4th Jan 2005, 06:17

I puchased a brand new VW polo 1.2s in May 2003. As soon as we got it home we quickly found the seals on the rear window leaked. We returned it to the dealer (twice in 2 weeks) and eventually fixed. Approx. 12 months after purchased we had the car serviced, shortly afterward the EPC light came on. It happened on a badly lit road one evening and could have been dangerous the car just lost power and we had to quickly pull over. We returned it again under warranty to the dealer. We were told that a light in the dashboard had been replaced and this would not happen again. Approx. 6 weeks later the EPC light came on again, and then returned to dealer they said they couldn't find anything wrong with it and assure once again that all would be well from now on. Yet again approx another 6 weeks later it happened again! This time they turned the revs down on the car and replaced the heater switch as it was faulty. The car started to stall after this although no EPC has appeared since October 2004. The car heating system overheats still and we are considering selling the car if we have any more problems. VM dealers and VW UK have been totally unhelpful and said all they can do is fix it under warranty. We chose a VW for reliability how wrong we were.

9th Sep 2005, 04:17

My 2002 1.4 16 V also had problems with EPC, it was resolved with new software upgrade. It cost me 50€ at local garage. Recently problems with suspension started, strange noises happens, probably due to the stir suspension and tyres dimensions in combination with Croatian roads...:-) Nobody can really detect what seems to be the problem because everything visually seems fine (and all the tests have been performed on newest MAHA equipment)...

15th Dec 2005, 09:19

I bought a 99 polo saloon in 2002 and it ran beautifully, I then upgraded or so I thought to a 2001 model and it has broke my heart and bank.

In the past 6 months I have been to the garage at least 8 times, problems started with the engine management light coming on and off, all tests showed it was fine, but reading the other comments here I can see a common error with the car and repairing garages.

I have replaced the gearbox, starter and other bits and pieces and well fed up.

It appears if the fault can't be found by the computer it doesn't exist... I Will be selling soon as €1000 Costs just before Christmas is just too much and the annoyance of getting lifts to work etc. Not what I expected to buy.

16th Feb 2006, 07:30

Well, now I know I am not the only one. I bought a 2 year old VW Polo 2000. It ran well for a quite some time then the ‘emission’ light came on the dashboard. Sometimes it flashes, sometimes it is on continuous and sometimes it is not on at all. I phoned the VW dealer I bought it from, explained the situation, only to be told they could not do a check unless the problem was evident at the time of bringing the car into the garage. Catch 22. I brought it back to the VW garage, explained and it was booked in later that week. By this time it was out of warranty. At my cost they replaced the plug leads. This did not make any difference. Brought it back again, they replaced 2 of the 4 leads again free. Brought it back, they replaced the oil and air filters, changed the oil. It is now still happening. I have been really disappointed as I always thought of VW as being a robust, virtually rust free reliable car. I had an old 1979 Polo before and it was still running when I sold it 7 years later (the car was 11 yrs old) very little rust, passed MOTs 1st time every time. I would not be surprised to hear it was still on the road. Seems high tech has become more important to car manufacturers. If a computer cannot fix the problem, just buy a new car! Part of the throw away society, even if it is very expensive.

30th Mar 2006, 03:08

I bought my Polo 1.4 16V 2001 colour concept car from my brother 2 years ago. When he bought it, he had to have the fuel pump changed, before he had it even a year. Since I have had the car the EPC light comes on and off and I lose power very quickley. I have spent a lot of money trying to sort this problem out, but still have problems from time to time. I will never buy a VW car again!

10th May 2006, 01:44

Could someone please tell me what EPC stands for? I have it on my golf V5, but it seems OK. I am taking it for a service anyway.

28th May 2006, 17:53

I'm currently experiencing EPC lights flashing and I'm due to take my car into a VW garage to have it checked out. By these comments it seems like I'll be wasting my time, but does any body know what's actually causing the problem?? Any VW tech guys around to leave a comment would love to know.

16th Jun 2006, 08:12

I bought a brand new Polo 1.4 in 2003 and have had nothing, but problems since. First it was a strange clonking sound which turned out to be faulty suspension, then the dash was rattling and clonking and it has now been replaced twice! The second time they managed to damage my ash tray cover whilst doing it so then it was back in to have a new one of those. More recently I've been having major air conditioning problems which has resulted in trips back and forth and eventualy a new air con evaporator. But when doing that they managed to put the air flow control switch back on wrong and that means yet another trip to VW to have it fixed. Then today my EPC light and exhaust emission warning lamps came on whilst driving. Currently waiting for the service department to call me back, but I'm just pretty sick of VW and their poor customer service! Glad to hear I'm not alone.

18th Jun 2006, 11:58

I just bought myself a new 1.6 2006 model polo. Upon receiving my car, the problems started. Initially the electric windows in the drivers side did not work at all. Then the air-conditioning started giving off a sulphur smell. Whenever I would brake there would be a ringing sound which would last about 5-8 seconds, recently it lasts up to 20 seconds. There is a sulphur smell whenever I drive over 80km/h and brake at the end of the journey. Three days into driving the car, I was hearing a clanking sound. I obviously took the new car in immediately for safety purposes, needless to say, and they had to replace the mount shocks which were totally cracked, as there was an apparent factory fault.

After replacing them there continued to be a clanking sound, again taking my car into the dealership, it was found that the front CV joints had to be replaced as it was unsafe to drive. After receiving my car, there continued to be a clanking sound, as well as a clanking sound when I reverse up a hill.

I will be taking this car back numerous times until all these problems have been fixed... Needless to say, I am shocked with the quality of this vehicle, and will not be referring any friends or family to purchase one.