New Polo problems - Register

[themmc]

Had to pull over and turn car off then back on. Hasn't happened again.

I've had a similar issue in a completely different car. My wife has a Peugeot 307 Touring. If I use my keys then, due to the number of keys I have and how far they dangle down, I found I was knocking them with my knee, causing the car to turn off etc. (The Peugeot 307 key is fairly similar to the Polo one).

Make sure it's not something simple like that. I solved it by putting my keys on a carabina clip so I could unclip the car key and drive safely.

[Blurter]

I've had the rough idle from cold start issues some others have described. Also a farty front speaker, which is an intermittent fault (gotta love those) and the seat height adjuster wasn't working. This was all within a few days of taking delivery. I booked it in and the dealer updated the tune, fixed the seat adjuster, but couldn't replicate the farty speaker. So not too bad so far. And the dealer (at the instigation of the salesman - good bloke) gave me a courtesy car and had the thing fixed same day.

Great little car.

[Car25]

Apple Tragic but waning Volkswagen fan...

Originally had this in another thread, but upon reflection thought it more appropriately placed here...

I am an Apple tragic but a waning Volkswagen fan.

The difference between the two companies?

Apple has great product combined with a fantastic customer experience...seamless.

Volkswagen has terrific product but a woeful customer experience...the opposite of seamless.

Recently took delivery of a Polo.

I was not too fussy on colour so didn't have a particularly long wait but there are a huge number of disgruntled people out there who have been told they have to wait for some months and even then without a guaranteed delivery date. This is poor logistics management and messaging. Too much buck-passing and misinformation between Volkswagen Australia, Volkswagen Head Office and individual dealers.

The Demand exceeds Supply challenge means that dealers can and do treat potential customers with disdain. They simply don't care. This was certainly my experience.

Huge mismatch between Options prices in Australia and those offshore...way beyond those explainable by taxes and shipping costs. Just have a look at the official UK options price list.

Daylight driving lights? Who thought Australians would want these? Is Big Brother dictating that these should be mandatory for all?

Bluetooth? I would have thought that this should be standard in this day and age. Why can't Volkswagen provide a simple integrated solution. The alternatives on offer through the dealer were either 'tacky' or outrageously expensive...and in addition were presented in a convoluted confusing way. When I opted for the after-market route, I was abused by the Service Manager at the dealer. The overall experience the antithesis of my dealings with Apple where I simply get a 'solution' with no fuss or bother..

In summary, good product without a positive customer experience = unlikely to recommend Volkswagen to others.

[dave_r]

Was moving the missus car today and noticed a loud rattle at idle infront of the drivers position, I think its the same thing others have mentioned. Will have to get her to drop past a dealer to check it out.

On a side note, I agree that VW has a long way to go with customer service but to say Apple is great in the same sentence is a joke. They make a rubbish product that requires total replacements and require you to book in a time just to talk to a 16yo kid in a shopping centre to replace said faulty item. Yeah positive experience...

[JODY85]

I've had my Polo just over a month and within 1 week of having it i got the rattling noise everyones been speaking of, it gradually got louder too but only happened when i had the hand brake on or foot on the brake. I took it straight to service centre and was told it was the air con pipe rattling on something else and they said they'd fixed the problem.I got about 2 minutes up the road and the noise came back so i had to turn around and take it back in. I ended up having to have the whole day off work and when i finally got to take my car home the noise happened again 10mins up the road. By that point i was too angry so i just drove it home and booked it at another vw centre closer to home.I thought they had actually fixed the problem because i hadnt heard it for about 3 weeks but yesterday morning it made an appearance and its twice as loud............ I've written a nasty email to VW Australia but are yet to get a response

[Umai Naa!!]

Originally had this in another thread, but upon reflection thought it more appropriately placed here...

I am an Apple tragic but a waning Volkswagen fan.

The difference between the two companies?

Apple has great product combined with a fantastic customer experience...seamless.

Volkswagen has terrific product but a woeful customer experience...the opposite of seamless.

