Catastrophic Piston Failure 2.0t TSI Engine ~ Walkthrough and Diagnosis

[@Poorschedriver]

Subaru EJ25 - "I am the king of ringland failures" VW EA888 - 'Hold my beer"

[@HumbleMechanic]

Hahahahahhaha

[@MeltingRubberZ28]

Probably had a lot detonation... would happen on any motor

[@desertsoldier41]

Does not look like detonation, looks like a ring lubrication issue.

[@dragospahontu]

@@MeltingRubberZ28 the Subaru is worse

[@aaronblankenship1741]

You can destroy any motor in any vehicle if the tuning is not applied correctly. Mistakes can easily be made from selecting the wrong octane file, meaning you pumped 89 octane fuel into the tank (maybe on purpose or accident) but your flashed to a 93 octane is required map, etc. This scenario can cause catastrophic knock/detonation events if the ECU does not pull timing or enough timing to save the motor. Also, what can cause this is the end-user simply selecting a map that absolutely requires supporting mods like an intake, aftermarket downpipe, upgraded front mount intercooler, etc. Who then chooses to not do so and runs that "Stage 3" map on a bone stock car. Yea these and other mistakes will doom any motor when you start playing with tuning and don't know what you are doing. My personal experience with the older version of this very GTI motor when tuned and taken care of correctly has been a great experience with zero issues. Everyone has their own experience I guess and I'm sure some factory parts do fail for reasons that don't seem right or fair but to say "TSI motors suck", ehh not so much.

[@acefighterpilot]

No wonder you got this done so quickly, ChrisFix appeared at 4:30.

[@HumbleMechanic]

Also the fact I’ve been working on these forever. Also, also Ricky is an ace vw tech too. Lol

[@acefighterpilot]

@@HumbleMechanic I don't know, have you seen how well ChrisFix can clean a car in only five minutes with just soapy wooder? I think it was all him really.

[@Syncopia]

He just sounded very similar to chrisfix at that point 😂

[@PMitchell106]

"HEY GUYS!..." 😂

[@MrBadBoyob]

Seen this in a few engines now, here in Europe, In fact, ALL TSI engines do this. Oil rings get clogged up on Carbon then break of the lower part of the piston." manufacturer" design fault on pistons.

[@Shaftexx]

I have a 2017 GLI with the TSI 2.0 engine. Howlong do I have left? hahahahahaha

[@hondatrix]

@@Shaftexx 3 years max...lol

[@dickard8275]

Helifreak NOR I have 140,000kms on my 2014 Golf R without issue and it is highly tuned.

[@apexseal2811]

Not really for all TSI if I'm not mistaken. 2013.5+ (Gen. 3) don't tend to have these issues quite as much as the Gen. 2. Apparently Volkswagen decided in order to reduce fuel consumption they needed to reduce friction inside the cylinders, hence they used thinner piston rings. Up about 80-100,000km these wear out (as you said, specifically the oil control ring which gets clogged up) and causes excessive blow by because the rings cannot deal the combustion chamber properly. Extremely high oil consumption (1qt per full fuel tank), loss of power and maybe higher fuel consumption are common symptoms. Charles pointed out this issue was more common in longitudinally mounted engines than in transversal ones, more common in Audis yet also in some Passat, Jetta, Tiguan and Golf. He can probably explain with far more details and specific models affected for sure.

[@GETLITUP69]

Another example of why you change your oil every 5k or sooner and run a catch can....

[@adamspencer95]

engine out in a little over an hour? someone must have a dozen elves working behind the camera...

[@blockbertus]

I bet he had to do that quite a few times in his old job. These engines are really bad and have a lot of problems which, a lot of times, require a engine teardown.

[@HumbleMechanic]

LOL This is what happens when 2 VW techs tag team the job and get it done. :) Ricky has had more of these out than I have .

[@agenericaccount3935]

Just two motivated VAG gnomes

[@CJBMAGGOT94]

Pulled a VR from a MK3 GTI under 1 and a half hours by myself.

[@alexhatcher8812]

pulling a small engine with a friend or self is easy. especially if you've done it once+ and know the tricks to make stuff simpler.

[@theboz6687]

“I like to start with the piston I have the issue with, that way I start with the one that has the issue.” Indeed.

[@HumbleMechanic]

It seems silly to have to say, lol

[@phatchoonz1]

Just finishing up a rebuild of a 2012 Audi TT 2.0TSI with valvelift, with exactly this failure on cylinder 4. Only 39,000 miles on it, regularly serviced, DSG box, never tuned and owned by older lady customer from new, so highly doubting it’s been abused! I’m still shocked at the list of ‘common’ failures these engines seem to suffer, lots of which have serious price tags attached once out of warranty! Thanks humblemechanic - couldn’t have posted this teardown at a more appropriate time for me!

[@christianteran]

Hi, i have the same issue with my golf. Do you think that it is a good idea to fix it? The mechanic said that it might cost $5-$7k and he can give me 2 years warranty. At this stage, the car runs fine (not smoke or funny noises). Not sure if I should fix it as what they quoted is almost the price of the car.

