# My review of CTS Turbo Catch Can



## krisco1996 (Jan 13, 2015)

This is my review of the CTS Turbo Catch Can kit for the 2.0L Gen 3 non MQB engine.

I order this kit because it was on sale (15% off online order) and I heard it helps with preventing oil entering the intake manifold.

The good:

1. Let me say that the aluminum is nicely polished and well machined.

The bad:

1. No instructions with kit. I then went to look on there website and there is no instructions linked. I sent an email to the sales manager and received no response. I then sent a general request response through their website and still received no response. I looked at the GTI catch can kit and used those instructions. A few differences but generally the same.

2. Where the catch can mounts to the engine mount, I had to add 2 washers on one mount because the mounts were not even. Pretty lame in my opinion.

3. They did not include a M6 bolt for mounting down the breather hose on the rear of the adapter. I had to dig through my junk drawer and find something that worked.

4. The engine cover does not fit with the braided lines connected. I can't even use it now.

5. I had to remove one of the engine cover mounting studs as it interfered with the braided line.

Other info:

I did not use the boost adapter they supplied because I had already installed the APR boost tap and just spliced into that. I also heard that messing with the sensor and placing a something underneath it can interfere with the sensor and cause power issues.

Final thoughts:

Even though the aluminum looks flashy and clean looking, I am disappointed with this kit and the customer service involved with CTS Turbo. The installation was a nightmare as I had to figure out ways to make it work.

Just wanted to share this info with other fellow VW owners.

Chris


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## ASHIVERS (Jun 19, 2010)

Yeah their support after sale is awful. And return policy is terrible as well. 35% restocking fee plus shipping. Basically they don't do returns. I understand some of it bc of them being located in Canada but the lack of communication is the biggest problem. 


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## 2.0LiterGolf (Jan 24, 2006)

Thanks for the info as i had thought of eventually getting this kit but with the sound of the poor craftsmanship and extremely poor customer service i definantly wont be doing business with cts. Thanks for saving me the headache of going through what you have.


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## krisco1996 (Jan 13, 2015)

No problem at all. I just had a check engine light come on today. Tomorrow I will find out if it is related to the catch can or not. The craftsmanship of the aluminum is great. Just everything else does not seem to be inline.


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## RjRacing (Nov 14, 2008)

Thanks for sharing! Any pictures?


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## krisco1996 (Jan 13, 2015)

RjRacing said:


> Thanks for sharing! Any pictures?


Hey RjRacing,

I am not posting any pictures of this because I had to take this kit off. This kit was causing my engine to smoke real bad. It was also the cause of my check engine light. Also, I decided to install the boost adapter block and that caused my engine to idle incorrectly.

I am deeply disappointed with this kit and I will be contacting CTS Turbo for a refund. It is amazing that a catch can caused all of these problems. Hopefully other companies read this and have a catch can kit that has no issues and will advise me.

Chris


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## 84cabbydroptop (Aug 6, 2003)

i just bought one myself, haven't installed it yet though. i can confirm that the customer service is just awful. I'm trying to set up a return as we speak, otherwise ill open a dispute through paypal and my credit card. no instructions at all for a GLI install, and never answer phone or emails. after hearing your issues, i don't want to chance it.


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## krisco1996 (Jan 13, 2015)

84cabbydroptop said:


> i just bought one myself, haven't installed it yet though. i can confirm that the customer service is just awful. I'm trying to set up a return as we speak, otherwise ill open a dispute through paypal and my credit card. no instructions at all for a GLI install, and never answer phone or emails. after hearing your issues, i don't want to chance it.


Don't blame you and understand completely.


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## 84cabbydroptop (Aug 6, 2003)

35% restocking fee is total bull**** too.


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## krisco1996 (Jan 13, 2015)

I contacted CTS Turbo today and they told me that I have to send them an email to get an RMA number (figures!!). They said that if the product is not defective, they will ship it back to me and not refund my money. 

My vehicle has blue smoke, a check engine light on, and the engine idle is messed up when this kit is installed. Something has obviously got to be incorrect with this kit for my car. (Of course the guy on the phone said he has this kit installed on his car which is the same and has no issues).

Does the PCV system in the MVII GTI differ from the GLI or is it the same??

I am never purchasing from CTS Turbo again. I will make sure to let everyone on this forum know it also.

Chris


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## ASHIVERS (Jun 19, 2010)

Yeah I sold my product instead of returning bc 35 percent is outrageous. Customer service is awful. How hard would it be to include a diy? Just take pictures as you fit the products you are making. I will stay away from them from now on. 


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## VR6OOM (Nov 8, 2002)

For that price tag you'd think it was a nicer product and their customer service up to standard. That said, I don't think your catch can caused your cel and smoking. The pcv catches oil vapor...that's it. So if your car is smoking, I'm willing to bet it's coincidental and you have another problem such as blown turbo, which is a common problem.


