What You Need to Know About Low Fuel Pressure on Your Audi, Volkswagen or Porsche

Is your Volkswagen, Audi or Porsche experiencing a decrease in acceleration? Are you getting a check engine light indicating low fuel pressure? This problem seems to be most pronounced on the 2.0L Turbo 4-cyl engine with engine code BPY. These symptoms may be indicators that your vehicle’s high-pressure fuel pump is failing. This high-pressure fuel pump design is used extensively on 4-cyl and 6-cyl Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche engines, including in the Audi A4, A6, S4, S6, Volkswagen Jetta, Golf, Passat, Tiguan and the Porsche Cayenne. Beware, a failing high-pressure fuel pump may not provide you any advance warnings prior to a failure.

German Auto Center has found the 2.0L BPY Turbo engines to be the most prone to premature wear and tear to the camshaft follower. This leads to potential failure of the high-pressure fuel pump and damage to the drive lobe on the intake camshaft. The inherent engine design utilizes a camshaft follower or tappet that is inserted and rides between the ends of the fuel pump shaft and the intake camshaft. This follower acts as a friction bearing between the hardened surfaces of the fuel pump drive shaft and the engine intake camshaft. German Auto Center has seen failure of this camshaft follower where the pump shaft wears a hole through the surface of the camshaft follower. In extreme cases, a hole forms that allows the pump shaft to ride directly on the camshaft, damaging the pump and the camshaft.

High Pressure Fuel Pump and Camshaft Follower

Replacing the follower prevents damage to the pump and to the camshaft. The follower itself is a relatively low cost part and can be easily replaced. In the event of damage to the camshaft, the actual intake camshaft has to be removed from the engine to be replaced. Design changes made by Volkswagen and Audi include adding a DLC (Diamond Like Coating) to the camshaft follower making the surface more resistant to wear. Porsche actually uses a roller design camshaft follower significantly reducing friction and wear.

German Auto Center has seen high-pressure fuel pump failures in vehicles with as little as 30,000 miles. Most often symptoms will include poor acceleration at higher RPMs, and will be accompanied by a check engine fault indicating low fuel pressure conditions including engine misfire faults. As these symptoms may be indicative of other issues such as poor fuel, worn spark plugs, failing coils or a weak lift pump in the fuel tank, any fault should be diagnosed by German Auto Center or an authorized VW, Audi facility. It is recommended that on the BPY 2.0L Turbo engine, that the camshaft follower be replaced as part of your vehicles 60k service.

If you have any questions or symptoms, it is recommend having German Auto Center pull the high-pressure pump and inspect the high-pressure pump, camshaft and camshaft follower. It is always advised that the camshaft follower be replaced before reassemble. Also, check the o-ring on the fuel pump to prevent oil leaks. Unrelated, remember on the BPY engine, have your timing belt inspected starting at 60,000 mile service as well.

Have a question about your luxury automobile or does your model need special work? Please ask using the comment box below on our German Auto Center Facebook page and one of our experts will reply! German Auto Center is owned and operated by Len Gilmore