[@kdoran709]

won’t have to worry about this in my R. Those tsi’s are built for much more strength

[@GForceConnections]

Thank you for the informative video. I appreciate the simplicity yet detailed process you walked us through.

[@wadenorton35]

i have a 2011 Golf 6 GTI tuned stage 2 for 4 years had the car for 5. Accelerator is on on off switch and ive never had an issue. I baby it when its at home and maintain it well. Never had an issu in 170 000km

[@gunterification]

I have a 182000km 2014 golf 7 R manual and no issues whatsoever. Only thing that needed to be changed was the waterpump one year ago. Car has been driven hard on the autobahn (lot of vmax) over the years.

[@ismarmeskovic]

Like that direct old school approach.Mechanical old fashioned proven compression test.Straight to the piont

[@HumbleMechanic]

Thanks.

[@ismarmeskovic]

@@HumbleMechanic Could be leaky injector,cylinder washed out or crank bearing/lubrication issue?

[@TheDragonDelasangre]

I have an APR stage 1 and DSG tuned with just an intake on my 2016 GTI. Been tuned it's whole life, 50k worth. No problems yet. But this stuff does worry me slightly. Would love an update if you learn more and when you put it back together!

[@svenschwingel8632]

Change your oil and filter really regularly (at least every 7500 miles) and - if you use your engine power regularly - don't use that 5W30 oil with the VW 50400/50700 spec on a tuned engine. Go for a 0W40 or a 5W40/5W50 instead that meets the VW 50200 and the MB 229.5 spec. Also, always warm up the engine and cool down the turbo after running at higher speed. High-Octane premium fuel might also help keeping the injectors clean. Because when they start to lose their spray pattern, they will start to wash off oil from the upper cylinder wall.

[@user-vo3ku2sf2d]

@@svenschwingel8632 good god, change it every 4000 miles at MOST. What kind of advise are you giving.

[@svenschwingel8632]

@@user-vo3ku2sf2d over here in Europe, Volkswagen advertises 20k miles drain intervals when using engine oil according to the VW50400/50700 standard. The drain interval drops to 10k when using any other approved engine oil that does not fulfill the 50400/50700 standard. I used 50400/50700, drained every 7.5-10k and my engine was still running strong after 150k miles without any noticeable oil consumption. IMO, a 4k drain interval is a waste of money unless you operate your vehicle under extreme conditions like lots of short-trip city driving or racetrack driving - which would most probably justify changing the oil after a track session anyway.

[@clubsportf56s48]

It will happen anyway.. i change my oil regularly with LM 5w40, only premium fuel... 85 000miles and piston °2 no compression. Bmw B48 engine. These modern GDI engines are the problem

[@chrishernandez2490]

You can tell at 4:29 Charles is getting his "Chrisfix" on

[@lancelotkillz]

Lol yesss

[@samsonite360]

Lucky the 100 shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on the intake. Now me and the mad scientist have to rip apart the block and replace the piston rings you fried.

[@taiwilson8966]

except NOS wasnt a factor......lol

[@samsonite360]

@@taiwilson8966 clearly the joke went way over your head.

[@taiwilson8966]

@@samsonite360 actually joke is being continued that it didnt need nos to blow up

[@ikarovibritania8432]

MORE VIDEOS LIKE THIS PLEASE !!. AMAZING JOB . THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@daviscc65]

Hey! I figured out what my 2006 gli noise at startup was. Bad alternator 😆. I always think the worst. Vw dealership was still wrong.

[@daviscc65]

Great video btw!

[@peterclayton4385]

Charles, this stuff is gold! Looking forward to more diagnostic work rather than plain 'nuts and bolts' videos which plague KZbin. There's only a select number of channels that do decent diagnostic videos and you can explain things very well. As I have a VCDS it would be cool to see you using more of this to support your diagnoses. Keep this up man!!

[@davidut55]

A spider came out of the oil pan at 5.35. Guess he was living in there the whole time.

[@djustan3373]

I have same engine on a Jetta with 100k miles stage 1 apr since day one. No issues. Air intake and cat back exhaust step colder plugs.

[@LynxStarAuto]

I finally got a Gen III TSI with a dead miss and found the same problem Charles. Looks like VW went with new pistons on these that do not take well to mods like the Gen II's do. For ppl calling these engines junk, I have seen TSI's handle more abuse, and more neglect from some of the dumbest owners known in the industry. I have profound respect for these motors.

[@dragospahontu]

Yeah but it's a bad design really. I'd stick to a Honda Civic

[@ferrumignis]

@@dragospahontu _"Yeah but it's a bad design really."_ What's a bad design, specifically?

[@takeomack2782]

Thank you! Teacher of the year award...?!!!

[@infidel24]

Man, I wish I lived close to you. I'd bring my old touareg in for you to work on. I'm running out of patience with it...lol

[@jackking5567]

UK here. There is indeed a common issue with TSI engines - look at the 1.4 engine and it's very common. With the 1.4 TSI engine it's said that the piston rings just cannot cope with the whole engine set-up. Literally piston rings wearing out at 80k miles. Interesting video and showing the problem first hand. It's another reason for me not to buy a petrol! I currently drive the GTD.

