New Polo problems - Register

[Sammo88]

Hi guys, I have been having a few issues with my 2011 Polo 77TSI lately, I was wondering if there are any solutions to them. My car has only travelled just over 16,000kms and is a manual.

1. Engine rattle - like many on here I have experienced an intermittent rattling coming from the engine bay whilst accelerating. It appears to be coming from somewhere directly behind where the pedals are and seems to start whenever I turn a sharp corner and then accelerate. It could be related to the steering, but I am not sure. What are the potential causes of this engine rattle? I have reported this issue at every service at Osborne Park Volkswagen; two parts have been replaced (one under supposed "recall") and at the most recent service I was told that the rattle 'could not be detected'. The rattling is now getting worse and harsher in sound. I'm a bit angry that they have yet to find a fix for the issue, especially given that it seems to be a common problem with Polos!

2. Acceleration Issues: Occasionally the rattling sound is accompanied by an acceleration problem where the vehicle will either accelerate very slowly, or sometimes not at all. It feels as if the turbo doesn't engage properly leaving the weak 1.2 engine to do all the work. This issue was also supposed to have been fixed by a 'recall'.

So following up on this post... Booked my car in for a service Friday last week, when I picked it up I was told I would have to re-book it in for a 2 day service to get a timing belt replaced because that will apparently stop the rattling noise, thank God it's still under warranty! Does this fix sound right to anyone? I have to say I'm a bit over all of these trips to the dealer and the poor customer service I have received so far. They couldn't even offer me a courtesy car to loan for another month which means I will probably be without a car for 2 days.

[nomadx38]

Sounds odd. If it had failed you would know about it! But it hasn't because you can still run the car. And these engines use good old chains which is where the normal rattle comes from. It's just like the direct injection, takes a bit of getting used to the loud ticking noise.

I have heard of a few 77tsi's have a fault with the timing chain but again these faults meant that the car wouldn't run and catastrophic damage had been done to the cam shaft / valves...

Personally I think it's a load of crock but that's just my opinion

[Sammo88]

Sounds odd. If it had failed you would know about it! But it hasn't because you can still run the car. And these engines use good old chains which is where the normal rattle comes from. It's just like the direct injection, takes a bit of getting used to the loud ticking noise.

I have heard of a few 77tsi's have a fault with the timing chain but again these faults meant that the car wouldn't run and catastrophic damage had been done to the cam shaft / valves...

Personally I think it's a load of crock but that's just my opinion

I agree, I haven't read anywhere where a timing chain has been the cause of a Polo engine rattle like what I have experienced, but I am no mechanic so who am I to say? I really don't trust the servicing department at Osbourne Park VW, they've had three chances to fix this rattle and have so far failed.

If the rattle is not fixed after this service then I will be complaining to VW Australia, and I may have to sell the car and buy something more reliable and much less exciting; which really upsets me considering that I am young and this Polo is my first car (which I spent ages working hard and saving up for!!).

[nomadx38]

I think you could have the same problem as me. Fuel line rattle. Happens more on cold days than hot. Sounds like its coming from the dashboard, front right...

I found that moving the line to a different place in the holder fixed the problem, and since have had no noise. The other rattle they are talking about as a recall is a spacer that is put onto the turbo waste-gate actuator to put more tension on it to stop it rattling...

If you reside in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne I'm more than happy to move the fuel line over for you

[Phil_Polo77TSI]

Re. low or no acceleration - first I have to say I love my POLO TSI77 DSG, it's a great little car and fun to drive. When I first got it my brother drove it and went and bought one (except manual) to replace his beloved Type 3 VW. At about 20k his went into EPC 'cripple' mode. He took it to a Perth dealer who said “We know what this is, turbocharger spacer” and promptly fixed it. When mine reached about the same mileage, I had the same problem but my country dealer said it was because I didn't have it serviced by them, it probably needed a software update or I'd used to wrong oil. (Oil and filter was genuine VW) and booked it in a for a week later. They made some inquiries and learned it was the same problem. They said VW would send the part by road – it's now two weeks and part hasn't arrived yet.

Not Happy! VW had not advised the dealer there was a problem, did not post or courier small parts and the car has been unusable for three weeks (when hot, after over-run such as down a hill, it goes into EPC and drives at about 50 kph). Fortunately I have a second car, so I'm driving a twelve year old Commodore with nearly a quarter of a million k's on the the clock while my two year old VW with less than 25000 kms waits for a small part.

Now I worry because the DSG gearbox is known to have problems. If VW Australia extend warranty to 160,000kms/10 years as they have elsewhere it would be OK. Otherwise I either sell it by the end of this year (3 years) or face a $4000 DSG gearbox bill at some time in the future. VW Australia need to do something – and fast!

[nomadx38]

I wouldn't worry about the DSG, if you haven't noticed any problem chances are you are lucky: also VW have officially extended the warrantee on the drivetrain (gearbox to CV joints) to 5 years / 150,000 which can give you (some) piece of mind.

About the turbo wastegate spacer, they should have had it in stock already because this problem effects all 1.2t motors. Guess you are unlucky that yours has has has the fault of been stuck in open or closed position and thrown up the fault. Most other people (such as me) have a wastegate that rattles because there is not enough tension on the control rod. Nothing to be concerned about though, after they fix it that is

[prcurrie]

Hot day here in Melbourne and the car got so sluggish after a while, especially on take off.

[nomadx38]

Yep they do that especially with the air con on! The only drawback of forced induction...

[gavs]

Hot day here in Melbourne and the car got so sluggish after a while, especially on take off.

Mine was fine, intake temp stuck in evening peak along hidden street was 62 degrees.....

[Sammo88]

So following up on this post... Booked my car in for a service Friday last week, when I picked it up I was told I would have to re-book it in for a 2 day service to get a timing belt replaced because that will apparently stop the rattling noise, thank God it's still under warranty! Does this fix sound right to anyone? I have to say I'm a bit over all of these trips to the dealer and the poor customer service I have received so far. They couldn't even offer me a courtesy car to loan for another month which means I will probably be without a car for 2 days.

So, a further update... My car was in service for 2 days to replace a timing chain. Picked it up yesterday and was told all should be okay now. Whilst driving my car today, surprise surprise, the rattling sound has returned!

The mechanics at Osbourne Park VW are clearly incompetent and don't know what they are doing. I'm no expert at these things but it seems like they replaced a part for no reason whatsoever, thank God it was under warranty!!

Perhaps I am being unreasonable but three attempts to fix a seemingly minor issue like this seems a bit much. What should I do now??