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EA888 wastegate actuator failures

91K views 55 replies 30 participants last post by  Dieseldog12 
#1 · (Edited)
EA888 3rd Gen wastegate actuator failures

My 1.8TSI recently had the turbo replaced under warranty due to a failed wastegate actuator.
I was getting the EPC warning almost right away, on a cold start. It would go away if the engine was restarted once warm enough i.e when the oil temp reached about 65-70 deg C typically.

The IS12, IS20 (and IS38 as well IIRC) have integrated actuators so that requires a new turbo.

The car is a 2016 NAR and had 50K km i.e about 31K miles.
It is *completely* stock.
I was very surprised by such a failure so early.

After doing some research, it seems I am not the only one.
I have seen few other reports of other 3rd gen EA888 wastegate failures on both 1.8T IS12 and 2.0T IS20.

I'm wondering how common these wastegate actuator failures actually are and I'm a bit worried that my new turbo might eventually die the same way.
 
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#19 ·
Another one

Wow this really is a problem. I brought my 2015 sport wagon to a shop today and was told the wastegate is seized. Was having intermittent epc with p00af codes that progressively got worse. Car is at 82k km (~51k miles). Bought it used from a dealer less than a year ago and have put about 3000km in it in total in that time (living downtown now so don’t drive much at all). Spoke to the dealer Today and they told me this is a common issue and apparently vw Canada extended the warranty to cover this to 100k / 5years but I’m 20 days past the cut off so I’m out of luck. Emailed vw Canada but not expecting them to do much. Dealer said $3500 For a replacement lol. I’ll probably go reconditioned for ~700 and get a local shop to install (maybe I should just get an is20). dealer basically said if you don’t drive often it might seize so I guess I can expect that to happen again unless I drive all the time...
 
#23 ·
Wow this really is a problem. I brought my 2015 sport wagon to a shop today and was told the wastegate is seized. Was having intermittent epc with p00af codes that progressively got worse. Car is at 82k km (~51k miles). Bought it used from a dealer less than a year ago and have put about 3000km in it in total in that time (living downtown now so don’t drive much at all). Spoke to the dealer Today and they told me this is a common issue and apparently vw Canada extended the warranty to cover this to 100k / 5years but I’m 20 days past the cut off so I’m out of luck. Emailed vw Canada but not expecting them to do much. Dealer said $3500 For a replacement lol. I’ll probably go reconditioned for ~700 and get a local shop to install (maybe I should just get an is20). dealer basically said if you don’t drive often it might seize so I guess I can expect that to happen again unless I drive all the time...
So do all that. Just spray the wastegate linkage with a liquid lube like wd-40 until you feel the wastegate un-seize. After that, apply so nickel based anti-seize(2400f rated) to the linkage. I did just that with my car and boom, no more codes.
 
#41 ·
we just bought my daughter a 2015 Golf TSI, and apparently there was a EPC light a few days ago... I have not been able to replicate the problem... I scanned with VCDS and got a stored p2563 (I have to check my notes)...

The previous owner did mention he had a EPC code a couple times on the highway, but no codes present when i scanned the car.

The actuator seems to run a cycle or two with the engine off and you first wake the car up (ie. open the driver side door).. is this normal? The actuator arm only moves the actuator less than 1/4"... I sprayed it liberally with Liquid Wrench tonight while i had it on the lift, but could not budge it with a pry bar...

The wastegate is not stuck, After the douching with liquid wrench, I took it out for a quick full boost spin to get the turbo hot, and when I came back, I can see the actuator move full range when i get my wife to turn the ignition on.

I plan to apply some antiseize to it tomorrow morning after it cools down.
 
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#44 · (Edited)
No codes but this sounds like a good bit of preventive maintenance the next time the car is up for an oil change. Are there heat shields in the way? Is 2400F rated ant seize really needed? I've already got some 1200F stuff on hand.

Edit: After some research, only the 2400F nickel based anti-seize should be used on/around turbos. Aluminum and copper may melt and/or bind.
 
#49 ·
No codes but this sounds like a good bit of preventive maintenance the next time the car is up for an oil change. Are there heat shields in the way? Is 2400F rated ant seize really needed? I've already got some 1200F stuff on hand. Edit: After some research, only the 2400F nickel based anti-seize should be used on/around turbos. Aluminum and copper may melt and/or bind.
Melting point of aluminium is 1220F, so 2400F is for sure ok for both copper and aluminium, but not sure if there is any copper part on the wastegate pivot.
 
