- 09/15/2021
- 2 Min Read
- By: Kyle Bascombe
Diagnosing Low Oil Pressure On A VW CC TSI (Volkswagen EA888 2.0 TSI)
Low oil pressure on any car is not something you want to encounter, and that holds true for the Volkswagen EA888 engine found in the VW CC. If you're getting the "Oil pressure Engine off!" warning message on the dashboard of your Volkswagen, you should turn your car off as soon as you safely can and not drive it until the issue has been diagnosed.
This guide focuses specifically on a Volkswagen CC, but is applicable to any car with the VW EA888 engine, including the most popular cars such as the VW GTI and the VW Jetta GLI.
Read The Definitive Guide To The VW EA888 Gen 3
What is low oil pressure?
So, what is low oil pressure? To put it simply, it's when the engine is not producing sufficient oil pressure to lubricate rotating components. This is an extremely volatile condition because a lack of oil pressure can and will result in contact between metal components within the engine. Metal-on-metal contact is can include rod knock, bearing failure, crank wear, and other damage. Your engine will very quickly wear itself to the point of being inoperable.
This week's contestant was a VW CC equipped with a TSI 2.0T CCTA engine suffering from low oil pressure. This issue made itself known after the installation of a fresh engine from an independent shop that told the customer everything had tested okay. An engine with less than 25 pounds of pressure is not okay and a vehicle that flashes a low oil pressure light that tells you to shut off the engine shouldn’t be ignored, but it was.
If your low pressure light is steady or appears intermittently, do yourself a favor and just shut off your engine, get your car towed, and count your blessings. A tow is always cheaper than another engine swap. I repeat, do not ignore the warning signs.
Common reasons for VW EA888 low oil pressure:
Low oil level: If you own a late model turbocharged Audi or VW, it’s not uncommon to burn a quart of oil or more in two months. Consider checking your oil level every other gas fill-up.
Blocked sump screen: Drop the oil pan and verify that you don’t have anything clogging your mesh screen. If your oil pickup tube cannot siphon a sufficient volume of oil, it can’t pressurize it. If you're dropping the pan, consider picking up one of our kits that includes the correct sealant and oil pan bolts.
Increased bearing clearances due to age or bearing failure: While some designs allow for easy access to engine bearings, others require significant effort to access the bearings (ie: transmission removal to access the upper pan). Consult a factory service manual to determine if this is a DIY procedure or something to leave to the professionals.
"Oil Pressure Engine Off!" Message - What Do I Do?
How to diagnose low oil pressure on a VW EA888 engine:
You may be asking yourself what DIY steps you can perform before sending your vehicle to the professionals. First, check your oil level and then verify that you actually have low oil pressure. We offer a simple to use gauge, the CTA 2001, that can be installed in less than 5 minutes.
Another potential issue is a pressure switch. It's not an expensive item to replace, so if the fault lies here, consider yourself lucky. This diagnosis isn't likely if you have a later model vehicle, but some older model vehicles have oil pressure switches notoriously prone to failure (think 80s-90s Mercedes-Benz).
Steps to test the oil pressure on a VW EA888 engine:
Locate the pressure switch, on most modern cars it is on the oil filter housing module.
Disconnect the electrical connector.
Remove the pressure switch/sensor using the appropriate socket. On this CCTA engine, it was a 24mm deep socket.
Next, screw your pressure gauge into the pressure port on the engine. Be sure to use the correct fitting with the proper thread size; the last thing you want to do is use an inappropriate NPT fitting on a Metric thread. You won't realize your error until you attempt to reinstall your pressure sensor and find that you've mangled your threads.
Place the gauge somewhere visible and read the pressure after starting the engine. If you are below the manufacturer specification, shut off the engine immediately.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to heed the warning signs. On the VW CC featured in this article, I drained the oil and it came out of the pan looking like metallic paint.
Be proactive and consider using some of the tools we offer to diagnose your situation. While we always encourage our customers to wrench on their own cars, it's important to realize your limitations so that you don't end up over your head with your car apart in the garage. If something is outside of your skillset, always seek the help of a professional.
If you have any questions about low oil pressure on your VW CC or any Audi/VW with the EA888 engine, leave them in the comments section below.
