Oil Pressure Warning - 2012 VW Tiguan 2.0 TSI

Maintenance/Repairs
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41

Seriously how did they even know that the fuel that was in the tank was 87 octane . There has to be more to this .

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42

The vehicle may have an ethanol discriminator.

What’s used to increase the octane level in gasoline?

Currently, there are two ways of increasing the octane content of gasoline: increasing the volume of gasoline aromatics or increasing the volume of ethanol .

Tester

1 Like
43

Sorry for not looking it up. In MN I buy premium non oxygenated 91 octane gas for the boat, recommended by boat guy., 86 2 cycle 90 hp engine runs fine Last year 40 miles in WI to get some for the snowblowers, first time, and both did not like it a bit, rumbleing and missing.what difference does it really make, as both snowblowers had trouble on the better stuff, maybe too old bad gas my guess. Ran it all out, got regular 89 octane and life is good. Curious for your insight.

44

No. I smelled the stench of bullplop, but didn’t want to be the one to mention it. There must be more to the story, perhaps the VW dealer performed some “silent recall” or re-flashed the PCM to an updated software version.

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45

Hi John,

I’m having similar issues with my 2012 Tiguan. Was changing the oil brand the solution to your oil pressure light warning ?

Regards,

John

46

Read post number 34 .

1 Like
47

Hoping changing the gas to 93 solves my problem too. Thanks for posting this

48

Although not a Tiguan, my 2010 CC had the same oil pressure warning light. Once the engine warmed up ~20-30mins, it would come on. Oil level was good, sensor was good, pressure was a bit low. Timing chain, valves and pump were all replaced. It ended up being the balance shafts - not a cheap fix.

1 Like
49

One theory, the 87 octane was causing misfires, leaving gasoline in the cylinders , which was washing the piston rings, & allowing oil to escape, which lowered the oil pressure. This theory is admittedly hard to defend since the chain of events seems so unlikely. But such a thing might be possible. I don’t think there’s any dispute that extra gasoline in the cylinders can wash rings & thereby lower cylinder compression.

50

The balance shafts are in my opinion the number one cause of oil pressure problems in the 2.0TSI CCTA.

It doesn’t get talked about much because most aren’t willing to go this far to fix the problem or because having a shop do it for you would be beyond equitable.

I would be surprised if it’s an octane problem.

If you have an oil pressure issue on a 2.0TSI it usually only shows up when the engine is hot below 1500rpm (Like pulling off the highway). Chances are you won’t see the warning when it’s below zero.

Get an oil pressure gauge.

  1. Change the sensor or test it. It’s never a sensor but do it anyway they’re only $15 on RA.

  2. If you have the original chain and tensioner. Replace them with the updated versions. Pull the screen out of the cam bridge while you have it apart and throw it away.

  3. Install new balance shafts. Might as well update the intake manifold to the newest part number and replace the water pump and clean the carbon out of the intake while you’re there.

  4. If you still have the oil pressure problem after doing all of that change the pump but the pump is rarely the issue.

You will see online forums that don’t know this specific engine very well say it’s caused by low oil levels, blocked pickup or warn our bearings but in my opinion those are rarely the case on the early 2.0TSI. If there is material in the sump it’s usually from the balance shaft bearings.

Good news is if you’ve avoided throwing a chain or seizing a balance shaft and have all the updated parts installed in your engine you’ll have a great running vehicle until your rear main seal fails.

If you can do the work yourself it’s about $2500 in parts.

Cheers.