VW Transporter T5 / T6 engine issues

[Homers GSA]

Howdy

I have been looking at second hand 4motion VW transporters and here in Oz it seems like every second one has had an engine replacement around that 200’000 km mark, or new turbos or heads / injectors.

Is there an inherent issue with the turbo diesels in these models?

Cheers

Homer

[Tim Cullis]

Ordinary T4-T5 diesel models are easily capable of 400,000km on the original engine and some have been reported to go as far as 800,000km. The T6 is a too new to be included in such mileages.

The Transporter has various 2.0-litre engines of between 102 and 204 BHP, automatic models use a mid-power 150 BHP and the 4motion models always have the most powerful engine. There have been some reports of engine failure in the higher powered engines due to a faulty EGR valve.

There's loads of VW forums that can give you more detailed info.

[Homers GSA]

HI Tim

Thanks for your advice. I have been viewing quite a few of the forums and the problem does not seem to be as big as it is here in Oz. Perhaps there is a similar service/maintenance issue here similar to what beset the D4D Prados for a time.

Cheers

Homer

[Tim Cullis]

I'm on VW campervan Facebook forums several times a day and I don't see a worrying level of serious engine problems even on older and higher mileage models. Mine is an automatic DSG T6 with the 150bhp engine.

I must admit I do fancy a 4motion. Over here we have idiots wanting to lower the campervans down to the ground, whilst I want to go in the opposite direction!