[@indahooddererste]

Not only the TSI engines. I had the 75hp 1.4 16v Golf 4. Rumors say it was the worse engine VW ever produced. The Piston Rings were too small let compression through and burned a lot of oil especially at the autobahn. On the Piston Rings was building a lot of coal which damaged the pistons. Even though with proper maintenance. But i have to admit in 3 years it never let me down.

[@gravemind6536]

@@indahooddererste I've always thought VW were better with their Diesel engines, I prefer Toyot or Honda if I am having a petrol engine.

[@indahooddererste]

@@gravemind6536 i dont do long distance runs. diesels are taxed pretty high in germany but cheaper on refueling but not much anymore. Also u have a problem to keep up with the emission limits. they ban u from cities if your dieseln isnt so clean anymore. i usually take a downsized petrol engine doin 10 thousand kilometres per year. i looked after toyotas actually the hybrid ones are pretty cheap with some extras but they look weird.

[@tedjohnson64]

Really enjoy these "how to" (eg, test compression) explanations! Also, your video quality and lighting were phenomenally good in this video. Suggestion for a future video: how to check the status of carbon buildup without removing the intake manifold. I've heard it's possible to use a $30 Chinese borescope (hooked to an iphone or Android), and peek at the valves by taking out a spark plug. But not sure if this is actually a practical/feasible method. Seems like it would be hard to really visualize the back of the intake valves. Do they really extend far enough down into the combustion chamber for the borescope to see?

[@dorkultra]

i pulled my JB4 from my 7.5 R. Recently got a TVS TCU tune and it's the best thing I've done to date, responsiveness is dialed in exactly how I want it. TVS claims the TCU tune is stealth, but I'm not worried that much because they are true experts in TCU tuning. Also helps that it increases the clamping pressure and changes the shift points so that it doesn't bog down the engine and destroy the fly wheel

[@mattmgarza]

The piston ring was in the oil pan? Wow.

[@HumbleMechanic]

Pretty cool huh

[@TubesWidener]

Hahaha, so the oil pan has another new function by VW! As a trash can for engine pistons, that is hilarious. I am beginning to be realy worried about my wife bran new Passat B8 2018 ea211 tsi european version

[@radumilici8157]

@@HumbleMechanic Hi. I have a problem with a 1.8 tsi engine CDA. At idle i have low pressure, under 1000 rpm i have 0.6 bar, but when i accelerate over 1000 rpm preasure is good. I switch OIl pomp, but stil low pressure at idle....can you help me ?

[@stealthg35infiniti94]

@@HumbleMechanic So you said "Tune" maybe probable cause, what parameter of the Tune may have cause the Fail? Too lean? Detonation?

[@Samp-xe7yy]

I'm have a serious oil leak and codes . P0100 p0300 p0303 p0304 p2293 come up and a serious misfire have you any direction you can point me in please

[@zr2jake]

Thank you Humble Mechanic 2011 gti APR stage 2+ 125k. Motul oil every 5K-6K, ceratec every 6th oil Change after 90 K. Runs strong and no issues!

[@HumbleMechanic]

Nice

[@zr2jake]

148K now and still hums smoothly!

[@Flumphinator]

I love how the oil pump has an Audi logo on it.

[@KRAUSER0130]

It gets even better when you look under the Porsche's hood and see VW logos on pretty much every part ;)

[@tomg6284]

The valve cover has four rings on it as well.

[@officialspaceman1190]

VW makes Audi

[@steveguest8028]

It’s VAG group

[@brianwatt2348]

I have owned an mk7 gti for two months now ( and like it) but these videos make me want to sell it

[@blockbertus]

2016 and already engine failure. Yeah, VW...

[@matttl903]

the guy tuned the car, so no surprise. Tuning is a hit or miss

[@Uberragen21]

These TSI engines have forged internals. This is rather surprising. 🤔

[@matttl903]

@@Uberragen21 Well only R has reinforced one. I dont think GTI one holds up too well beyond 270 bhp

[@Uberragen21]

@@matttl903 - That's interesting. I read otherwise. But I guess it would make sense that only the top engine would have the better forged internals.

[@TheClement402]

@@Uberragen21 yes only the golf R has forged internals from factory

[@porschef387]

The guys over on speed academy is hosting a KZbinr track challenge and I thought you and Jason go on a head to head battle. Please with a cherry on top.

[@HumbleMechanic]

That would be awesome.

[@johnlivingston907]

It only had 35k miles? Thats crazy! Here I was thinking about going stage 1 on my gti tsi with 70k miles but now you got me paranoid

[@mikeroy9528]

I feel the fear. I have a '15 Mk7 with 60,000 and keep thinking of getting a stage 1 mod.

[@zr2jake]

Maintenance maintenance maintenance and good oil!

[@CatonsvilleCentralRwy]

Just bought an Audi A3 with the 2.0 TFSI. Gosh man you’re scaring the living crap out of me lol

[@CatonsvilleCentralRwy]

Hitman naw it’s the same gen 3 EA888. Audi calls it TFSI, VW calls it TSI. Same engine. The car is a 2015

[@svenschwingel8632]

@@CatonsvilleCentralRwy change the oil every 5k miles on that Triple-Eight. There is a design flaw with the pistons which wasn't fixed until 2017 (at least over here in Germany). The boreholes above the oil collector ring which should transport oil from the cylinder wall through the piston back into the oil sump are too small in diameter and can potentially suffer from clogging due to carbon deposits and oil sludge if the car ran on the 15k-20k oil service cycle. When these clog up, you will notice severe oil consumption.

