Posted by In Engine by Magnus Sellén21 June, 2019 on 2/11/2020 to
News
Did your car suddenly became really slow on acceleration and at the same time, it seems like it will not rev past 2500-3000 RPM while the engine light is flashing on your dashboard?
Then your car was most likely in a condition called Limp Mode, and you are reading the right article to solve this problem.
However, why does this happen and how expensive will it be to repair my car? You may think.
What is Limp mode?
Limp mode is a security function for your engine and transmission. When the engine or transmission control unit has recognized a serious faulty parameter from the engine or transmission, the car will go into limp mode. The limp mode does often reduce the power and limit the RPM of the engine so you can drive your car to a workshop without damaging the engine.
For example, Your engine control unit is detecting that your turbo boost pressure is 2.0 bar when the maximum boost pressure should be 1.3 bar. Overboost may damage your pistons or other internal parts fast. Because many car owners do not care enough about the engine light, the engine control unit does sets itself into limp mode and shut off the turbo boost completely and put a max RPM limit to 3000 RPM’s, to make sure that you won’t blow or damage any engine parts.
Limp Mode Symptoms
The purpose of the Limp mode function is to get you to the workshop in the safest way without damaging any engine components on the way to the workshop. Different car manufacturers design different kinds of limp modes to save your engine. The common characteristics of limp mode may differ a bit, depending on the problem with your engine/transmission and depending on which car and engine you have.
Here are some of the most common symptoms when it comes to limp mode.
Reduced Engine Power / Turbo boost shut off completely
RPM Limit Lowered
Your Automatic Transmission is “stuck” in a gear/limited to max 3rd gear
Check Engine light/Half engine light/EPC(Volkswagen) is flashing
If you experience all of these symptoms, your car is for sure in Limp mode and it has to get fixed as soon as possible.
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