#3 ·
Yes here are the codes

P2563
Turbocharger Boost Control Position Sensor Circuit Range/Performance

P00AF
Actuator Module for Turbocharger 1


Those are the codes noted in the troubleshooting on the invoice; the actual readings are not stated.
They told me the actuator wasn't moving freely, the tech could barely move the rods/mechanism by hand. I am not exactly sure if the problem was at the wastegate pivot itself or with the actuator rod/solenoid.
 
#5 ·
My 1.8TSI recently had the turbo replaced under warranty due to a failed wastegate actuator.
I was getting the EPC warning almost right away, on a cold start. It would go away if the engine was restarted once warm enough i.e when the oil temp reached about 65-70 deg C typically.

The IS12, IS20 (and IS38 as well IIRC) have integrated actuators so that requires a new turbo.

The car is a 2016 NAR and had 50K km i.e about 31K miles.
It is *completely* stock.
I was very surprised by such a failure so early.

After doing some research, it seems I am not the only one.
I have seen few other reports of other 3rd gen EA888 wastegate failures on both 1.8T IS12 and 2.0T IS20.

I'm wondering how common these wastegate actuator failures actually are and I'm a bit worried that my new turbo might eventually die the same way.
do a bit more reading, these turbos had a bad run, but there is a new version that's replacing the bad ones that does not have this issue and you shouldn't need to worry about another failure under stock conditions... at least that's what i read. i bought a 2016 golf tsi with 41k on it, no issue with the turbo but i havent checked to see if it was replaced. i plan on putting an is38 in there. we'll see :)
 
#7 ·
so if you have this issue, you may want to push for the turbo replacement. my EPC and CEL lights came back on very soon after i got the car back from having the "repair." i have seen bulletins from VW indicating that repair attempts are not advised, so i don't know why i had to go through this, but my car is going back to the dealer now for a turbo replacement.
 
#8 ·
For warranty work the dealer will only do what VWoA will tell them/reimburse them for. Maybe the shop tried the cheap way and didn't get reimbursed and sadly you found out why VW only tosses all new assemblies at it.
 
#9 ·
if it's warranty work, i don't see why the dealer wouldn't go straight for the replacement. unless of course (hypothetically) they expect that the repair won't work, so they'll then get paid for the repair and the subsequent replacement.

either way, as warranty work, VW would have to approve it if they're going to pay for it. which brings us full circle. ;)
 
#10 ·
Just had the actuator go out on my 2015 with 75k miles on it. Started getting an EPC and had the wastegate actuator fault. Good excuse for an IS20 to replace the IS12. So far, other than being scary fast when the boost comes in I am loving the upgrade. I checked my actuator on the IS12 and it is bound up. I will pull it apart this weekend. Definitely need some Motul 300 and mounts now.
 
#11 ·
So now the OEM IS20 kit I had installed is also showing a fault, different but still turbo related "charge pressure actuator fault". Taking it to my local VW Indy to see if it is toast or not. Really not impressed with the VW turbo and will get a reconditioned unit if I need replacement.
 
#14 ·
My original IS12 failed from a binding wastegate actuator. So, I swapped in a used IS12, shop couldn't get that to adapt, so I bought a new IS20. Swapped that in, APR tuned it, and was fine for 3 days then tons of codes and EPC light. Current shop that is APR certified can not get the position voltage to line up and can't get it to adapt.
 
#15 ·
I'm currently fighting voltage creep.

If you could call it that.

I just had a Shuenk IS38+ installed on the car. The IS38 actuator that came with it was confirmed pre set at 3.5v. It was at 3.5v on the car at time of install but slowly crept up to 4.5v where it then gave me EPC and codes over a single night. I adjusted the arm back down to 3.5v & locked the 10mm nut down but couldn't get it to adapt. The actuator would only adapt at 3.9v. So that's where it was reset to.

Later on in the evening I go out to the car to monitor the voltage and it's back to 4.5v. It jumped back without any physical adjustment since earlier in the day. 10mm nut still tightened down & everything.

Has anyone ever ran into an issue like this? You set a voltage, lock it down, adapt it. But it reverts to a higher voltage than what was set?

I'm in contact with Shuenk and hopefully will get a replacement sent out. This turbo and APR Stage 3 IS38 tune has only been on the car a few days. But while I wait for emails back about getting it swapped out. I'm super curious if anyone has ran into an issue such as this. And if possible, a fix other than swapping the actuator out.
 
