If you’re reading this, you’re probably considering purchasing (or currently own) a Volkswagen Group vehicle with the 1.8-liter or 2.0-liter turbocharged TSI EA888 inline-four cylinder engine. If you want to learn more about its issue with excessive consumption, keep reading.
What is the EA888 I-4 engine? The Volkswagen (VW) TSI EA888 is a turbocharged inline-four-cylinder engine powering numerous VW and Audi models worldwide. It was first introduced in the mid-2000s and is available in 1.8L and 2.0L displacements. It’s found in several VW vehicles, such as the Passat, Jetta, Beetle, and Tiguan. In Audi vehicles, it’s found in the A3, A4, Q3, Q5, and TT, among others. The most recent EA888 is the third generation, introduced around mid-2010. The first and second-gen have few differences compared to the third-gen. What is the issue? The EA888 is a widely used engine by VW Group and has been around for a while, but its long-term reliability track record is anything but stellar. Of its known flaws, one of the greatest is its propensity to consume abnormal amounts of oil, even at relatively low mileage. Excessive oil consumption mostly plagues the first and second-gen EA888. Third-gens are less likely to experience this issue but are not entirely immune. Over the years, the debate of the exact cause of this engine’s thirst for oil has narrowed to a flawed piston and oil control ring design, which are suspected to be too skinny and improperly adhere to the cylinder wall. With inadequate rings combined with the disadvantages of direct injection, a buildup of carbon deposits blocks the oil control ring’s oil passageways, which results in oil escaping past the ring and entering the combustion chamber. VW has released an updated piston design with different rings in an attempt to solve this problem. So far, it appears to succeed in preventing oil consumption in most cases. What should I do if I own or want to buy a vehicle that has this engine? It seems the best solution to deter the EA888’s oil consumption is to replace the pistons with the updated design having differently-designed rings. If you’re looking at a used VW or Audi model, ask if the cylinders have been replaced with the updated ones, especially if the model year you’re looking at is around 2007 to 2014. Note: this range of years is just an estimate and may exclude other model years susceptible to oil consumption. With automakers, sometimes it’s easy to get the vehicle you want with the availability of a different engine to choose from to avoid the issues the other engine has. With VW and Audi, the 1.8L and 2.0L are the company’s prevalent engines and often the sole engine choice available in many of its models. Some models are exceptions, though, such as the VW Atlas SUV. It can be equipped with either the 2.0L or a 3.6L V6. One of the reasons for buying an EA888 engine is its good fuel economy, so buyers may not be enticed to buy a VW Group model with a different engine that’s more fuel-thirsty, even if it has fewer problems and better long-term reliability. Should I buy a vehicle with this engine? I’m pleased to hear the updated cylinder design generally fixes this engine’s excessive oil consumption issue, but I would not buy a VW or Audi vehicle equipped with this engine for other reasons besides the oil consumption problem. One of my cousins used to own a VW Tiguan with the 2.0L, I think a 2015 or similar model year. When I talked to him a while ago, he informed me he experienced complete engine failure, and the dealer had him come out of pocket more than $7,000 for a new engine. He didn’t specifically tell me why the engine failed, but I’m assuming the engine was consuming large amounts of oil and was running low on oil for a while, and the engine finally seized from inadequate lubrication. He hasn’t bought a VW since. Besides the EA888’s oil consumption issue, I also want to point out another baffling design I discovered with this engine--the design of its timing chains and water pump. The timing chain design makes this engine by far the most complicated four-cylinder engine I’ve seen. There are a total of three chains zigzagging in every direction, and the engine’s water pump is plastic and driven by a separate rubber belt towards the rear of the engine. The design and placement of these components are overly complicated and result in higher-than-average maintenance costs for the owner. The engine in my Hyundai Tucson is the same size, a 2.0L four-cylinder, but only contains two chiming chains (the primary one simply coming down and up again), and the water pump is external, driven by the serpentine belt. My Hyundai’s engine design is straightforward. VW engineers designed the EA888 to be overly intricate, likely so the dealers could make more money for repairs due to the excessive labor involved in accessing even basic components. The engine in my Tucson has its own set of issues, but at least Hyundai engineers used more common sense when designing it. Opinion Due to strict emission regulations, automakers have become desperate to find a way to make their engines as fuel-efficient as possible, but this almost always results in lowered reliability due to the effect on the engine itself. It’s common for these automakers to design components, such as cylinders and rings, in a way that sacrifices reliability for the benefit of slightly better fuel economy. The ironic thing, though, is I don’t see how burning a quart of oil every thousand miles helps the planet any more than a decrease in fuel economy by one or two miles per gallon. I’d love to know what automotive engineers think about this. I personally have no tolerance for excessive oil consumption with my cars, even slight oil consumption for that matter (and so far, none of them exhibit it). Automakers will tell you oil consumption is normal (i.e., one quart every 1,000 miles), but the reality is it is not normal, and that should not happen if the compression ratios are appropriate according to the durability of the engine’s rings and seals. If one or the other is too great, problems are going to arise eventually. Before I bought my Hyundai, I considered purchasing a VW model. I liked the Jetta, Passat, and Tiguan, though, at the time, I wasn’t fully aware of the problems the 1.8L and 2.0L experience. I’m glad I didn’t end up buying a Volkswagen with this engine. Additional resources Audi World Oil Consumption Forum Now you know the truth behind Volkswagen’s troublesome TSI EA888 I-4 engine. I hope you have found this information informative and helpful. Still have questions or comments about this issue? I'd love to help. Feel free to leave them in the comments section below.
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AuthorRyan Emery is an avid automotive enthusiast, researcher, and investigator specializing in defect analysis and recalls. |