Volkswagen EA111 (1.2–1.6)
inline-4 · twincharged · petrol · 1997–2016
Also known as: 1.4 tsi, 1.2 tsi, caxa, cbza, cavd, twincharger, 1.4 tsi twincharger
The small-displacement petrol family that introduced downsizing to the Volkswagen Group's volume cars, and the origin of the twincharger — a supercharger and a turbocharger on one engine, the supercharger driven from the crankshaft to fill in low-speed response until exhaust flow can spin the turbo. Not every EA111 is twincharged; the single-turbo 1.2 and 1.4 TSI variants are the more common cars.
The timing chain is the defining fault, and the tensioner is the part that fails. A worn tensioner lets the chain slacken, and a slack chain can jump teeth — which on this engine means valve-to-piston contact and a destroyed engine, from a rattle that had been audible for some time. The rattle is loudest on cold start and on shutdown; treat it as immediate rather than as something to monitor.
Piston-ring wear and consequent oil consumption are the second theme, and the two interact — a chain-driven oil pump on an engine low on oil is a compounding problem rather than two separate ones.
⚑ It is a family, and the 1.2 and 1.4 TSI are its best-known members — seven models here carry one or the other. The timing chain tensioner is the complaint that made its reputation, and it belongs to the chain-driven TSI members rather than to every EA111.
Cars fitted with this engine
17 generations, across 4 makes. From the authored catalogue — an absent car means the catalogue has not reached it, not that the engine was never fitted.
Volkswagen
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