"exhaust inlet variable sensor trip" error

[iforland]

First post, only had my car 2 days and I already have a problem that I could with some help with.

Ok, firstly I love the Scirocco, we've just bought a 2009 (59 reg) 170BHP diesel after our old trusty MK4 Golf GT TDi 130 died.

Everything was great until the yellow engine light came on and would not go off, apart from the light nothing else seems to be affected, it still drives as well. Anyway had a local mechanic have a look and he said it was "exhaust inlet variable sensor trip" and he fixed it....I think all he did was reset the light, and guess what, its come back on. I've ordered a VCDS cable but I was wondering if anyone can give me some possible causes, sorry I haven't got a code.

Thanks

[Phil]

Hi There, If it were me i would be ringing the guys who sold it to me. 2 days just seems like an unlikely coincidence nor would i be happy to be forking out money within 2 days of ownership.

[robinalex]

Sounds like inlet manifold, common problem, do a search on here. Mine did same 3 weeks after buying 09 2.0Tsi and had no other symptoms apart from light on. Cost to repair at Vw was close to £1000 but was covered under 3 months second hand car warranty.

[iforland]

Got my VCDS and have done a scan of fault codes, the issue is listed as "Intake Manifold Flap Position Sensor".

I've tried to clear the fault and it just comes back, unfortunately the car was bought from a private seller...I think that's what you call the joy of owning cars.

Anyway, does anyone know of a guide to fix yourself or in fact the parts required?

[iforland]

Oddly the fault has now clear itself after a long drive up the M40?? Hopefully it wont come back, could this have been due to the car not being driven for a week or so? Maybe something sticking.

[robinalex]

Will be on again within a week or two for sure, sorry

[Paralla]

I don't drive my TDI 170 for months at a time and never had the engine light come on.

[iforland]

Lets hope I'm going to be lucky, but if not I've spotted brand new inlets manifolds on fleabay for £200, and it appears to be an fairly easy swap, especially as the manifold is right at the front of the engine.

On a slightly different note, but maybe something related to the fault, what would you expect to get to the gallon from a GT 2.0 TDI 170 doing a run of 20 miles mostly motorway speeds? No hard acceleration fairly constant speed, best I've seen is 43mpg, which is a whole heap worse than my old mk4 GT TDI 140bhp Golf that would return an easy 52mpg.

[Cuprabob]

My 170 TDI returns over 50mpg without even trying. My long term average is currently 55.7mpg over the last 2,500 miles.

[Paralla]

My long term average is 43mpg but mostly central London commute with only very occasional motorway trips.

[iforland]

Ok, so bad news as predicted the light is back on . I've connected up vcds and run the tests on the inlet valve and it isn't moving. So I've ordered a new inlet manifold and will fit it next weekend.

There is some good news, I have improved the mpg significantly...it was a simple quick and fairly cheap fix, cost me £12 and 5 minutes....just replaced the air filter!!

filter.jpg

I've come across this before with VW and Audi, why do people think long life servicing is a good idea? If you think that you don't need to do anything for 2 years then you are probably kidding yourself, the air filter was so dirty and full of leaves etc I was amazed it was doing over 40 to the Gallon. I've managed to increase this by at least 6 mpg. I think that the inlet valve is probably not helping either, so when that's done it should be back to an acceptable level.

[iforland]

Quick update for anyone else who has a similar problem.

I got a brand new inlet manifold from ebay for £200, and I've just swapped it myself. The whole process took 3 hours and was probably one of the easiest "big" jobs I've ever had to do, access is as good as it could be as its right at the front of the car. You will need a couple of special bits if you want to do this job.

Anyway a couple of pointers and information for others, firstly a video I've posted on youtube that shows the new inlet manifold connected to the car's harness and a test run via VCDS that shows the motor and slaps operating.

[youtube][/youtube]

Also if you wish to do the work yourself the following link is very useful (there are some differences - not many).

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/a6/i ... emoval.htm

[RocMan]

Just had the inlet manifold replaced on mine after the yellow engine management light appeared. It's a 4 hour job and VW provided goodwill despite me not buying the car from a franchise dealer. You will need to get the dealer you bought it from to fix themselves or pay for a VW repair.