2015 Caravelle 180ps engine using oil

[Rv.]

Hi all, I’m new here and not too technical I’m afraid. We have a 2015 Caravelle 180ps bi-tdi -(70k miles), that has been swallowing a lot of oil
for about a year.
Last week it completely lost power and we were recovered to a garage who thought there was a fuel pipe problem and replaced it. We were on the road agin for a couple of days and then same issue but all lights on dashboard lit up. Recovered again and now garage say turbo has blown and both need to be replaced - £3500 projected cost, potentially more if the find other problems. Just wanted some advice if this sounds fair / normal? Can’t drive it to another garage for a second opinion so just looking for guidance really. Thanks in advance, Rich.

 

[DaveD]

Welcome to the Forum.
Turbo failure isn't unusual and often with lower mileage than yours, but I'd be a little cautious in your case. You say it's been using a lot of oil.
Has the garage conducted more investigations, for example, you might want a compression test carried out before fitting new turbos because if you have serious bore wear you may want to make an informed decision before spending a ton of cash on turbos.

 

[RobertO2023]

Run as many tests as you can before going for a big spend. Compression test , oil analysis, fault codes etc.

 

[T6Paul]

What’s a lot of oil?
If it’s been swallowing lots of oil for a year I’d be concerned where it’s gone! That engine is know for failure, I fear that new turbo’s may just be the tip of the iceberg. DPF, EGR, turbos and a new engine come to mind.
Have a search of the forum and make sure the garage are competent to diagnose and fix all issues to avoid premature failure of any replacement parts.

 

[Rob1978]

Hi all, I’m new here and not too technical I’m afraid. We have a 2015 Caravelle 180ps bi-tdi -(70k miles), that has been swallowing a lot of oil
for about a year.
Last week it completely lost power and we were recovered to a garage who thought there was a fuel pipe problem and replaced it. We were on the road agin for a couple of days and then same issue but all lights on dashboard lit up. Recovered again and now garage say turbo has blown and both need to be replaced - £3500 projected cost, potentially more if the find other problems. Just wanted some advice if this sounds fair / normal? Can’t drive it to another garage for a second opinion so just looking for guidance really. Thanks in advance, Rich.

If you do a search on bitdi 180 lots of issues reported with egr failure lead to engine damage and wear.

 

[AndyL82]

Been here....done that. Got a 14 plate T5.1 bitdi. Started drinking oil about 18 months ago...like a lot. 1 litre every 500 miles towards the end and the DPF needing to be regened lots. Did a millers oil test which showed there was lots of aluminum from the EGR in the oil....and this was after the oil effectively being replaced/diluted with fresh oil as it was topped up so frequently. Honeslty, it was actaully driving quite nice. Did it feel like it was down on power vs when i bought it 4 years ago...maybe.

I ended up getting a new crate engine fitted by retro resus, blanked EGR and no DPF. Runs SOOO much better. Probably 20% better fuel economy (vs. where i was), noticeable power improvement etc. Obvs i'm comparing to an engine that was probably on it's knees (but i'll never truely know). I got to the point of either trading it in and letting VW deal with it (but swapping was an extra £30k) or a new engine. Didn't want to have ti break down in me towing up a hill on holiday, and coudn't sell it privately knowing of the issues.

based on the better fuel and oil consumption, it's a no brainer. It will pay for itself by 2092

 

[RobertO2023]

Wow! You sure had a bad BTDi. I had exactly the same issues with mine and ending up with a new short motor. The strangest thing was, like you said, the performance was still great even with self changing oil
Plenty of other threads here on a truly bad engine