[@CatonsvilleCentralRwy]

@@svenschwingel8632 Well fortunately I was planning on 4-5K Liqui-Moly oil changes. So far over 3K miles the oil level has not dropped the slightest bit from the max mark. Is this something you think somewhat regular "Italian Tuneups" to burn off the carbon buildup in the combustion chamber could help with? Lol typical VAG product where the harder you drive it the longer it lasts.

[@svenschwingel8632]

@@CatonsvilleCentralRwy every once in a while, I would recommend to put the engine under a prolonged load period. Those TSI engines don't really like to be lugged along all the time. And I would also try out different oil brands. Not saying that Liqui Moly is bad, but I had better experiences with other brands.

[@CatonsvilleCentralRwy]

@@svenschwingel8632 I definitely drive it aggressively on a fairly regular basis, so should be good there. What oil brands do you recommend?

[@williamegler8771]

I used to be a serial VW owner. Each one was less reliable than the one that preceded it. My last one was a Passat that was in the shop 26 times during the warranty period. Traded it for a Buick Regal , a rebadged OPEL Insignia that was even built in Germany, and the only none maintenance item replaced was a A/C condenser that was damaged by road debris. Never failed to start or left me stranded in 175 k.

[@nothanks3462]

2016? Even with some violence and lack of care that's a lot of damage! Possibly beyond everyone's favourite tape?

[@arielatom03]

No Thanks THATS A LOT OF DAMAGE.

[@cb500ferreira2]

A vw in is natural habitat... in the workshop being repaired

[@mattg6]

Love your videos, Charles keep it up

[@HumbleMechanic]

I really appreciate that. :)

[@Chr49]

I think it's cool you are saving the engine. I found most mecs will opt for another engine. At least in my country. Iit's rare to see engine rebuild.

[@rockervdrive]

Not gonna lie, this is a little unsettling considering I have a Stage 1 tune for my 2017 GTI and no other engine mods. I didn't catch if you mentioned the mileage of that car. Could this have been caused by overdue oil changes or wrong type of oil (maybe lack of 502 or 505 rating)? The oil didn't look very bad though.

[@HumbleMechanic]

Car had about 35k on it. Be sure you are doing proper maintenance and good oil/fuel. Might even be a good idea to use some MOA or Liquimoly oil treatment

[@rockervdrive]

@@HumbleMechanic I change my oil early at around 5-6k miles with Liquimoly fully synthetic. The factory recommended 10k intervals seem too high to me for a higher strung turbocharged 4-cylinder car. It's got 38k now and still running solid. Thanks for the video and reply!! Looking forward to any kinds of updates!

[@SageTrimarco]

@@rockervdrive Honestly, it depends on your driving habits. If you rev up a lot then it's good to have a shorter interval, but if you always shift low for good gas mileage you can go the full 10k

[@zuestoots5176]

@J CR Fuck off. Its not really a shit engine. It hurts all makes.. Its to due with the extremely tight tolerances for emissions, stupid thin oils and long intervals. high strung, high revving turbo charged engines need care and most people dont give to shits.

[@roly947]

Most of you guys aren't old enough to realize what sucks and doesn't. Mitsubishi stopped selling the Eclipse turbo and 4g63t engine due to excessive warranty claims due to poor tuning, over-boosting, and people returning it to stock and taking it to the dealership. Mitsubishi became wise towards the Evo 8 when they started going to the drag strips and writing down tag numbers, getting the VIN, and began voiding warranties when people brought them back due to improper driving. All engines and components have their limits, if you want safe reliable 325+ power from the ea888, you have to go internal. If not, don't go cheap on fuel and maintenance, also learn to drive properly.

[@harwoods11]

This is very common on early tsi engines because vag used cheap products to make pistons... 160bhp from a 1.4 is just too much for this material. Add that to cheap unleaded fuel and perhaps poor or high miles oil changes = catastrophe and engine rebuild. Just don't get your pistons from vag! Great clear video. Thanks

[@DeejayP999]

Having seen the multitude of issues that these engines can throw up I think it's fair to say that they are best avoided. Poor design and cost cutting on components is never going to end well.

[@shawnreems493]

Honestly I have owned 1jz, sr20, rbs etc... Easiest engine to get power out of. Pretty much people that don't know what they are doing will be blowing these engines up. Other then that 130k on mine so far and not having a problem with 300ft/Ibs of torque

[@kevinjgwilson]

One of the commenters mentioned it looked like LSPI damage. My understanding of LSPI is that it's basically a random diesel like event caused by excess gas droplets mixing with oil that effectively lowers the octane. Manufacturers counter this effect by spraying excess fuel to quench the cylinder temperature during pressure spikes. This damage could be related to the tune or just bad luck.

