Car won't go above 3000 revs after refuelling

Any lights on the dash? Sounds like limp mode due to clogged dpf.

Sounds like it’s gone into limp mode, powering it off & back on should clear it. As to whether there an underlying issue or what it could be , searching seat Altea brought up lots of hits 😮

I had this once with a Vectra. Limp mode as you describe. Turned out to be a new fuel filter required.

No lights on. Don't think we are in limp mode as we got home on the motorway last night.. the lack of power/revs was just really noticeable on hills and when trying to accelerate.

Thought you were going to say petrol as we've a 1.6 yeti diesel and mostly sit at 1800-2000, maybe 2500rpm on motorways tops

Don’t think we are in limp mode as we got home on the motorway last night.. the lack of power/revs was just really noticeable on hills and when trying to accelerate.

That describes exactly what I experienced. The Vectra didn't tell you it was in limp mode straight away annoyingly. Took another day or so for the engine light to show up.

Sounds like limp mode due to clogged dpf.

Limp mode yes, but there's no way of knowing if it's due to a 'clogged' DPF or not. There can be lots of reasons - it happens when some sensor is not working or not responding the way the engine computer is expecting, so to protect the engine it goes into limp mode. It is probably the inlet pressure sensor, mass airflow sensor, a split air hose or sticking turbo vanes. The fact it happened after you refuelled is probably a coincidence.

Limp mode varies by car - my Passat would only do 40mph, my current car will do 70 but not much more, and it takes a while to get there so if you are driving gently you might not even notice.

powering it off & back on should clear it.

Not if the underlying reason for limp mode isn't cleared. Sometimes limp mode is triggered by transient faults - if this is the case the car will run for a set time (20 mins or so in my case) and then if it hasn't happened again it clears it. But then when it does happen again, it comes back.

We filled up with Diesel from an Esso yesterday and immediately noticed a loss of power

Post hoc ergo propter hoc? 😀

Ok - thanks all. Probably best to get it looked at sooner rather than later then.

Has it been recently serviced? Did they connect the fuel filter the right way round?

When you say it won't go above 3k rpm, do you mean while driving or while stationary If its the latter, then ISTR that my 1.6TDI wouldn't go above 3k either while in neutral on the driveway.

Do you have a code reader?

Ha. Interesting, it was serviced a month ago but I'm not sure that we have filled up since until yesterday.

Ah, on the drive 😅

I might be misremembering, or my info is out of date, so I would take it for a drive and see if it will go above the 3k line.

Did you definitely fill it with diesel and not petrol?

I've seen a few cars and vans misfuelled and driven a pretty long way before it's been noticed.

Quite common for cars to have a rev limiter when in neutral or in gear with the clutch down, stops drivers caning the clutch when they pull away.

I'd check some basics such as air intake piping coming apart near the turbo, rubbish or plastic bags in the intake/air filter housing, mud in the exhaust or bent/squashed tailpipe, excessive oil in the air intake pipes after the turbo (could indicate flooded intercooler rad) hole in the intercooler, and whether any wheels get hot after driving (seized brake or handbrake)

even a cheap reader is worthwhile. Last year had no power in the petrol car on the way home - still ablt to do 70 on the motorway.

The cheap sensor and phone app said crankshaft sensor. I replaced that and the cam sensor for about £60. The better readers do alot more - I've since got an Autel unit and that can do all 3 cars we have, and is stand alone. Cost about £100

Cody, you’re not Mis-remembering I just came here to point out the same. 3k ish rev limit in idle on the drive.

Therefore the symptoms are simply a bit down on power but did ok on the motorway, prognosis is don’t panic sounds ok.

Any problem starting up from cold? My kodiaq recently had a faulty glow plug relay/control switch. Caused intermittent limp mode but no light (codes came up in the VAG software though.) mine would start very slowly from coldX but ok warmed up.

EGR valve getting stuck open?

Sounds like limp kode as many have said. Fuel filter, DPF, CAT, something like that being stuffed by poor quality fuel (water in there?). Had it once in a mate's car I borrowed. Turned out to be a temperature sensor in the catalytic converter (why?????). I'd be taking it to a garage as sensors tend to be awkward to get at.

