To be fair, you did drop 20hp, which you are going to notice.
I don't think they'e got the gear ratios right on any of these cars. I like the 1.4 engine but the gears are frustrating.
1.5 tsi ongoing problems, please help
- Thread starter SeatDan
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I don't think they'e got the gear ratios right on any of these cars. I like the 1.4 engine but the gears are frustrating.
Yeah I was dropping 25 horses initially, and I did that with my eyes wides open... took 2 test drives in the 1.4 125 - one was an extended keep the car for the rest of the day type and give it a good run about and yes noticeable drop compared to the 1.4 150, but a comprise I could live with.
The problem is the 1.5 130 although on paper is 100cc and 5bhp more, it’s driving characteristics are very different to the 1.4 125 so that only added to the the frustration, all this GPF/WLTP malarkey has probably ruined what would have been a good engine (1.5) as the the 1.4 lump with ACT was before ......
No such issues with the GTi at 230bhp.... was gonna go down the mk3 cupra route, and many on here will probably say I should have, but after 2 Leon’s back to back I wanted something different.
My exact same experience.
test drove the 1.4 125 and given the same story. You will get the new 1.5 TSI 130 engine, it is exactly the same but better with slightly more power and better mpg.
i was tricked too.
It's a similar dilemma for us in thinking about replacing our 1.4TSi. Having spent endless frustrating hours on all the VAG configurators, the cars that fit our requirements from any of the brands come with a choice of only 1.0 litres or 1.5 litres, neither of which we're interested in.
Is the 1.5 150 similar? We're looking to change our diesel for a petrol and most facelift cars are the 1.5. Don't want the 130 anyway but should I avoid the 150 as well?
Not all 1.5 150’s are affected, I have a friend with a T-roc with the 1.5 150 and he’s had the software patches/updates and said the car is livelier and better to drive but still has some hesitation from cold, but not as bad as before.
Also I haven’t (yet) seen anyone on the mk4 forum mention it, maybe they have finally sorted it, or maybe as a lot of people are opting for the eTsi version with the 48v hybrid this is making up for the lost torque at low speeds where the kangaroo is most pronounced.
If your going to try one would insist on a long test drive, and making sure that at some point you have some very slow or queuing traffic, the gearing is long, so something like a multi storey car park, where you are trying to drive and manoeuvre at slow speeds will show you the issues where a quick blast down the bypass isn’t going expose anything, even the 1.5 130 could sit at motorway speeds all day long but just didn’t have any grunt if you floored it at that speed.
And if the car is warm or they ‘brought it to the front door to make it easier’ be very suspicious- they only way to know is from cold.
A work colleague of mine has just bought a 2020 Skoda Karoq with the 1.5 150 with only 2700 miles and he said how wonderful it was but said he felt a noticeable lurch and hesitation as he drove it across the. forecourt .... only after he bought it did he mention it to me and he was so excited about his new toy I didn’t want to mention that it’s probably been rejected and returned to skoda who have ditched it into group stock, so his issues may only just be starting
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Reads as very similar to my experience on my '150' 1.5 litre Golf. What little hesitation the car has left after the update/fix rarely happens at all and then only for a few moments after a cold engine start at slow speed in 1st gear. It's now such a minor thing that I can easily live with it - though anyone with a car that stutters at a crucial moment at a junction I feel for, as that's clearly dangerous and a lot more serious than a minor irritation fault.
Probably the only 'full' cure would be a comprehensive aftermarket remap - but as VW have made the 1.5 much harder to 'crack' compared to earlier engines there seem very few of the better-known tuners who claim to have have managed it so far.
Any information from someone who has had a non-VAG remap on their 1.5, (especially on a '130') could prove very useful to the inevitably growing number of 1.5-engined owners.
I bought a used 2019 Seat Leon ST FR EVO (130) DACA engined car, 19000mls.
The issues in order of severity:
1 - I get the flat engine response between 1500 and 2500rpm in cold and hot. Trying to pull away briskly is difficult.
2 - There is a slight sign of cold start fluctuation of power and jerkiness - I hope this does not get worse. In 1st or 2nd gear when crawling below 10mph you can see the rev counter needle bumping up and down as the cold auto-throttle copes with the poor combustion in the cylinders at low revs.
3 - There is no detectable difference between driver sport and eco modes at any speeds. I assume the difference in shorter Sport throttle travel/feel is masked by the general issue of low end flat engine response.
I recall test driving the Leon, and the sales guy spent some time showing me the controls with the engine idling... he knew I owned another Leon but kept me talking. In retrospect I wonder if he was warming the engine?
The main dealer engineer looked at the problem, and whilst on the docket it did not detail any software update and merely said everything fine - their engineer reported that he experienced the jerky cold engine moveaway and the flat engine at low revs that I reported, and no difference in driver modes. He updated the software and said there was improvement … and I don’t see that, and I am sceptical of that verbal report.
