EA888 Ultimate Servicing Guide

Here at JCR (Leeds) Limited we specialise in maintaining the high performance EA888 MQB Platform, we offer the full range of servicing requirements for these vehicles. The EA888 GEN 3 engine can be found in many different performance VAGS: Audi S3 (8V), Volkswagen Golf R Mk7, Volkswagen Golf R Mk7.5, Volkswagen T-Roc R, Volkswagen Arteon, Volkswagen Polo GTi (AW), Skoda Octavia Mk3 (5E), Audi A3 TSI (8V 12-20), Audi TT S Mk3 (8S), SEAT Leon Cupra Mk3 (5F), Volkswagen Tiguan R, Porsche Macan, Cupra Ateca (VZ1) and many more VW Audi Group (VAG) vehicles.

Preventative Maintenance on the EA888 Engine:

Keeping your EA888 engine healthy and maintained will save lots of headaches and repair costs further down the line. VAG have a set schedule for most serviceable parts on these vehicles however there is some advisable maintenance that they do not mention. A lot of EA888 vehicles we see in our garage have been tuned and with anything tuned we would recommend increasing the servicing of these vehicles to keep them healthy and reliable. If your vehicle is run at a higher velocity than a stock vehicle, we recommend using high quality synthetic oil like Millers 5-40 and servicing every 5,000 miles instead of 10,000 miles. The same can be said for vehicles over 80,000 miles as these engines have seen a lot of use and require more frequent maintenance to keep their reliability.

 

We have compiled the service schedule for a standard/stock EA888 below and some additional advised maintenance:

MQB Platform Service Schedule MK 7-7.5 Golf R / Audi S3 8V / Seat Leon Cupra / Skoda Octavia VRS

12 Months / 10k

24 Months / 20k

36 Months / 30k

48 Months / 40k

60 Months / 50k

72 Months / 60k

84 Months / 70k

96 Months / 80k

108 Months / 90k

120 Months / 100k

132 Months / 110k

144 Months / 120k

Costs

Engine Oil Change

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

£140

Brake Fluid Change

●

●

●

●

●

●

£70

Pollen Filter Change

●

●

●

●

●

●

£40

Spark Plug Change

●

●

£200

Spark Plug Change NGK

●

●

£300

Haldex Oil Change

●

●

●

●

●

£120

Air filter change

●

●

Inc Full Service

DSG DQ250 Oil Change 6Spd

●

●

●

£250

DSG DQ381 Oil Change 7Spd

●

£350

Front Differential Lock Oil change

●

●

●

●

●

£120

Rear Differential Gear Oil Change (Advised)

●

●

£100

Transfer / Bevel Box Oil Change (Advised)

●

●

£100

Manual Gearbox Oil Change (Advised)

●

£150

Interim Service £140 / Millers 5-40 £180

Full Service £260 / Millers 5-40 £300

 

What is included in our Service Procedures for the EA888 Platform:

1) First Interim maintenance service due at 10,000 miles or 1 year after delivery, whichever occurs first. Interim maintenance services thereafter occur at intervals of 20,000 miles or every 2 years after the last interim maintenance service, whichever occurs first.

2) First full service at 20,000 miles or 2 years after delivery, whichever occurs first. Full services

thereafter occur at intervals of 20,000 miles or every 2 years after the last full service, whichever occurs first.

 

Interim Service Maintenance

☐ Brake pads (front and rear): Check thickness and brake disc condition. Look for contact pattern and corrosion of brake discs

☐ Engine: Change oil and replace filter

☐ Service interval display: Reset

 

Full-Service Maintenance (Includes All Interim Service Items)

 

☐ Battery: Check with battery tester (and auxiliary battery if equipped)

☐ Brake fluid: Check level

☐ Brake pads (front and rear): Check thickness and brake disc condition. Look for contact pattern and corrosion of brake discs

☐ Cooling system: Check level and freeze protection

☐ Engine: Change oil and replace filter

☐ Engine and engine compartment components (from above): Check for leaks and damage

☐ Engine and engine compartment components (from below): Check related components including transmission, final drive, and drive

axle boots for leaks and damage

☐ Exterior Lighting: Check function of front and rear lights, headlights (adjust if necessary), automatic headlights (if equipped), turn

signals, cornering lights, and hazard warning lights

☐ Headlight washing system: Check function (if equipped)

☐ Horn: Check function

☐ Service interval display: Reset

☐ Sunroof water drains: Check for clearance and clean if necessary (Passat only)

