2002 Volkswagen Polo from Belgium - Comments

I purchased a new VW Polo 1.4 Twist in December 2004. The moment it was delvered to me, it had to be booked in for warranty work. Clearly there was no P.D.I. carried out (not properly anyway!) by the main dealer. It had to have all 4 headlights replaced, a new rear window (the heating element was clearly broken halfway across the window) and a new tailgate catch as it was almost impossible to close it. It is now on its third tailgate catch. Twice the rear washer nozzle has been replaced, and the windscreen washer bottle was split and leaked all the water onto the road. The anti-roll bar has broken (no kerbing of impact or pot holes)...the dealer tells me the ends just break off sometimes! Then loss of compression and a whole new cylinder head needed.

This has been my one and only new car and I thought I was buying a good quality basic car, not the cheapest, but well renowned for quality and reliability. I doubt I will ever buy a new car again and will definately never, ever buy a VW! Or any other German car or anything assembled in Spain! Clearly VW have relied on past reputation to sell these cars which no longer meet the standards expected. A great reputation is now being thrown away. Shame on VW!

Can anyone tell me how to install a light in the boot of the Polo? Of all the gadgets it has, and there is not even a light in the boot! I confess I did not check for that, but assumed that all cars of a certain standard would be fitted with a light. This was common even in the 50's.

I bought my new Polo 1.0 E in 2001. Its done 125,000 miles for me without a serious fault until now - a problem with the EGR valve the garage tell me. However the warning light on the dash has been on since 30,000 miles but my garage said to ignore it.

Polo 1.2 S (2002 - 52) ; 46.5k as of today's date.

Hi; my problems from new with the above model, in order:

Grindy/squeaky brakes - have always felt weak, too;

Lugs onto which parcel shelf strings attached broke - they look flimsy (warranty repair) ;

Rear washer failure - supply tube leaked into hatch - others have had this problem (warranty repair) ;

Cooler/heater blows intermittently hot when set on cold - seems to be a common problem;

Emissions light lit on a few occasions within a week - power reduction; hasn't happened for some two years; common problem;

For a long time now, frequently needs a few attempts at ignition before enging starts;

Battery flat many times over last few years (may be me leaving things on) - possible alternator failure;

Cup holder sometimes jams (and is flimsy) ;

A/c 'on' light too dim to see in sunight;

Lack of boot light a real pain at night!

Other than these issues I quite like the car - but as a few of these problems seem very common indeed I'm irritated that VW didn't recall or offer a cheap repair: these are build quality problems, not wear and tear.

Present concerns:

Ignition problem (as above) ;

Reports of timing chains snapping and flimsy tensioner failing (better tensioner on 2003- prduction) ;

Auxilliary drivebelt failures common;

Ignition coil failures common.

I bought VW Polo 4 years ago too - like you I said this is a car for at least 15 years. I have been repairing my car about 6 times. I can say just; "Thank you VW, you shagged me once but you won't shag me twice."

Hi.

I bought a VW Polo 2002 1.2 just under a year and a half ago. I have had it serviced regularly and generally looked after it. I have had no major issues with it up until recently. I had to change the oil twice in six months, which I thought was strange. On my way to work last week on a motorway, the engine just stopped, no warning lights, nothing. After having the car towed to my garage, I was told the timing chain had gone and the engine was destroyed. I paid €6500 for the car and now it's worth approx €200 for parts. I spoke to VW this morning and explained what happened. I was told this has never happened before. When I said I had read about similar instances happening to other owners, her response was that you never hear about the good things that happened with a VW. If anyone has had a similar experience or has any advice, please let me know. As this lady obviously isn't going to help.

Bought the car 4 years ago from my brother who had it from new. Within 9 months of me using it twice a week, the power steering pump went and cost > £400 to fix. VW at least gave me a good will gesture of £150 due to the low mileage and the fact it was just out of warranty.

In the last 6 months the engine emissions light has come on intermittently, but ironically it seems to have increased my fuel economy while not causing an serious problems.

A week ago I was having front wishbones and bushes fitted at a VW approved garage, as I drove out of the garage, the car cut out as I was coming to a junction. The 5 miles back to my house, I felt like I wasn't driving my car, it felt sluggish, kept cutting out as I came to junctions and idling was erratic, constantly bouncing above and below normal idle.

The following day it would not start at all, despite checking just about everything I could access in the engine to see for any obvious problems. The break down service immediately said they could not fix it after me attempting to turn her over once, and towed me back to the garage it was previously in.

The garage have since diagnose 25 faults in the EMC and replace a number of sensors, but I have just been told that the engine will not turn over and it will be a case of a new engine, as the crankshaft or timing chain in the car probably has done untold damage to the pistons or valves. Stripping it down to find out what the actual problem is will cost more than the cost of a new engine £800 - £1400 plus £500 fitting. My car was only worth £2000 - £2500 before this happened, and it's most likely that I'm now going to be paying a similar amount for a new engine.

I've been told that this is quite a common problem from several mechanics, and very few will accept responsibility of fitting the new engine as it is likely that this instance could happen again.

The 3 cylinder engine in the 1.2 does appear to have timing chain problems, largely due to poor design and poor quality spacers, which wear out quickly and have allowed the timing chain to jump teeth.

While I'm now about to pay almost the value of my car on getting a new engine in, it at least means that I have a brand new engine in my car and the value of my car is held. While I'm essentially paying out this much, it means I'll be able to get a good portion of the car's current value back should I trade it in or sell it on in the very near future.

I do love my Polo; unfortunately this chain of events has soured my experience slightly, questioning whether I would purchase another Polo in the future. I don't feel that paying out the extra in the beginning for a VW is worth the risk should anything go wrong in the future.