caddy 1.6 2010-2015 reliabilty DO NOT BUY

themightygimp · Post by **themightygimp** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:13 pm

I'm putting this up hoping that the moderators will allow it. Not for the benefit of forum members, but for those that are thinking about buying these Vans and serch for reliabilty etc

Bqackground:I bought a low mileage ex BGAS van from (what turned out to be) a half decent dealer (of note-they no longer sell Caddys at all).
but thought
I Knew there was an issue with the injectors "can't be that bad?"

later I searched various other VAG forum pages, this engine is in many other vhicles - it is that bad

my first 1 failed within the first week of ownership- luckily coming off a roundabout, after a bit of 2 and throwing said dealer picked up the van and gave me another 1 to use.was uneasy from then onweards

about a year in:

clutch slave cylinder failure on the move, less than 45,000 miles,

Free change for me- I had a year's warrenty on purchase (decent dealer) and it just covered it.
of course by then I'd used my personal recovery account to havd the van recovered twice.

Not long after, rapid decline into ERG failure.

Again for the novices/wannabe owners, this is an exhaust recycling temperature sensitive valve that VW (in their wisedom) chose to shove at the back of the engine bay under the Turbo, just under 5 hour labour fee- For experts -£1500 inc from VW main dealers.

I was beginning to seriously lack faith in this vehicle, selling it at that point ( that might have been my perception) seemed like a big loss for me.

General wear and tear bills nothing major for a while..

Then the inevitable injector failure - again- on a "smart" motorway- how lovely- brown trouser time- good job I'm a bit tasty behind the wheel and going from 75mph with power to 5 mph and no power behind the wheel IN 100M wasn't a fatal accident...

of course after that i had no faith at all in this vehicle but convinced myself that i was stuck with it (i really wasn't-should have binned it off shortly after buying it).

Then almost 2 to the day after the last egr failure....
you guessed it...
another 1...

This time I sourced a Hitachi valve that may or may not be any better than the OEM

By now the turbo was feeling left out and occaisonal error codes were coming out suggesting (unlikely the Turbo actuator) more likely sticky turbo vanes were in need of sorting.
This vehicle had done less than 70000 miles, had FSH, wasn't ragged ans
d still

WAS AN UNRELIABLE SHIT HEAP.

FROM AN ALMOST 4 YEAR OWNER -

DO NOT BUY

Scoobysrt · Post by **Scoobysrt** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:23 pm

Did you join the forum just to bitch?
All 3 of your posts aren't really in keeping with the forum with this last one being a bit over the top.

From what I see you were aware of the problems with the 1.6 some have but went with it anyway, you then had problems with your first one but got a second one anyway,

Couldn't you just press the clutch in and get to the emergency lane of the motorway, being tasty behind the wheel would have got you very safely off without dropping instantly to 5mph.

Sorry to hear you've had problems but I don't think posts like this will get you much help if you still own it and if you don't then why join here just to bitch, it's not our fault is it.

There's plenty of owners that are still running their vans over twice or 3 times longer than you had yours fault free, my own 1.9 to is a great work horse 14 years on and my newer 2.0tdi going very strong, to label every 1.6 caddy is quite ridiculous.

Do your homework and regular maintenance on any vehicle for the best out come but any and all vehicles have potential to fail.

It sounds like you do high mileage without much maintanence.

Can I suggest you look into getting a connect I think you'll fit on just fine with the Ford girls.

Post by **Doc** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:32 pm

Sounds like you got a really poor example of a caddy of this generation.
Yes, there are several horror stories about injectors and EGR valves, you have suffered turbo problems which are not so common which make me think your van had a difficult life at the hands of the BG driver.
Can I ask just to get a clearer picture, what brand fuel were you using, what distance & travel time was a common journey for you, what servicing did the vehicle have prior to and during your ownership?

I understand you are a bit disgruntled with your caddy but your experience if far from the norm.
I guess, if nothing else, you posting your horror story will only add to the reluctance of some to buy based on what they read but for me that will only weaken the market for me and others who might want to pick up what we know to be pretty much the pick of all the small vans on the road at the moment.

Cabbs · Post by **Cabbs** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:52 pm

HEY.......

Welcome to the best caddy forum on the land. We are all sad to hear your fate with your beloved caddy. We are all aware of the problems that can happen with the joys of motoring and are all quite aware of the common faults these caddy vans can bring and most have done there studying and homework here at caddy2k to eliminate most of them or overcome them as they happen so we don’t need reminding in the manner you bring.
I drive a 2014 facelift caddy which comes into your hate category and have never had a problem with it and I’ve just reached 100k. Maybe I’m just a lucky old sole.

You did expect members to reply aswell as the boss and moderators didn’t you? This after all is a community mate. A family of awesome members who own caddy’s new and old and enjoy them so your nonsense ain’t going to cut it.

Anyway nice to meet you buddy and enjoy your time here.