☐ Test drive: Check braking, kickdown, steering, electrical, heating/ventilation systems, air conditioning, handling, and parking brake

☐ Tyre pressure monitoring system: Calibrate to correct tire pressure settings

☐ Tyre pressure: Check LF________ RF________ LR ________ RR ________ Spare ________

☐ Tyre repair kit: Check for damage and prior use

☐ Tyres: Check condition and wear pattern. Record tread depth

☐ Windshield wiper/washer system: Check for damage, function and adjust spray nozzle, if necessary, fluid level, and freeze protection

☐ Wiper blades: Bring into service position, check for damage, and check park position

Extended Maintenance

 

☐ Body interior and exterior: Check for corrosion

☐ Brake system: Check for leaks and damage

☐ Coil Springs and Shock Absorbers (front and rear): Check for damage

☐ Exhaust system: Check for leaks, damage, and secure fittings

☐ Bonnet latch: Lubricate

☐ Interior lighting: Check function of overhead lights, glove box lights, cigarette lighter/power outlets, luggage compartment, and all

warning lights

☐ Ribbed belt: Check condition

☐ Sunroof, panoramic tilting/sliding: Check function (if equipped)

☐ Sunroof, non-panoramic sliding: Check function and clean, then lubricate guide rails with VW approved lubricant (if equipped)

☐ Suspension and Steering: Check ball joints, wheel bearings, drive axles, coupling rods, tie rod ends, and stabilizer bar rubber bushings for damage and excessive play

☐ Underbody: Check underbody protection, underbody trim panels, wire routing, and plugs for damage

☐ Windshield: Check for damage

About the EA888 platform:

The EA888 is now on the 4^th Generation of this engine and comes in two sizes: 1.8t & 2.0t. The 1^st generation was debuted in 2007 and has been used since across the VAG range of vehicles on their performance vehicles. Our webpage is primarily focussing up to the 3^rd generation of this engine and we have a separate webpage focussing on the 4^th generation found in the new Golf R MK8 (page under construction).

The EA888 superseded the EA113 but the early variants suffered with common faults that made it unreliable and we have written some content to help our customers understand what problems to expect and how to diagnose these problems based on symptoms and diagnostics.

Vehicles with these engines are highly sort after by motor enthusiasts wishing to modify and tune up these hot hatches. As a lot of these vehicles have been modified to produce more power the engines are put under more duress and require more preventative maintenance to keep them reliable.

Common faults of the EA888 Engine:

If your EA888 vehicle is showing signs of a problem we have listed the most likely causes from our experience of dealing with these vehicles daily.

1. Spark Plug & Ignition Coil Failure
2. Excessive Oil Consumption (Mainly GEN 1 & GEN 2)
3. Thermostat Housing Leak & Water Pump Failure
4. Carbon Build-up in the Intake Valves
5. Weak PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) Valve

Spark Plug & Ignition Coil Failure:

Poor servicing, hard driving for long durations, highly tuned engines producing more power, worn spark plugs, incorrectly gapped spark plugs, moisture in the cylinders and leaking valve covers can lead to misfires on the cylinders, these issues can be easily resolved with new spark plugs and ignition coil packs.

For those of you who run tuned EA888 engines on stock spark plugs and coil packs, you may want to consider uprating these items to NGK Race Spark Plugs and uprated Ignition Coil Packs like the APR ones available. We can supply and fit these upon request, and you can also order these items from our online store if you are unable to get down to our workshop.

How do you know if your spark plugs, or ignition coils have failed?

The above problem will illuminate your Engine Management Light (EML) and when scanned with a diagnostic tool will give you a code to guide you in what needs to be repaired.

 

Using a diagnostic scanner, you may see the following fault codes for faulty Spark Plugs or Ignition Coils:

• P0300(Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected)
• P0301(cylinder 1 misfire)
• P0302(cylinder 2 misfire)
• P0303(cylinder 3 misfire)
• P0304(cylinder 4 misfire)

 

Symptoms of Spark Plugs or Ignition Coil Failure:

• Vehicle struggling to start or not starting at all
• Misfiring on idle or acceleration
• Engine stalling or cutting out
• Engine management light (EML) flashing
• Turbo struggling/shuddering from mid to high RPMs

Diagnosing and Repairing Faulty Spark Plugs and Ignition Coils Faults:

 

To diagnose which of the Spark Plugs of Ignition Coils are faulty use a code scanner to obtain the cylinder(s) at fault.

