2002 Volkswagen Polo SE from UK and Ireland - Comments

The car has now completely lost all power whilst driving at 70 mph - a total electrical shutdown, which is dangerous and frightening. When the ignition is tried again the car restarts. The dealership cannot find a fault with computerised diagnostic testing. I would be interested to hear of others who have experienced this fault.

I own a VW Polo 1.2e and am currently experiencing problems with the engine. Its driv-eable, but feels very sluggish. About a month ago the car lost power when I was driving and I struggled to get it home. It was OK the next day and has been up till now.

I've also taken it to the garage, who put it on diagnostics and said they couldn't find any problem. I'm taking it back again tomorrow and not giving up until this is resolved, as warranty is up in November.

If anyone else has experienced this problem and has had it resolved, please let me know.

Hi, I've just had what I think is a similar problem. I have a 1.4 SE (2002), and yesterday it started being very sluggish, there was very little power under the accelerator and it was a struggle to get it home. The revs were very low and the exhaust emissions warning light was also on. I took it to a local garage who have informed me that the problem is a faulty ignition coil. They are fitting a new one this afternoon, so when I get it back I'll drive it for a few days and post if that has solved it.

Quick update to my earlier post - picked up the car and it's fine after having the ignition coil replaced. The warning light is still on, but the mechanic says my local VW dealer will be able to reset it if it doesn't fix itself. Hope that's useful to someone!

Since purchasing my 1.2E Polo in March 2003 I have had the same intermittent problem which is the engine cutting out on me. I am able to restart the engine, but lack confidence in driving the car. Have taken it twice to the main dealer who have been unable to find a fault. I would like to hear from anyone who has any ideas.

I purchased a new VW Polo 1.2 in 2002. The mileage is 19,600 miles. You can see that this is not excessive, Yesterday it completely lost power. Luckily it was in a city area and not on a motorway. The EPC light came on. I trundled along to the nearest garage, fearing at any moment that I would have to abandon it at the side of the road. Reaching the garage, I was informed that it could be any of 30 faults that the computer might diagnose as wrong, down to a faulty breaklight. I was advised that I should take it to a VW dealer and that I should be able to drive home. Drove on to my VW dealer who tested it and could find nothing wrong. The light was out by this time. They updated the software and I was billed £47 because the car was out of guarantee. I hope the problem has been resolved, but why should I pay for faulty programming that VW is responsible for? The 'German thoroughness work ethic' has been greatly undermined by this experience.