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Known fault

2.0 TSI (EA888 gen3): too little oil pressure at idle

Typically between 70,000 and 120,000 km. It does not show up on every car.

critical

severity

between 70,000 and 120,000 km

mileage

800–3,500 EUR

repair cost

3 sources next to the write-up.

The fault

How you spot it

In these engines the oil pump is adjustable, and the factory setting deliberately keeps the oil pressure low at low revs to reduce the drag of driving it. At low revs the stock pump works at around 1.8 bar, up to 2 bar at most. With a warm engine at idle this can fall further, and values below 1 bar have been reported. The camshaft adjusters feel the low pressure first, because the oil pressure itself is what holds the adjuster in place: this is where the clacking noise heard at idle comes from. The chain tensioner follows, which the same pressure tensions, and the timing chain therefore wears faster. The reference values for this engine family are 2 bar at idle, 3 bar at 2,000 rpm and 4.5 bar at 4,000 rpm. The turbocharger and the camshaft are lubricated from the same circuit. A strengthened oil pump raises the idle pressure by about 20 per cent. Repairing the pump costs between 800 and 2,800 euro, and replacing a worn chain is a further 1,200 to 3,500 euro.

Which model

Who it affects

The card opens the generation, the engine or the transmission.

Engines and transmissions

Checklist

2.0 TSI (EA888 gen3): too little oil pressure at idle

What you would check for this fault. Take it to the car.

Before you buy

Checklist

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Sources

How we know

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