[@stephenprice7502]

Shattered piston skirt is usually a symptom of over revving the engine, but as you said it has DSG, that shouldn't (in theory) be possible. Is it possible to tamper with the rev limiter in the DSG controller? One other cause is excessive piston to bore clearance. I'd be interested to know if the bore size is the same as the others, and also if the piston size is the same. If there is a discrepancy outside of normal manufacturing tolerances I would have suspicions of a manufacturing/QC issue. Interesting problem. Look forward to your update.

[@skylinefever]

This had me thinking. Do these pistons have size markings on them? Sometimes when an engine is built, car companies have pistons that are different sizes to match the final machining of the cylinder bore. The same thing applies to some crankshaft bearings.

[@wellingbadboy]

I wish you had a garage near me. That would be so awesome. I would definitely use you.

[@phillipjones3439]

I think this is due to over speed. I have heard of four examples of piston failure in these engines. The engine is built as a 1.8 and 2.0 capacity. The 1.8 is already a longish stroke engine 3.25 in Bore x 3.31" Stroke. The 2.0 uses the same Bore but takes the stroke to 3.65". This is a long stroke motor. The rev limiter remains the same in both engines but the piston speed in the 2L engine is much faster. In untuned engines the system copes but seems to have little in reserve when engines are tuned and slightly higher crank speeds used. The failure where the skirt breaks away below the Oil Control Ring is typical of a speed overload on a piston. As if to confirm this, I, and people I know have never heard of the 1.8 failing in this way. Very interesting.

[@solidsnake6803]

Phillip Jones this is interesting Information for me because i dayly drive a Polo GTI with the EA888 1.8 TSI - just hit 100.000km and hoped for it to last

[@desertsoldier41]

DSG would not allow an overrev. We had a few 5.0 JLR engines break pistons like this, it was found to be an assembly issue due improper ring installation. An engine like this could last 50,000 miles + then it would eventually break a piston. Forged internals are not Vibranium they can break under stress just as much as anything else.

[@ABCD-eg5ky]

Very cool! Would have loved to see a time lapse of you taking the engine out in an hour!!! That's crazy amazing!

[@dustin9035]

7:45 Love the custom metallic silver paint on the top of the Pistons. Is that ppg?

[@lorenzobeckmann3736]

I started watching and my interest increased greatly ( me with 2011 2.0T VW ). Often I think of a tune for?70 more HP? Already the car runs fast enough! Another note: I saw an engine apart fron a 2016 Golf ( 1.6 ) it came out of the car because below the pistons are valves spraying oil which open at interval related to the piston location; one of these valves was stuck open causing low oil pressure/engine light and then limp mode. So many tiny passages for oil to pass; it need BE CLEAN

[@lennys.4588]

Great video as always 👍 Are there major problems of the mk7 GTIs showing up yet? Just wondering since there's a little age on them now. I have a 2015 with 41k and haven't had any issues at all.

[@mattpolhamus9194]

Awesome video as usual. fascinating to see the diagnosis and engine out so quickly to confirm: thumbs up Charles!!

[@BigHeadClan]

Engine out in under 2 hours? Man it takes me nearly an hour just to do the spark plugs on my G37. There may be no replacement for displacement but man are they a pain to work on. XD

[@Nick_G7IZR]

What was the result in the end, is there a followup video with the answer?

[@michaelblacktree]

Since you have the engine out, this would be a great time to swap in a K-series. 😛

[@HumbleMechanic]

LOL, we talked about a full engine build. Not for this one.

[@michaelblacktree]

On a related note, I'm curious to see what caused the piston to fail so early in the engine's life. Design defect? User abuse? A little of both?

[@benturner4774]

@@michaelblacktree it was tuned with no support mods

[@AdemJashari56]

@@michaelblacktree i am almost 100% shitty tune

[@jasonfoster8871]

Probably had that tune that makes back fire noise like a race car

[@_multiverse_]

Only VW..... Fingers crossed our 08 FSI Passat is still running strong. Minus the boost leak.

[@sagensourman]

Seems cylinder 2 is always the one to fail on these mqb 2.0's. Any ideas why? In the process of building a short block for the same issue.

[@HumbleMechanic]

Good question. I haven't examined enough to really make the call

[@svenschwingel8632]

On the CAVD engine (1.4 Twincharged TSI), it was mostly cylinder 3 that failed due to piston damage. It might be a thermal issue with hot spots.

[@wallacegrommet9343]

Sven Schwingel :

[@kevinjoubert9538]

Going throw the same issue at the moment ! Hade turbo failure..replaced the turbo and 200km after that this happened ! No pressure on cylinder 2 2016 golf 7gti

[@RS-to2eb]

I have an issue aswell at the moment, zero compression on cylinder 2, leak down test points towards the intake valves though. 4 years old.

[@ShortThrowShifting]

VW tech of 5 years here... This doesn't surprise me actually! The previous gen of 2.0 TSI engines were nightmare fuel. Carbon buildup in the intake ports, jumped timing chains, rear main seal leaks over and over... The first Mk.7 GTI issue I saw was a 2.0 TSI dropped a crankshaft shim after 500km in the car. Only made noise when pushing the clutch in to change gears. Couldn't find the issue until one of our techs happened to hear a rattling in the oil pan while dropping the trans. Pulled the oil pan and the shim was staring us in the face. Needless to say, VW shipped us a long block fast and was really curious about the whole ordeal. This among a list of other problems we had with brand new cars from the factory. I love VW, but they do have some of the most interesting issues/snags I've ever seen in the auto industry. I suppose you've already dealt with the urethane'd in sunroofs and leaky rear door speakers on Mk7 Golfs... and probably the leaky roof rail seals on new Tiguans as well... Hopefully they rectified that stuff by now.

