How VW Parts Fail ~ TDI High Pressure Fuel Pumps 

I recently bought a 2013 Jetta after months of researching the TDI, and I just wanted to let you know your videos are amazing, and I am definitely thankful that someone is producing content like this. Please continue the good work.

Thank you for this video. You’ve explained this failure so good that even a child will understand. My mechanic told me I just had this failure - me not understanding cars that much, I googled stuff - this confirmed what the mechanic showed me. Fml though, still expensive to repair after all these years :/

Great video Charles. Oem filters only Drain water separators often Change filters at half the recommended intervals due to junk fuel you ARE getting

Thanks for thorough explanation of failures!😊

You make great Videos ...Thank you for all your hard work and Time !

Hi HumbleMechanic, I got a story for all TDI owner that you would not believe. Just recently I had HPFP failure on my 2013 Passat TDI about 2 months aprox 10,000 kms after the emissions fix. It was the classic failure glow plug lights flashing loosing power quickly to never start again. Searched on the internet and used VCDS to scan the car and confirmed that HPFP has failed. I called the dealership and they said HPFP and fuel system is covered under Emissions fix extended warranty (Canada). The only time it will not covered if they find fuel contamination.I thought I would be extra careful After I heard so much about VW finding an escape goat and not to covering things under Warranty. I drained the fuel tank (which I tested was 100% diesel) and there is no way I will miss fuel my TDI as this is my 3rd TDI. I remember filling up at the ESSO gas station and their was Sprinter guy waiting behind me to finish so that he can fill his tank. Anyways I emptied the tank using VCDS and running the pump. After that I went to another gas station and bought 23 liters of Diesel fuel in the can and dumped it in the tank. Cleaned the fuel filter reservoir and change the filter.Next day I Called VW road side assistance and had the vehicle to towed to the dealer. After couple of days I called the dealer as I had no update from them. The service advisor told me that they smell gas in my tank. I said there is no way and went to see the car. When the showed me the tank with fuel pump removed (under the rear seat), I told them how come it seems like its more than quarter of tank. They said that they had to top it up in order to troubleshoot. I asked them what kind of troubleshooting is this, that it needs more than 1/4 of tank. They insisted that it smell of petrol and it may be that I had put gas instead of diesel in the car. I told them that this car has filler neck to stop a gas nozzle from fueling the car. I asked them to do fuel analysis and let me know the results.I called them a couple of days later and the service rep told me that VW was coming to get fuel for analysis. After that I did not hear back from them. I called them again as its now approaching two weeks since they have my car in the shop and no rental was provided to me. They tell me that the service rep is not at her desk and they will get back to me. So finally at the end of day on Friday I call them again and ask to talk to the service rep and she told me that the car would not covered under warranty as it has contaminated fuel (petrol mixed with diesel). I told them that I need to talk to the service manager. When I talke dto him I had few basic questions for him. How did you come to the conclusion that the fuel is contaminated and why did your shop mechanic felt a need to add more fuel to the tank. I gave the car with 1/4 tank of fuel and now its past 1/2 tank. He had no answers for me and told me to talk to my Insurance company. I went and confronted him and still he had no answers. I asked for report on the fuel and he said they don't have any, all they know is that fuel is contaminated. I had my car towed to my home the same day and started documented everything. I did the fuel test with Styrofoam cup and found that it had petrol in it. I did the same test on original fuel that I had saved and no traces of petrol. I once again drained the fuel and refueled and sent it to different dealership and waiting on the response. I have video tapped everything on draining and drying the tank and then refueling with new diesel. Also have the Styrofoam tests on video.I'm so mad at VW dealership and will be brining out my story to the Media. Hopefully its only one bad dealer and not the VW itself. We will see... I will keep everyone posted.I keep on remembering the VW CEO statement, We have to build the trust again.. yeah right.

Your video just calm me ahahah, my low pressure failed, changed it and the car run but go straight in limp mode, glow plug flash in the dash and will start to stall after a drive around the block, so i think its the pump controller . Well made vid bud

Thanks for the vid, Charles!

