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Engine code

XXDD engine faults.

Listed as: 1.5 TDCI FLH, 1.5 TDCI STH, 1.5 TDCI. The faults belong to this engine code. They do not apply to every car with that name.

diesel

fuel

1499 cc

displacement

70 kW (95 HP)

power

2 fault write-ups. Both are important.

Before you buy

Known faults

2 important faults

Timing belt and tensioner: a non-original belt snaps sooner

expensive

The timing belt and its tensioner pulley are the weakest point of this engine. The factory specification is 150 000 kilometres or ten years, and whichever of the two comes first is what counts. A non-original belt, however, snaps at around 100 000 kilometres already, so the origin of the part is a question here too.

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The quality of the change matters just as much. If the correct locking tools are not used during the belt change, the bar of the tensioner pulley is damaged, and the belt can jump.

If the belt snaps, the damage typically affects the valve rockers, and the valves themselves mostly survive. Even so the repair starts with opening up the cylinder head.

There are two production batches worth asking about separately. The examples built between December 2014 and May 2015 had a defective camshaft gear, which caused rapid cracking and valve damage. A campaign was launched for this in 2015 (16B42), in which the pulleys were replaced on several models.

The early sign is a squealing or droning noise from the direction of the timing belt cover.

between 100,000 and 150,000 km

What to check

  • Start it cold and listen to the noise from the direction of the timing belt cover
  • Ask for the invoice of the timing belt change: find out whether the tensioner pulley was replaced too
  • Ask whether a factory or an aftermarket belt went in: a non-original one snaps sooner
3 more steps in the write-up

EGR cooler: it cracks and the coolant goes into the intake

expensive

The EGR cooler can crack from the thermal load, and coolant gets into the intake through the crack. The fault is reported at around 120 000 kilometres.

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The most telling sign is black foam in the expansion tank: the recirculated exhaust gas sooties up the coolant. With it comes the coolant going down while there is no leak from outside, white smoke from the exhaust, and the engine tending to run hot.

In severe cases the fluid getting into the intake causes a hydraulic lock, and engine damage follows from that. The fluid is not compressible, so once it is in the cylinder it is the connecting rod that has to give. The repair is replacement of the cooler, and it is not worth putting it off.

above 120,000 km

What to check

  • Open the expansion tank on a cold engine: black foam or dirty fluid indicates a cracked EGR cooler
  • Look at the coolant level and ask whether it has had to be topped up
  • Look for a puddle under the car: if the level drops but there is no puddle, the fluid goes inwards
3 more steps in the write-up

Engine code

Factory data

Factory data

Engine family
—
Fuel
diesel
Displacement
1499 cc
Power
70 kW (95 HP)
Production
—

Generations

Which models it is fitted to

2 generations.

Information, not an expert opinion

We write the descriptions, and we put the source next to them. A person reviews them before they go out. They are still information, not a technical expert opinion.

  • A fault on the list does not mean the car you are looking at has it.
  • A fault missing from the list does not mean the model is fault-free. Write-ups are made model by model. Not all of them are done.
  • You decide whether to buy. This is no substitute for an inspection. That needs a workshop and a history check.
Details in the terms