Thanks again all. I've just taken it for a short drive.. The revs were obviously me not understanding how cars work. Starts from cold without a problem. It is definitely wrong somehow though as the accelerator has to hit the floor to accelerate or pull away. I think I'll be ok to get home but def a garage job tomorrow.

My car goes into limp home mode if the battery is a little low on charge so it can happen for silly reasons

Loss of power immediately after refuelling?

Did you definitely fill it with diesel and not petrol?

This would be my first check before disappearing down any other rabbit holes.

The revs were obviously me not understanding how cars work.

They don't all work like that, all the cars I've owned can be redlined on the drive.

Clogged fuel filter is my 2p worth.
If it was absolutely fine and driving normally before being filled up.
Them since being fuelled it wpnt pull the skin off cold custard....
If ypu can tonight pop the filler cap and have a sniff, or flick a match in there.
If your car burns to a crisp then its been misfuelled, if tge match goes out its got diesel in it but most likely is fuel filter

If you happen to have an Amazon account, look for:

CARISTA OBD2 Bluetooth Adapter and App: Diagnostics, Customizations, Service Procedures and Live Data for your VW, Audi, SEAT, Skoda, Nissan, Infiniti, Toyota, Lexus, BMW, Mini

I use mine on my car (a 2.0TDI Audi) and it's better than the handheld, VAG specific reader that it replaced. There seems to be a 'free' 1 month trial too. You'll need a compatible smartphone.

I had this effect from water in the diesel.  Can’t prove which garage is was but I’m reasonably sure. It was 15 years ago.

It is definitely wrong somehow though as the accelerator has to hit the floor to accelerate or pull away

My first car was a peugeot 306td. Driving up to thr lakes it was massively down on power but still drove. I thought the turbo had gone.

Quick spray of wd40 by a mechanic on the accelerator cable as and it was fixed.

Hopefully it's something cheap and easy to fix.

Although my first thought was dodgy fuel, it's happened before but it usually makes the news.

Just had the same thing last week but with warning lights. Turned out the urea additive pump hadn't been triggered when I replaced the fuel cap. Went into limp mode the moment I left the garage and then each time I started up. Garage re-set the code and that seems to have sorted it.

Hello, update of our woes below and so more help is needed. In particular, how can we get the car moving to a garage a couple of miles away if it is now not turning over (potentially coolant leaked into engine?).
Could we keep trying to start it up so burn the coolant off (if it is this or the head gasket). Anything else it could be that I could look at to just reach the garage?

Sat 25/03 – filled up with diesel, car went into limp mode driving out of garage. No warning lights but reduced power, foot to the floor going up hills.

Mon 27/03 – a local garage changed the fuel filter, made no difference, read MAF error codes so changed the MAF sensor. Car drove well, so assumed all fixed.

Sat 1/4 – went into limp mode driving up a hill, still no warning lights.

Mon 3/4 – went back to same garage, they thought it was sticky veins. They cleaned the turbo with a turbo cleaner solution and put in some sort of ongoing cleaning solution in with the diesel, said there was loads of carbon in the turbo.

Fri 07/04 – been down to Devon for a few days, car had been driving well. On the way back got flashing coil symbol, garages all shut, found one chap sort of open who ran a diagnostic, didn’t come up with much, turned the error off and said ok to drive home and get checked at home. An hour later, the coolant warning alarm came on. AA came out, said coolant was low but thought it was unconnected to MAF problems, couldn’t see anything else wrong with it, said the pressure was fine, so no leaks, filled coolant. Drove away, engine light came on, went into limp mode but after restarting car it then drove ok for an hour and a half. Then coolant warning came back on, we stopped at petrol station got some more coolant, drove away and had loads of white smoke came out exhaust pipe. Got another AA man out, put water in and said fine to drive, just keep topping up coolant. Drove home, flashing coil light came back on but didn’t go into limp mode and got home.

Car now won't start, or dies soon after turning over.

Sounds a lot like what happened to my last car. Intermittent loss of power, engine management. Be OK for awhile and then repeat. Eventually died completely going up a hill, had to recovered to home sold it as a non runner. Guy who bought it replaced a few things including the turbo, all total coked up with carbon deposits. Had the MAF sensor replaced initially as that was the error code.

Glad we passed it on as a non runner, would have cost us around £4k to sort which is all it was worth.