[@christianteran]

Hi jake, I have the same issue with my golf vi 2010 . (Not mod) here in Australia. Now, I am not sure if it is a good idea to rebuild the engine as it is very expensive $5-$6k. The mechanic said that he is going to install much better pistons(better quality) and give me a 2 years warranty. Do you think it is a good idea to do that ?

[@roly947]

Did the owner explain what he/she was doing before kaboom?

[@HumbleMechanic]

Sadly we didn't get this info.

[@MrWilburlandaverde]

Stage 3 with no support mods lol

[@James-ns6jm]

@@MrWilburlandaverde It's not stage three then if it has no supporting mods lol. You can only give it soo much fuel and air and compression/timing with added boost with no supporting mods before kaboom which is still stage 1. I'm going to guess a novice tuned this car because TSI/DSG cars require carefull tuning to extract the power unless you're very conservative. This tuner wasn't and here's the result.

[@yondaimehokage3343]

detuned?remaped?

[@roly947]

@@James-ns6jm in which, I've seen someone accidentally put the wrong octane in and you'll get detonation city on heavy acceleration.

[@therealderjett]

Super cool seeing the break down of how you test to track down a problem. When I was younger I would have gone straight to the oil pan and wouldn't have known the status of the rest of the cylinders. Would you recommend replacing the rings on the cylinder that had the slightly lower compression or even new rods and pistons with it being out and apart?

[@HumbleMechanic]

I don't think I would mess with the other cylinder. It was within 6% or so of the rest. It would have been a solid idea to run that cylinder with a wet compression test to see.

[@michaelblacktree]

Like Charles said, it was only a small variance. That's not uncommon. So I wouldn't worry about it.

[@Blazer02LS]

Probably give it a close inspection as well as the bore. Just to be sure it isn't coming apart. With 35K I'd likely replace all the rings anyway, as you will need to remove them to check the other pistons for signs of failure.

[@mattmgarza]

When I go to the junk yard and see a car about ten years newer than mine in there--it really makes me wonder. Do you think a lot of people just don't change the oil regularly, or? Some cars go into the yard in like-new exterior condition. The other day I saw a beautiful 1996 Chrysler LHS, and yesterday a Ford Windstar wit leather interior that looked brand new. It's amazing what you find out there.

[@Uberragen21]

I have two coworkers who told me they waited 20k miles between oil changes. 😱 And they were men too. I wouldn't be surprised if the women I work with have never changed the oil in their cars. I was chatting with my local service advisor about this very thing and he said it's common for women and some men to completely ignore basic maintenance for years at a time until something fails.

[@mattmgarza]

@@Uberragen21 Well, that sucks, but, cheaper parts for us junk yard rats, lol.

[@skylinefever]

I find that some people will change their oil every 3000 miles, but they don't change any other fluid. The result is that old antifreeze corrodes the internals of the engine.

[@bierbrauer11]

Another solid production Brian - appreciate the content!

[@MrBigbear1684]

Happened to my friends 2013 jetta at less than 70000 km dealer replaced the engine .

[@Uberragen21]

Cheaper to replace the whole engine than have the mechanic do a full tear down and rebuild. Good from a customer satisfaction standpoint too.

[@HellenicVanagonTheSyncroHeresy]

Excellent video. In the next few days my g60 Passat Syncro, (1992), clocks 300.000 km, (in 27 years), without the slightest engine repair, which, (engine), is totally unopened and works perfectly at ~ 200 bhp, (chipped with plasma ignition, using the best synthetic oil but just for the last 50.000 km.). All this marketing about the so much better new cars is so naive! The Syncro Heresy

[@awesomefacepalm]

I had the same problem with my tractor. Rings fused with piston and piston cracked. But yeah it's an engine from 1957

[@phillipjones3439]

And Diesel? That can still happen.

[@awesomefacepalm]

@@phillipjones3439 yep, a fe35 with the infamous 23c Diesel engine. Just imagine how hard it was to start with a one bad cylinder

[@jameshaulenbeek5931]

Very cool video! Thanks very much for showing this!

[@firstname6165]

Hollysh#t I'm planning to buy one of these October, well Toyota it is.

[@gunterification]

toyota. Only thing they're good for is hybrid cars for old people who think they're saving the world.

[@MegaNinjaMonkeyZord]

New Corolla is quite fun but Mazda 3 is the Golf ( non GTI) alternative, regular Civic and Veloster are pretty good to if one likes their styling

[@kart1241]

I assure you Toyota’s can have the occasional engine failure too. Like he said, it’s not common. There are a crapload of these on the road.

[@killer_vette351]

First Name the car was tuned and guy probably didn’t take care of it, this is the first time I’ve heard of this happening to a MK7, you’ll be fine this guy jus got a bad tune I bet

[@clintchrystie6727]

hahaha good 1.

