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Hi,
I bought my first diesel car last month a 2.0 tdi 55 plate Passat with 102,000 miles on the clock.
The issue is it seems to be quite smokey out the back unless i drive it like a nun. Now i know you drive a diesel differently, changing up sooner and not revving too much but if i do this i don't seem to get anything out of the engine and when i do accelerate a bit there's plenty of black smoke out the back especially when i feel i hit the power band and it lunges forward.
Now when i've been behind other diesels and as they accelerate some seem to be smokey so is this just diesels or is there something up, esp as it's a higher than average milage?
ta
Black smoke is probably too much fuel going in, or something wrong with the emissions control. Blue smoke is burning oil, which could be engine wear or turbo failure.
Get it properly serviced and get them to have a look. Might be worth doing sooner rather than later, as smoke could be an MOT failure.
The engines on these are pretty bullet proof. Just run an A6 with same engine for 95k with no probs. 102k miles is nothing.
They're not the sharpest off the line as it's a biggish car. Mid range should pull well and no excessive smoke.
Did it have full history?
Also, other VW diesels I've driven are flat as fek until the turbo kicks in, then wallop, here comes the horizon! My sister's Focus diesel is a LOT smoother with the power delivery.
Is it the 2.0tdi, by any chance?
EDIT
Oh yes it is. That explains it then
Yes it has full dealer history as it's an ex company car, smoke is definately black.
It's a couple of thousand miles off a service so i might take it to the garage for a check.
Funny this.... Just spent this afternoon fixing one at work!
Low revs it was OK but if you booted it the thing was belching out black smoke. Turned out to be dirty injectors which is an easy enough fix - not too costly.
Although it could really be a number of things, fuel pump could be up the creak which is costly to replace, the injectors might be wrecked, there are too many possibilities.
Take it down to a Diesel specialist if there is one in the area. Alternatively bring it to me 😀
Rev it more!
Modern diesels (with high pressure injection) are happy at much higher revs than old skool ones, as they can burn the fuel faster.
I find mine gets a bit smokey if it doesn't get revved much (ie wife driving). Not sure why, maybe the engine management is trying to match the low rev driving style by putting more fuel in.
Anyway, rev it to 5k a few times when accelerating (smokey) and the exhaust is then clean for ages.
Peter, yep that's it, nothing till you put your foot down then wallop indeed but then that's when you notice the smoke out the back.
I did have an A6 as well before this which was the 1.9tdi engine and that was smoother and no smoke?
Off roading, thanks i like the sound of "not to costly", i'm in Sheffield?
Glenh, i purposly keep the revs down to aviod the smoke, i'll give it some tomorrow to see what happens.
Well, if it's anything like mine, it will be really smokey for the first few high rev accelerations and then get much better.
If it doesn't then try an injector cleaner from halfrauds.
Ah well im oop in the far dark north - that's Scotland to the southeners 😆
Dirty air filter can restrict the flow & cause black smoke.
I thought they all smoked like Dot Cotton, well every diesel Passat I have seen accelerate seems to chuck out great fog banks of black soot?
Are any of them Euro 4 engines with DPF?
Any chance it's been chipped? Dad's diesel was clean burning until he had it chipped, then it kicked out clouds of black smoke if you booted it. Think it went from 100 - 170hp, he had it done again to 130 and the smoke went.
Some ford diesels do it too, the none psa ones, 1.8 and 2.0 I think. I've always noticed that vag diesels belch it out under load. My nissan x-trail does too, its the older di nissan engine, not the newer renault one. My old megane 130 had a particle filter and was clean as a whistle, just like my 2.2hdi van
Flaperon
100-170? No chance, maybe 100-130, but not 170. The 140 version 2.0 tdi can only just pass 170
my 99 1.9 one was terrible when i first bought it,
there was a hole in the pipe to the nearside intercooler where it had rubbed on the fuel filter,
it still smoked when driven hard afterwards but i think it had been chipped as it went well
could be blocked air filter
these are the only things i know about which were easy to fix as a diyer, if hte injectors are dodgy they can be tested and or cleaned sometime i think
Passat engines are not bullet proof. Just got rid of one that had 110k and suffered head gasket failure.
I would check air filter, MAF sensor (unlikely to be that if it still goes well) EGR valve/inlet manifold (they get *seriously* full of shit which can choke off the airflow) and run some injector cleaner though the tank. A good check of the assorted turbo plumbing is worth doing too.
Mine (99 Td1 110 with 180k on it) doesn't smoke any more or less if it's caned or not, but it definitely happier after it's been given a good thrashing.
My 1.9 100ps 51 plater has 210k miles on it and does smoke a bit on initial hard acceleration - say from 40mph until the turbo spins up properly. I'm told that's normal but the garage says really bad smoke can be a sign that the turbo vanes aren't adjusting properly - assuming yours has the variable vane turbo which I think they all have now. I had constant problems with mine when I bought it with 130k as an ex fleet car with full VAG history but once I'd managed to get a bit of mileage with an independent garage who fixed all the crap VAG work it's been fine.
One thing that I always do when getting a new (old) car is to use a good injector cleaner. This may clean out a lot of the old stuff that can accumulate. Having been a company car, it might well have been used on the cheapest fuel. Use Shell for a while, 2 or three tankfuls and see if there is an improvement. The smoke could be just carbon products from not being driven hard (eg. if I have been having an economical patch of driving) which all blows out the back on hard accelleration.
Before an MOT, give it a good hard drive to get all the rubbish out and clean the emissions.
If you are disappointed with the performance, get it remapped! I did this to my old C5 and first thing was that they found a faulty air sensor and after that was fixed, it transformed the car.
Personally I'd chuck a tin of diesel injector cleaner in the tank and then give it a good thrashing. See if that makes a difference after two tanks before seeking more advice. Make sure you are checking the engine oil level often if you suspect any oil usage.
Well just back from a good rag round the peak district and there's been a massive improvement.
I filled it up with diesel and added a Redex treatment and off i went, the first time i booted it there was so much smoke when the turbo kicked in i couldn't see anything at all behind me but this got less and less each time i did it until now there's only a bit of smoke when i really put my foot down and non when i drive normally. Also the power delivery seems to alot more gradual that it used to.
Thanks all
If its been chipped it can cause more black smoke as its burning more fuel compared to an unchipped one, also the black smoke could be soot deposits on the cat and when you boot it it clears it out. Take it on a long run and give it some hard acceleration and at the end of the run if its still smoking I would say its not that and something else is wrong, possibly with the turbo plumbing / induction system