Any thoughts on what owners can do to prevent this? I bought this car thinking it would was nearly bulletproof, now I feel like I've got a ticking time bomb. Should we be dosing diesel with cetane power service to lube the fuel system? Is there a specific pump that does better? I've noticed there are a few different SKU numbers for OEM pumps.... 03L130851AX vs. 03L130755A is there a preferred alternative?

Great video...any thoughts about the CP3 pump some have been retrofitting to TDIs as a way to get away from the issues from this pump? Or using aftermarket filters to protect fuel system components from a HPFP catastrophic failure?

Thanks for the video. Had this happen to my 2012 tdi sportwagen. Not mechanically inclined so I'd be paying to have it fixed. Now I've gotta get someone to buy it off me with this issue present

Damn good video. My car threw the glow plug light flashing and within about 1min she shut down. Towed it home and pulled the sensor to see lots of metal shavings. Also used vcds and there was zero high pressure showing while trying to crank.

Just passed 375k on my original pump! I’m just discovering how much damage these can cause so I’m going to replace it right away!!

Great video. I've always wanted to take one of those art but they've always been under core charge. Have you seen any of the new pumps that we've been putting in fail? I know they have a parts super session. If they haven't what's been done that's fixed the issue of them failing?

hey! another joint video soon! awesome. and of course, another Great video!

Most impressive review, very much aprechaiyte the know how :)

My '15 Passat TDI had zero symptoms of a failing HPFP. No DTCs (p0087 low rail pressure, p0088 high rail pressure, p0191 pressure sensor range), no odd pump sounds, etc. However, did have nearly 210k miles on engine. On pulling my metering valve, I found one big piece of metal and just a few little specs of debris in the screens. So little debris that one Q-Tip was able to clean everything up. Replaced my HPFP two days later. Just thought it was odd that everything was working perfectly and yet.... caught it just in time.

nice video , well explained

Great job mate!

Could you do a video on Diesel Particulate Filter for 2011 TDI . As im seeing a P0401 on my CEL

Just got a jetta tdi has 165000 miles, would you say if it was going to fail it would have already? I am going to pull the synoid tommorow fingers crossed, if its good ( which its not displaying symptoms) will an additive with more lubricity help..... love the channel!

Thank you for the video! my pump failed at 138,922 miles in October 2015, on a 2010 Jetta sedan TDI, the dealer quote to repair was approximately $4000. The dealer called VW to see if they would repair it, "no". I called myself and "no" As in your video it is a hard stop warranty at 120,000 miles. The dealer has one or two more cars with the same failure. As for electrical, my trunk stopped working as well as the stock radio.

thanks bro it really helped me

i have a 2012 VW Jetta TDI. Had a HPFP fail. I have replaced HPFP and most of the system. i primed the fuel system before starting. engine runs very good smooth for a TDI. but when on test drive it keeps setting the P0087 code. i have went back and check pressure sensor. and the fuel pressure regulator. both test good. checked wiring from regulator to ECM good. woiuld you have a ideal that i could test replace ?

I currently have a 2012 tdi and out of curiosity do you have to prime the fuel system with the vcds if you wanted to take just the valve off to inspect the hpfp for metal shavings?

Great Video!!! Have a question. Is It normal lisen a little sounds from the pump when i put in contact the car? The sounds continues while is in contact. Thanks

Even my stars are aligned and i have had just a broken down vehichle of skoda yeti with water pump and and timing kit belt issues!

Humble mechanic did they change this pump to a different pump in 2015? Should we replace it when I do the timing belt? I have 2 2015 tdi one Jetta one Passat also a 2014 tdi Jetta I'm now worried. Advise please

On checking low pressure fuel for one of these:what is lift pump pressure supposed to be? And, after aux pump before the hpfp? It seems simple to me, but the VAG procedure doesnt say much.

