Seat Leon ST FR 1.5 TSI 150HP PROBLEMS

'& Son' managed

Third Party
Mar 2, 2018
269
89
South Coast
I have a new Golf with the same 1.5 EVO engine and it's one of the 20% or so of these
engines that is sometimes affected with the hesitation/kangerooing issue.
Mine's the DADA code '150' version which seems to be the most prone, (more so than
the surprisingly different DACA 130) - but it's not got it as bad as some other VAG car
owners with this engine have reported.

When it does play-up, it's usually from cold and you can mostly drive-around the issue using
a touch more throttle than usual to counter it. It has only actually cut-out on me once, just after
pulling away when turning right - and it was fully warmed-up on that occasion, just to be awkward
so I wasn't expecting it.

Thanks mostly to excellent info I found elsewhere on here, I was able to confidently tell the
VW dealer all about it, avoiding any risk of them claiming 'We've never heard of this issue'
which some VAG stealers have said to customers. The upshot is they have agreed to sort it
without any argument and it's booked-in for it's 'update' in early January.
 

BigJase88

Jase
Apr 20, 2008
3,767
1,069
See I think the pre facelift bumpers look nicer. At least on the Cupra. I think the facelift Cupra just looks like an FR now from the front.... don’t like the addition of the fog lights instead of the grilles either
Everyones opinion is different though and i appreciate that. For me the pre-fl looks dated, but saying that so will the facelift when the mk4 comes out
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
I don't think the FR or the Cupra differ from the base model enough. To be honest I think it's a joke that Seat is supposed to be the 'sporty' brand yet the 150 FR doesn't have independent rear suspension while non-GT 150 Golfs do.
 
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Jan 8, 2020
10
0
United Kingdom
I am just about to buy a 19 Plate Leon FR 1.5 TSI (150), has anyone had the kangaroo issue with this engine and successfully had a software fix? Curious as I also have this engine in the wife's 2 year old T-Roc so curious if there is now a fix for those affected.
 

'& Son' managed

Third Party
Mar 2, 2018
269
89
South Coast
Had my software upgrade on my Golf done earlier today and I can certainly tell the difference.

Although I've not been able to try it from stone-cold yet, the engine feels smoother low down
with no flat spots/hesitation so far, (50 mile journey home) and generally more lively compared
to it's rather flat, uninterested nature beforehand.

Car has still done less than 700 miles in total, but it will get it's first real test this weekend with
a 3-hour trip to the Welsh borders loaded with family and their junk.
Should know all by the time we get back late on Sunday, but I'm expecting only good news.
 
May 1, 2021
1
1
I wouldn't worry about it, if its a good car go for it.

With any car, the people with problems are going to be more vocal and easy to find but will be the minority.. People who don't have issues don't go around posting about how they haven't had a problem do they! :)
Hi, I got a brand new FR TSI petrol manual at the end of March just gone, I got a brand knew Seat Leon 1.5 FR manual at the end of March, before, I drove a Leon 1.4 FR petrol sport, manual with no problems what so ever, since I got this car, I have numerous problems
I wouldn't worry about it, if its a good car go for it.

With any car, the people with problems are going to be more vocal and easy to find but will be the minority.. People who don't have issues don't go around posting about how they haven't had a problem do they! :)
I got a brand knew Seat Leon 1.5 FR manual at the end of March, before, I drove a Leon 1.4 FR sports manual with no problems what so ever for 3 years, since I have had this car, I have had nothing but issues with it. The crash light comes on without reason and puts the brakes on for a couple of seconds, the lane control drags me across the road without warning and on a couple of occasions has nearly caused me to have an accident. Sometimes when changing gears they slip out making a lovely noise for everyone to hear. When I pull away sometimes the brakes stick and it is very sluggish and noisy, please consider this before you purchase this car, Good Luck
 
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Tonezz

Active Member
Jan 12, 2011
1,038
75
Preston
Hi, I got a brand new FR TSI petrol manual at the end of March just gone, I got a brand knew Seat Leon 1.5 FR manual at the end of March, before, I drove a Leon 1.4 FR petrol sport, manual with no problems what so ever, since I got this car, I have numerous problems

I got a brand knew Seat Leon 1.5 FR manual at the end of March, before, I drove a Leon 1.4 FR sports manual with no problems what so ever for 3 years, since I have had this car, I have had nothing but issues with it. The crash light comes on without reason and puts the brakes on for a couple of seconds, the lane control drags me across the road without warning and on a couple of occasions has nearly caused me to have an accident. Sometimes when changing gears they slip out making a lovely noise for everyone to hear. When I pull away sometimes the brakes stick and it is very sluggish and noisy, please consider this before you purchase this car, Good Luck
You do realise the thread is about the 1.5 engine, all the issues you have posted have nothing to do with the engine.
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
You do realise the thread is about the 1.5 engine, all the issues you have posted have nothing to do with the engine.

