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Known fault

1.8 and 2.0 TSI (EA888): the crankcase breather membrane tears and lets false air in

Typically between 60,000 and 90,000 km. It does not show up on every car.

cheap repair

severity

between 60,000 and 90,000 km

mileage

80–400 EUR

repair cost

3 sources next to the write-up.

The fault

How you spot it

The crankcase breather carries the vapour that forms inside the engine back to the intake, and a rubber membrane regulates the pressure. Oil and heat harden this membrane until it tears, and from then on the intake draws air through the hole in it. The engine control unit does not measure that air, so the mixture goes wrong: the engine shakes at idle, stumbles when accelerating, and the fault memory gets P2279 for an intake system leak. In the other direction oil starts towards the intake, which leaves an oily film in the intercooler and on the intake pipe and speeds up the carbon build-up on the intake valves. The audible sign is a whistling or hissing noise from the engine bay, loudest at idle. The tear is reported between 60,000 and 90,000 km. On the first and second generation the breather is a separately replaceable valve (factory number 06H 103 495 AK) and costs between 80 and 400 euro; from the third generation it is built into the cam cover, so there the cover is replaced. The maker issued three versions up to 2016, and fitting the pressure variant that does not belong to the engine brings the same symptom back.

Which model

Who it affects

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

Engines and transmissions

Checklist

1.8 and 2.0 TSI (EA888): the crankcase breather membrane tears and lets false air in

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