The ultimate oil pressure guide for the TFSI 2.0 EA113
TFSI 2.0 EA113 Oil pressure – Part 1
Nov
The ultimate oil pressure guide for the TFSI 2.0 EA113
It is no secret anymore that the EA113 engines have been plagued with oil pressure related issues. We have spent years studying these engines and why they fail. Now we will share some of this knowledge, along with solutions and preventive measures that can be taken, to prevent that dreaded oil pressure warning.
Why does an engine need oil pressure?
Just to make sure we are all on the same page here, I am going to start out with answering this very basic but important question. If you keep reading, you might find yourself surprised to learn, the mensioned answer was not all that simple after all.
Most people already know the oil is important for lubrication,whilst others may not know it is also used for cooling and various hydraulic functions around the engine, such as chain tensioners, cam shaft adjusters and valve tappets. In order to fully understand what is happening when your oil pressure warning light comes on, during specific conditions, you must first know about all of these functions. Why, you ask? Because wherever within the engine where the oil is at work, there is a potential risk of an issue occuring.
Two main reasons for low oil pressure
When trouble shooting oil pressure issues it is good practice to do it step by step. Once you stop scratching your head and actually start to think it through from the beginning, you will be amazed how logical it all is. In the end there are only two main reasons for a loss or reduction in oil pressure. Either there is not enough oil delivered throughout the system or there is a leak, could be internal or external of the engine.
Some of the possible causes
Not enough oil delivered throughout
- Faulty oil pump
- Faulty pressure regulating system
- Blockage in the system
Low oil pressure due to a leak
- Worn sliding bearings and/or journals
- Defective hydraulical activated components
- External leaks, i e turbo, oil cooler, cylinder head gasket
Troubleshooting oil pressure related issues step-by-step
When it comes to trobleshooting oil pressure related symptoms in the TFSI 2.0 EA113 engines from Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda and Seat, there is often more logical thinking involved than actual working with your hands. In this guide I will try and change that, by providing my knowledge and experience as well as offering solutions to the different causes of problems.
Obviously there is no way of saying: “If you have this issue, I can guarantee, you have to replace this component”. But I will do my best to explain how to get started and in which order I would do it.
Is the oil pressure really low?
Whenever an oil pressure warning light illuminates on your dashboard, you should stop the engine as soon as possible in a safe manner.
That beeing said, when it comes to troubleshooting, that light can not be trusted. The first thing you should do is to hook up a gauge in order to exclude the possibilty of a defective sensor or harness. If the oil pressure is above 1,2 bar at idle, this could indicate an electrical issue.
if the oil pressure gauge reads zero
In case your readings are at zero you should immediately stop the testing and turn off the engine.
You can skip the next step and jump straight to next post in this series, by clicking THIS LINK.
time to look at the characteristics of the issue
At this point there is some thinking involved. There are a couple of points that need to be considered before starting to work on the car.
If the gauge shows you there is oil pressure, you may continue running the engine for further testing. The next step will be taking your oil pan off because most of the troublesome components are located in that area. Once the oil pan is removed, it will be hard to run more tests, so make sure to get all the info now.
What we need to know at this stage is how does the oil pressure behaves.
- Cold vs. warm engine
- Low vs. high RPM
- is it intermittent, for instance it dips when going from high RPM to idle
So make, sure to write down some footnotes about it. Maybe even make a simple diagram for later use.
I will run a test on our own Volkswagen Passat, to get some numbers for a chart to add here as soon as possible. Those numbers should be fairly representative, given I rebuilt the engine about 20.000 km ago and therefore know it is in good condition.
That is it for the first part of the series
As much as I would love to give you all the information and knowledge at once, I do have a lot of work going on as well. I will try to get the next part of the guide out for you really soon, since we havn’t really started in this first one.
Coming up in Part 2 of the ultimate oil pressure guide
In the next part we will start taking the engine apart and take a closer look at some of the most common causes of low oil pressure warnings.
See you then!
Hi,
I had a problem with oil pressure ( Audi A& TFSI 2.0 2006 / EA113 BPJ ) last week. We had quite cold weather here (-20 degrC). Engine starts normally but NO oil pressure. RED oil pressure light came and oil press.gauge shows 0,2bar. After 15sek I started again, no oil press. Engine sounds like diesel. After warming the engine, all is fine. Any idea what was/is wrong?
Hi Markku,
I would start by checking the engine oil. Sounds like either water in the oil or the oil pressure regulating system. The regulating piston uses the suction side of the pump, to reference the “atmospheric” pressure. Even partial oil pickup screen blockage, in combination with the viscosity of very cold oil, could cause the valve to open early. More about this can be read in part 3 and 4.
/Hannes
Hi Hannes,
Thanks for Your answer. There was screen blockage in oil pump suction.
Also I installed new 3 oil jets for the pistons. The main thing was the change of the freewheel ! Your product is fantastic. The originalone was worn and springs were caput. Before repair oil pressure was 0,9bar/800 1/min. Now it is 2,0bar/800 1/min. Great! No extra vibrations found.
Glad to hear it worked out Markku and thanks for your kind words. Happy driving!
Hello Hanes,
I quick question for an Audi TTS 2011 EA113 engine.
What’s the normal range of oil press for this engine?
I’m planning to install a gauge to have a constant reading to avoid any hiccups with the engine?
Thanks,
JC
That depends on your setup and engine wear.
Repair manual states:
Engine oil temperature approx. 80 °C
Oil pressure at idling speed: at least 1.2 bar.
Oil pressure at 2000 rpm: at least 2.7 bar.
Hello Hannes
Thank you for this useful post. I have a quick question:
Q5 2.0 TSFI 2014, low pressure warning. P164D 00 stored
The car has 1.37 bar at idling, at 2000rpm and even at 3700rpm. It never increase.
We have tested with an oil pressure gauge and we don´t see a high pressure activation from the oil pump.
We have activated the oil pump regulator valve with the scan tool and it does sound , so i guess the electric circuit is fine.
Have you seen a trouble like this?
Thank you in advance.
Hi Jesus,
sorry for the late response to this. You have the EA888 engine. I would start by taking the electronic regulator out see if it does what it’s supposed to do.
/Hannes
I wonder if you can help, I have 2005 audi A3 with the AXX / EA113 engine. Its also a DSG if that makes any difference.
I get the low oil pressure warning pop up at 1500rpm. It ONLY happens at this RPM and when the engine up to full running temp. Does not do it at idle, higher RPM or when the engine is cold.
It sounds perfectly healthy when running, no rattles or horrible noises. I’ve read possibly a bad oil pressure sensor, would you suspect the same? Thanks.
Hi Joe,
you need to measure the oil pressure at idle, it is likely to be low due to a combination of a worn regulating valve and bad piston cooling jets.
BR
Hannes
Hi,
I have an Audi A6 C6 4F 2.0 TFSI from 2007, that has a low oil pressure related issue that I can’t quite figure out.
When the engine begins to become warm and has driven a little bit, it comes up with oil pressure low warning, but only when not in idle. Shortly after a rattle noise starts coming from the chain and does not stop until the engine is cold again.
Is there any chance you might have experienced this before and have any idea what causes it?
Best regards
Markus
Hi Markus,
I would start by measureing the actual oil pressure with a mechanical gauge. These engines don’t give you the warning at idle.
BR
Hannes