most troublesome diesel cars

kincaid

hi
just wanted to hear members views on this as may also help people when deciding to purchase a secondhand car..

here goes

one of the worse at the moment is the 2005 on passat/audi 2.0l tdi, loads of trouble with balancer shaft, oil pump chain, so in general very poor engine and very expensive to fix. 1.9tdi are good

second is the 2004 on honda accord 2.2 cdti this has very poor diesel engine and expensive to buy and to fix.. seems the japs cant make a good diesel car engine just yet -their petrols engine are first class

Saruman

I got a Peugeot 407 (problem right there, I know) and just after the 3 month warranty expired the Turbo blew, oil everywhere and it seems the chain had been eating away at something in the engine. All the oil just disapeared in the few moments it took me to pull over. So reconditioned engine and turbo with a repair fee of between €5600 and €7000 depending on where I went. Most of the cost is labour. Needless to say there was no point.
I probably could have contested the warranty in so far as there is no way the car could have been sold in perfect working order especially with the chain thing. I needed a car though so cut my losses and bought a Honda Accord and never looked back (except at the pumps). The accord was €4900 and only had 43k on it.

I sold the 407 to some guys for about €1200 I think it was. All they needed was the parts and the labour they could do themselves.

Max Power1

most french diesels are awful imo.

Surprised at the VAG nomination, the 1.9TDI Vag unit is always highly reccomended for its bulletproof reliability

Eric Cartman

the 1.9 normily aspirated citroen/peugot diesel engine, cold starts like a junkie in a canal , pisses oil from every direction it can after the slightest knock to the sump,starves itself of suel and turns on the coolant light while on a steep hill, only advantage is cheap service parts

Saruman

Max Power1 wrote: »

most french diesels are awful imo.

Surprised at the VAG nomination, the 1.9TDI Vag unit is always highly reccomended for its bulletproof reliability

In fairness mine was the 1.6 hdi, same engine used in the Ford Focus so it was supposed to be good. I guess the French Bolloxed it up.

Bearcat

not bm bashing as I think their petrol cars with greater than 4 cylinders are mega but I had a 530d 04......an [EMAIL="ab@rtion"]ab@rtion[/EMAIL] of a yoke. Swirl flaps snapped, ecu, turbo, egr all went or partailly went at 50k.....

that merc 220d engine is very good if a little rough......had a 05 one and it took dogs abuse....never missed a beat. unlke the above

kincaid

yes the peugeot 407 1.6 hdi is crap the same engine as the focus tdci but the 2.0 litre hdi is alot better with 6sp box...but high tax again is off putting...

the mercedes c220 cdi from 2000 on give lots of gearbox and electronic problems... the older models alot better

Green Hornet

Accord diesel in there as the second worst diesel car that you can buy?? Seems a bit OTT to me. I'm sure there's a hell of a lot worse out there........same goes for your nomination of the VAG.............

I've a 2006 Accord diesel and it's torquey and not too bad on diesel either (50mpg). No problems ever with it. I'm sure it would be expensive to fix if there were problems alright but the chances of having problems are less than most other makes I'd imagine.

2yung2adm

Eric Cartman wrote: »

the 1.9 normily aspirated citroen/peugot diesel engine, cold starts like a junkie in a canal , pisses oil from every direction it can after the slightest knock to the sump,starves itself of suel and turns on the coolant light while on a steep hill, only advantage is cheap service parts

This engine is recognised as one of the best diesel engines ever manufactured quite capable of clocking up over 500K miles.
You did not say what the mileage was

Tea 1000

Accord diesel is one of the better ones out there. Your post is nonsense. No modern diesel is as reliable any more as a good petrol, all gone too complicated. Also all are expensive to fix. One of the key problems here is our absolute gutter quality of diesel fuel, it's manky crap that we get here.