#16 ·
FYI: I just ran into the EPC light / waste gate actuator failure on my 2016 NA MK7 GTI @62K Miles. After reading up on it I was pretty bummed that I was looking at a turbo replacement outside of my 5yr/60k power train warranty. So, I spent some time on a Saturday trying to free up the actuator, re-adjust and run the adaption. Looked like I had it all set in my garage. All tests were running well. Then I took it for a drive and in about 15mins it stuck again.

I was all set to bite the bullet and do the turbo replacement myself, still bummed at the cost of the parts, not to mention the time. Then I decided to call the dealer, just to see if there was a TSB on it. He told me that the turbo was covered by a 15yr/150K extended warranty for PZEV built cars. It also seems to make a difference based on where the car is registered. So, before you get bummed, call the dealer and check, I am glad I did as mine fit the criteria.

My service history on this car...

62K - Turbo replacement
~40K - Water pump and cleaning carbon build-up
7K - Replaced whole car (Lemonade out of a lemon)

And a few oil changes of course.
 
#18 ·
2x in 80k miles I have same issue arise?

I am also seeing pretty much the same thing here, maybe?

Saturday,11,July,2020,17:55:21:18629
VCDS Version: Release 20.4.1 (x64) Running on Windows 10 x64
www.Ross-Tech.com

Address 01: Engine Labels: 06K-907-425-V1.clb
Control Module Part Number: 8V0 906 264 K HW: 06K 907 425 B
Component and/or Version: 1.8l R4 TFSI H13 0002
Software Coding: 091A00122424002F0000
Work Shop Code: WSC 00066 790 00221
ASAM Dataset: EV_ECM18TFS0208V0906264K 001003 (VW37)
ROD: EV_ECM18TFS0208V0906264K.rod
VCID: 44871013CFD31AA66F-8010
2 Faults Found:

14846 - Turbocharger Boost Control Position Sensor Circuit
P2563 00 [032] - Implausible Signal
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00000001
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 1
Mileage: 125853 km
Date: 2020.07.11
Time: 19:50:12

Engine speed: 2100.00 /min
Normed load value: 13.7 %
Vehicle speed: 25 km/h
Coolant temperature: 90 °C
Intake air temperature: 53 °C
Ambient air pressure: 970 mbar
Voltage terminal 30: 13.125 V
Unlearning counter according OBD: 40
Status of charge air pressure control valve basic setting-LV_BPA_AD_REQ[0]: 00000001
Charge air pressure control valve uncond voltage sensor: 4.7412 V
Charge air pressure control valve position: target value: 0.00 %
Charge air pressure control valve position: actual value: 0.00 %
Charge air pressure control valve activation pulse duty factor: -100.00 %
Charge air pressure control valve voltage: position closed: 3.4033 V
STATE_BPA[0]: AD

15202 - Actuator Module for Turbocharger 1
P00AF 00 [237] - Stuck
MIL ON - Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00000001
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 1
Mileage: 125836 km
Date: 2020.07.11
Time: 18:57:03

Engine speed: 1957.25 /min
Normed load value: 7.8 %
Vehicle speed: 28 km/h
Coolant temperature: 87 °C
Intake air temperature: 56 °C
Ambient air pressure: 980 mbar
Voltage terminal 30: 13.125 V
Unlearning counter according OBD: 40
Status of charge air pressure control valve basic setting-LV_BPA_AD_REQ[0]: 00000000
Charge air pressure control valve uncond voltage sensor: 1.6406 V
Charge air pressure control valve position: target value: 71.71 %
Charge air pressure control valve position: actual value: 43.96 %
Charge air pressure control valve activation pulse duty factor: 69.15 %
Charge air pressure control valve voltage: position closed: 3.3389 V
STATE_BPA[0]: OPM


Readiness: 0000 1100

I had turbo replaced at around 40k miles under warrenty, now at almost 80k and running into same issue again?
 
#25 ·
Looking into big turbo swapping my car with ECS's Non MQB turbo kit for the Gen 3's and im curious on as of what to do with the wastegate actuator. The turbo kit says the stock one hooks right up to it but is this a bad idea since they are wiping out the stock turbos? I am on my second stock turbo and it is the revised one but if the actuator wiped out the last one im nervous on installing it on a new bigger turbo. What would my options be?
 
#31 ·
2017 Golf 1.8 TSI. Same issues gentlemen. Turbo replaced due to WG sticking @ 60k KM. VW replaced under warranty. Now at 110k KM same issue, but now no warranty and $3800 to repair. 16401/15202/POOAF are my codes. EPC light on and turbo not functioning. When I reset codes, turbo works great for a day and up to a week before codes come back and turbo shuts off. Help!
 
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