It's still good information to know.

Thank you for sharing Deejoy
 

moriarty

Active Member
Apr 6, 2015
96
14
Edinburgh
I had a 2015 1.4 FR 150 and currently have a 2019 1.5 FR 150 (owned for 18 months but only 5000 miles due to lockdowns)
Once on the move I'd say very little difference between the engines but after start up on a cold damp morning there can be a hesitance/ lumpiness to the 1.5 engine until it gets warmed up. I noticed that it was going into 2 cylinder mode before fully warmed up which can't help.
Since service in January it seems a bit better but that coincided with most recent work from home rules and I've not had many early morning winter drives this year so can't be definite.
At a time most manufacturers are reducing engine size I can't work out why VW changed from 1.4 to 1.5, it has no more power, no better on fuel and doesn't seem as refined.
PS. You can adjust the sensitivity of the crash system so I'd try setting it to minimum to see if that improves things.
PPS. I didn't want an electric handbrake but now it seems like second nature. I try to use the handbrake in traffic rather than rely on auto hold as hold leaves the brake lights on. Pretty sure most drivers don't know that or they just don't care about blinding other people.
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
PS. You can adjust the sensitivity of the crash system so I'd try setting it to minimum to see if that improves things.
PPS. I didn't want an electric handbrake but now it seems like second nature.
Our 17 plate has the collision avoidance and I think it's useless. It has lit up and beeped several times but there have been other times I've narrowly avoided hitting the car in front and it did nothing.

You get used to the electric handbrake but that doesn't make it better. It's too slow and I hate guys sitting in a Spanish office making my daily driving decisions for me. For example, they won't let you release the handbrake if a door is open. So if you want to open your door to look back while reversing. And hill-hold only works with the handbrake in auto mode. What the heck? Pre-facelift cars have hill hold with big old lever handbrake!
 

BoomerBoom

Active Member
Jun 1, 2018
690
249
My particular favourite on the new Leon is when it tries to wrest the steering wheel from me, to avoid me 'departing the lane', only I'm already in the middle of the lane and the middle of a sharp corner - which is the last thing you need, all in the interests of safety.

The front assist does occasionally give false alerts, usually a slow moving car turning in front, but has only ever braked in a genuine moment when I was already jumping on the pedal.

I can't identify any actual faults on the car though, with the same 1.5 TSI engine fitted and just come from the 1.4 - mechanically it's all operating as it should, just that the safety tech is getting more intrusive as it is on all modern cars.
 

moriarty

Active Member
Apr 6, 2015
96
14
Edinburgh
Our 17 plate has the collision avoidance and I think it's useless. It has lit up and beeped several times but there have been other times I've narrowly avoided hitting the car in front and it did nothing.

You get used to the electric handbrake but that doesn't make it better. It's too slow and I hate guys sitting in a Spanish office making my daily driving decisions for me. For example, they won't let you release the handbrake if a door is open. So if you want to open your door to look back while reversing. And hill-hold only works with the handbrake in auto mode. What the heck? Pre-facelift cars have hill hold with big old lever handbrake!
Yep, that door open thing confused the hell out of me when I only wanted to move the car about a foot. I'd rather not have it but the reality isn't as bad as I thought it would be.
I also have a 50 yr old Morris Traveller which has a manual choke, no synchromesh on 1st, single speed wipers, indicators on wrong side and a foot operated headlamp dip switch, it's surprising how quickly you get used to technology but can also enjoy a simpler car too.
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
Yep, that door open thing confused the hell out of me when I only wanted to move the car about a foot. I'd rather not have it but the reality isn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Yes, you get used to it but the point is that it's not better.

An automatic choke it better than a manual one. What they are doing now is adding features because they can. Because they look cool, because they are cheaper, because they want to keep adding things for the sake of it so it looks like progress. But it's worse, not better.