Eric Cartman

2yung2adm wrote: »

This engine is recognised as one of the best diesel engines ever manufactured quite capable of clocking up over 500K miles.
You did not say what the mileage was

165,000 , really ? my one must have had a bad life so, it honestly sounds like its going to die when you start it in the morning, I serviced it there recently and I think im the only person whos ever changed the oil or oil filter on it

Eric Cartman

Eric Cartman wrote: »

really ?

Yep, but one of the best on terms of longlife, not in terms of cold start silkiness, it is an diesel from the days of when diesel was for farmers only. Great engine though, loads of them do mega miles.

Eric Cartman

RoverJames wrote: »

Yep, but one of the best on terms of longlife, not in terms of cold start silkiness, it is an diesel from the days of when diesel was for farmers only. Great engine though, loads of them do mega miles.

may hold on to the van after i get my d-max so , suppose while it sounds shíte starting and has fúck all power , it starts almost every time and its never really broken down on me

coolbeans

Eric Cartman wrote: »

165,000 , really ? my one must have had a bad life so, it honestly sounds like its going to die when you start it in the morning, I serviced it there recently and I think im the only person whos ever changed the oil or oil filter on it

I have a 205 1.9d with 300K. About 50k ago it sounded like it was gonna die in the morning quite like your description. Went to loads of mechanics most of whom were clueless despite claiming to the contrary but one said that the battery was too weak for this type of car. He installed a heavy duty diesel battery and now it's quite literally perfect. Doesn't even blow smoke under hard acceleration. Best diesel engine of the 80s. It doesn't even burn oil. I know most readers won't believe this and tbh I don't blame you but it's true.

Eric Cartman

coolbeans wrote: »

I have a 205 1.9d with 300K. About 50k ago it sounded like it was gonna die in the morning quite like your description. Went to loads of mechanics most of whom were clueless despite claiming to the contrary but one said that the battery was too weak for this type of car. He installed a heavy duty diesel battery and now it's quite literally perfect. Doesn't even blow smoke under hard acceleration. Best diesel engine of the 80s. It doesn't even burn oil. I know most readers won't believe this and tbh I don't blame you but it's true.

hmm it is a tiny battery in it and a cheapo one i suspect came from halfrauds at that. must give that a look see, also true, it doesnt burn oil, mine just pisses it out of gaskets

coolbeans

I don't know a damm thing about electrics but it really did the job.

freighter

Mazda 6 diesel engine is brutal bad.

Gael23

Whats the new VAG 1.6 TDI like?

kincaid

hi

the honda accord 2.2 cdti is giving huge trouble with the engine..you would expect alot better from honda

i hear this firsthand from the mechanics themselves and from breakers both here and the uk.

they can't be all wrong???

just try looking for a secondhand engine for one of these 04/05 they are impossible to get( big money if you can get one) and some advise not to even bother with the s/hand ones are they are crap and wont even guarantee them..
you will notice that any car that give lots trouble and you go price an engine for it will cost an arm and leg... the ones that don't give much bother are plentiful and cheap.. ACCORD ENGINES ARE SERIOUS MONEY TO BUY

best avoided

Ryan T

ryanf1 wrote: »

Whats the new VAG 1.6 TDI like?

I bought a golf 1.6tdi and am really pleased with it . Very economical. But as the 1.6tdi only arrived in 2009 its not going to show problems for a while yet

JimmyCrackCorn

High pressure injection systems and associated electronics are the weak point of modern diesels.
Every single diesel i looked at had this listed as a problem.
Then there were dual mass flywheels. Swirl flaps, stupidly long attempts at service intervals.....


The simplicity that meant a diesel just wouldn't die is gone they now are as reliable as a petrol car at best.

They also tend to be sold on at higher mileages than petrol engines meaning problems are more obvious.

There is also a fantastic way to reduce reliability of an engine. Its called turbo.

bryaner

Laguna 1.9dci pure heap.