[@jamothegreat6052]

It's funny at the end of the video you mentioned the timing chain tensioner we have one in our shop right now that had it fail and it bent all the valves.

[@HumbleMechanic]

Ouch. Was it this same generation TSI? Their failure is not as common

[@vwr36]

Hey Humble Mechanic. Love your vw stuff mostly. That said! People post with ignorance regarding vw engineering.. Maybe you could include in your videos how vw stacks up against the competition in engineering and reliability. Thanks!

[@trizkial7592]

That’s because on their lower end vehicles like this they are engineered like trash

[@actorzone856]

My theory about the VW issue's with engines after talking to dealer mechanics who rebuilt 40 engines and working on one myself seems to be the fact that they were not run in properly when new, DSGs transmissions are too easy on the engine, you need to give the car a good run from time to time on a windy road with a bit of throttle to build maximum heat in the engine over a few hours, also use the proper 5w 30 syn oil made for VWs, there is nothing wrong with the quality of VW engines, they also burn out the valves due to excessive oil usage.

[@ThePlotDevice]

Should have taken it to the dealer, oh that’s right, the warranty was violated by tuning the software,lol. It’s probably not even the customers fault.

[@HumbleMechanic]

Yea sadly the tune pushed the warranty on this part out.

[@TylertheGeek28]

I would be pissed if this happened as possible result of a tune.. also kind of find it odd no other mods were done to the car

[@stevenjr6582]

You can restore factory map ,if the dealer is aware of this will try and find any exscuse so that takes the warranty from the engine. They even can test the petrol ,oil for degradation,etc. Best it is to leave it as it came from factory!

[@jmrodri69]

Man I wish I had a VW because your videos are great. Now I need the Mazdaspeed equivalent of your channel :) One question, how much shop air do you need to do a leak down test? Can it be done with a pan air compressor?

[@juanmedina4780]

Yikes! I gotta sell my GTI fast before I fall into the MONEY PIT 😂💀🤣

[@vavo4902]

This is exactly why I bought an FA20DIT WRX.... Well, that and AWD. Loved the GTI on the test drive, but I just don't trust VAG enough to commit.

[@juanmedina4780]

My intake manifold and pcv valve failed so had to repair for around $1000 on a 2015 gti so I’m BEAT 😂💀🤣

[@MeltingRubberZ28]

@@vavo4902 the price on the WRX actually essentially made me buy my GLI. I could replace my motor twice out of pocket and still have money to spare over the price of a WRX premium

[@alkevinzmedia]

Just ideas but here it is. 1.) He or she did not let the car cool down on idle after running hard. 2.) Oil caught trash jamming the debris on the piston. 3.) Rev launch control map timing off due to tune. 4.) Starvation of engine oil and overpassing the 5k miles oil change on stage 1 and 2 . Just some thoughts but I do hope the owner announces what he did wrong. This will help us all tremendously

[@diegotobar6839]

This looks like ringland failure.. and its not a Subaru?? Interesting

[@piotrmalewski8178]

Typical VW quality, their enugines since TSI came in are known for dying very quickly.

[@LEX-ff4gh]

Unfortunately experienced the same damage with my Astra J GTC/OPC..... It molded probably due to poor mapping... deffo restocking the ecu when the new engine comes

[@obiwankenobi8506]

NOW Everyone whos crying and saying that this is a bad engine Remember that it was tuned and not tuned properly.

[@NSB25445]

You cannot possibly do that kind of damage with a bad tune. How can a piston break with a different map? It physically cannot over rev, so even if it was running lean that can't cause a break.

[@MeltingRubberZ28]

@@NSB25445 you clearly have no idea what kind of damage you can do to a motor when boosted if it is heavily detonating

[@jetstream454]

@@NSB25445 Pre-detonation, map also changes ignition timing

[@speckledjim9895]

Your job looks incredibly interesting. Always loved trouble shooting. Nice work and great vid.

[@HumbleMechanic]

It's one of the more fun things about being a tech

[@90invalid]

vw diesel engine only. having to mutch problem with gas engine. intake leaks, n75 valve problem, oil leaks, throttle body problem.

[@blakes3820]

Look into low speed pre ignition or LSPI. A lot of direct injected engines are having issues like this.

[@TwentytenS4B8]

The piston ring ends probably butted together, lifted up and busted the ring lands. Happens in higher boost applications when cylinder pressure is higher.

[@noelaguirre7104]

Hey guys remember when Mitsubishi was tracking amateur racing events, Mitsu was sued over the practice but the suit did not hold water. People abuse their engine then claim it's rubish.

[@OldDirtyCollector]

I have a 2019 mk7.5 and seeing this makes me extremely hesitant to do a tune. Maybe just wheels, tire, and suspension is in order. Just leave the motor alone

[@Maroco918]

The dealership just bought back my 2019. It kept soft stalling when coming to a stop. They couldn't get it fixed. Good luck with yours!

[@ethanmeans1215]

My 2018 has been tuned for about 8 thousand miles now and not even a single problem. Go do it! I recommend cobb accessport with a tune from MAPerformance. Dealership had no problem doing my first maintenance on it being tuned as well.