What would be some additives that you could recommend to prevent an algae clot? I seen zmax

I really like the video. As an owner of a vehicle that could suffer a HPFP failure at some point, It would be nice to learn more about how to prevent a problem, and ideally some assurance that this is not a VW design problem. Are these pumps failing due to no fault of the owner, and if so, why doesn’t VW do a recall to correct the issue. Also why is there no aftermarket solution to prevent pump failure from damaging so much of the system. Seems like a design problem that VW or someone should be able to fix.

That's the baby version of the bosch set up in fords 6.7 powerstroke.that volume control valve on the pump looks identical to the one on the fords high pressure pump,except it's serviceable separately on the fords.and fords are the same it's always the valve that fails or catastrophic failure of the pump,usually some goof put def in the fuel.i bet you can imagine how expensive that gets really quick.

I've been told that "Certified Used" post-Dieselgate TDIs have all had their fuel pumps replaced or that they're all under a new warranty. Do you know if this is true???

Hi, can you make a video for the 2005-2008 1.9L tdi?

I sent you a message on fb and this was what happened to my touareg. There was no check engine light 😢😢😢.

i have a 2006 passat, dealer says camshaft worn out and it need a 3000 repair, i will work with an updated to fuel pressure pump since camshaft does not seem to be that bad to me.

do you know where the vacuume pipe off the fuel regulator goes to my car is a VW MK4 GOLF 1.6 16V AZD ENGINE. The previouss owner has bodged it up with 3 seperate bits of pipes and joined them together when i pulled the pipe off the regulator it also came off at the other end cant find where the other end goes. I have a missfire so checking for vacuume leaks tried spark plugs an coils and commpressions are good to also cleaned injectors still no change. Cheers man

I seem to have a FPR failing but see no metal on it. When I test it by powering it up, it won't actuate, won't click. Could I have algae growth binding it or is it metal from the HPFP that I'm not seeing?

Hi.. i having question on diesel fuel system... my diesel engine common rail pressure read up to 1000 bar during cranking.. and can hear high noise of knocking from my engine, after let it idle for 3 to 5 min, the CRP drop to normal idle reading 300 bar.. checked and replaced the new SCV, however the issue still persist... need your humble advice.. thanks..

Hey Charles, what is your view of some of the kits you can find to convert these TDI engines back to a CP3 pump? Is it worth the cost or can the same thing still happen?

presuming you use decent quality diesel and don't fuel with gasoline rather than diesel, is there a way to check the fuel pumps Health? to ensure you don't get a catastrophic failure? is it common practice to look inside the fuel pump for metal pieces?

I have a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta TDI is it bad for the high pressure fuel pump after changing the fuel filter to cycle the key on and off ?

hello, would You shoot a similar video on the 2.0 125 kW PD fuel pump?

Our 2013 Jetta TDI would not start this morning. P0087 code. Dropped it off at the dealer. Here's hoping they don't say it's bad grade diesel in it. Nothing but shell fuel for us.

Have you worked or seen the Hyundai CRDI 2.0 diesel engines on 2016 Santa Fe ? I am getting code p1186 p0087 on a diesel engine, low fuel pressure, symptoms it stalls if u pass 60mph, I restart and it starts but won't go higher than 60-70mph, I replaced fuel filter, cleaned tank wasn't bad, changed rail sensor. Weird thing is whe. I replaced rail sensor it worked fine for few days, then started stalling again on higher speed or when I step on it, I had to accelerate slowly so it won't stall

Everything checks out good including internal high pressure pump plunger and lobes. Still no start. Im replacing pump and injectors anyways but i haven't found the problem yet

My Mk7 is coming up on 65,000. I'm the second owner, bought it at 22,000 on the clock. Minus a minor, ongoing parking sensor malfunction, the car has been perfect! What can I do to prevent this catastrophic fuel pump failure, and or detect if it's going to happen? Some people have been saying to replace the CP3 ($1,000?) now, just to be safe. I love this car and I want it to survive to 500,000 miles or more (if possible).