2yung2adm

coolbeans wrote: »

I have a 205 1.9d with 300K. About 50k ago it sounded like it was gonna die in the morning quite like your description. Went to loads of mechanics most of whom were clueless despite claiming to the contrary but one said that the battery was too weak for this type of car. He installed a heavy duty diesel battery and now it's quite literally perfect. Doesn't even blow smoke under hard acceleration. Best diesel engine of the 80s. It doesn't even burn oil. I know most readers won't believe this and tbh I don't blame you but it's true.

I will believe it as our family had a 305 estate.
It had 497K miles recorded when it was sold. Never a problem.Obviously had heater plugs changed and timing belt when required or needed. One thing you have to do with diesels is change the oil regularly.

Most morning rough starts are caused by expired heater plugs. Cheap to replace even if the one behind the pump is a bugger to get at otherwise it is an airleak at the filter allowing the diesel to return to the tank or tight valves.

JHMEG

kincaid wrote: »

second is the 2004 on honda accord 2.2 cdti this has very poor diesel engine and expensive to buy and to fix..

Hmm, I'm aware there were teething problems with the engine, which have usually been fixed free of charge.

Common problems that we hear of on this forum are turbos, swirl flaps, DPFs and DMFs.
Common marques that we hear of on this forum suffering these problems are BMW, French marques, and some Fords.

Hard to beat the Rover L series for troublefree diesel motoring, despite what the numpties will tell you

Green Hornet

JHMEG wrote: »

Hmm, I'm aware there were teething problems with the engine, which have usually been fixed free of charge.

There's just no way that the diesel Accord is as bad as made out in the OP's original post. Big difference in teething problems fixed free for the 2004 model and it being the second worst diesel car on the market.

bazz26

I'm on my second 1.6 litre Hdi engine, currently in my a Volvo S40, previous one was a Ford Focus. Both engines have been uber reliable and both have covered around 80k miles each.

Guy:Incognito

Eric Cartman wrote: »

165,000 , really ? my one must have had a bad life so, it honestly sounds like its going to die when you start it in the morning, I serviced it there recently and I think im the only person whos ever changed the oil or oil filter on it

How does that make it a bad engine

If anythign it's great because it's put up with abuse and still managign to run.

If had that engine in 2 vans and neither missed a beat. Toyota used it for a bit too.

Green Hornet

Slightly off topic but looks like new regulations will affect all diesel car prices and mpg:

http://www.civinfo.com/forum/bassetts-honda/43678-bad-times-ahead-diesel-car-owners.html

Saab Ed

RoverJames wrote: »

Hard to beat the Rover L series for troublefree diesel motoring, despite what the numpties will tell you

Hey , numpty is my word :D


.... but you're dead right , that L Series was a strong aul unit. Even Honda used it ..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_L-Series_engine

I think that people are being unfair with some of the comments about certain vehicles and all models getting tarred with the same brush because a certain model was bad but had a the same diesel engine fitted to it as another car.


I.E Renault F9Q 1.9 diesel is a great engine but a MKII Laguna was a ball of sh!te . Doesnt matter that the same engine was used by Nissan , Opel , Suzuki , Volvo aswell as in plenty of other Renault models. The same with the PSA / Ford 1.6 diesel. Early 307s were very poor quality but a Focus is bomb proof , same engine though.

Just for the record , any Isuzu 3.0 litre diesel is the worst diesel engine ever by far. They'd blow up faster than a baloon

bryaner

Saab Ed wrote: »

Hey , numpty is my word :D


.... but you're dead right , that L Series was a strong aul unit. Even Honda used it ..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_L-Series_engine

I think that people are being unfair with some of the comments about certain vehicles and all models getting tarred with the same brush because a certain model was bad but had a the same diesel engine fitted to it as another car.


I.E Renault F9Q 1.9 diesel is a great engine but a MKII Laguna was a ball of sh!te . Doesnt matter that the same engine was used by Nissan , Opel , Suzuki , Volvo aswell as in plenty of other Renault models. The same with the PSA / Ford 1.6 diesel. Early 307s were very poor quality but a Focus is bomb proof , same engine though.

