Volkswagen EA888

The Volkswagen Group's volume petrol four, and the engine behind most modern TSI and TFSI badges. It spans 1.8 and 2.0 litres and four generations, which is why no single displacement is recorded here — a fact about "the EA888" is often true of one generation only, and the generation matters more than the badge.

Generation matters most in the diagnosis. Early Gen 1 and Gen 2 engines are known for oil consumption traced to the piston rings and for timing-chain tensioner failure, where a failed tensioner allows the chain to jump and the engine to destroy itself in a single event — the reason a rattle on start-up is treated as urgent rather than monitored. Gen 3 revised both areas substantially, so applying Gen 2 expectations to a Gen 3 car overstates the risk considerably.

Carbon on the intake valves is common to the direct-injected variants, and the later port-and-direct injection arrangement exists precisely to address it.