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themightygimp · Post by **themightygimp** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 10:39 pm

@Scoobysrt
The dealer gave me another 1 whilst they spent a week ??? to fix a broken injector. Van was treated like a princess, serviced as required, and bless her- she never failed an M.O.T
As for fuel it was "treated" to the expensive diesel as often as the cheaper stuff .
This isn't a post for invested owners , it's a warning to poor sods that may put every penny they can into a similar aged van

I know some lads that carry around a load of injectors,clamps and bolts - good luck if you snap (there's lots of reports of it hapopening on this engine) the stretch bolt.. I don't want to live like that. Now these will cascade down through owners that will spend less and less on them.

J_Con · Post by **J_Con** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 10:43 pm

Sounds like you've been very unlucky with you're van unfortunately but I really can't see this putting people off. I'd much rather have a 1.6 caddy than a ford/vauxhall etc.
Atleast you'll never need to worry about this again as you've clearly been put off

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themightygimp · Post by **themightygimp** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 11:02 pm

imagine answering a post bystating my -older "not the vehicle engine combination" is still going strong and again my newer "not the vehicle and engine- combination" is also still going strong.... get a grip

I was very specific in my heading and for the Nth time, my post isn't a jibe at invested owners more to inform potential purchasers that the particular engine/year span I suggested is far from the VW reliabilty reputation earnt from earlier years.

good van, shit engine, absolutely terrible engine install

luckily I got a good price for mine and in all honesty offloading it was the best feeling I've had in a couple of years

If they put in one of their petrol 1.8s in from the 90's it would truely be a great small van.

Craig Cheatham · Post by **Craig Cheatham** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 11:21 pm

@themightygimp, sounds like a case of sheer bad luck, it’s just like women if you get a bad one you don’t stop there! You need to ride another one mate.

Scoobysrt · Post by **Scoobysrt** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 3:38 am

themightygimp wrote: ↑Mon Apr 05, 2021 11:02 pm imagine answering a post bystating my -older "not the vehicle engine combination" is still going strong and again my newer "not the vehicle and engine- combination" is also still going strong.... get a grip

Imagine joining a forum with the only intention to bitch about a vehicle you don't own and won't own again, perfect user name

Rossy · Post by **Rossy** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:43 am

I have worked for a company that has had dozens of Caddy's (not British Gas) over the last decade and have found them to be just as reliable as every other variety of vehicle in our fleet. Sounds like your Caddy has gone through the wars with the previous owner or hasn't had the best of builds from VW.

I say all of this despite having a couple of injectors pop out whilst going down the motorway on Sunday lol. Hopefully you can get it all fixed for a reasonable cost and can enjoy these great motors.

Papa Bear · Post by **Papa Bear** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 10:19 am

We have a 2011 1.6, not had any issues but aware there could be, as with any car.
A bad experience with one vehicle should not tar them all with the same brush.
Not got a Caddy any more and unlikely to get another? Oh well, seems no loss to us.

totty79 · Post by **totty79** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 10:42 am

How do you respond constructively to a post that effectively devalues what is probably the most common vehicle on here?
Seems that the only options are to dilute it with posts about reliable vehicles or to ask the mods to shut it down......

My 2012 1.6 is on its original injectors with 104,000 miles. It aint perfect but I wouldn't give it a do not buy rating, it's had an EGR fail and cam belt taken out by the alternator belt failing.

Rich_chancer · Post by **Rich_chancer** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 11:39 am

Mines got 160 thou on it, I’f it breaks Id fix it. If I could afford a new one I’d lease one and send it back once I’m done and start the cycle all over again. There’s a good reason there called “ex fleet”

We had the same engine in a 60 thou Audi a1 and just did it’s thing without a problem.

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Ripley55 · Post by **Ripley55** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 11:57 am

I tend to agree with you @totty79, it is hard to respond constructively, but I also understand stand his pain. I love my Caddy’s but our 2012 was an absolute horror story for a while

100k miles and had already had one injector done at 80k miles, then I had another go, whilst on the A12 on way to work, Van fine for another 500 miles, then 3rd one went on holiday in France 30 miles short of Paris

that probably ended up costing us the neck end of £2k

hey Ho it’s run perfectly for approximately 5000 miles since, and my son uses it every day as his work Van. I hadn’t fully understood the ‘reliability’ of the 1.6tdi, as my previous VW’s had been the 1.9 which was immensely reliable, and we’ve also got two Golfs, a 16 plate R, and a 66 plate GTD. the problems with the 2012, didn’t put me off, and my 18 plate Caddy Maxi Life has been awesome so far fingers crossed

I don’t know why,

but I wouldn’t touch a Ford/Renault/Citroen, and to be honest the best Van I’ve had since owning various Vans was the venerable Astravan Sportive 1.7 Tdi

Beaker2135 · Post by **Beaker2135** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 2:49 pm

The OP has had a tough time. So for balance here’s my experience

I bought an ex Enterprise hire 2014 Caddy 1.6tdi at 18 months old with 21,000 miles and not a service stamp in the book. I have had this van 5 1/2 years and only serviced it in line with VW schedule at local garages, it now has 83,000 mile on the clock. It was remapped to just shy of 160bhp and the only problem has been a water pump, which prompted a cam belt change and a battery.

I accept that some Caddy’s have injector problems but many do not. The vocal minority seem to be the only ones heard on this subject most of the time, but a bad experience for some doesn’t mean a bad experience for all

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