[motochaits]

hello everyone,

I want to share my story and want to know what can I do in this situation. I bought a VW Virtus back in October 2022, but in just 2 Months, I got an EPC issue along with a Start/Stop error. After that, my car went to the service centre, and I got it back after 15-20 days of them changing the fuel injectors. But the problem didn't end there. It's been 2024, and I am still facing the same issue. This has been my 3rd visit in this same year for this issue. My car was in Delhi wazirpur ASC for whole February after which they said it will go to Delhi Moti West ASC and there it was there the whole march and i received it back on 11 April 2024. And today it has gone there for the same issue again. In that particular time, my car has undergone two changes in the fuel injector along with the HLA change, but the issue still persists

Problem I am Facing:

The problem with EPC faced by me is unique as I only receive it in the morning cold start; whenever my car is sitting the whole night, and I start in the morning if I let it sit idle for a little while, then there is an EPC error with Error: Start/Stop and if I turn off the car and turn it back on the EPC light goes and only Start/Stop error continues which also goes after a while of driving.

There is no error if I turn on the car after a cold start and start moving without keeping it idle. This is a peculiar issue, but having the company for 1.5 years and not still being able to solve it is a serious matter. For Reference i have shared the video which shows the issue i am getting.

I hope anyone here can provide some valuable insight on what should I do next?

https://youtu.be/kwUOPk3AKbM

[Jeroen]

It is certainly a peculiar problem. The first thing I would look for is a read-out with a VW scanner to see what error codes pop up.

Otherwise it is just going to trial and error. It sounds like something of a sensor and or software problem. But it could be as simple as a chaffed wires touching mass somewhere. Impossible to tell.

You might want to try the VW Virtus forum in the USA and or a Germany. You are more likely to find somebody who has a similar experience.

I would also not let VW of the hook on this one. They need to fix this!

Good luck
Jeroen

[JDMBOI]

Start- stop error comes only when car battery voltage drops to a certain point and when ECU detects that then this errors pops on the screen. It's kind of a fail safe device as battery might not have sufficient power to crank the engine again.

Why it comes and goes? - If car has been sitting for a long time (like you said for 2 months at ASS) battery volts drops (to a particular point) then this error comes and as you drive the battery gets charged and then it goes away.

EPC error - As BHPian Jeroen said get the error code checked using OBD device and I would suggest you to change your primary petrol station or try different company fuel and see if EPC error comes again. Use 95 RON fuel, if you are not using it and if this error still prevails and the ASS are not helping you try contacting our fellow BHPian Sunderdeep Singh, he is more active on Twitter (@Volklub) he has some links with VW management team, he will definitely try his best.

I hope for the best.

[harikrishnansp]

Originally Posted by motochaits

I bought VW Virtus back in October 2022 but in just 2 Months i got an EPC issue along with Start/Stop error. After that my car went to service center and got it back after 15-20 days of them changing the fuel injectors. But the problem didn't end there. It's been 2024 and i am still facing the same issue.

Full up only 95 RON with VW. Go for COCO pumps or the best private pump you can find near. No other option at this point.

[motochaits]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

It is certainly a peculiar problem. The first thing I would look for is a read-out with a VW scanner to see what error codes pop up.

Otherwise it is just going to trial and error. It sounds like something of a sensor and or software problem. But it could be as simple as a chaffed wires touching mass somewhere. Impossible to tell.

The scanner shows that there is a misfire in one of the cylinder that is causing the issue, last time it wws cylinder 3 now it's cylinder 1 so its changing again and again

They have tried updating the software and everything the only answer the dealership gives is they will wait for an answer from technical team and they will work according to that and you cant even contact technical team and talk to the company directly and the dealership doesn't allow that so i don't know what to do

Originally Posted by JDMBOI

Start- stop error comes only when car battery voltage drops to a certain point and when ECU detects that then this errors pops on the screen. It's kind of a fail safe device as battery might not have sufficient power to crank the engine again.

The reason given to me for start/stop error is because of cylinder misfire which is same reason for EPC, they said the start stop error is the most basic whenever there is some EPC or engine related issue.

