Seeking Advice on Troubleshooting Engine Issues with 2021 Seat Tarraco: Black Smoke, Cold Start Difficulty, Power Loss and More

Hey, Got some experience with cars, but wouldn't call myself a mechanic or anything, more like low experience. Your situation reminds me of a similar issue I had with my 2019 Seat Ateca, pretty similar model, just a tad older. My symptoms were much like yours: black smoke, longer cold starts, shakiness, and a moody engine light. Turned out it indeed was the injector, it was internally defective. Ended up taking it to my trusty workshop, had the same injector problem. They managed to fix it for 515.00 Euro, which seemed fair. Before we dive further, could you tell me more about your Tarraco? Engine size? Diesel or petrol? Also, are you sure there aren't any additional faults showing up in the error reading? With this info I might be able to help you pin down the issue a bit more. Good luck!

Hey, appreciate the quick response! My Tarraco's got a petrol engine, quite the fuel guzzler but I love it. As for the engine size, it’s a 2.00 litre. Ran a quick error check again, and guess what? No additional faults showing up. As far as my use, it's got around 61628 km on the clock, and the last service I remember was done pretty recently. Anything else you would need to know bud? Thanks again for the tips!

Hey again, No worries, happy to help! Based on the information you've given me - petrol engine, 2.00 litre, not a huge number of kilometres and recently serviced - I'm still leaning towards the injector as the issue. The fact that it's a petrol engine, and given the symptoms, it all lines up with an injector issue. Could be that it's stuck open, which would explain the black smoke from the exhaust, or it could be leaking, which would cause the longer cold starts and the jerking on acceleration. Either way, it’s something that the typical car person wouldn’t be comfortable messing with. That being said, diagnosing over the internet can only go so far. If the situation were reversed, I'd take it to a professional. It could also be a bad spark plug, fuel delivery issue, or a thousand other things. Better to seek help from someone who can physically assess the situation. Hit up a trustworthy garage, ask them to check the injector, and let me know how it goes. Fingers crossed it's nothing more costly or complicated! Best of luck with it!

Thanks so much for the insights! I reckon your guess about the injector could be spot on. Right then, I'm taking your advice and swinging it by a local garage I usually go to. They’re good folks, quite professional. Let’s cross our fingers and hope it's something manageable. And you're right, it's always better to get it checked out in person. I still have fond hopes for my baby Tarraco. I'll definitely keep you updated on how it goes. Cheers for now!