Edit: also had intermittent starting issues, sometimes fine, sometimes a real pig to fire.

Sounds like a head gasket.

white smoke suggest the coolant is getting into the cylinders suggesting  head gasket failure. Have a look at the oil -  - take the oil cap off and see whats stuck to the bottom of it - if coolant leaking past the gasket as well as getting into the cylinders it'll probably also be mixing with the oil and turning it into brown sludge rather than black oil

AA man out, put water in and said fine to drive, just keep topping up coolant.

Sounds like pretty poor advice - if the car is consuming coolant (rather than it leaking onto the floor)  that seems cause enough for them to tow to home to prevent further damage

Why not just get it towed to a specialist garage, there's not much point speculating as those symptoms can mean a lot of different issues on VW common rail diesels, you won't really know until a specialist looks at it properly.

If you don't have anyone who can tow it just pay the 60 quid or whatever it would be for a local breakdown company to do it

If the coolant level is going down, it's either a leaking water pump, leaking EGR cooler, leaking oil cooler, leaking coolant hose, or head gasket but that would be very easy to check with a one of the test strips you dip in the coolant reservoir. Unless you are planning to fix the issue yourself, just get the garage to work out the problem.

Thanks again. That is the plan. I just wanted to check there were no quick fixes to get me the 3 miles without the recovery vehicle as we have been throwing away money on this already.

If the coolant level is going down, it’s either a leaking water pump, leaking EGR cooler, leaking oil cooler, leaking coolant hose, or head gasket

Although most of those wouldn't cause limp mode or create white smoke

Drove home, flashing coil light came back on but didn’t go into limp mode and got home.

Coil light as in glow plug?  Water in cylinder affected a plug??

we have been throwing away money on this already.

I think however you get it there.... I'd be taking it to another garage

Mon 27/03 – a local garage changed the fuel filter, made no difference, read MAF error codes so changed the MAF sensor. Car drove well, so assumed all fixed.

Got a code relating to the MAF sensor and just replaced it - didnt check whether the MAF was faulty and therefore mis-reporting, or of the sensor was actually functional there therefore giving a legitimate warning of something that needs attention. Just used your cheque book rather than their expertise to find out which.

Yes. Lesson learned there. The new garage is a VAG specialist with good reviews.. The previous garage was just who we could find locally with availability before our holiday.

Head gasket is the most likely suspect, be a bad failure to stop the car though.
Might be turbo if its water jacketted and its cracked the chra, would explain loss of power and smoke.
Gummed vanes would throw an ecl and limp mode, mr muscle oven cleaner is the go to on those.
Hope you can get it diagnosed at least,
Can you ride to halfauds and get a head gasket failure kit? They detect hydrocarbons in the coolant although not 100% reliable as the failures can get into an oil gallery and not coolant

Doesn't sound a million miles away from issue I had with my 1.6 Seat Leon diesel. The heat exchanger is apparently the cheapest bit of crap plastic and I got oil mixing into the coolant. Ended up clogging up and slowly turning into brown mayonnaise. Apparently not an uncommon issue. Looked for all the world like head gasket initially so was relieved when it wasn't and was a slightly cheaper fix

Seeing as the AA could have relayed you home, dropping the car straight to the garage and you to your house, I'd just call them out again, they can either get it started and follow you to the garage, or fail to get it started and tow it to the garage

Coil light is the engine management warning light, coolant issue sounds like a red herring, or at least an issue but not a related one. The car I had the issue with was a VW Touran, so all very similar.

Not sure how the coolant can be a red herring, at least two low coolant warnings and physical confirmation that the coolant needed topping up by the AA, followed by white smoke/vapour from the exhaust and more top ups. It might have been caused by another issue (overheating/head gasket or a cracked oil cooler etc) but it most definitely now has a significant coolant leak!

The coil light is an error related to emissions control systems e.g EGR and exhaust.

Liquid head gasket stuff works surprisingly well, I chucked a bottle of it into an old banger after the HG went badly, and it did another 10,000 miles without issue before it was moved on. Available at Amazon etc.

My Caddy (1.9 TDI) does it once in a while, same issue sluggish performance but no lights/fault codes (had it on a reader) Think its the N75 valve but TBH the old 'turn it off and back on again' seems to sort it for a while so not got round to replacing it yet.