• Firstly, remove the Ignition coil(s) for the cylinder(s) identified with the fault
• Inspect the Ignition Coil for damaged due to water ingress
• Inspect the Cylinder above the Spark Plug for Damaged due to water ingress
• If no visual damage can be seen move the ignition coil to a cylinder not registering a fault
• Start vehicle and code scan again
• If the misfire has moved the cylinder with the ignition coil you moved = likely issue with the ignition coil
• If the misfire remains with cylinder you moved the ignition coil from = likely issue with spark plug
• If random multiple misfires registered there may be a fault with the PCV breather, Valve Covers or issues with multiple Ignition Coils or Spark Plugs = further investigation and parts to test both ignition coils and spark plugs

 

To repair either faults with Ignition Coils or Spark Plugs our advice would be to replace as a set as one failed unit could indicate they all need to be changed simultaneously.

 

The EA888 has the option of uprating the spark Plugs and ignition coils: See our webstore for NGK Race Spark Plugs & APR Ignition Coils that provide better performance than stock parts especially for tuned vehicles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Click each picture to be taken to the item on our shop)

Excessive Oil Consumption

The EA888 GEN 2 is especially susceptible burning oil and has commonly been found to have faults relating to piston rings failing. This engine when manufactured had a bad design and the piston rings were made too thin and pass oil meaning they engine can be prone to fail.

The same symptom can also indicate a faulty PCV which far less cost to repair than replacing both Pistons and Piston rings, if your EA888 GEN 2 is burning oil we suggest having this looked at immediately.

Symptoms of Excessive Oil Consumption:

• Blue coloured smoke from the exhaust
• Oil in the cylinders or around the spark plugs
• Engine oil burning faster than normal
• Metal deposits in the engine oil
• Faulty PCV Valve

Diagnosing and Repairing Excessive Oil Consumption Faults:

• Scan vehicle and see if any faults relating to PCV system are shown
• Check the colour of the smoke from the exhaust
• Check for oil in the cylinders around the spark plugs = piston rings faulty
• Drop engine oil and inspect for metal debris

If you firstly start by changing the PCV Valve and monitor the oil consumption this would be the less costly fix to this problem. If you feel the piston rings are passing oil then both the piston and rings would have to be change, we suggest using the piston rings from the EA888 GEN 1 as they are thicker than the rings used from factory in the EA888 GEN2. If your EA888 GEN 3 is passing oil, then the same applies to these but are far less common to fail on the piston rings so we suggest starting by changing the PCV for this variant.

Carbon Build-up in the Intake Valves

Build-up of carbon on the intake valves is something a lot of direct injection vehicles suffer with. When your engine burns fuel it will deposit carbon on the intake valves coating them, which if not treated will suffocate the engine of the required air needed to combust and reduce the vehicles power.

Symptoms of Carbon Build-up in the Intake Valves:

• Fuel economy lower than normal
• Engine knocking noise from the valves
• Misfiring especially on cold start
• Loss of power
• Engine stalling/cutting out

Diagnosing carbon build-up Faults:

• Check symptoms above
• If in any doubt remove the intake manifold and inspect the valves

Preventing and repairing Carbon Build-up in the Intake Valves:

• Running your engine hard for a set amount of time (3000rpms+ for 20-30mins)
• Use the best quality high octane fuel (99ron+) (Tesco Momentum 99ron)
• Manually cleaning the valves occasionally
• Use an oil catch can
• Walnut blasting (Every 60,000 miles)
• If replacing injectors or removing manifold for any other reason give the intake valves a clean

Failed PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) Valve

The PCV valve for the VAG vehicles have always been an issue, in the EA888 this has not changed and these units often fail and need to be replaced. This part acts part of the emissions system and can be referred to by other names in the motor trade like oil separator, crankcase ventilation valve or breather valve. The fumes that are created in the engine are rerouted by this valve back into the combustion chamber so they can be burned.

If you notice your vehicle has an oil leak, then the PCV is one of the first places you should check for faults. The gasket often fails and after some use the spring that operates this system can become weak and not function efficiently. When this happens, your vehicle will often misfire and build up oil debris around this system causing leaks.

