Why Volkswagen Engines Fail
304,419
Published 2021-06-07
The EA888 engine was introduced in the late 2000's and is still in production today across many Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche model. It is a cast iron 2.0 L turbocharged 4 cylinder engine, offered in both front wheel (transverse) and rear wheel drive (longitudinal) configurations.
In this video, we teardown an EA888 engine out of a 2011 VW GTI to see what's inside, how it works and to examine the common failure points on these engines across its three different generations. Common failure points include the plastic water pump and thermostat housing, timing chain tensioners, stretched timing chains, weak or clogged PCV systems, oil leaks, and carbon build up in the intake valves due to it only having direct injection.
Overall the EA888 engine has its share of issues, that if addressed with updated parts, can make the engine reliable, though at a cost that would be higher than its competitors in the vehicle segment to maintain.
Skip to section in the video:
0:00 Introduction
1:40 Teardown
12:46 Component Analysis
18:10 Final Thoughts
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All Comments (21)
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A PLASTIC water pump driven by a hidden belt that requires half the car to be dismantled to be repaired...WHYYY?!!
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Man, this guy is very, very good at breaking these engines down, literally and figuratively. He is providing a valuable public service and I hope he is being adequately compensated in some way. You know, by money or whatever.
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Hans, we designed this engine with 3 separate timing chains so there is no room for the water pump on the front of the engine. Where is there room for the water pump? On the back of the engine under the intake. Brilliant! But how will we drive the water pump? We can drive it using the balance shaft! But there is no room to drive it directly. Put some pulleys and a belt there. Brilliant! But Hans, what if the belt needs to be replaced? Don't worry, we will make the water pump out of plastic so it will start leaking before the belt needs to be replaced. Brilliant!
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I ve been reading internet forums abaout this engine for tens of hours but you explained it by far better in not even 20mins, respect sir and many thanks.
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This video is a jewel. But, instead installing a timed dinamite charge, VW added all technological flaws to that engine in order to self destruct. More successful than its reassembly, will be making time-travel possible.
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This engine is like a horror movie. It just gets worse and worse further into the review 😳
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After 26 years of working in vw service, I concluded that volkswagen lives on the old glory of golf 1 and 2
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Them some evil engineers to put a water pump and belt in that hidden location.
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Here’s how to preform an oil change on that engine. Step 1: unbolt the transmission
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When one mentions timing chain, life time comes to mind. VW found a way to destroy that.
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Remember Vw not only sells autos but auto parts. They feed an entire population in Wolfsburg. That is the main reason they put a plastic water pump for example.
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Vw designer in 2020 : let’s put a pump water in a place that owner doesn’t expect Vw designer in 2030 : let’s put a pump water inside the piston
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I usually watch videos like this at 1.5 speed to save time, no need with you!
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Your analysis is astoundingly thorough. I bought a 2009 Audi A4 2.0 new while it was still on the boat in the Atlantic. I gave that engine everything. I cared for it as meticulously as anyone possibly could. It was a glorious car when it ran. Nonetheless, it chewed through three heads in 142,000 miles. I gave up at that point and bought a Subaru.
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Designed for leasing followed by disposal and recycling.
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Stopped buying VW products when the quality left in the 90s, when VW decided that profit over quality and reliability was king!
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When the many car reviewers praise a new car, always remember that that's when it's new. They don't talk about the long - or even short - term costs. I had this engine on a Q5 and it was breathtaking at high revs. Truth is German designs work amazing when new but the overly complexity finally catches up. I think the last quality VW were build 20 years ago
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This seems like the definitive "designed for you to service at a dealer ONLY". There's no other explanation for all of these engineering decisions.
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Shout out to this dude's family for supplying shirts, dresses, socks, and blouses to wipe shit up!
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So much for German Engineering. Another fine in depth mechanics video that actually shows how these engines are supposed to work, but often don't. Nice video, dude, once again.