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## krisco1996 (Jan 13, 2015)

VR6OOM said:


> For that price tag you'd think it was a nicer product and their customer service up to standard. That said, I don't think your catch can caused your cel and smoking. The pcv catches oil vapor...that's it. So if your car is smoking, I'm willing to bet it's coincidental and you have another problem such as blown turbo, which is a common problem.


As soon as I took it off, no more issues. Sorry to say, it was the manifold that replaced the PCV adapter on the intake that is bad.

Last time you told me that the software I installed was not the cause of my EPC light, but it was.

When I install something and the car runs like **** and I uninstall it and it runs fine, it was the product I installed.


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## VR6OOM (Nov 8, 2002)

Strange


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## TT-Tom (Sep 6, 2007)

The catch can could be overly restrictive and could be causing positive crank case pressure. I would test the flow of the cc and see if it is restrictive at all, if so that would explain the issues.


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## Spoooolin (Mar 31, 2015)

TT-Tom said:


> The catch can could be overly restrictive and could be causing positive crank case pressure. I would test the flow of the cc and see if it is restrictive at all, if so that would explain the issues.


This.

Or if it was installed incorrectly.


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## krisco1996 (Jan 13, 2015)

Well,

I shipped it back to CTS Turbo. Not sure how this is going to go. When CTS emailed me the RMA number, he said the instructions were pretty much the same (99%) as the MK7 instructions which is what I used.

I just have that almighty feeling that I will get a response saying "There is nothing wrong with this product".

Chris


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## TT-Tom (Sep 6, 2007)

krisco1996 said:


> Well,
> 
> I shipped it back to CTS Turbo. Not sure how this is going to go. When CTS emailed me the RMA number, he said the instructions were pretty much the same (99%) as the MK7 instructions which is what I used.
> 
> ...


did you ever find out if the can was restrictive? I'm curious to see if it is than people should avoid, usually cts products are pretty good so let us know.


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## 84cabbydroptop (Aug 6, 2003)

i sent mine back as well. hoping to get at least some of my money back. didn't even try to install after reading ur problems. i agree that they are a horrible company to deal with. I've decided to not even do a catch can, since will lead to other issues down the road. ill just do a carbon cleaning same time as a dsg tuneup. def stay away from cts products though.


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## krisco1996 (Jan 13, 2015)

TT-Tom said:


> did you ever find out if the can was restrictive? I'm curious to see if it is than people should avoid, usually cts products are pretty good so let us know.


They received the catch can this past Monday. I have not heard anything from them as of yet. I still do not have a refund either. Definitely will keep everyone posted.



> i sent mine back as well. hoping to get at least some of my money back. didn't even try to install after reading ur problems. i agree that they are a horrible company to deal with. I've decided to not even do a catch can, since will lead to other issues down the road. ill just do a carbon cleaning same time as a dsg tuneup. def stay away from cts products though.


I feel your pain my friend. Hopefully they take care of you.

Chris


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## krisco1996 (Jan 13, 2015)

To give an update on the situation. They stated there was no defect in the product. However, they did give me a refund less the shipping. I am good with that except that I just won't buy anything from them again.

Chris


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## 84cabbydroptop (Aug 6, 2003)

did u get a full refund or minus the restocking fee?


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## krisco1996 (Jan 13, 2015)

84cabbydroptop said:


> did u get a full refund or minus the restocking fee?


They gave the full refund minus the shipping of $34 dollars. It was around $391 refund instead of the $424.99. As much of a hassle as it was, I am good with that. I learned my lesson and will not buy from them again.


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## 84cabbydroptop (Aug 6, 2003)

yea ill never do business with them either. i got full refund too, but had to open dispute with paypal and just a complete headache. I've told everyone i know to stay away from them.


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## eaglesfreak614 (Mar 11, 2016)

*Any new updates?*

Now that it has been almost two years since last post, I was wondering if there were any new updates with CTS Turbo Catch Can? I see you each had terrible experiences with them. Hoping that CTS revised their product to make it better in any way. Awhile back I went with their Air Intake kit and wasn't overly impressed. I ended up cutting down some of the tubing and beefing up their tube clamps. I found a deal on the Catch Can, but I'm hesitant to buy after reading this thread.


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## tehgreyloaf (Jun 16, 2014)

I had a CTS CC on my gen 3 and it seemed great. Caught alot of blowby and seemed to do its job. My engine never burned oil and I measured the oil going in versus coming out when I changed it. Non negligible change in amount. My main question,,, did you install that small plastic check valve correctly? It can easily be flipped around...


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## Troger (May 4, 2020)

*catch can*

hey I have a cts catch can is filling up quicker with the oil actually I'm losing all my oil in there somebody can help me ?


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