Loss of power Vauxhall Zafira 20 tdi?

my zafira kept going in to limp mode which cut most of the power down, EGR valve wasn't working, new EGR valve on cleaned inlet manifold flaps put new vacuum pipe on, now I have full power.

martyn
March 2017

had the same problem with my Opel dti garage quoted 400 euros
saw this site examined all the vacuum pipes found one with a small split replaced it , i have my old car back plenty of oomph and 400 euros better off worth a look.

ray h
September 2016

remove vacum pipes leading from the vacum pump and along its route to egr flaps and turbo ect. 1 at a time, inspect the rubber connections and elbows, these can be cracked leading to leak of vacum hence turbo and egr sytem creating faults (limp mode).

rurbarb
January 2016

Had loss of power in my 2004 2.0 dti. A common fault will not rev above 3000rpm turbo not operating.Simple fix at front of engine is the egr, took grey cover off sprayed the half moon slider with 3 in 1 oil gave it a good wiggle untill it moves freely. Problem solved. Have to do this every 4 weeks though.

derek
December 2015

How can all these zafiras have the exact same problem? I have to start mine and leave running for 5 mins before it will drive, if I try to drive it, loss is revs, no brakes, no steering, this all seems so dangerous. Yesterday it lost power going up a long country road.. Was so scared sitting there waiting for some more revs to work up.

Elaine Odea
November 2015

hi i have a 2002 zafira dti car runs fine seems like the turbo has gone there is no eml on when it revs just over 3000 revs theres nothing there lucky to get 60 miles an hour out of this
PLEASE HELP

keith harrison
March 2015

I have a 2ltr tdi zafira .
I had the spanner & rad /fan light on dash problem .
after about 1 mile . Limp mode comes on and restricts
revs .
I fixed this by cleaning the egr sensor and fitting a new crank
sensor . Cost about £38 .
The hardest part was locating the egr & crank sensor .

kevin
March 2015

Just had ours done it was swirling flaps on the manifold

Loz
January 2015

run out of diesel in my zafira wont start again any ideas

steve cullen
January 2015

Thank you for all your comments...I have 1.9 tdi ..loss of power like you guys..I'm going to take car to be looked at tomorrow..very frustrating.. Don't think I'd ever buy a diesel again.. Had 4 zafiras now ...3 before this one..never had any problems with the petrol ones...

Jo. From doncaster
November 2014

Hi got a zafira 1.9 cdti 2006 starts up fine revs as it should after around five minutes it goes straight into limp mode and won't rev past 300rpm showing codes p0100 and p0400

Gary
October 2014

Had this problem for several years,my wallet was frightened to take it to the garage ( :-) ), problem was solved when in garage for another job ( never even mentioned it,they just fixed it,no charge!).
What was it...... small hole in plastic vacuum pipe where it goes under turbo trunking,repaired with tape...... I've now got a new car!!!!!

Vacuum problems are commonplace apparently,check that pipework!

Hope this helps anybody having the same problem.

Cheers Pete

pete mortlock. staffs
July 2014

have it put on diagnostic machine mine done the same it was boost pressure valve

steve
June 2014

i own a 2004 signum 150 cdti.i had all the problems with egr etc,luckily myself and a friend was able to carry out removing the head,cleaning everything up with new rocker arms etc.removed the swirl flaps,blanked them off with correct blanking bungs,put it all together,now i have a whistling noise that kicks in at about 3tho revs when sat still,and about 16tho revs when driving..its not any pipes split,the turbo is fine,and the noise is very much near the egr??? any help will be appreciated..

thomas
April 2014

try cleaning the turbo boost sensor only small valve next to the egr on most zafiras after 2008

cabbie
April 2014

When starting cold fault light would come on and stay on for quarter mile no power lift of power light would flash on then go off cleaned egr very dirty no difference changed maf no difference no power finally changed all vacuum pipes £12 for small roll of pipe full power could not believe it how that could have that effect on power checked old pipes could not see problem but must have been car flying

anthony boy
March 2014

A few Main things with Zafira that goes wrong.

-EGR Valve & Inlet Manifold Caked in carbon (both need clean out). I found a leak in the manifold which caused a p0400 code 'EGR flow Malfunction' but after cleaning out and also changing the EGR itself the code still came up, so realised that the manifold flaps part was leaking air causing the code.

-MAF sensor is a massive one for loss of power, this item is so sensitive and can break easily. Sometimes will not throw up a code and can also send a p0400 which can be confusing.

-Vac Pipes, take them of and check them. take a photo before removing to remember how they go back. (very important).

- EGR Solenoid & Turbo Solenoids x2 need checking.

Just wanted to pass on advice to help others.

Simon1234
March 2014

Zafiras power loss ie fuel filter no one changes them vacum to PDF turbo hoses vacum pipes egr throtel sensor codes air leak intermidiate

Super charger
March 2014

Hi Guys,

I have had a problem with my Vauxhall Zafira 2.0 DTI 2003 and now its all been resolved & now. I want to help others as forums like this helped me to get my car fixed.