Symptoms that your PCV Valve has failed:

• Misfires depending on air leaks – P0300
• System lean codes – P0171
• Idle regulation code
• Oil leaking from the top of the engine
• Excessive oil consumption
• Noise from the engine (Whining/Whistling)
• Idling Rough
• Loss of power

If your PCV Valve has failed, you will need to replace the unit for a new OEM unit or if you opt for an oil catch can system for your EA888 GEN 3 we have these available for purchase on our online store (Click here)

 

 

Thermostat Housing Leak & Water Pump Failure EA888 GEN 3

As the EA888 is an upgrade to its predecessor the EA113 a lot of the common issues relating to that engine have been addressed, however the EA888 has one fault that will always arise during your ownership of one of these vehicles. The most common fault we come across at our garage is the failed water pump or thermostat housing leak on the EA888 engine. This component fails if:

• the part is defective
• due to normal wear and tear after use
• if the vehicle has overheated causing the part to become defective part
• build-up of debris causing blockages in the coolant system

We advise that if your EA888 engine is displaying symptoms of a failing water pump or thermostat to have this looked over by a specialist immediately.  This fault can cause serious overheating of the engine and result in internal engine damage.

 

This issue can develop between 25,000 – 50,000 miles so be prepared that at some point you will need to have this component replaced.

 

What are the symptoms of a failed water pump and thermostat housing?

 

• Loss of coolant
• High Temperature and Overheating of the engine
• Inconsistent engine temperature on dash display
• Coolant residue under the water pump & thermostat housing
• Low Coolant warning light on dash
• Coolant leaking at the weep hole
• Steam from the radiator area
• Engine management light illuminated for coolant valve

 

Repairing a failed Water pump / Thermostat Housing:

 

Replacing this unit is not a DIY job and should only be done by a VAG specialist who knows how to dismantle this part and replace with care and attention.

 

We have provided a full guide on replacing the water pump and thermostat housing on this link for other technicians wishing to look at our process.

 

If you want to purchase parts to replace a failed water pump, please visit our online store (Click Here)

Engine Management Light (EML) & Associated Fault Codes on EA888 Platform:

• P0300 - Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
• P0301 - Cyl.1 Misfire Detected
• P0302 - Cyl.2 Misfire Detected
• P0303 - Cyl.3 Misfire Detected
• P0304 - Cyl.4 Misfire Detected
• P0234 - Turbocharger over-boost condition/control limit exceeded
• P0235 - Turbocharger Boost Sensor (A) Circulation Control limit not reached
• P0441 – EVAP Emission Control Sys: Incorrect Flow
• P0455 - EVAP System: Large Leak Detected
• P0456 - EVAP System: Very Small Leak Detected
• P0420 - Catalyst System, Bank1 Efficiency Below Threshold
• P0411 - Sec.Air Inj.Sys. Incorrect Flow Detected
• P0171 - Fuel Trim, Bank1 System too Lean
• P0172 - Fuel Trim, Bank1 System too Rich
• P0130 - O2 Sensor Circ., Bank1-Sensor1 Malfunction
• P0131 - O2 Sensor Circ., Bank1-Sensor 1 Low Voltage
• P0132 - O2 Sensor Circ., Bank1-Sensor 1 High Voltage
• P0133 - O2 Sensor Circ., Bank1-Sensor 1 Slow Response
• P0134 - O2 Sensor Circ., Bank1-Sensor 1 No Activity Detected
• P0135 - O2 Sensor Heater Circ., Bank1-Sensor 1 Malfunction
• P0136 - O2 Sensor Circ., Bank1-Sensor 2 Malfunction
• P0137 - O2 Sensor Circ., Bank1-Sensor 2 Low Voltage
• P0138 - O2 Sensor Circ., Bank1-Sensor 2 High Voltage
• P0139 - O2 Sensor Circ., Bank1-Sensor2 Slow Response
• P0140 - O2 Sensor Circ., Bank1-Sensor2 No Activity Detected
• P0141 - O2 Sensor Heater Circ., Bank1-Sensor2 Malfunction
• P0340 - Camshaft Pos. Sensor (A) Circulation Incorrect allocation
• P0016 - Bank 1: Camshaft Position Sensor (G40) / Engine Speed Sensor (G28): Incorrect Correlation
• P2015 - Intake Manifold Runner Position Sensor Range Bank 1
• P2004 - Intake Manifold Flap; Bank 1: Stuck Open
• P0507 – Idle air control sys RPM higher than expected
• P2293 - Fuel Pressure Regulator Valve (N276): Mechanical Malfunction
• P0087 - Fuel Rail/System Pressure: Too Low
• P0299 - Boost Pressure Regulation: Control Range Not Reached
• P2563 - Turbocharger Boost Control Position Sensor Circuit: Implausible Signal