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Fault code

P0299 fault code.

This code comes up with one known fault.

Generic code

Code type

Engine and drivetrain

System

Boost pressure is too low

The turbo delivers less boost pressure than requested. Stuck turbo vanes, a leaking charge air pipe or a faulty pressure regulator can all cause it. The engine feels clearly weak, and many cars also switch to reduced power mode.

The code tells you what the control unit measured, not which part has failed. The same code has several possible causes.

Which known faults it comes up with

Variable turbo vanes: soot sticks them, and power runs out above 2000 rpm

expensive

Soot builds up on the variable vanes of the turbo, and the vanes stick in one position. The cause is short journeys and skipped oil changes: those form a thick deposit that blocks the actuator mechanism.

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With stuck vanes the boost cannot be controlled: it either overshoots or fails to come. The symptom is characteristic: power runs out above 2000 rpm, blue smoke comes on throttle, and the control unit logs code P0299. A whistling noise is audible from the engine bay.

The repair is not necessarily a turbo replacement. The workshop first tries to free the stuck vanes and calibrate the actuator mechanically; a full replacement is only needed if the vanes are stuck for good. The fault appears above 150 000 kilometres, and the repair costs between 600 and 1800 euros.

At a purchase the service book says more here than the odometer: how often the oil was changed and what kind of use the car had decide how much deposit has built up.

above 150,000 km600–1,800 EUR

What to check

  • Accelerate hard: power should not run out above 2000 rpm
  • Watch the exhaust on throttle: blue smoke belongs here
  • Listen to the engine bay: a whistling noise points to the turbo
3 more steps in the write-up

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