Im going to try my luck and maybe you will reply to me... I have a Audi a4 b8 CAHA engine which uses this exact pump. The issue I am having is the car cranks but doesnt start.. Have checked codes with VCDS and its showing rail pressure too low and rail pressure too high.. Where to start on this? Should I replace the easy parts first, fuel pressure sensor, fuel filter, fuel sender, fuel regulator valve or should I go straight into replacing the fuel pump itself? If I remove the fuel regulator on top of the fuel pump do I have to release the pressure in the system first or can i just unbolt the sensor and pull it off to see whats inside? Thank you.

Man...I really enjoy your channel, and you in general. Your doing some good work when you can make me interested in VW sir! (Subaru guy here...and self proclaimed Snap On addict as well)

I have an 02 1.9 liter VW TDI and when I try to pull a vacuum on the return line of the injection pump no fuel will pull through all it does is create a suction and then will collapse my hoes. Is this supposed to happen or should fuel flow through the return freely when I connect a vacuum pump up to it to check my fuel system for clogs?

my mom has a 1.2TDI Polo bluemotion, is this also a problem with that engine?

im needing to replace one on my 13 Cayenne Diesel. I can not find anything that shows how to remove the whole pump.Any suggestions?

Another symptom from experience is you will hear thumping coming from the back of the car and significant loss of MPG’s and fuel.

please make a video on vw amarok 2.0 tdi engine rebuild or power loss.

yay finally you got them!, i know i pestered you a lot about these HPFP!. I remember that when these came out one of the problems was the shoddy US-style "euro diesel" that had very very low lubricity, the situation has improved i guess from 09(but euro diesel is still much abrasive than cheap diesel, cheap diesel has 500ppm sulphur, euro-diesel has 10ppm, and as you all know, sulphur is a lubricant).... Also, the design is shit, why does VW LOVE cam-operated pumps so much(other than to fleece customers) is beyond me, they're terrible!, look at the petrol pumps you showed that the follower and cam get eroded to destruction!, look at this!. In 2001, we had a 2L Citroen Xsara HDI, that thing was one of the first common rails(and very high pressure to boot), with piezo injectors and also used a Bosch pump that was fairly long, what's notable is that engine was designed to run on high sulphur diesel so we could fuel it with the cheapest stuff there was, it could also run on euro-diesel no problems. I don't know why didn't VW copied/licensed that pump design from PSA..... IIRC the Xsara pump had 3 cylinders, this one that VW uses is one cylinder only :S

Price here in Australia is $2200 for the pump . crazy prices

Hey mate, I have a question, when these are replaced with a reconditioned part, do they need to be activated or something done with their software? Ive just changed mine with a reconditioned one, the original just started failing it was making a loud clicking noise and I stopped using the car, no EML or glow plug lights came on, no loss of power or missfire, after i changed it with a reconditioned one flashing glow plug light and eml came on the code im getting is P0087- Fuel rail pressure too low, my question is do these need something done with the software so they work properly or is it just a defective pump? Thanks in advance

Not related to this but i have a 11 jetta se with transmission problems and it throw a whole bunch of failure codes. Is there anything that commonly goes wrong? Can it maybe be a diy to replace it i have a little experience working on cars but not a lot.

Any gauge for the percentage of these pumps that fail? If a person was replacing their timing belt, would you recommend replacing the HPFP at the same time?

Hi, The diesel leak off pipe is keep on pushes out , the leak off non return valve works fine..but there is some kind of block that goes to the pump... Any idea ??

In the movie Kelly's Heroes, one of the Tiger tanks has a problem with the fuel system. After all these years, German fuel system problems still exist! On my 2015 1.8 TSI, we had a camshaft recall and I expected a new camshaft because the recall mentioned Sintering and shaved off lobes. Yet I am now told that an ECU flash solved the problem. Are they being honest with me? Can you tell me why a flash makes a difference?

