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Volkswagen Golf Plus 1.6 16V FSI Turijn common faults.

2005–2009, MPV, petrol, 115 HP.

The fault list covers: BLF, BLP engine, AQ250, DQ200, DQ250 transmission.

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6 fault write-ups. 5 important. No recall on the list.

If you know the year, pick it. Faults for other years drop out of the list.

Before you buy

Known faults

5 important faults

expensive5

The solenoids of the mechatronics unit wear out: slow or harsh shifting, then limp mode. A characteristic sign is the partial or complete loss of reverse. Wear of the clutch pack or the wrong spring force causes jerking and slipping. Because of the wet design it fails less often and at higher mileage than the dry DQ200, but when it does fail, it is expensive.

above 150,000 km

What to check

  • Pull away slowly from standstill and watch how smooth the 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 shifts are
  • Select reverse several times, cold and warm: is it delayed, does it engage at all
  • Under load (on a slope) watch whether the clutch slips
2 more steps in the write-up

The high pressure fuel pump is driven by the camshaft through a cam follower. The early version got a flat follower (the `BAG` is the most affected), and it can wear through from as little as 60,000 km; if it holes, the camshaft lobe is damaged too, and the repair jumps to many times the cost. The later `BLF` got a roller follower, where it is rarer. Symptoms are hesitation, loss of power, hard starting, and a low fuel pressure fault code.

What to check

  • Ask whether the cam follower has ever been inspected: this is a routine check, and many people skip it
  • When cold, watch whether it cranks longer than usual
  • With a code reader look for fuel pressure faults
1 more steps in the write-up

The Aisin automatic of the transverse engine VAG models locks the torque converter across a wide slip range, which gains on fuel consumption but loses on the life of the friction lining. The sign of wear is a vibration or "buzzing" felt at lock-up, and the lock-up cycling on and off.

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The other branch is the valve body: the control bores wear, and from then on the pressure cannot be held. A fault like that cannot be fixed with new solenoids: the seller's argument that "we replaced the solenoids" does not solve the problem on its own, and the symptom comes back after a few hundred kilometres.

What to check

  • With a warm gearbox, at 60 to 90 km/h on steady throttle, watch for vibration or buzzing: that is the torque converter locking up
  • Try it both cold and warm: a marked difference between the two points to valve body wear
  • Watch for harsh 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 shifts and slipping under load
2 more steps in the write-up

A thin wall of the mechatronics valve body can crack, which causes a loss of pressure. The typical signs: jerking and harsh shifting from 1st to 2nd at low speed, a flashing PRNDS display, then a gear engagement fault, intermittently at first.

What to check

  • Pull away slowly from standstill and watch the 1 to 2 shift: does it jerk, is it harsh
  • Check whether the PRNDS display flashes or the dash reports a gearbox fault
  • In creep mode (brake released), does the car move off evenly
1 more steps in the write-up

With direct injection the fuel does not wash the intake valves: the petrol goes into the cylinder, not behind the valve. The oil mist and soot arriving through the EGR and the crankcase ventilation therefore build up on the valve stem and head, and from 80,000 to 100,000 km they restrict the flow. Symptoms are hesitation, loss of power, a rough cold start and misfire. It is not a part failure: it is a consequence of the design, and therefore it comes back. Cleaning (walnut or dry ice blasting) helps for a few tens of thousands of kilometres.

What to check

  • After a cold start watch the idle: rough running and shaking point to coked valves
  • Under load at low revs watch for hesitation
  • With a code reader look for per cylinder misfire (P0300 to P0304)
1 more steps in the write-up

cheap repair1

The dash shows "Error: Workshop! Only leave vehicle in position P" with an audible warning. The message appears in whatever language the car is set to, for example "Fehler: Werkstatt! Fahrzeug nur in Stellung P verlassen" in German.

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The message points at the gearbox, but the fault is not there. A tiny switch sits in the module under the selector lever and signals that the lever is in park (P). Its contact wears and can also burn. That makes the signal unreliable, and the car warns you. The fault codes appear as 617752, P173400 or B116229.

At first it is intermittent. Sometimes the message comes up, sometimes not, so a short test drive easily misses it. Later it becomes permanent, and the gearbox can drop into limp mode.

This fault looks more expensive than it is. The maker released a separate retrofit switch kit for it (5Q0713128A for the black module, 3Q0713128 for the white one), which can be fitted in half an hour. The kit costs 70 to 100 pounds. At a franchised dealer, however, the whole selector lever module sometimes gets replaced, which costs 626 to 1,000 pounds there. So the difference between the two routes is roughly tenfold.

The affected group is post 2013 MQB platform Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda cars with a DSG gearbox. The switch is in these gearboxes, because that is what these cars have in common. The part itself is not part of the gearbox but of the module under the lever.

What to check

  • Watch the dash after starting: the message is intermittent and can be missed on a short loop
  • Move the lever from P to D and back several times, then get out and lock the car
  • Ask whether the selector lever switch has been replaced already, and ask for the invoice
2 more steps in the write-up

Checklist

Volkswagen Golf Plus 1.6 16V FSI Turijn

First what you would check on any car. Then the faults of this model.

Before you buy

Checklist

The printed sheet starts with what you would check on any car. What you tick stays on this device only.

On every car

Ask the owner

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Engine and transmission

2 engines · 3 transmissions

BLF · 1.6

85 kW (116 HP) · petrol

AQ250 · 6-speed automatic (torque converter)

automatic · 6 speed

Torque limit250 Nm
MakerAisin

We built the code from the model and the gear count. The factory sheet does not state it. More than one engine code is possible. The fault list shows the faults of each. More than one transmission is possible. The gear count does not tell them apart. The code is on the side of the transmission.

Variant data

What is in this version

Factory data

Trim
Turijn
Body
MPV
Fuel
petrol
Transmission
automatic
Engine size
1598 cc
Power
85 kW (116 HP)
Drive
FWD
Production
2005–2009

Factory service interval

The manufacturer specifies this for this version. Of the mileage and the time, the one that comes first is the one that counts.

  • Air filter

    • 60,000 km or 4 years
  • Cabin (pollen) filter

    • 30,000 km or 2 years
  • Engine oil and oil filter

    • LongLife30,000 km or 2 years(valid only with LongLife-approved oil)
    • 15,000 km or 1 year
  • Brake fluid change

    • first: 3 years, then 2 years(first change at 3 years, then every two years)
  • Coolant (antifreeze) change

    • first: 193,000 km or 10 years, then 97,000 km or 5 years(G13 / G12++: first change at 120,000 miles or 10 years, then every 60,000 miles or 5 years)
  • Spark plugs, petrol

    • 60,000 km or 6 years

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