Recently took delivery of a Polo.

I was not too fussy on colour so didn't have a particularly long wait but there are a huge number of disgruntled people out there who have been told they have to wait for some months and even then without a guaranteed delivery date. This is poor logistics management and messaging. Too much buck-passing and misinformation between Volkswagen Australia, Volkswagen Head Office and individual dealers.

The Demand exceeds Supply challenge means that dealers can and do treat potential customers with disdain. They simply don't care. This was certainly my experience.

Huge mismatch between Options prices in Australia and those offshore...way beyond those explainable by taxes and shipping costs. Just have a look at the official UK options price list.

Daylight driving lights? Who thought Australians would want these? Is Big Brother dictating that these should be mandatory for all?

Bluetooth? I would have thought that this should be standard in this day and age. Why can't Volkswagen provide a simple integrated solution. The alternatives on offer through the dealer were either 'tacky' or outrageously expensive...and in addition were presented in a convoluted confusing way. When I opted for the after-market route, I was abused by the Service Manager at the dealer. The overall experience the antithesis of my dealings with Apple where I simply get a 'solution' with no fuss or bother..

In summary, good product without a positive customer experience = unlikely to recommend Volkswagen to others.

There are Genuine VW intergrated options. While they are often considered expensive, not all dealers seem to use them, or want to sell you them.

[Allegiance]

Originally had this in another thread, but upon reflection thought it more appropriately placed here...

I am an Apple tragic but a waning Volkswagen fan.

The difference between the two companies?

Apple has great product combined with a fantastic customer experience...seamless.

Volkswagen has terrific product but a woeful customer experience...the opposite of seamless.

Recently took delivery of a Polo.

I was not too fussy on colour so didn't have a particularly long wait but there are a huge number of disgruntled people out there who have been told they have to wait for some months and even then without a guaranteed delivery date. This is poor logistics management and messaging. Too much buck-passing and misinformation between Volkswagen Australia, Volkswagen Head Office and individual dealers.

The Demand exceeds Supply challenge means that dealers can and do treat potential customers with disdain. They simply don't care. This was certainly my experience.

Huge mismatch between Options prices in Australia and those offshore...way beyond those explainable by taxes and shipping costs. Just have a look at the official UK options price list.

Daylight driving lights? Who thought Australians would want these? Is Big Brother dictating that these should be mandatory for all?

Bluetooth? I would have thought that this should be standard in this day and age. Why can't Volkswagen provide a simple integrated solution. The alternatives on offer through the dealer were either 'tacky' or outrageously expensive...and in addition were presented in a convoluted confusing way. When I opted for the after-market route, I was abused by the Service Manager at the dealer. The overall experience the antithesis of my dealings with Apple where I simply get a 'solution' with no fuss or bother..

In summary, good product without a positive customer experience = unlikely to recommend Volkswagen to others.

Yeah Apple are like totally awesome!

[Hail22]

My opinion is if your getting rattling under load over speed bumps, hills, low revs its (DSG models only) its the gear box trying to find the appropriate gear for the RPM/Speed your doing.

I just put it into shift and manual shifting...problem sorted its the actual gearbox that does rattling as the computer is struggling to find the right gear.

[ChristopherJ]

I've done just over 1300km in my Polo TSi and think it will be a great little car, still learning to get the best from it, especially taking off, not always as much power as I'd like in 1st gear but otherwise plenty powerful. Only problem I've had has happen twice, when setting the Cruise Control to 100km/h the speed drops to 96/97km/h for some reason, have to keep and eye on this and take it in if it continues.

[pologti18t]

Originally had this in another thread, but upon reflection thought it more appropriately placed here...

I am an Apple tragic but a waning Volkswagen fan.

The difference between the two companies?

Apple has great product combined with a fantastic customer experience...seamless.

Volkswagen has terrific product but a woeful customer experience...the opposite of seamless.

In summary, good product without a positive customer experience = unlikely to recommend Volkswagen to others.