Long story short;

Symptoms;
~Car EML came on when driving 65-75mph

What we done;
~Cleared out the Carbon in the inlet manifold
~Code red at vauxhall which showed EGR Valve and Glow PLugs. So We changed them but still the EML light still flashed on and off, really faulty and temperamental.
~Ordered in a code reader from Ebay and no codes were showing, people forums suggested it could be the MAF Sensor as this does not come up with an error code some of the time (or could be a vauxhall software block), so I gambled and bought in a MAF sensor and the problem was solved!!!

So all in all I needed a new EGR Valve, MAF Sensor & Glow Plugs. And carbon clean out of the Inlet Manifold.

I hope this helps you guys out and thanks to those that helped towards me sorting mine out.

Simon1234
December 2013

I zafiga 2001 I have a problem on the board appears wrench and chetiriagalnik CAC star and the car loses power I can not figure out the problem

demir
December 2013

This is getting worrying. My Zafira 2.0 diesel has these problems after a simple battery change. RAC diagnosed EGR valve so had that replaced at £500 cost but still same problem exists???

john
November 2013

I had the same problem with my 2.0 dti zafira 2001 car and spanner light came on till 2500rpm light would turn off and then power so I cleaned egr valve clogged up to death but still same problem fitted mass air flow system and what do u no it fine n dandy now. Hope this helped and also if your changing air flow sensor your selfsame sure you disconnect battery and reconnect after to reset system

Damo
October 2013

Hi I have a ZAFIRA 2.0 DTI has loss of power no warning lights on dash wen I took mass air flow off light came on felt slight difference to power could anybody help

Paul
October 2013

hi everyone is there a easy fix for this problem my car is doing the same I have a 2001 2.0 dti light on the dash of a car with spanner init and a square almost like oil can with a star init car was working fine last night and this morning went to go to work and its flat no power at all

hotlips
April 2013

Hi, I had this problem repeatedly and my Zafira went in and out of Vauxhall main dealer many times. The fault in the end turned out to be a blocked fuel filter on a pipe that returns excess fuel from the engine to the fuel tank. I was told that at high speed, this blockage causes a vaccuum to build in the fuel tank causing fuel flow to drop, (but at low speed the fuel flow is not affected). Hope this helps.

Phil
December 2012

crank sensor is your problem

ian
November 2012

i have a Zafira OPC 2005,Car jerks when accelerating,Chnged Coils,Plug,Fuel Filter,Still jerks,
What is the problem,is it the injectors and can it be clean or is it a faulty injector wire,

Jayson
November 2012

Hi i have a zafira 2.0 dti, and i was driving down the road and it cut out, turned it back on and the cooling system light come on and the engine electrical light came on. And i have loss of power, cant go over 60mph and its on limp mode. We have checked the cooling system and no problems. But yet the problem is still there after the engine has heated up. Pissed off!!!

Kaz
October 2012

Anyone know how to solve this problem yet, had my zafira for about 2 months and i'm starting to find this fault is quite dangerous?

Angela
October 2012

Just got my zafira 2.0dti up and running after deisel pump broke down but it not running right i got rough idling em light on when over 3000rpm anda loud whistle when under load no smoke tho can anyone help please thanks

lee
July 2012

Just bought a 2001 Zafira and on a motorway drive the light with spanner over the top would come on and the car would lose all of it;s "oomph" still drove fine but no aceleration and struggles to get above 60. When I pull over and turn the ignition off and start off again, the "oomph" is there until bam, the light comes back on and there's a loss of power.

Alex Fisher
April 2012

My Zafira had similar problems with needing regeneration every now and again. I noticed the noise that it makes before the light comes on over the past few days and thought it would need regeneration (driving at 2000 revs for a set amount of time) again soon. Whilst driving up the motorway my car lost all power, including steering & brakes. I tried repeatedly to switch the engine off and re-start. Then my car began to Rev on its own to the maximum and smoke was bellowing out everywhere! I managed to pull to the side of the road and remove the keys...but to my horror the car continued to Rev and smoke continued to pour out to the degree that cars on the carriageway had to stop due to visibility. the only way to stop the car was to stall it. following this it would not start again. No warning lights appeared at all during this which I could not understand. It could have very easily caused a terrible accident, but I guess I was just lucky on this occasion! Good job I never had my partner or children with me!

Trevor
March 2012

I had same problem with Zafira CDTI 1.9,garage checked EGR.no problem,but after further investigation they found fuel lines clogged with carbon deposits.After cleaning out the car runs better now than before.

Tom Paterson
March 2012

hi i have a vauxhall zafira 2.0 turbo diesel 2002 its loss of power spaner light on, had egr done can anyone help car starts fine and runs all day long but as loss power 07716202781 / 07598215050

kelly
February 2012

I have a 2006 Zafira 1.9 CDTI (Z19DT) - I have a similar issue with power, it is as if there is no turbo on the car - been like this for past 3 months, every so often the turbo works for a journey but as soon as you switch car off goes back to normal - car also going into safe mode at 3-4000revs in 3rd gear or higher.

