VW/Audi BXE engine failures

[Green Bay Hacker]

Always liked my VW estates as they are reliable and have never let me down (until yesterday). Previously had Passat's but the latest is a Golf 1.9tdi (58 plate) and the mileage of a touch over 100k means it is only just run in.

Went on a 90 mile round trip yesterday and a couple of miles into the return journey, travelling at 70 on a dual carriageway, there was a loud bang as though I had hit something. I thought it could be a puncture but the steering was fine. The rattling grew louder and there was a loss of power but I managed to find a layby after about a quarter of a mile to pull into. Had a look underneath and oil was pouring out so it was going to be a tow home.

The AA man who picked me up said the damage had come from the inside and was probably a conrod failing and punching a hole in the block. When we dropped the car at the garage a piece of metal dropped on the floor and he said that's part of your engine.

Still waiting for the garage to give me a price but a reconditioned engine, labour and other damage has got to be in excess of 3k.

Just been checking this online and it appears to be a well known fault with BXE batch engines. Apparently the material used in the conrods is not the same quality it used to be. VW also appear to deny any liability, particularly with older vehicles, but some vehicles were suffering the failure between 40,000 - 60,000 miles.

Anyone else suffered the same fate?

I have been contemplating leasing for a while but this is now going to be a certainty.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Check out a vw forum. If it is common they will know all about it there.

I have been leasing my cars through work for a while now. Not to everyone's taste but I find it stress free and I often get cars that would be beyond my means if I was buying. Mfrs often do great lease deals to get cars moving.

 

[DCB]

When was the timing belt changed ? Was it done at a main dealer ?

 

[Green Bay Hacker]

Check out a vw forum. If it is common they will know all about it there.

I have been leasing my cars through work for a while now. Not to everyone's taste but I find it stress free and I often get cars that would be beyond my means if I was buying. Mfrs often do great lease deals to get cars moving.

Had a look on those and the threads go back a few years and then people keep adding their tales of woe, all slating the BXE batch engines. Pictures do not look good.

Spent the evening looking at lease deals.

 

[bladeplayer]

Work in a vw dealership over here in parts & warranty mate , wouldnt say its a common thing BXE is the 1.9 dsl and they didnt give that much bother , Was the oil level checked lately ? could it have been low on oil .? did the turbo go faulty and suck the oil up & starve the engine ? ..

We had it happen a few weeks back , found out it was a second hand engine that had at some stage sucked up water , it threw the conrod through the engine block

 

[Green Bay Hacker]

When was the timing belt changed ? Was it done at a main dealer ?

Timing belt came to my mind when I was waiting for the AA to arrive so I checked and it was almost 2 years to the day since it was changed and only 35,000 miles travelled. It wasn't a main dealer but was a reputable Bosch Service Centre.

AA man said that there was a problem batch of engines and to check when I got home but after 100k miles VW would say that it was fit for purpose.

 

[Green Bay Hacker]

Work in a vw dealership over here in parts & warranty mate , wouldnt say its a common thing BXE is the 1.9 dsl and they didnt give that much bother , Was the oil level checked lately ? could it have been low on oil .? did the turbo go faulty and suck the oil up & starve the engine ? ..

We had it happen a few weeks back , found out it was a second hand engine that had at some stage sucked up water , it threw the conrod through the engine block

Yes I checked the oil last week. The check oil level light (not red) had come on then so I topped it up.The car seemed fine until I heard the bang.

Still waiting for the garage to get back to me but they said it would probably be Tuesday before they got to look at it

 

[Spear-Chucker]

Running an 80k 08' Golf TDI with BXE engine at the moment so officially right nipped up after reading this - real sorry to hear of your problems. Lots on the internet about these issues; can't help wondering if the conrod fails of its own accord or if a failing oil pump starves it and then they go pop?

Can't help but wonder how many of these engines were made; more than 100k, 200k, more?? Is it an aging problem where there's gonna be more...

 

[Green Bay Hacker]

Running an 80k 08' Golf TDI with BXE engine at the moment so officially right nipped up after reading this - real sorry to hear of your problems. Lots on the internet about these issues; can't help wondering if the conrod fails of its own accord or if a failing oil pump starves it and then they go pop?

Can't help but wonder how many of these engines were made; more than 100k, 200k, more?? Is it an aging problem where there's gonna be more...

Although there are lots of horror stories around it must still be a very small percentage out of the total made so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Faulty conrods seem to be the popular theory but as you and Bladeplayer say there could be underlying problems.

The garage have now confirmed that the AA mans diagnosis was correct and it will cost just short of £4k (inc VAT) to get it back on the road again.

After this experience, leasing definitely is the way forward.

 

[Spear-Chucker]

Ugghh, sympathies for that bill to get the vehicle back on the road... Leasing definately seems like a option well worth considering

 

[Coatsy79]

As a long term lover of all things VW, their general build quality and reliability have really gotten worse

Used to be unheard of for any problems with VW engines especially diesels but lately.......

Had a turbo go on a beetle diesel we used to own at 80k which was unheard of at the time