[VeyronSuperSprt]

What specific preventive measures can be taken to prevent or reduce injector failure in VAG Group cars?

Please note that this question is for a specific preventive measure and not a generic one such as changing engine oil in time or using a specified grade of oil, etc.

[IshaanIan]

Once every 4 times that I fill fuel, I make it a point to fill premium fuel (speed) I believe it helps to keep the injectors clean Hope this is relevant.

[coolboy007]

This is a question which has been haunting my mind for a very long time now, there are so many injector failures for 1.6 TDi in India itself. I have filled fuel from a reputed place every time, got the diesel filter changed on time, never let the tank run too dry but still 2 out of 4 injectors had a premature failure and were changed under warranty at a cost of around 60k to VW India as my car was under extended warranty.

Now that the warranty is over, i shudder to think that i would have to pay when the other 2 fail. I feel as if there is some manufacturing issue with VAG injectors, have not seen so many injector failures in any other cars and those with 1.5 TDi are running smoothly.

I dont think that we as a consumer can care much for the injectors, fill fuel from a good bunk, change fuel filter on time, not to let the diesel tank run too low and then keep your fingers crossed. How much has your Rapid clocked, injectors running fine?

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Once every 4 times that I fill fuel, I make it a point to fill premium fuel (speed) I believe it helps to keep the injectors clean Hope this is relevant.

It is mentioned in the owner manual of most of these manufacturers to not use premium diesel as the additives inside it could choke the injectors and cause issues with fuel system.

[Ajay_the_Don]

I use to fill the tank of my polo TDi with Shell diesel or at any company owned outlet. This takes care of the fuel quality.

Secondly, do not run dry till the fuel light comes ON. Fill tank when the fuel reaches 1/4 th of the total capacity.

We cannot expect fuel quality everywhere during a trip hence after returning home, tank up from your usual bunk with 'premium' Diesel like Ishaan said.

You can expect a long life of the injectors if you follow these steps. And moreover VW have tested extensively with our grade of fuel and the recent injectors are more tolerant to bad fuel compared to the earlier 2009, 10' models.

[manjubp]

Two major reasons for Injector failures are
1. Excessive Wear and Tear
2. Diesel Injector Deposits

One of the factors which influences the wear and tear is lubricity of the fuel. The sulphur present is diesel acts as a very good lubricant. However with new emission norms, low sulphur content diesels are becoming the norm and trend is towards ultra low sulphur diesels. Unless alternative lubricants are added to diesel, which I am not sure. So lower the sulphur content in the fuel, lesser is the lubrication and larger is the wear and tear. So if possible, use diesel with higher sulphur content or figure out a way to add lubricant to the diesel fuel to avoid the Injector wear and tear.

Second factor which influences the wear and tear is abrasion due to small particles present in diesel. So regular filter change and fueling before tank tends to empty should help to address this issue.

I have no idea on how to reduce the Injector deposits..

[srishiva]

How would the particles reach the fuel injector in the first place if the filter is good? I always fill up my tank when the low fuel indicator comes on. I think there is a flaw in the injectors which causes them to fail and I dont think its due to any particles present in the fuel. Or I haven't heard VW saying so when they fix them.

All other manufacturers have no issues and the same fueling practice is used by lot more customers with almost no failures.

[GTO]

I thought the post-2012 & 2013 injectors were improved?

Related Thread: Link

I guess procuring pure diesel + a good diesel filter is the most that owners can do. But if there's a manufacturing / design defect, it is going to fail eventually.

[a4anurag]

Of what I can understand, discounting the manufacturing defect or some design defect what we can do as owners is,

-- Change the Fuel filter at a earlier interval as opposed to what is recommended by the manufacturer. Eg: Manufacturer recommends 15K kms so we can change it at 10K kms. May be costly affair but would protect the injector.

-- Use System D or ADON-D to keep injectors clean.

And how about Italian Tune Up every 5000 kms?! That should help too.

[VeyronSuperSprt]

Injectors fail for two reasons - mechanical and electrical. Mechanical failures - dirt, fuel
quality etc are easier to handle - the injectors can be cleaned at any Bosch or similar outlet and you're good to go.

It is the electrical failure that is the difficult bit and the failure of the solenoid switch is the problem. This part isn't supplied as a separate component so replacement of the solenoid isn't possible.

Skoda / VW injectors for Rapid / Vento are made by Siemens and you can get these at Bosch outlets at half that of what VAG charges. The price is around 12k - part no: 03L130277B. However, they don't have a warranty unlike the ones you buy direct from Skoda / VW A.S.S's where you get a 2 year warranty but the price of one injector would be around 22-23k.

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Once every 4 times that I fill fuel, I make it a point to fill premium fuel (speed) I believe it helps to keep the injectors clean Hope this is relevant.

