Category: Engine

Guides covering engine diagnostics, maintenance, and repair, from routine service to tracking down harder-to-diagnose performance issues. Topics include oil and fluid maintenance, timing components, carbon buildup, misfires, cooling system issues, and diagnosing check engine lights using OBD-II scanners and platform-specific tools like VCDS.
Whether you’re doing preventive maintenance or working through a specific engine fault, you’ll find practical, hands-on write-ups here — based on real diagnostic and repair work rather than generic explanations.

  • Understanding the IS12 Turbocharger: Location and Component Breakdown (Volkswagen Sportwagen 1.8T)

    How I Saved $4,500 by DIY-ing My VW Sportwagen IS12 Turbocharger – Part 2: Understanding the Turbocharger In my last post (“How I Saved $4,500 by DIY-ing My VW Sportwagen IS12 Turbocharger“), I showed you how I saved $4,500. In this post, I will set the stage and walk you through the different parts of…

    Written by

    Karim Gherras

  • How I Saved $4,500 by DIY-ing My VW Sportwagen IS12 Turbocharger

    In this post I am going to present the savings I was able to make by fixing an EPC error code shown on the dashboard of my Volkswagen Sportwagen alongside the engine check light. First I am going to present the VW dealer cost and an independent shop; then I will tell you the money…

    Written by

    Karim Gherras

  • Car Lost Power While Driving on Highway? From Boost to Limp Mode – Causes & Fixes

    Incident on the Highway It was October 2025, and I was driving my 2018 Volkswagen Sportwagen on the highway on my way to Walmart for groceries when the check engine light and EPC warning light suddenly appeared on the dashboard. A few moments later, the car lost boost power. I experienced limp mode for the…

    Written by

    Karim Gherras