Tdi intercooler icing - damage?

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Jul 3, 2020
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Hi everyone, this is a good one... The CJAA common rail from 2011 through 2014 has a known TSB issued for intercooler icing during colder weather, where either chunks of ice, or water, will enter the combustion chamber upon start up and can cause a rough start or no start condition, and possibly damage to the engine. The supposed remedy from the TSB is a modified intercooler system which is supposed to alleviate this issue, but stories from others who have had symptoms and the fix has shown this to not be case.

Well, my car did have a rough start/stumbling a couple of times this winter, so a few weeks ago, I decided to see if I had any water sitting in the pipes. I removed both hot and cold side pipes that go to the intercooler, and didn't find any.

Except for today...

Last few days there was a cold snap where it dropped to between -5 to -10 celcius. I had just gotten my car from the body shop for some rust warranty yesterday, went to fire it up with no issues, drove home, parked it in a warmish garage (maybe 1-3 celcius), and well today, that first start did not end well. It fired up, and died within a second... I tried to crank it again for a split second and it was like the battery was dying, a tell-tale sign of intercooler icing. I went ahead to check the intercooler pipes, and in the picture below is what I collected. Bottle on the left is from the passenger hot air side, right bottle is from the drivers cold air side...

I towed the car to the vw dealer, as I still have the extended emissions warranty and from what i've read, this intercooler issue is covered as per the TSB, but I'm not sure what the dealer will/can do. I have read some have just gotten the intercooler update done and were on their way, but now begs the question, is the engine ok, did it bend a rod, or worse, hydrolock? Presumably without dismantling the engine, there's no way of knowing if a rod is bent, and if it's hydro locked, well then that one is pretty obvious as it won't turn over anymore

I will keep this thread updated as I find out what happens

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Hope the dealer can resolve the problem for you. That's the first time I've heard of this, although I don't own anything with an intercooler.
 
Hope the dealer can resolve the problem for you. That's the first time I've heard of this, although I don't own anything with an intercooler.
Unfortunately this intercooler issue is specific to just this generation of vw and engine, have not heard of it on any other models nor have I had it on other intercooled cars
 
Start it and see. Most often they're just starved of air due to the ice blockage.

Not much chance of bending a rod on startup either

I agree, but I didn't have ice, it was water, and alot of it, as can been seen from the bottle, I drained about 700ml

With that said, after draining it I could've tried to start it, but, after doing some digging online, a lot of people who had the same issue had the intercooler TSB covered under the extended emissions warranty and that the amount of water isn't substantial to bend a rod or hydrolock the engine. Apparently people have had multiple no starts and still cranked it over no problem, but to be safe since it is covered, I just had it towed to the dealer and have them deal with it and start it. If I can get the TSB done and get a new intercooler then that's even better
 
My 2009 Jetta with CBEA engine had the same issue. VW had a TSB to repair it but it didn't work. Water condenses in the intercooler.

The best thing to do is just make sure you detach one of the intercooler hoses each time you do an oil change and drain the water. It's a bad design and their "fix" simply didn't work.

Mine would freeze when temps got cold and it would cause a no-start due to air blockage. Once it thawed it'd start up and run just fine.
 
My 2009 Jetta with CBEA engine had the same issue. VW had a TSB to repair it but it didn't work. Water condenses in the intercooler.

The best thing to do is just make sure you detach one of the intercooler hoses each time you do an oil change and drain the water. It's a bad design and their "fix" simply didn't work.

Mine would freeze when temps got cold and it would cause a no-start due to air blockage. Once it thawed it'd start up and run just fine.
Yea as mentioned, will have the dealer perform the "fix" that doesn't work, at least it's a new intercooler for free, presuming they don't try and deny the claim. Of course there is a permanent solution which is an EGR delete as that seems to be culprit of the icing
 
*cough*hyundai*cough

If any brand would have this problem, Hyundai/Kia would. 🤨

Knock on wood, my Hyundai has not had this issue yet, with the stock intercooler or the racing double the volume Wagner intercooler that is installed now. I may pop off intercooler end and see if I have any water.

I do know VW/Audi have issues with people using catch cans that freeze up. I saw a good chunk of people blowing out main and cam seals on their forums. That’s what kept me from using a catch can on my car in Minnesota. Combustion moisture in the winter can be a damaging issue when water freezes, be it intercooler or the EGR system.
 
If any brand would have this problem, Hyundai/Kia would. 🤨

Knock on wood, my Hyundai has not had this issue yet, with the stock intercooler or the racing double the volume Wagner intercooler that is installed now. I may pop off intercooler end and see if I have any water.

I do know VW/Audi have issues with people using catch cans that freeze up. I saw a good chunk of people blowing out main and cam seals on their forums. That’s what kept me from using a catch can on my car in Minnesota. Combustion moisture in the winter can be a damaging issue when water freezes, be it intercooler or the EGR system.

I've only heard of it happening on diesels, the tucson in particular
 
Can you drill a small (1/16 of an inch) hole in the bottom of the intercooler?
 
Can you drill a small (1/16 of an inch) hole in the bottom of the intercooler?
I have read of others doing that but in the pipes, not intercooler. I've considered it, but didn't want to drill anything in the pipes
 
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