Loss of Power

[Dr Spine]

Hi, on the way home from the recent Qld drive day I noticed a loss of engine power that seemed to last for about 1 second. It was as if the engine had died and then things were OK again. It happened while climbing the Toowoomba range. Other than this and one other identical event a few weeks ago in a different location, the car has been 100%.

Do any of the technically minded have any thoughts as to what might cause this. Have other Golf or GTI owners had similar problems?

The car had only done just over 3000klm from new.

Thanks

[itgwv]

If the traction control or ESP came on can cut engine power but this would be if roads slippery or maybe ran over some gravel while accellerating. Otherwise nothing coming to mind for power drop off.:confused:

[Dr Spine]

No it couldn't be that. I'm thinking it might be some kind of computer/software glitch???

As I said it's only happened a couple of times.

Am going to talk to VW about it tomorrow.

[itgwv]

Sounds like a plan. Their diagnostics should pick up if any faults were logged. Would normally expect the engine light to come on the dash when that happens but if faults gone will go back out. Quality of fuel maybe or water in the fuel tank.
I know with mine until the car is warm i have boost cut kick in stopping me use full power but feature of upping the boost to protect the DSG box until its fully ready.
What part of rev range? When changing gears?

Hopefully something simple and covered by warranty.:)

[DubSteve]

I know this may sound stupid but could it be the clutch possibly a faulty clutch?

[gtimk5]

I have had about 3 lapses in power but not for a full second. Happens at around 4,000 rpm. It has happened under hard accelleration for me. I am yet to plug in vag com but I should get time late next week to check it out. A I say, it has happened with me over a 4 month period. Certainly makes you grab a breath when it happens! If I get time earlier, I will plug mine in and check for codes, will let you know. Cheers! :)

[Dr Spine]

Thanks for that. I also have experienced a small drop under hard acceleration but it has been a rarity. I've got the car booked in tomorrow to the local VW dealer to "hook it up" and see if there are any obvious fault codes.

I'm no expert but I'm guessing that the problem will be connected somehow with the computer management system.

Hopefully an easy electronic fix will follow. I'll let you know.

[Dr Spine]

VW dealer hooked it up to their computer today and it did come up with a fault code of some sort. The dealer has sent the info to VW HQ in Australia and they are getting back to the dealer as to what to do. At least it should get fixed and not cost me a cent!

[neo25x5]

not sure if its the same thing, however i've also noticed this same thing today on the regular journey home (entering the sth bound tunnel of the M5 East in Sydney). as I was overtaking another car, there was a distinct flat spot of acceleration in my 2.0fsi jetta. ill be taking it back to the dealer anyway but am obviously curious as to what the hell this is. dont want to overract but this could be a real safety issue if one needed to get out of the way of something alot bigger than the jetta. love to hear from any of you that have experienced the same problem.

[william]

u may be experiencing turbo lag.

[h100vw]

Turbo lag wouldn't manifest itself as described above. I am not sure the car has a turbo fitted, I think it is the std FSI engine.

I would be interested to see what the fault code was that VW downloaded. Maybe you could find someone with VAG-COM to check it out before VW if the fault persists, then the VW community at large could get on the case too....

I would be looking at vwvortex.com to see if the fault has been reported by any owners in the states..

Gavin

[william]

its a gti its turboed so is the tdi jetta the other guy is talking about

[h100vw]

I wasn't trying to upset you William. It wasn't clear to me as he hadn't mentioned the fact it was turbo and had called it an FSI not FSIT and both engines do exist.

Anyway, I still dont think turbo lag is the problem.

The ECU might be introducing the problem in an effort to respond to a rogue input it is seeing. This would throw a code, knowing the code would help us speculate what the problem is.

Gavin


Just re-read from the top and I had missed the DSG GTI bit altogether.

[william]

no harm done mate wasnt trying to be rude merly trying to inform you

i dont know what it could be maybe misfire due to common dodgie coil packs now you can change all four coil packs underwarranty if between a certain timeframe of manufacture

[h100vw]

My experience of coil pack failures is limited but when my Seat Leon died the coil failed full stop. I just booted it it up the high street at home and the check light came on as the power vanished. I had Mr Laptop with me so scanned it and duff coil pack was the code. I went home and dragged the '88 Passat out of retirement. ;0)

It might be a bad plug but you would hope that a dealer would have the brains to throw a set of plugs in as a starting point. Even if they sat on the removed ones while seeing if it had been fixed. I am sure there is enough profit in the car to justify that expenditure.

These things aren't NASA, just common sense troubleshooting. The ECU practically tells you what is wrong with it.

Gavin
Gavin

[neo25x5]

thanks for the input all. for the record mine is the FSI non-turbo so its definitely not turbo lag. the car will be going to the dealer this week. happy to let you all know what the outcome is.

[Dr Spine]

I've got my GTI into the dealer tomorrow. Warranty job thankfully. "VW HQ" have sent a replacement valve of some sort. I'll find out the details tomorrow of exactly what it is/does and post a reply for you all. The problem hasn't happened again since I started this thread but it's not nice when you just don't have 100% confidence that it won't happen again.

I'll try to find out the original fault code for those who are interested. I've never seen a VAG-COM in action so I've got no idea how a fault code presents itself. I imagine it's just a series of numbers??

[h100vw]

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/index.html

This is the famous VAG-COM.

Dealers have a similar thing with a different interface.

Gavin

[neo25x5]

got my jetta back yesterday after i left it with the dealer to check out the issue of the loss of power. unfortunately, no faults were logged by car nor could the tech replicate the issue. what we've put it down to is that i might have been covering the brake too close (i brake with my left foot). im reliably informed that when the car is in motion and with the brake depressed, the accelerator cuts out. you learn something new every day :oops:

[Dr Spine]

The dealership replaced the "fuel pressure valve"?? apparently there is a higher and lower pressure side of the fuel line?? when the valve released pressure inappropriately the engine (very briefly) didn't get enough fuel.

I'm not a tech head but I must admit that running out of petrol was exactly what it felt like when it did happen.

The problem had not happened for about 3-4 weeks but hopefully with the new valve it will never occur again.

[Jetz01]

Hi there,
Reading this post I may have a similar problem, but the experiance was SCARY!...

Driving home at midnight last night from Shepparton to Melbourne on the Hume Hwy, out of nowhere while travelling at 100km/h I had this massive kick/jolt as for a second and then the car lost complete power. I pulled over and the car died. I attempted to start it with no luck. So I took the key out, back in and the car started again. Note that I had the cruise control on. About 5 min later with the cruise on, the same thing happened!...

Again, took the key out and the car started. This time I didn't use the cruise control and made it home. Has anyone experiance this problem?

On another note, I am looking at getting the tool where I can run in a diagnostic to check the car for any faults. Any suggestions where I can get one from?

Thanks!