So whilst I love everything else about the car, I am about to ask for the dealer to take back the car, and get me a replacement.
Do I risk a 150bhp Leon ST? There appear no other engine options -unless I go DSG (and I'd prefer not to).
The issues in order of severity:
1 - I get the flat engine response between 1500 and 2500rpm in cold and hot. Trying to pull away briskly is difficult.
2 - There is a slight sign of cold start fluctuation of power and jerkiness - I hope this does not get worse. In 1st or 2nd gear when crawling below 10mph you can see the rev counter needle bumping up and down as the cold auto-throttle copes with the poor combustion in the cylinders at low revs.
3 - There is no detectable difference between driver sport and eco modes at any speeds. I assume the difference in shorter Sport throttle travel/feel is masked by the general issue of low end flat engine response.
I recall test driving the Leon, and the sales guy spent some time showing me the controls with the engine idling... he knew I owned another Leon but kept me talking. In retrospect I wonder if he was warming the engine?
The main dealer engineer looked at the problem, and whilst on the docket it did not detail any software update and merely said everything fine - their engineer reported that he experienced the jerky cold engine moveaway and the flat engine at low revs that I reported, and no difference in driver modes. He updated the software and said there was improvement … and I don’t see that, and I am sceptical of that verbal report.
So whilst I love everything else about the car, I am about to ask for the dealer to take back the car, and get me a replacement.
Do I risk a 150bhp Leon ST? There appear no other engine options -unless I go DSG (and I'd prefer not to).
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The bigger engine or an older car. I'm not buying the 1.5.
You're not losing anything getting a pre-facelift car. The 1.4 engine is sweet and the rest of the car is at least as good as the face-lift.
2017 to 2018 was facelift with the 1.4 engine, the 1.5 engine came in on 68 plates but still some 68’s can be the 1.4, so it’s possible to get a facelift with the better 1.4
this is what i've done. 18 plate facelift with 1.4 tsi 150
So I am narrowing the choice or replacement for my 2018 Leon 1.5 130 EVO TSi ST that I hope the dealer will take back. Having seen some reviews of the DSG in the 2019 Leon I am slightly steered back to diesel with a DSG. I had a DSG Passat that was heavy and not great. I am coming from 10 years ownership of a Skoda Octavia 140bhp 2.0L TDI which was fast but noisey - but have no reference points for the comparative merits of each in a Leon. Such as what is the difference between FR, FR Sport (wheels/hard suspension?) and FR Technology (bolt on gadgets)?
So my Leon ST choices are either:
1.4 150 FR
2.0 190 TDI FR (or Excellence) DSG with paddles 2019
2.0 190 TSI FR (or Excellence )DSG with paddles 2019
So my Leon ST choices are either:
1.4 150 FR
2.0 190 TDI FR (or Excellence) DSG with paddles 2019
2.0 190 TSI FR (or Excellence )DSG with paddles 2019
We have a 150bhp TDi and I would not call it fast. It's quick enough to be useful but not fast. How noisy they are seems to depend, they can vary quite a bit. Our 1.6 TDi was really quiet but the 2.0TDi is not. I'd check out the exact car you want to buy, not just the model.
Thanks - I appreciate the insight. Yes my Skoda was noisier than other 2.0 TDIs. I am guessing the 2.0 is an older style engine.
Not that I know of? Our 1.6 was a 2014 and the 2.0 is a 2017 but if a lot noisier. It's bearable but you do notice it.
I think it'll be the last diesel we'll own. Unless you're doing huge miles the sums don't stack up on them any more.
I was thinking my Octavia was my last diesel. Not for green or cost reasons but because the London ban on diesels might be a pain one day. I have loved the power in all my VAG diesels.
I don't think they're anything special. I'd much rather have a petrol and even then I'd rather have an older one. Modern tiny petrols with turbos look good on paper but it's not the same as a bigger engine.
A 2.0l tdi 150 is miles better than the equivalent 1.4 / 1.5 150bhp
the torque just makes it a much nicer drive IMO
I have the DSG / s-tronic and it feels quick for what it is, i guess more so as they auto box always selects the best gear when you floor the loud pedal.
the torque just makes it a much nicer drive IMO
I have the DSG / s-tronic and it feels quick for what it is, i guess more so as they auto box always selects the best gear when you floor the loud pedal.
I disagree. We have both and I prefer the 1.4 TSi any day. It is free revving, smoother, lighter, quieter, has a much wider power band and pulls better low down. At tickover you can't hear it. I don't think there will be a lot in it acceleration wise but the petrol feels faster. As the revs rise, so does the power, which is what you expect. Like all diesels, the TDi gets to a certain point and power falls off a cliff. And of course it's making a horrible racket by that point.
If you do mega miles then fair enough but as a drivers car the petrol wins hands down.
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