Just for the record , any Isuzu 3.0 litre diesel is the worst diesel engine ever by far. They'd blow up faster than a baloon

Yes very true I heard the guy that designed the 3.0 trooper engine is in a shallow grave now.

If they stuck with the old 3.1 there would never have been a problem.

Classic case of, if it's not broke don't fix it.

ltdslipdiff

Saab Ed wrote: »

Hey , numpty is my word :D


.... but you're dead right , that L Series was a strong aul unit. Even Honda used it ..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_L-Series_engine

I think that people are being unfair with some of the comments about certain vehicles and all models getting tarred with the same brush because a certain model was bad but had a the same diesel engine fitted to it as another car.


I.E Renault F9Q 1.9 diesel is a great engine but a MKII Laguna was a ball of sh!te . Doesnt matter that the same engine was used by Nissan , Opel , Suzuki , Volvo aswell as in plenty of other Renault models. The same with the PSA / Ford 1.6 diesel. Early 307s were very poor quality but a Focus is bomb proof , same engine though.

Just for the record , any Isuzu 3.0 litre diesel is the worst diesel engine ever by far. They'd blow up faster than a baloon

Now there's a man that knows his Renaults ! Isn't it fun telling the Qashqai owners who makes their dCi engine?

Barr

Mazda 6 diesel - big problems , the petrol seem bullet proof tho.

JHMEG

Saab Ed wrote: »

.... but you're dead right , that L Series was a strong aul unit. Even Honda used it .....

That was a comparatively troublesome engine for Honda, and as a result they only built about 400 cars using it.

As a result it's extremely rare and in all my time in NI and the UK I've only ever seen one Honda car with this engine.

JHMEG

Barr wrote: »

Mazda 6 diesel - big problems

That seems to be an absolute disaster alright, even from what people on boards have said.

Also http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=57098

richardsheil

Eric Cartman wrote: »

165,000 , really ? my one must have had a bad life so, it honestly sounds like its going to die when you start it in the morning, I serviced it there recently and I think im the only person whos ever changed the oil or oil filter on it

So the engine is crap because because it is french not because it was never serviced. Seriously- that is some logic.

dmrules

freighter wrote: »

Mazda 6 diesel engine is brutal bad.

I've Mazda 6 TD 2004 and had no problems what so ever...great engine...110k without changing timing belt( i know, should have done it at 70k but no time and no money...) so not too bad... me think

Mycroft H

Max Power1 wrote: »

most french diesels are awful imo.

Love the sweeping generalization here. Please give some examples.

PSA HDI series are decent engines, in particular the 2.0hdi. Once there serviced and looked after they will go for miles. The newish 1.6hdi is also a fine engine, with a decent power output for its size. Very economical too, capable of over 65mpg on the motorway.

and who forgets the XUD diesels??? They were superbly reliable engine, used in many different cars and still used in the marine industry. A simple engine, with many on the go today (plus they could run on pure veg oil)


The renault F9Q diesel is also decent engine too, used in many nissan and volvos as well as in there own cars.

JHMEG

JHMEG wrote: »

That was a comparatively troublesome engine for Honda, and as a result they only built about 400 cars using it.

As a result it's extremely rare and in all my time in NI and the UK I've only ever seen one Honda car with this engine.

Honda were only interested in the mainland European markets (rhd) with diesels at the time. Could you provide any detail to back up the troublesome engine claim ? I would be most interested in learning more about that.

Eric Cartman

richardsheil wrote: »

So the engine is crap because because it is french not because it was never serviced. Seriously- that is some logic.

i never said about it being french , where have i mentioned that. the engine is crap because of the terrible noises it makes and the fact that it pisses oil from every gasket imaginable, the noises seem to vary but 2 partner vans owned by a company i do some work for also have experienced the noises to some degree and the oil leaking, apparantly quite a good engine for abusing according to previous posts but they still need a fair bit more care than some jap diesels to keep oil in them

kingbrumak

I hate to deviate from topic a bit but what's your views on the different Bora 1.9 diesel engines? I'll be in the market for a change soon and was considering the Bora diesel.

