Volkswagen Golf 118TSI warning

Owners of Volkswagen Golfs fitted with 118 TSI engines are being asked to have their engines checked out.  The problem also affects Jetta models using the same engine.

Although not a recall, Volkswagen Australia this week issued a "service campaign" on 6690 locally delivered Golfs and Jettas fitted with the high-tech engine.  VW was forced into action after carsGuide reader, Kay Bastion, reported that her engine had blown up.

"We have just notified our dealers and are sending out letters to customers to bring in their cars to have an upgrade of their engine software,"  Volkswagen Australia spokesman, Karl Gehling, says.  Gehling says apart from one owner's engine blowing up, there have only been a few reports of problems.

"It is not a safety issue but we are instructing our dealers to undertake a service campaign on the engine," he says.  Owners who are experiencing engine problems should not continue to drive their cars, he says.

"If they do it will cause damage to the engine," he says.  "If the car is misfiring, owners should report the problem to their dealers."

Gehling says technicians will reset the settings on the engine's knock-sensor.  "It's a software upgrade and takes about 30 minutes," he says.  The widely acclaimed 118 TSI 1.4-litre twincharger engine in the Golf and Jetta uses both turbocharging and supercharging to deliver the torque of a 2.0-litre but economy of a smaller-capacity engine.

The twincharger engine was voted the international engine of the year last year at the annual engine "Oscars".  VW is freighting a replacement engine from Europe for Bastion's car.  Volkswagen has built more than 2.3 million TSI engines so far, of which more than 550,000 are 1.4-litre units.