Ever talked to people waiting for a stupid iPhone 4 for months? Or the number of warranty claims on them?

When you are talking about "option" prices perhaps you should also mention that the cars WE get here have standard features that are optional in Europe. Like a full compliment of airbags, a decent stereo, audio controls on the steering wheel. All are optional in europe at frankly ridiculous prices. Even A/C is optional on numerous models.

Side and Curtain airbags UKP600
Leather steering wheel with audio controls UKP115

[JaneAusten]

Ever talked to people waiting for a stupid iPhone 4 for months? Or the number of warranty claims on them?

When you are talking about "option" prices perhaps you should also mention that the cars WE get here have standard features that are optional in Europe. Like a full compliment of airbags, a decent stereo, audio controls on the steering wheel. All are optional in europe at frankly ridiculous prices. Even A/C is optional on numerous models.

Side and Curtain airbags UKP600
Leather steering wheel with audio controls UKP115

Hi5 to that.

[BulbousGoiter]

I've had my Polo just over a month and within 1 week of having it i got the rattling noise everyones been speaking of, it gradually got louder too but only happened when i had the hand brake on or foot on the brake. I took it straight to service centre and was told it was the air con pipe rattling on something else and they said they'd fixed the problem.I got about 2 minutes up the road and the noise came back so i had to turn around and take it back in. I ended up having to have the whole day off work and when i finally got to take my car home the noise happened again 10mins up the road. By that point i was too angry so i just drove it home and booked it at another vw centre closer to home.I thought they had actually fixed the problem because i hadnt heard it for about 3 weeks but yesterday morning it made an appearance and its twice as loud............ I've written a nasty email to VW Australia but are yet to get a response

I dropped mine off and was told it was an issue with the wastegate and they'd run a software update and it'd be fixed. Picked up the car yesterday and it didn't happen so thought everything was cool, drove the car this morning and its back louder than ever. Exact same position you (and others) have described.

[Jules]

wiper blades

Picked up a brand new Polo GTI yesterday (5d, Red, no options) and drove it home in the rain.

Two gripes- the wheel alignment is off and the car pulls to the left quite noticeable- to the point where I have to hold the wheel slightly to the right.

Second is that the wipers are juddering like made over the windscreen, especially on the downward sweep as they come to their resting position! Given they're new blades- I'm guessing it's probably the wiper angle.

Teething problems. The dealer should've checked this beforehand. Trouble is I bought the car from a country dealer who had one in stock and it's impossible to take it back there for any repairs whatsoever.

[lolo2011]

After reading the forums today, I'd like to say thankyou for all the posts in regards to this 'hill un-assist'. I've had my Polo for 2 weeks and I've had three horrible experiences in both uphill and downhill and until this forum I thought I'd bought a dud which I booked in for the service dept tomorrow.

I've experienced the rolling forward on a downhill trying to reverse out of a parking, where the car kept rolling on each of my three attempts until I finally gave up as the next attempt meant kissing the car in front of me. Luckily the driver happened to come back to their car, greasing me off for not moving to give them room to reverse out...little did he know I couldn't reverse my car even wanting to! Then in the opposite direction where on an uphill, the car kept reversing all the way back on each attempt..luckily for me it was in my driveway.

This is a horrible 'feature' no matter how used to it you may eventually get...it makes you not trust the car's ability when it counts...will it?...won't it? I also don't think that it should be such a task to reverse/drive your car, pull handbrake, put in reverse, release handbrake, step on this that etc etc...I've never had to use a handbrake before but now I have to use one...this is not assisting me!

This is my second VW and I love them to pieces but I hate this 'feature' and would really like to rid my car of it. So my question is: Does anyone know if the hill assist can actually be switched off/taken out of the car? I will ask the Service dept tomorrow but would love to know if anyone has any information. Other than that, I love my new Polo...gorgeous car...drives like a dream..

[FJ Steve]

Button controlling rear mirrors (doors) broke off today. just fell away in my hand.

Off to the dealer for a new (warranty) one