IshaanIan, you will have to try very hard to get the Kizashi injectors to fail - what you're doing is more than enough.

Originally Posted by coolboy007

How much has your Rapid clocked, injectors running fine?

Coolboy, Have done 67k no major issues to report. Still on original suspensions and no rattles mainly because the car is a highway-only car. Rotors and pads changed twice under warranty (First at 12K and 2nd at 36K) and for a third time I've had the rotors faced at 65K but the pads don't need replacement. One injector went bust at around 37k and they replaced all 4 under warranty. However at 60k another one went bust which obviously was among the ones that were replaced. This failure was also replaced under warranty - only the failed one this time. The second one going bust is the issue because it was from the new production - post 2013. No one within VW / Skoda (am not referring to the ASS here) is able to give any reasons for injector failure or possible preventive measures.

Originally Posted by manjubp

One of the factors which influences the wear and tear is lubricity of the fuel. The sulphur present is diesel acts as a very good lubricant. ....

What you've indicated is right, but although I've followed all these points, the injectors have still failed. Fuel doesn't go below 1/2 mark, fuel filled only at very good pumps etc. Adding sulphur to the fuel isn't advisable.

Originally Posted by GTO

I thought the post-2012 & 2013 injectors were improved?

Related Thread: Link

I guess procuring pure diesel + a good diesel filter is the most that owners can do. But if there's a manufacturing / design defect, it is going to fail eventually.

Yes they have improved post 2012 - 2013 in that they don't have the loud combustion noises and excessive vibrations. The new injectors give even more performance and fuel efficiency. But injector failures still continue.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Of or.

-- Use System D or ADON-D to keep injectors clean.

And how about Italian Tune Up every 5000 kms?! That should help too.

Additives are not advised for any VAG group car and I would think it is best avoided in most diesels. Italian tune ups are done during long distance drives.

[torque18]

Originally Posted by GTO

I thought the post-2012 & 2013 injectors were improved?

Related Thread: Link

I guess procuring pure diesel + a good diesel filter is the most that owners can do. But if there's a manufacturing / design defect, it is going to fail eventually.

Originally Posted by VeyronSuperSprt

Injectors fail for two reasons - mechanical and electrical. Mechanical failures - dirt, fuel
quality etc are easier to handle - the injectors can be cleaned at any Bosch or similar outlet and you're good to go.

It is the electrical failure that is the difficult bit and the failure of the solenoid switch is the problem. This part isn't supplied as a separate component so replacement of the solenoid isn't possible.

Skoda / VW injectors for Rapid / Vento are made by Siemens and you can get these at Bosch outlets at half that of what VAG charges. The price is around 12k - part no: 03L130277B. However, they don't have a warranty unlike the ones you buy direct from Skoda / VW A.S.S's where you get a 2 year warranty but the price of one injector would be around 22-23k



Coolboy, Have done 67k no major issues to report. Still on original suspensions and no rattles mainly because the car is a highway-only car. Rotors and pads changed twice under warranty (First at 12K and 2nd at 36K) and for a third time I've had the rotors faced at 65K but the pads don't need replacement. One injector went bust at around 37k and they replaced all 4 under warranty. However at 60k another one went bust which obviously was among the ones that were replaced. This failure was also replaced under warranty - only the failed one this time. The second one going bust is the issue because it was from the new production - post 2013. No one within VW / Skoda (am not referring to the ASS here) is able to give any reasons for injector failure or possible preventive measures.



What you've indicated is right, but although I've followed all these points, the injectors have still failed. Fuel doesn't go below 1/2 mark, fuel filled only at very good pumps etc. Adding sulphur to the fuel isn't advisable

Reviving an old threads.

I had the same pattern of failure in my 2012 Rapid TDi. The first one failed at around 33k with Skoda replacing only the faulty one. Then at around 58k another gave up. This time they replaced all 4 under warranty. These new ones were supposedly from the new 'improved' lot.

However, one of these new ones again failed recently with the car at around 97k mark. Got that replaced but clearly the car has reliability issues.

My car was being used as a highway-only drive and fuelling was primarily at COCO or reliance outlets. The service interval was kept at 10k considering the harsh conditions in our country. So i dont think that these factors have in any way helped in maintaining the injectors. It's an electrical failure and is a known issue with VAG 1.6TDi worldwide.

The sad part is that they have chosen to ignore the issue and have not attended to the problem proactively.

Now my car has been turned into a local beater because I don't want to be travelling with a time bomb waiting to go off any moment and neither am I able to let go of the pull that the 1.6 has to offer when driven spiritedly. VAG 1.6 TDi, I feel, is the best diesel in its class and punches above it's weight!

[BowMan]

Has anyone so far done a bit of proactive maintenance by takeing off the injectors and gettting them serviced to avoid failure?