I have also used 95 octane fuel but that doesn't also help and the thing i didn't understand is my friends have the same model and they use normal 91 octane but not facing an issue, me after using 95 octane is still facing this issue

Can you help me get in contact Sunderdeep Singh as i am new here and don't know how to get in contact with someone

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by motochaits

The scanner shows that there is a misfire in one of the cylinder that is causing the issue, last time it wws cylinder 3 now it's cylinder 1 so its changing again and again

I am not sure how a misfire can cause this problem. As the issue seems to move from cilinder to cilinder, I suspect there is something else amiss.

I can tell you one thing though: in my opinion this requires an actual expert on-site to check out your engine and the electronics. That requires somebody with very extensive knowledge on this car electronics and the necessary tools and analysers to perform the diagnostics. It doesn’t sound like anything that can be diagnosed remotely by technician talking over the phone.

Even good car mechanics rarely have the skills and or the tools to diagnose complex electronic/software issues. It is also something that can be quite time consuming. I have seen cases like these where it took several days of non stop testing and fiddling to find the culprit.

Good luck. Do let us know how you get on.

Jeroen

[ss1987]

In the short clip that you shared, engine light is blinking it is due to the misfire. My Octavia had this issue albeit not so early in its life. I was advised to replace the spark plugs and ignition coils, but the problem still persisted. The real culprit was the fuel injectors, so, got them replaced & voilà problem solved.

[daredemon]

Hi motochaits,
I am not an expert, but would like to narrate an experience which is currently being faced by my friend on his Mahindra KUV100.
Couple of years (1 or 2 years) back on a long drive, the car had faced some heating issue and had shut down. Local mechanic diagnosed it as an injector issue and carried out some work on the car and got it back running again. The car ran fine. FYI his car is lying idle most of the time and he sometimes starts it in a week or 2. 3-4 months prior the car wouldn't start and it was diagnosed to dead battery. Battery was replaced and the car was starting fine, but it took little long to start. Once car started sometimes there used to be vibrations. We had the car serviced (engine oil, coolant changed and some basic work done). After the service we drove the car back to his house and parked it. It ran perfectly OK from the mechanics place till the house. Next day when we tried to start the car, it would take long time to crank and wouldn't start.
The car was taken to the garage and lot of diagnosis was done. The ECM was checked, spark plugs were replaced earlier, ignition coil was checked, fuel pump was also replaced. Even assuming if it was a problem with the sensor, we replaced the crank sensor.
The fuel line was also checked and it was pumping out fuel. After couple of days my friend got info that the fuel did not have enough pressure to pump and start the engine (low compression issue).
Currently they have opened up the engine and after troubleshooting, found out that the valves were leaking, so they have ordered the parts and waiting to fix it. Due to the leak the pressure was weak and not pumping enough fuel to start the car.
Please check with an expert FNG if possible on the compression pressure test, if it is weak then you will have cold start issue and this issue will continue on and become a major headache if not solved now.
I hope your car gets fixed soon.

[motochaits]

Originally Posted by ss1987

In the short clip that you shared, engine light is blinking it is due to the misfire. My Octavia had this issue albeit not so early in its life. I was advised to replace the spark plugs and ignition coils, but the problem still persisted. The real culprit was the fuel injectors, so, got them replaced & voilà problem solved.

The fuel injectors has already been replaced twice once all 3 and once in 1 cylinder still the problem isn't solved

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by daredemon

. After couple of days my friend got info that the fuel did not have enough pressure to pump and start the engine (low compression issue).
Currently they have opened up the engine and after troubleshooting, found out that the valves were leaking, so they have ordered the parts and waiting to fix it. Due to the leak the pressure was weak and not pumping enough fuel to start the car..

Fuel pressure and compression are two entirely different things. Either one, if not correct can lead to problems.

Low fuel pressure is a very different problem from low compression. You said they replaced the fuel pump? Why? What was wrong? What did they measure? Nite that on almost fuel systems there is also a pressure regulator. Which in my experience is far more likely to be faulty than the actual fuel pump.