[@703sprout]

@Ethan Means Of course they had no problem doing the maintenance. They aren't going to say no to your money. Try going in to get something done under warranty, I'm sure their tune will be MUCH different. Usually flashed tune=voided warranty.

[@Drazzed]

Ethan Means I had mine tuned with cobb and a stage 1 93 oct and now I have the “same” issue as the one in the video. VW won’t fix it under warranty “because it is tuned” so here I am looking for a new engine.

[@BoatsnHelicopters]

"At this point, at a bare minimum we know we are going to need...." Queue the "O O O O'Reillyyyyyyyyy..... Autoparts" commercial. Classic.

[@HumbleMechanic]

HAHA Did that really happen? It would be kinda epic.

[@TermGeeZe]

Geez almost blew faster than a rotary

[@phillipjones3439]

Ah funny you should say that. Rotaries are fine until you over rev to 11500 RPM even momentarily BOOM!

[@phillipjones3439]

@Brad Viviviyal Snag is Brad no one else developed it. I got 100k out of an RX8 but i put oil in the fuel.

[@TheTardis157]

@Brad Viviviyal The main defect in most RX8s or 13B engines for that matter is that they only have 2 oil squirters per rotor. They fixed that in the 2009+ models and added a third which got rid of a lot of the wear issues. But it was too little too late.

[@johnnyturbo8460]

This thought is honestly a myth IMO... I have been racing Mazda rx7s for years... The car I am running has been a well maintained rotary. It has been a race car for YEARS with many podium finishes and never blew an apex seal( knock on wood) with that several guys I race with have had the same results. Like any car just maintain them and don't over rev them.. ( much over 9000 rpms)

[@zohanjames7793]

+humble mechanic are you going to give us an update on this engine regarding the tune, owner maintenance etc?

[@retegoe]

New engine block???? Throw that junk away!!! All EU car makers are getting a terrible namen. Because the EU set rules fore the emissions and they are completly nuts!!! Engine breakdowns,rust after 4 years!!! Dodgy automatic gear boxes ( who needs goddamm 9 gears??!!! They are cars,no trucks!! ) And from the " old " one's they want to get rid off because those cars are the best build.

[@wysetech2000]

@@einfelder8262 That's funny as the clutch parts that constantly failed were made by LUK in Germany. The transmission itself was designed and built by Getrag also in Germany. Ford successfully sued them for the disaster. Ford paid out huge money because of lawsuits on them to try to keep it's owners happy.

[@saefhindi6184]

Thank you. Big help. I noticed engine oil around Plastic oil pan of my 1.8T gen 3. Dealer cleaned area and will check it again in 2 weeks. They think the oil coming from top of engine ! No low oil level. What it can be ? Thanks

[@paulwhite7475]

injectors stop atomizing properly and flame the bore

[@ТетянаКірілова-э8з]

have you had the same before?

[@kaulincurtis9665]

Had a similar failure on a 6.2 gm diesel. The skirt had broken off on one side on the #6 piston. The engine ran just fine, and had okay compression, the only sign of a problem was the awful loud piston slap it made at all rpm. I put it back in service with a new set of pistons and a hone.

[@StefanSkyman]

I sold my golf mk4 r32 dsg a few years ago... a very rare car in Europe... I will regret that decision for the rest of my life

[@macro820]

So the piston rings got too hot and expanded till the gap closed and they locked up right?

[@TwentytenS4B8]

Yup

[@Van_frederick]

and it still had compression VW engineering :P

[@tt-rs1457]

Really good video..... My Dad and I have the 24.5HP Engine ( from his 53er VW Convertible ) disassembled. Next step, I will meassure the bore with an Bore Dial Gauge and an Micron....tapering of bore...... Because this is an interesting chapter......

[@ESPLTD322]

I think I’ll stick with my 2.5L. 335,000 and counting

[@laaribi_abdo]

what's the causes of this damage and will you swap the engine or just to repair it

[@nickkulon6154]

I will stick with my k series....

[@knightridder2002]

I have seen 2 k series blow up too. this is the first e888 engine to blow up under stage one tune I have seen a lot of them go under stage 3 with the GTI have not seen an R one go yet. I have had 2 cars with the E888 engines and both have been tuned the first one was stage3 and it was like that for well over 60000 miles I sold the car at 130000 and got an mk7 golf R and now that is stage 1 with almost 60,000 on it. my point on this is any engine can fail my brother had a stock 6.0 form chevy tear itself apart and it was stock and only had 40,000 miles on it and he did oil and all maintenance recommended by chevy done by the dealer. most people thank the 6.0 from chevy built proof. my point you can get bad lemon on any brand the key is to find the car you like and stick with it. realize that you may get a defect in the engine just like what this may have been.

[@bassment03]

Very cool thanks for posting very informative.

[@zuestoots5176]

turbo engine with ring-land failure..who would have thought.. Probably ran 87 octane to save a few pennies,, now you bought yourself a new slug

[@MinecraftGamer427]

At my dealer we’ve had a few newer A3’s with cracked ring lands. I wonder if this is going to be an issue with the new 2.0’s