It has been in the frachise dealer 3 times now, i have had EGR replaced, DPF replaced, Crank Sensor and countless forced regens and oil & filter changes. I got a call from dealer just last week to pick the car up, this is a vauxhall masterfit delaer and they advised 'sorry we really don't know what is wrong with your car' PS they checked all my vacum pipes and saif they were fine.

The code car displays when it goes into safe mode is P2034 (Overboost)

Please can someone offer some insight into what is wrong with the car, it is driving me nuts and making me bankrupt...lol

Jamie
November 2011

I have a 1.9 CDTI, and for the past 11 months it has been of the road as the problem you have was happening to mine. I booked it in a garage as I only had it for 6 months from second hand, the day before it was to go and get a check to see what it was there was a big black ball of smoke come out the exhaust and the car took off on it's own accord!! I pulled over and turned the engine off, it would not start again. This was due to the 1 and 4 injector had blew the engine up by being stuck open and leaked diesel fuel into the oil sump causing £3500 worth of damage. I have now got the car back and it's having the same issues of 120% saturation in the exhaust. Best way to deal with is go on a long journey of 30miles round trip up a motorway and don't come out of 4th staying at around 3000 revs, to which I did and this fix saturation to 22%, now I have had an ecu update done and the car is running perfect apart from the turbo is on it's way out after only 21/2 years of having a new one fitted so Vauxhall tell me. Vauxhall also wanted £158 to do the burn off don't pay it as I explained DIY is a money saver. Getting the ecu update has so far worked and the throttle seams a lot more responsive to now. Dose anyone have any ideas as to what I can do about turbo as every now and again it sound like a police car up my back side with the sirens going?

Jason
May 2011

Can anyone please help me after spending £1500 on a new exhust and EGR valve for my zafira 2006 2.0 CDTI, I an still having the same problem. I can be driving along and I loose power to about 40 MPH and the engine management light comes on, if I stop the engine and restart it its fine until I reach 40 MPH again. Vauxhall have since regenarated it and it worked fine for 3 weeks now I have a 80% blocked exhust again and they want to charge me £750 to change the ecu??? thats not including labour......can anyone please help me as I can't afford all this exspence.

Kirsty.
May 2011

Same with mine lost power when the light came up, found out today that i had a split in one of the pipes, taped it up with electric tape for now until i can get hold of a new pipe.

Chezzie
February 2011

Can you tell me what the common faults are for loss of power in The car was running fine & then just lost power almost as if the turbo has failed.It has no engine warning lights on at all.the 1.9 tdi Zafira

bob
September 2010

loss of power only on start-up for sbout 45 secs, then drives okay.Only seems to do when cold? Any idea please.Its for a 2003 Zafira 1.8 16v petrol

Jamie
June 2010

i had a real problem for about 9 months my wifes car. she took it in early on and they replaced cat,con.£500later still no improvment months later it was still strugleing up hills and all most cutting out when started she took it to local garage they put on new air flow meter and it was like brand new car,we love it again about £200

jimmy.d.
February 2010

I had the same problem on my zafira 2.0 diesel.
The car would had virtually no power as though the turbo wasn`t working.
The spanner symbol warning light would come on on the panel too.
I took the top plastic engine cover off and was having a look around the turbo and vacuum pipes when I saw that one of the vacuum pipes which goes to the turbo had been rubbing on the engine block and had worn through.
you could hardly see it but it was enough to suck air in through instead of operating the turbo.
It`s worth checking the vacuum pipes first as it would save a lot of expense in taking it a garage for them to charge you to rig it up to a machine and start changing sensors like they are going out of fashion.

jimmy.
July 2009

The fault is non of the above.
Had same problem with my car being out of Pentagon Vauxhall 5 hours. Went back on a rac low loader. The fault is the CATALITIC CONVERTOR. On page 187 of vauxhall owners manual.
This breaking results in loss of power driving at low speeds or simply not being able to go up a hill.
This is a fault vauxhall know about.

If you have a banging on the suspension it is that the suspension arms need tighting. Because they have come out of there cups.

Matthew
May 2009

If you find out what the problem is I would be pleased to know. I have the same intermittent problem which cannot be diagnosed.
So far I have had the crank sensor replaced and the throttle body cleaned - neither of which have rectified the problem.

Kris
January 2009

Hi
No you dont get a engine management light on and it normally happen,s at higher speed,s, its just like your engine going into safe mode exept you get no clue,s like you would if your oil was low i.e your oil sensor kicks in putting the engine into safe mode and putting your em light on. Try checking all your hoses like bob say,s and your air filter,s might be an idea..... if your lucky it might just be that. Failing that get your engine diagnosed as it could be something cheap and simple to fix like a fuel filter.

paul
March 2007

Thanks for the replies people.
Paul surely if the air intake module has failed i should be getting an engine management light on the dash????

Rob
March 2007

or a vacume pipe is split or come off

bob
March 2007

split turbo pipe is likely m8 if u got no light on

bob
March 2007

Hi
Could be the air intake module is at fault if it happens when your driving along...... A common problem on zafira,s apparently and a costly one to have fixed as a new module is in the region of £300 .

paul
March 2007