Tom in PT]

Well, I just cleaned my intercooler and instead of green goo I find plain old black oil, quite a bit of it. And, I am now getting a high pitched whooshing or whining sound at moderate to full boost, particularly at low rpms, sounds louder on the passenger side. I bet my turbo is on its last legs. Never made any sound before. No codes at all. The car otherwise drives normally and has lots of power.

 

[bustNfuel]

My 2013 CKRA is running great at 97k...ticking time bomb! Just had the heater core and AdBlue heater replaced under warranty. Drive more, worry less for now I guess.

Thankfully I do have another means of transportation.

 

[two passat man]

Time bomb at 265,546 I replaced turbo at 253,000 and 263,000 ECS warrantied it and sent me one Nov 16th. My back ordered Turbo I ordered from dealership just showed up today.......Will be sitting on shelf standing by if ECS turbo goes out.

whoa whoa... wait a second @oilhammer ... are you saying I am driving a ticking time bomb with 143k miles?

 

[bustNfuel]

My 2013 CKRA is running great at 97k...ticking time bomb! Just had the heater core and AdBlue heater replaced under warranty. Drive more, worry less for now I guess. Thankfully I do have another means of transportation.

Well, it's time! Greenish sludge fouling my IAT sensor, and an accumulation of slimy greenish and black goop in the bottom of the intercooler. 108k miles.
I cleaned it out really well, but the IAT fouled up again within 10 miles. And it's using a little coolant. Extended cranking times, about 3-5 seconds. Typically it starts right up without hesitation.
When I cleaned out the IC, it did smell of ethylene glycol a little.

Waiting for my local VW dealer service dept to call me back with the in-service date so it can be determined if the extended turbocharger warranty will possibly cover this.

 

[Tom in PT]

If I remember right flyboybob had a few posts about this buildup situation and trying to get a new turbo due to that. I think he had to wait until the turbo blew up before it was covered - but I could be wrong and it might be dealer dependent anyway. I have been living with oil in the intercooler for a year or more and at least 10,000 miles but the turbo is still working. I drive like grandpa, so that might help. Also, if you are starting to hear a lot of turbo whine that sometimes indicates its going to go too.

If you are smelling antifreeze you might have a crack in the intercooler and its leaking antifreeze leading to all that goo, and maybe the solution is just to replace the intercooler.

 

[ED in CA]

Hi, I have a 2013 VW Passat TDI that I bought in Dec 2019 as one of the “dieselgate” cars with around 67,000 miles on it. I have had a couple issues with this vehicle that were under my CPO two year warranty. However, at around 90,000 miles it’s throwing this intercooler code. My mechanic is going to officially diagnose the vehicle to see if it is falling under this warranty. I have called VW Cares and even with the code I have given them with explanation of the intercooler/turbocharger issue they say it’s not covered under the extended warranty. The nearest VW was kind of rude when I was using their own jargon and kept telling me I’d need to come in for a diagnosis, which I totally get. My fear is that it will not be easy to get VW to fix this issues under warranty even though I can see from this forum it’s a common issue with these dieselgate cars. Any tips or tricks to get VW to not play around and to actually get them to make the warranty fixes? I have to drive this across country by August and keep thinking to just do the east fix and wait for it to happen again. But my mechanic thinks it would be better to fight VW to replace the turbocharger and have this car last a lot longer. Please let me know if you had any positive experiences with getting this replaced under warranty. Thank you!

 

[oilhammer]

If you are gunning for ANYTHING under warranty, you'll have to drop the car off with the dealer and let them look at it. Phone calls won't help you.

 

[06bluebeetletdi]

My first step for a 2013 would be to determine the original in-service date as the warranty is only valid for 10 years and 3 months from that date, an early 2013 could easily be older than 10 years and 3 months.

