2002 Volkswagen Polo 1.4 from Germany - Comments

In August 2002 we bought a brand-new VW Polo 1.4. After only nine months problems appeared intermittently with the engine management system. The EPC warning light would come on half-way through a journey, with drastically reduced engine power in 1st and 2nd gear.

Our local VW garage said it was an electronic error and replaced the appropriate part.

Six weeks later the same problem occurred. This time engine power was virtually nil. We took it back to the garage and this time they replaced a different part.

The next day the same thing happened all over again.

As the car is still under guarantee we have had free repairs and courtesy cars both times. However, it seems that VW just cannot sort this problem out, and we are left with a totally unreliable car that will be difficult to sell..

We are particularly disappointed in this car as our previous Polo was wonderful and lasted over 15 years. But our recent experience of both the 2002 Polo and of VW's inability to solve the problem means that we will never buy another Volkswagen again.

Hi,

I have a 2000 Volkswagen Polo 1L which I purchased secondhand from a volkswagen dealer in Ireland and since I bought it in 2002 I have had a problems with it. Occasionally it is to do with reduced power while I'm driving meaning I need to shift into a lower gear to keep moving. Then if I turn it off and restart it seems OK?

Then more recently its the EPC light on the dashboard.

This happens occasionally, but recently it is staying on, I had to keep revving it to keep it going till I got home.

Next morning all was well - but what happens next time.

I always considered volkswagens to be up there with the other German beautiful creations, but I am really disappointed since my purchase and would not buy another Polo!!

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.

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)...

Bought a 00 VW Polo in April 2002 (with around 45,000 on the clock), as I though I was buying a solid reliable car. How badly wrong I was, since I have had the car I have had nothing, but heartbreak with the EPC and Engine warning lights coming on. About 6 months after purchasing it the EPC light came on and stayed on - brought it to a Volkswagen dealership and paid over €250 to get it fixed (Emissions sensor was gone). About another 6 months later the Engine warning light came on causing the car to stall and fail to start about 50% of the time - again got it diagnosed at the dealership and forked out over €200 to have a computer sensor fixed. About a year later I had to get another part/sensor replaced due to the EPC light coming on. Since then I have had the light come on and go off intermittently with the car loosing power in lower gears - each time I pull over and restart the car the problem goes away only to resurface a couple of days or weeks later. I have also had the computer rebooted once to get the EPC light to go off. I have had so many problems and wasted so much time and money with dealerships and garages that I am just completely fed up with this car. Just recently the EPC light has started to turn on and off frequently and the car seems to Rev and Shudder violently when Idling, it also feels like the engine is about to cut out at any second. I only got the car fully serviced and timing belt changed 1000 miles ago and now I guess I'll have to fork out another load of cash to get some stupid sensor replaced again. In short I will never buy another Volkswagen car the sheer frustration this one has caused, has turned me off them for life. This is the first car I bought that wasn't Japanese and it's the first car I have owned which has caused such problems. Avoid like the Plague.

Please can anyone help me

i have an 02 polo 1.4 td

the power steering went completely

replaced the pump no joy

replaced the loom from the steering to the pump no joy

checked the sensor on the rack still no joy

we are stumped

if you can help

all ideas welcome

thekav@eircom.net.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Don`t know if this will interest, but just bought a 1.4SE 2003 polo from VW main dealer for my better half and have had problems from the start. Climate/air con unit blasts hot air if turned to cold (even with a/c button pressed) which lasts for approx 5 minutes then returns to normal. Car has had one owner and only has 17000 miles on it, but the engine sounds like a bag of spanners (really cammy), does anyone know if this is normal. I have a passat (also loads of hassle) but have found instead of taking car to VW main dealer I take it to Skoda (vw approved), the labour is about £20 cheaper an hour than vw and parts also seem cheaper. I have found the work to be a lot better (they still get baffled by the stupid engine management lights at times) but generally I would advise giving them a go. You also get a VW stamp in your service book and they have courtesy cars at short notice.

I have a VW Polo 2000 reg 1.4SE, which now has 50,000 miles on the clock. When I bought it, it ran okay for the first few months.

Since then every thing has gone wrong with the car - the ABS light come on and off, the service indicator came on at 1500 after a service and keeps flashing, the engine always stalls at the traffic lights, which makes it undriveable,

the electric drivers side electric window started getting stuck half way and going back down again, then the electric switch and wires fried in the drivers door, melting the door panel and almost setting the car on fire.

I've been so fed up with it, that sometimes I just want to drive it into a brick wall.

The biggest heap of junk I have ever bought, will never buy VW again.

The air-con on my 2002 polo has gone! Does anyone know how it can be fixed without it costing a fortune?