Good morning , I have 2.0 16v TDI with cp4 Bosch , Audi A3, the trouble I have old fuel inside of the car At this point I decide to clean fuel tank and fuel pump change fuel filter. Up to here all good after 30 starts the motor start ok idle to 3000 rpm but the problem at the next day don’t start any more , after this point the fuel is empty on high pressure circuit and don’t start any more. How I can solve , how I can clean all the high pressure fuel circuit please ligth me. Thank you in advance. Good job

Would you diagnose the same way on any other vehicle make for high pressure fuel pumps?

Currently going through this at the mo 😇

Dear Humblemechanic great video , subscribed!...I have question - is it safe to unbolt value to check metal contamination? What if is not contaminated ? If I'll put value back after checking do I need to bleed it or something? Is that way of checking safe for not contaminated hpfpump? Thanks in advance.

Nice

Greeting @HumbleMechanic !! I have a 2010 Jetta TDI that I bought new in December 2010. June 6, 2018, just 2 weeks ago, our car stalled coming to an intersection. It wouldn’t start again. Towed to dealership where they found metal in the fuel. They’re claiming the fuel failed the contamination test, and won’t cover it under the warranty we have for the fuel system. I’m so peeved… even have the last 3 receipts showing I used diesel fuel. (Also I’m not an idiot and have never mis-fueled my vehicle - I bought it BECAUSE of the diesel). How many miles would you estimate you could go on contaminated fuel before it dies? I was at 384 miles on that tank (im estimating I went through about 8.5 gallons).

Hello sir, I have 10 renault dxi 240 trucks. Out of these 3 Renault dxi 240 cars have some problems. Startup is OK. But after 2-3 minutes after starting, the rpm does not exceed 1500 and the speed does not exceed 60. I don't understand what the problem is, please solve.

I have a 1.5 TDI in fuel pump area little dirt marks are there like diesel dirt how should I know my fuel pump is leaking also no codes my car is well maintained

Would you recommend any mk6 tdi used, they have the extended warranty 120k miles, been thinking of getting a tdi, but weary of this issue.

Is there any sound that can tell me i have issue with that pump? Coz i can hear electrical humming from 1000 to 2000rpm when I put the pedal on the floor and only when im in gear. I have 2013 audi a3 8v 2.0 tdi.

I have a mk7 tdi with 49,000 miles, i run kleen diesel additives usually every fillup, rn its the winter additive, i just replaced the fuel filter at 46,000 miles, hopefully that prevents this failure somewhat, i figure there is only so much i can do, any recomendations past this.

i bought a cr170 audi a3 2.0, and if i rev the car or its under 1500rpm, i get a weird buzzing noise, my mechanic reckons its the regulator, is this true?

My 2012 Q7 TDI just experienced High Pressure Fuel Pump Failure. Car has been at Audi dealship 35 days!!!! They are blaming covid-19 for staff shortages. I am beginning to think they don't care because it's a warranty repair. They have me in a 2020 brand new loaner car. You would think they would want that back?! Funny part is, I diagnosed the problem for them because I am an avid Audi Blog reader and had heard about it. They said they weren't sure what was wrong with it, I sent them a summary of the fuel pump failure and they quickly responded with, yep that's the problem! I was driving along at 55mph when the engine just quit! Scary experience. My question is, how much actual labor hours are required to replace all the fuel system parts? As I mentioned they have had the car 35 days already.

My crdi (Hyundai Santa Fe diesel 2016) is throwing code p0087 p1186 Symptoms: stalls if I accelerate hard or if I speed up over 50mph when it happens I restart it and it fires right up on 2nd attempt. While idling I can rev it past 3k rpm no problem, but while driving it will stall if I go past 2k rpm or if I floor it it'll stall. I replaced fuel filter, fuel rail sensors, whats next ? Or how do I correctly diagnose it, or what do I look for in live data ?

What about for a 2000 TDI? My Jetta has a sound that seems like power steering sound but the pitch of the whine does not change except by RPM and does not change when turning or braking. very hard to determine exactly where the noise is coming from but when i use stethoscope i still cant identify the source. definitely dont have the money you are referencing for repair or replacement so i really need to be sure before offer it for target practice in a machine gun shoot.