 

[turbo_tdi_squirrel]

The 2012 Passat is getting its codes cleared up the hard way. Well I read this thread a week ago and I replaced the IAT sensor (exact OEM (German) type from Rock Auto $58) because I was getting a code for intake air temperature out of range. Found some green goo with a bit of water in the sensor, makes sense now becuase the nights are getting below freezing and the interior of the IAT sensor walls with green goo would be a different temperature than the air. I also cleaned the tube off the crankcase into the IAT. The turbo on this dieselgate car was replaced at 125,000 miles under warranty at the VW dealership but I don't think they went upstream and cleaned up the intake hoses and sensor with the turbo exchange. They did the timing belt at the same time and I'm still "fixing" things they broke (hose holders) and missing bolts. Cleared all the soft codes (non permanent) and took it out for drive. No issues. I'll see in the morning.
When I had the TDI engine cover off today doing the IAT my son looked over and said "Dad whats that oil by the injectors?". Low and behold the valve cover is starting to go. Read a few threads about this and 11 years old might be about right for it to start leaking due to it being plastic. I am going to get the VW OEM cover and ( 03L103469R ) and found that BusDepot (www.busdepot.com) had a good price at $158.19. For an OEM part that is better than IDI parts or ECS Tuning. When I'm ready I'll get all the gaskets, O-rings and tackle this job. Looking into the injector puller tool as well.

 

[Puget_Mech]

I too had P026A code and a car that went into limp mode (2014 Passat TDI SEL Premium, 75K). I flushed the air cooler and replaced the MAP sensor per flyboybob's instructions. Worked like a champ. Code cleared, car ran better than it has in a while. But two days later, on freeway driving, car went into limp mode with no lights. A minute or so later, got the flashing glow plug and a check engine light. Limped the 15 miles home and here are the codes. I called the dealer where I purchased it. TDI warranty expires on 3/16/24. Local dealer is CRAP, so I had it towed the 70 miles back to them after discussion with the service manager.

Car Scanner ELM OBD2
Version: 1.104.0/1.104.0/iOS
DTC report
Connection profile: Volkswagen OBD-II / EOBD Diesel DPF var.1Date: 2/26/2024 6:20:34 AM
VIN: 1VWCN7A3XEC052142
============================
OBD-IIOBD-II
DTCs: 2
----------------------------
P0237 [0x0237]
Turbocharger (TC) boost pressure sensor/supercharger (SC) boost pressure sensor A - low input
TC Boost Sensor Circuit Low Voltage
Status: Confirmed
----------------------------
P0111 [0x0111] Archive (inactive)
Intake air temperature (IAT) sensor - range/performance problem
Intake Air Temperature (IAT) Sensor Performance
Status: Permanent
============================
19. CAN Gateway
No DTC found.
============================
02. Transmission control unit
No DTC found.
============================
03. ABS control unit
No DTC found.
============================
01. Engine control unit01. Engine control unit
DTCs: 1
----------------------------
05170 [0x001432]
P023700: Turbocharger Boost Sensor (A) Circ., Low Input
Status: Test failed, Test failed (current drive cycle), Pending, Confirmed, Test failed since last DTC clear, Warning indicator requested

 

[Tom in PT]

Did you replace the sensor with OEM or aftermarket? Hopefully the extended warranty is going to save the situation. I presume you mean to say you replaced the sensor at the top of the intercooler that tends to get fouled with green goo. see post 34 for a picture

 

[Dalon]

Did you replace the sensor with OEM or aftermarket? Hopefully the extended warranty is going to save the situation. I presume you mean to say you replaced the sensor at the top of the intercooler that tends to get fouled with green goo. see post 34 for a picture

Off topic but curious what your mileage is at now since it was low in the thread post, I am at 31k on my 2013 Passat.

 

[Puget_Mech]

Did you replace the sensor with OEM or aftermarket? Hopefully the extended warranty is going to save the situation. I presume you mean to say you replaced the sensor at the top of the intercooler that tends to get fouled with green goo. see post 34 for a picture

It was aftermarket, high quality brand. Yes, it was the MAP sensor at the upper end of the charge air cooler.

 

[Tom in PT]

Dalon, I am now at exactly 70,000 miles since new. I started with the intercooler clean at 28000 miles and have been doing it roughly every 5-10 K miles. lately in situ with diesel fuel and flyboybob's method. I am having some modest oil accumulation. But I use it mostly for 40-80 mile trips, its the short trips in town that I think that contributes to condensation and fouling. If I owned your low mileage '13 I would definitely start IC cleaning as part of your regular maintenance. I'm also still on the factory turbo - but drive the car like its about to go at any minute (helps with mpgs).

