EPC and EML lights on, power loss

[Joe1992W]

Hi all,

I jumped in my car this morning to go to work only to find the EPC and EML lights illuminated on the dash.

My car is still under warranty from the dealers (12 months warranty for used cars from Seat approved dealers) so I called the dealers who put me in touch with Seat roadside assistance who came tonight after work to diagnose the cause and try to put it right.

It turns out the turbo actuator had stuck and caused the car to go into limp mode. After clearing the codes and giving the actuator a few good taps with a hammer the car is running properly again.

The AA mechanic seat sent said this is the very first fault of this kind he's seat on the 1.2 tsi engine and that the problem is sadly likely to re-occur.

I'd read a bit about what was likely to be the issue with this code before he arrived and I hadn't come across this particular fault either so thought I would post it to try and give anybody with the same symptoms a heads up.

I'll be making a trip to the dealers this weekend to try and get them to replace the unit before it ruins my commute again!

 

[hellooo]

The same thing happened on my 1.2 TSI in February. At the second attempt during the second dealer visit, it was fixed. The recovery guy diagnosed the issue immediately so whoever was sent on this occasion must have been quite new.

 

[Joe1992W]

He could well have been new.
What did they eventually do to fix it? Replace the actuator or full turbo unit?
Did the problem happen again after the recovery guy fixed it the first time?

 

[hellooo]

It ended up with a new turbo. The first dealership, apparently, tried an ECU reset much to the disbelief of the second recovery driver who logged 6 fault codes the second time it broke down. The first dealership didn't even wash it either. Hope yours gets sorted quickly!

 

[Joe1992W]

The temporary fix lasted all of 8 hours, when I went to it the morning after the AA guy had seen to it the warning lights were back on.
I called Seat again and they sent a VW technician to it this time. He said that the AA mechanic should have tried to drive it after he 'fixed' it and if he had done some he would have known that he had fixed nothing.
He recovered the vehicle and took it to where I bought the car little over 4 months ago.
SEAT have been brilliant throughout and got a courtesy car to me a few hours after my car had been recovered.
My dealer immediately called me to say they weren't prepared to look at my car until I agreed to pay £84 pound for a diagnosis. Even after I pointed out there were 2 diagnosis sheets already in the car from the 2 other mechanics who have seen it in the past 24 hours they insisted I must agree to pay the fee as it wasn't covered by my warranty.
I've heard nothing about my car since Tuesday morning, is this normal dealer behavior and does the diagnosis fee sound about right?

 

[Kibby]

no that fee doesn't sound right at all, tell them you will be in contact with seat uk and will be back in touch, tell him you will be making a formal complaint about the matter

 

[Joe1992W]

After speaking to SEAT UK today they advised that some dealers will charge for the diagnosis but refund it if the fault is deemed to be covered by their warranty.
I picked my car up today after it had been fitted with it's new turbo and there was no mention of any charges at any point so I guess this is what has happened.
Overall I have been very impressed by SEAT UK.
I'm concerned that this turbo problem seems quite a common one and on cars with sub 30k miles! I love the car but am considering getting rid of it the moment my warranty ends.

 

[Kibby]

I would get out sooner than that

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[hellooo]

I'm pleased that it has been sorted. The problem with small turbo units is that there is more to go wrong than their larger Na predecessors. Up to 4 years, I.e. 12 months from the warranty expiring, you'd hope for a goodwill gesture from Seat assuming that the service schedule has been stuck to. I certainly wouldn't touch anything older.

 

[Kibby]

Don't hold your breath honestly

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