It is very surprising and very rare to find multiple valves leaking to the point where the engine won’t start. Most engines will still start with one or even two cilinders not working. But no engine will start with too low fuel pressure!

Did they take measurements of the fuel pressure? If not how do they know there are no fuel pressure problems. Fuel flow is not a good enough indication of correct fuel pressure. Two very different things.

What is the reason for the multiple leaky valves? Have you got the compression values for each cilinder?

Maybe I don’t understand quite what they have done, but it all sounds pretty iffy to me.

Jeroen

[daredemon]

Hi Jeroen,
Whatever technical questions you have asked, is out of my noob understanding. I do not have any technical expertise, but just shared what my friend had experienced with his car.
Even i am not sure why the fuel pump was changed, all i can think of is to isolate the issue that fuel pump might be the suspect.
Latest info is That his car engine head is currently gone for repair and new valves have been ordered. I am nowhere close to the car or else i would have got the clear picture. I have shared the above experience thinking that it might help OP in diagnosing the issue further (if its the same problem).

[VankaBoy]

Hi, I also faced a similar issue in my Taigun 1.0 litre a few months back. I used to fill up the car with Indian Oil Xp95 only. But while driving back to my home after my 15k service, my engine knocked abruptly and the engine check light started blinking along with this start stop error message. I immediately took the car back to the service centre and initially they blamed the fuel quality. It was ruled out afer the regular tests and then they scanned the vehicle and found out that there had been a misfire in cylinder one and the spark plug needs replacement. The spark plug had accumulated a bit of soot and they replaced it. Then they drove the car for about 100 kms and couldn't find the issue happening again. They asked me to pay for the spark plugs but I refused to do it since it is a brand new car and I was pretty sure I took good care of it. Since it is a cheap component, they didn't compel much and gave the car back. I am now at 23k kms and the issue has not happened again . Later I read somewhere online that TSI engines are prone to early spark plug malfunctions if they are filled up with fuel which contains additives. So I stopped using XP95 and instead use regular 91 octane fuel.

[SilverSmoke]

Got same issue with misfiring & cold cranking in my Kodiaq sometime back. However, it was due to bad fuel which got resolved after emptying & filling up the fresh good fuel from trusted source & cleaning up the things. Issue diagnosed were clogged injectors & sooty spark plugs - only plugs were cleaned. On asking for injector cleaning I was told Skoda doesn't do that & they will get clean on their own when driven with good fuel. Also, when they denied injector cleaning, I then used Liqui Moly Injector Cleaner - thrice & thereafter regularly as advised which really helped me getting my vehicle back in good shape.

Though this misfiring can be with lots of conditions - lack of fuel pressure, clogged injectors / spark plugs / faulty electrical supply from battery & wiring / defective ignition coils / bad adulterated fuel / pressure water wash on engine bay, you can use this additive trick - it can work for you too.

Can check my issue on following link:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...l-dsg-110.html (2022 Skoda Kodiaq Facelift Review | 2.0L Petrol DSG)

[TurboCruiser]

Originally Posted by motochaits

I bought VW Virtus back in October 2022 but in just 2 Months i got an EPC issue along with Start/Stop error.

Hi,

Looks like your start/stop system is not working properly, if you switch off stop/start button, does the vehicle run properly ?

Even then, you should not agree to run the car with such error. Make sure they give you a loaner car (spare car) & keep your car forever & solve the error.

Best wishes.

[motochaits]

Originally Posted by VankaBoy

Hi, I also faced a similar issue in my Taigun 1.0 litre a few months back.

I was specifically told to use 95 octane fuel by the ASC as they said TSI engines are more prone to failure in 91 octane but I have used both 91 and 95 Octane, and in both I am facing this issue

Originally Posted by TurboCruiser

Hi,

Looks like your start/stop system is not working properly, if you switch off stop/start button, does the vehicle run properly ?

The vehicle runs properly even when the start/stop function is on, just the function doesn't work

As I told about EPC, the error does come, but when I restart my vehicle, the EPC error goes away; only the Start/Stop error remains.

They did provide me with a loaner car, but at this point, I just need my car fixed and back to me