4th Oct 2010, 10:21

I have owed a 2001 1.S for 7 years (22,000 - 80,000) miles.

The throttle body needs cleaning every 5,000 miles to stop fault lights coming on. It has had normal things replaced and pedal box. It does use a fair bit of oil but keeps going.

A must have with this car is a cheap diagnostics box to switch off fault codes.

9th Oct 2010, 14:58

So I'm also having problems with my Polo. I purchased it from a private dealer about 3 months ago. No problems for about 2 months, when the ABS light came on and stayed on.

Having checked the brakes, there was no apparent problem. Took the car to get a diagnostic from a local garage (nice and cheap at £25), which flagged a problem with the pump.. which would cost me a few hundred to replace.

Took the car home to 'think about it', and on the advice of my brother, checked the fuses in the engine... lo and behold... one of the fuses was cracked! 50p for a new fuse, put it in myself.. and the ABS light turned off within 3 minutes of driving! So if you're having ABS light problems.. check the fuses on the top of the battery first.. (the ABS fuse is the last one under the cover).

Now though.. I'm having the same problems as here.. the EPC light has come on, with the emissions light. No loss of power that I noticed though. The car is now parked near my work as I'm too scared to drive it home in case it breaks down. Also, the rear passenger window is stuck in place.. leaving 2 inches open, not good when the car is parked away from home! As a student teacher, I can't really afford to pay a few hundred like some people seem to have had to do here, so if anyone knows of a good but reasonable garage around Southampton that might be able to help.. please do post their name for me!

31st Oct 2010, 08:13

VV 1.4 Polo Twist.

Exhaust emission warning light came on yesterday. Having read these comments, it must be common fault. The car has only done 50,900 miles. Owned it about 3 months. Looks like I could be paying out all the time. Thought VW were good cars, but not very impressed at all. Been told it is the lambda sensor that needs replacing. Hope it will cure the problem.

Also windscreen wipers have seized up; hand in pocket again.

12th Nov 2010, 20:18

Got a VW Polo 2003 1.2 4 months ago... having problems starting the car (sometimes it's fine and other times it just won't come to life), my dad advised me to tap on the accelerator.. but doesn't help. A few times I've pressed hard on the accelerator and it's started but just to die out in a few seconds. Also the bulb for my right indicator becomes loose all the time... causing the inside indication to tick very quickly and randomly.

21st Dec 2010, 18:18

Have just bought a 97 Polo 1.4 16v 5 door off a well known auction site for a good price, as it needed 2 brake pipes and the central exhaust (blowing badly) for the MOT. I drove it back to Edinburgh without issue in very bad weather (snow, ice & freezing conditions) it did well. Took it to work today and something was up. There was a bad noise coming from the engine bay, but it went away after it warmed up. It was so cold, I did not stick around outside to wait for it to heat up completely. Took it back home tonight, same noise again, this time louder like a grinding noise coming from engine area. Tried to start it tonight, noise was so bad I could not hear the engine run, it ran for 10 seconds, then cut out with a burning smell, took cam cover off, the belt is still attached, but seems loose, engine swings okay, but looks like no compression evident or a spark going to engine (can't be sure of this as it -8 outside and I physically could do no more). Any ideas as to what this might be?

Other than that, the car seems okay. The car came with a good service history, and a new battery and alternator.

4th Jan 2011, 12:34

Bought my V. W Polo 1.4 (2001) 2 years ago with 45,000 miles on the clock. From the day I bought it, it won't start up without me revving the engine up to 2,000 revs on turning the key, as it misfires.

Three months later I had to replace the clutch pedal box - costing about £300 as there is a lot of labour involved.

Then a few months later, I had the gear linkage fixed twice as I lost reverse + 2nd, 3rd & 4th gears. Then I had the gearbox replaced due to the damage caused by the problems with the gear linkage - a further £550.

About 6 months later my drivers side door locking barrel snapped as I tried to unlock the car in the cold, so I ended up swapping the handles in order to avoid having to buy a new handle and have to use two keys.

The windows then suddenly broke and I now cannot put them all the way down, in case they slide down inside the door panel and won't come up.

Then 6 months ago, the car made a horrible noise as I downshifted to turn a corner, I went straight to the garage, and was told the clutch had gone, so I had to have the clutch and gearbox replaced (I got this done very cheap - £550 with a 2 year guarantee from 'Mr Clutch' who I would recommend if anyone else has this problem).

Then a few days ago on my journey home from work, there was a heavy loss of power when I went into 5th gear, and later the ABS and EPC light came on, I've taken into the garage AGAIN and have now been told that the ABS pump is broken and will need replacing at a cost of about £600-£900, depending on whether the electrical part can be saved or not. I am taking it to another garage to have a diagnostics test run, just in case it is just a £5 sensor or one of the filters playing up, but don't hold out much hope. The car only has 63,545 miles on it even now!

The moral of my story, is never EVER buy a VW Polo (post 2000), as many of the problems I have had are very common by the looks of these forums, and from what friends of mine have experienced with their cars. Also don't make the same mistake I did and think that the car owes you too much money to be able to sell it and buy another... As soon as something like the gearbox starts playing up, get shot of it, or you may live to regret it as much as I have.