Volkswagen Caddy: TDI injector failure — hard starting and misfire from around 90,000 km

Injector failure is one of the more commonly reported faults on the diesel Caddy, showing up from roughly 90,000 km and most often on the higher-output variants. It presents as difficulty starting, a misfire that makes the van shake at idle, rough running and more smoke than there should be under load. Diesel injectors are precision parts working at very high pressure and they are punished by poor fuel and by a fuel filter left in too long — both far more likely on a working van doing short trips and long days than on a private car. Owners adapt to the symptoms without noticing, so a van that "always needs a couple of goes on a cold morning" is describing this. Injectors are usually done as a set, which is what makes the bill matter.

• Hard starting, or needing to crank for several seconds from cold
• Misfire making the van shake or vibrate at idle
• More smoke than usual under load, grey, black or white
• Rough or uneven running, especially before it warms up
• Engine warning light with fuel-system codes

Get there before the van has been started, because cold starting is where this shows. Watch and listen as it fires: it should catch within a second or two and settle into an even idle, not crank repeatedly or shake for the first half minute. Stand at the back and watch the exhaust as it starts and again when it is revved once warm, noting the amount and colour of any smoke. With the bonnet up at idle, listen for one cylinder sounding harsher than the others and for a diesel smell around the top of the engine, and look for wet fuel or a dark stain collecting around any injector. On the drive, accelerate hard once and note whether it pulls cleanly or hesitates, and watch the dash for a warning light. Ask when the fuel filter was last changed and check that against the service record rather than the seller's memory. Ask whether any injector has ever been replaced. If a workshop inspection is possible: an injector leak-off test identifies which injectors are failing and is the standard check.

Parts involved: Fuel injector.

$800 to $3,500 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

• “Does it start first turn every morning?”
• “When was the fuel filter last changed?”
• “Have any injectors ever been replaced?”

The failure described above is documented in published sources — owner forums, technical service bulletins, recall notices and workshop write-ups — held in our fault database. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them, and it is a starting point for an inspection rather than a manufacturer statement.