Coil-pack failure is the single most common cause of a misfire on a turbo VW GTI — the 1.8T and every EA888. Each cylinder has its own coil-on-plug, and they fail with heat and age.
Symptoms:
- A misfire — stumble, shake, flashing CEL under load.
- A stored cylinder-specific code (P0301–P0304).
- Rough idle, hesitation.
Diagnose it:
- Read the code with VCDS to see which cylinder is misfiring.
- Swap the suspect coil to another cylinder — if the misfire follows the coil it's the coil; if it stays, look at the spark plug or injector.
The fix:
- Replace the failed coil (many just do all four on a high-mileage car) and fit fresh spark plugs at the correct gap — worn or wrong-gap plugs kill coils.
- Use the revised/updated coils where applicable.
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