Intermittent rough idle?

Tiny
BHAMDOC1
  • MEMBER
  • 2014 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT
  • 1.8L
  • 4 CYL
  • TURBO
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 166,000 MILES
So this car starts fine from cold. About 3 minutes later after the idle/rpm settles it starts to idle up and down. Rev it high about 2000 for a bit then leave it and it smooths out. A bit later it does the same thing. It didn't have a check engine light so I replaced coils, plugs and PCV as I had an extra set knowing this is the most common with these cars. Oil is full same for coolant. But there is also water coming out of the tail pipe with black material. I have seen several cars do that before. Its super cold today abd car is inside the garage. You drive it and it's fine, no misfires at all. But leave it and in a bit it does the same thing. Took a screen shot of all the codes that were there even though check engine light and epc were not on. Deleted them and only the misfires came back so far. Also took screen shot of some live data in case you may spot something out of the ordinary. I have 3 videos attached too. I have an idea of what it could be but I want to hear your thoughts. I will also do a smoke test to eliminate that possibility. Thanks
Sunday, January 19th, 2025 AT 1:02 PM

8 Replies

Tiny
BHAMDOC1
  • MEMBER
  • 93 POSTS
Just did a smoke test and all good, no symptoms.
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Monday, January 20th, 2025 AT 12:19 PM
Tiny
BHAMDOC1
  • MEMBER
  • 93 POSTS
Cleaned MAF sensor, and removed and cleaned the cam sensor and the wire, had some oil on it, will see how I goes.
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Tuesday, January 21st, 2025 AT 9:28 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 51,438 POSTS
So what happens is if the air filter does not get changed it will force the vacuum of the engine to take out the diaphragm inside the oil air separator. This is why there is so much vacuum inside the engine. Here is what needs to be replaced which should fix the problem. Thanks for the videos, then helped. Check out the images (below). Please let us know what happens.
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Tuesday, January 21st, 2025 AT 10:47 AM
Tiny
BHAMDOC1
  • MEMBER
  • 93 POSTS
I already indicated in my first post that I have replaced it.
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Tuesday, January 21st, 2025 AT 11:07 AM
Tiny
BHAMDOC1
  • MEMBER
  • 93 POSTS
After cleaning the CAM magnet all is good. I could not remove the inner sleeve to clean it, but I pushed it with my finger, and it goes in and out.
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Tuesday, January 21st, 2025 AT 5:32 PM
Tiny
KEN L
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  • 51,438 POSTS
Sorry, you said PCV, so I didn't know if you meant the oil air separator. Does the engine have vacuum inside the crankcase when idling? Have you checked the air filter?
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Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025 AT 8:59 AM
Tiny
BHAMDOC1
  • MEMBER
  • 93 POSTS
My previous post was about the resolution. Thanks for all your help.
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Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025 AT 9:20 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 51,438 POSTS
Glad you could get it fixed, thanks for letting us know. Please use 2CarPros anytime we are here to help.
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Thursday, January 23rd, 2025 AT 9:26 AM

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