Just interested to see what the general consensus is?

Mycroft H

kingbrumak wrote: »

I hate to deviate from topic a bit but what's your views on the different Bora 1.9 diesel engines? I'll be in the market for a change soon and was considering the Bora diesel.

Just interested to see what the general consensus is?

its the standard pd vw diesel. comes in many different power levels from 90-150bhp. i've had experience with the 110bhp unit, which is a decent economical engine. in two years it never went wrong. its now has been replaced with the 2 litre common rail unit

kingbrumak

landyman wrote: »

its the standard pd vw diesel. comes in many different power levels from 90-150bhp. i've had experience with the 110bhp unit, which is a decent economical engine. in two years it never went wrong. its now has been replaced with the 2 litre common rail unit

I like the sound of the TD(red)i. Any experience of them?

Tea 1000

What year? Engines changed in 2002, so it depends on which year you're looking at. I also thought the 150 was only available in the Golf Anniversary?
Bora's are fairly crap looking, the engines are reliable, but peaky in their power output and noisey.

Mycroft H

kingbrumak wrote: »

I like the sound of the TD(red)i. Any experience of them?

That could either be the 130bhp PD or an older 110bhp unit depending on the year. Im open to correction on that.

VAG like confusing people with red d and red i

groupb

Max Power1 wrote: »

most french diesels are awful imo.

Surprised at the VAG nomination, the 1.9TDI Vag unit is always highly reccomended for its bulletproof reliability[/QU

How are most French diesels awful? Any chance of expanding on that statement?

smokingman

No idea what you're on about regarding the 2.2 Accord diesel...have a '05 one and never had a bit of trouble. Mind you, I take care of it and as with all diesel engines, if you do that, you'll be grand.

It's only people that don't bother checking their oil every once in a while that give out about their blown engines.

JHMEG

RoverJames wrote: »

Honda were only interested in the mainland European markets (rhd) with diesels at the time. Could you provide any detail to back up the troublesome engine claim ? I would be most interested in learning more about that.

I can't, as it was a Honda employee in Swindon that told me it.

Gael23

The VAG 1.9 TDI is almost indestructable but the 2.otdi is not that good AFAIK. The french dci is used by nissan and is quite popular in the Note and Quasqai. Would never even think about a french car though

David09

As already mentioned, the isuzu trooper 3.0. Also the renault laguna 2 with 1.9dci. They're well known for blowing turbos and wrecking the engine in the process.

As for good diesels, does anyone ever remember the old escort/orion 1.6 diesel? Slow, underpowered and sometimes difficult to start but almost 70mpg and the willingness to carry on to over 300,000 miles, albeit long after the car bodies have expired!!

cadaliac

2.0 Hdi 406 was the best car I have ever owned.
1.9 TDI Passat sport was the worst car I have ever owned.

As for the PD TDI engine, I could not fault it. 50+ mpg and pokey. That's it though. The rest of the car is nightmare material. (including 6-speed box)
As for the new 2.0 TDI's - I wouldn't P1ss on one if it were on fire. I have really had my fill of poor quality from VW.

The Hdi was (and still is) an uber reliable engine. Mine had 135k on the clock when I sold it and never a bother.
The guy i sold it to had to replace the clutch @ 150k - (should only have replaced the master clynder).
Car still around my local town.

Before those two cars I had a Peugeot 405 GRD Turbo. I gave that to a fella with 182k on the clock. Only problem I ever had with that one was a water hose burst after being idle for a week. Great car ! 'nuff said about Frech Diesels in my book.
Its not only reciently that the French have made great diesels.