Hi would this be the same for the vw mk5 version as im having trouble fpr the last year trying to start my golf everytime !!???

800 bar? Did I hear that to right? That's like 11,600 psi.

Can a failed hpfp cause the lift pump in the tank to go bad?

Hi im from SA i have a vw Cadddy that has no power and no fault codes i checked the vacuum all seems fine but it has no boost i replaced the turbo aswell but still no victory The exhaust is open The camshaft doesnt look worn Turbo is new No troble codes any ideas

What additive do you recommend for more diesel lubrication?

1.6 tdi polo no power.. no engine light..?hope you will give me something to go on with😫😞

hello I have a problem with my car he loses the puissonse LEON EN 143ch every time I restart the engine

How to prevent it though? I'd love a used to tdi wagon but a several thousand dollar repair is enough to turn me away completely.

I think, the pump has no timing marks on it and you can not adjust the timing, because it is a common rail system. I did an engine rebuild on my 2.2 diesel nissan Xtrail and the pump had no timing marks on it and no info about it in the service manual. It just creates pressure to the rail and the pressure regulator regulates the pressure. Fortunally Nissan has it as replacement part -200€, but the manual has no word about it. The major cause is wear and caused by low fuel quality and ULSD. There are many debates about adding 2Stroke oil on the internet. I have a document from Bosch that they tested the pump with ULSD and caused major wear to HP pump parts. They recommended to improve lubrication of the diesel fuel, but with what, Bosch did not say. One diesel truck forum did a lab test about different additives to improve lubrication. The most cost effective was adding 200:1 of 2 stroke oil to the diesel. Some say that it caused/causes pump failures, but i do not believe that BS. I think using 2SO is like garlic to a man, i like garlic and my diesel engine likes 2SO. Runs smoother and hopefully prevents pump and injector wear.

I have this kind of error p229b00 and i dont know if i need to change whole pump or just a pump sensor. If someone could answer this would be cool

Is there always a check engine light?

Hello Charles . Am a taxi owner in north Greece I have a skoda tdi 1.6 2013 . I need spare parts for high pressure pump 03L 130755E..BUT I cant find ..I have just a small leak on belt......so I need just gasket

I swapped out my CP4 in my Duramax to a CP3 Is there such a thing for my deleted 2013 TDI BTW Rawtek rocks

Thanks for the great video Charles. Could the HPFP be damaged when changing the fuel filter and it running without fuel for only a few seconds during cranking?

Major failure happened on my car and it took 2+ weeks, and it would have cost me 7k to 10k repair had it not been covered by VOA. Most cars have it covered under the 120k mile extended warranty.

hi, I have a 15 nms tdi and I wanted to know your opinions on the return line filter kits available that supposedly contain the damage of a failed pump to just the engine bay items such as pump, injectors, high pressure lines, and the rail. the one I am referring to specifically is made by 2microntech. thanks. I just found your channel and am enjoying them greatly. later, Steve

My Hpfp just went out on my 2013 Sportwagen took it to Vw My warranty just expired 20 days prior They want 9grand. This is the first and last Vw I will ever Purchase.

hey Charles I have an 09 jetta tdi and every once in a while a check engine light for low fuel rail pressure comes on, do you think the pump has failed or is it just a bad sensor?

My 2020 Skoda Octavia suffered hp fuel pump failure and there are metal bits everywhere in the fuel system. No warning lights at all. Absolute garbage. Happened 1 month after warranty expired.

why does the ceramic break?

I have 2016 tdi fault code 16113 fuel pressure to high, fuel filter ok low side ok all fuel sensors ok,what thoughts on this thanks.?

failure comes from poor fuel, WATER KILLS A CP4 IN SECONDS, GAS kills it is seconds as well, and poor filtration! use ONLY VW filters... same thing for GM's with the duramax i have cut open alot of fuel filters and only one has had the water membrane in it which was OEM

No way to prevent it except a cp3 swap? just purchased a 30k mike 2012 golf cjaa tdi DSG and loving it.

Will make the running judder & cut out aswell