 

[Dalon]

Dalon, I am now at exactly 70,000 miles since new. I started with the intercooler clean at 28000 miles and have been doing it roughly every 5-10 K miles. lately in situ with diesel fuel and flyboybob's method. I am having some modest oil accumulation. But I use it mostly for 40-80 mile trips, its the short trips in town that I think that contributes to condensation and fouling. If I owned your low mileage '13 I would definitely start IC cleaning as part of your regular maintenance. I'm also still on the factory turbo - but drive the car like its about to go at any minute (helps with mpgs).

I see. I have my CCV vented to atmosphere and on a 2260 turbo for the last ~2000 miles. I haven’t noticed any oil consumption or usage though, nor do I expect to given my miles…are you deleted?

 

[jafische]

Did you replace the sensor with OEM or aftermarket? Hopefully the extended warranty is going to save the situation. I presume you mean to say you replaced the sensor at the top of the intercooler that tends to get fouled with green goo. see post 34 for a picture

He (#34) definitely changed out the G13 antifreeze to an all purpose. I cleaned mine and it worked for a few months. Then replaced with OEM from eBay and cleaned intercooler in place, with IAT removed with 2x mineral spirits 20 minute soaking baths. No problems ever since.

 

['cus-no-rust]

So, when I was wiping the lower intercooler out initially with my fingers... it did seem like it was a dark green slime. I though that my old eyes were just playing tricks on me. But, glad you mentioned it. When I did flush it out, hard to tell now... was it dark dark green or was it black. My mind just assumed oil and maybe translated it to black in color. Hopefully.... mine was just dark green condensation slime. I have about 143,000 miles on it, and it has never been cleaner or replaced. So hopefully it is not impending failure. And this will give me time to find a new car (while not under duress).

you don't need to sell the car...although the turbo and intercooler are expensive, is it really as expensive as getting a new car that has its own set of unknown problems. As bob stated years ago in the forum, there are early signs of a failing turbo.

 

[Tom in PT]

jafische - I'm not sure post 34 indicates a change of coolant from G13. The goo/condensation is green even if you have pink (G13) coolant.

 

[Jrcan]

Just got a code of P20E8 for reductant pressure too low. I put in a new pump less than 3 years ago. What do I need to look for now?

 

[Tom in PT]

^ start a new thread Jrcan. your issue probably has nothing at all to do with intercooler buildup.

 

[haiLTDI]

Hey everyone. I also had the P026A code and i cleaned the intercooler and had little oil and condensation. So what's the fix? I see post with people with 200k on theirs and someone pushing to get a new ride?

 

[Tom in PT]

There is no fix to a little oil and condensation forming at the bottom of the intercooler - it comes with the territory, made worse if you do a lot of cold starts and city driving. Just clean intercooler out in situ on a regular basis ( I do it every 5-10K miles), clean the sensor at the top of the IC, and motor on. I have been doing this for years and have no issues, no codes. The oil is a bit of a concern but I am going to live with it. I don't have to add any oil between 5K mile oil change intervals, maybe losing 4-6 oz. over that period.

 

[haiLTDI]

There is no fix to a little oil and condensation forming at the bottom of the intercooler - it comes with the territory, made worse if you do a lot of cold starts and city driving. Just clean intercooler out in situ on a regular basis ( I do it every 5-10K miles), clean the sensor at the top of the IC, and motor on. I have been doing this for years and have no issues, no codes. The oil is a bit of a concern but I am going to live with it. I don't have to add any oil between 5K mile oil change intervals, maybe losing 4-6 oz. over that period.

Thanks for the response. No code? I still get the p026a code after cleaning it in few days. Do you just keep clearing it?

 

[Tom in PT]

You might need a new sensor if the code keeps coming back. I had to buy a new one in this exact situation. Use a genuine VW OEM sensor. Nothing else.

 

[BLACKIE RUSS]

2012 vw passat tdi intercooler reprogram ??? will not start ....

 

[Tom in PT]

^ You don't reprogram an intercooler. Its a hunk of metal. Not starting could be caused by a million different things. What codes are showing up?
By the way, start a new thread to get more responses and if you do that tell the forum more about what is going on, miles, etc.