Advice on further issue with Polo 77TSI from 2010

[msolok]

Hey Guys,

So I have had no end of pain with our Polo since we got it in 2010. Break downs, engine faults, DSG transmission issues. It's been a painful few years!

We have been reasonably OK for the last year. other than having the transmission replace twice, no real issues with the car. So I was getting happier with it. Then a couple of weeks ago the latch for the armrest broke. No idea how, but it just fell off. No biggy, I will just buy a cheap replacement from eBay.
Then last week the hinge for for the arm rest broke somehow. No idea how or why. This is a bit more of a pain to replace, as there does not seem to be many replacements out there. Still not a big deal.

However we have recently started noticing another, BIGGER fault with the car. The car drives well and is nice and quiet now. However we have noticed that when getting to around 70+ km/h (and in gears 6 or 7) the car starts jerking and lurching a bit. After around 20 seconds it stops and it drives fine, but it has not been doing this in the past. It has been happening for the last few weeks, on and off, but no lights come on the dash or anything. I only ever fill up the car with 98ron petrol.

So, any ideas on what this new issue could be? Possibly misfiring? Something else?
I really don't think I can stand any more issues with the Polo...

[gavs]

My first suspicion is the mechatronics unit playing up because if it was a misfire it would happen at the same revs under the same load in all gears. If you have had the latest software put in the mechatronics unit then it will drive rubbish anyway (I'm tempted to firebomb my polo now with the post-recall software!) so hopefully it's just this...

[msolok]

My first suspicion is the mechatronics unit playing up because if it was a misfire it would happen at the same revs under the same load in all gears. If you have had the latest software put in the mechatronics unit then it will drive rubbish anyway (I'm tempted to firebomb my polo now with the post-recall software!) so hopefully it's just this...

It very well could be. My initial thoughts where the transmission as it was happening in 6th and 7th gear. But then I thought 'Surely not! I have had the mechatronics unit replace 3 times, and had an entirely new transmission put in. Surely it can't STILL be an issue with the transmission'. Benefit of this is the extended warranty on the transmission, which means no cost to fix for me.

I wonder if I can request they rip the DSG out and simply give me a manual transmission in it's place?

[AndrewBurns]

Gavs how long have you been driving the car since having the recall software change? Mine was rubbish initially too but feels a lot better now.

[gavs]

8 days now. I drive at least 98% of the time in manual anyway because I know better than the software about clutch life and engine labouring etc but even in manual now the gearshifts aren't as snappy as they were...

[msolok]

Hey all. Just thought I would check in with a bit of an update.

So we had to drive around 120km (each way) to a wedding today. On the way there it was pretty good. It didn't seem to have any juddering or jerking issues (maybe happened once or twice but was very minor).
Driving back it was far worse. The car was jerking, juddering and driving really poorly. We got about half way home and it broke down. Dashboard lit up like Christmas tree with all the errors and warnings. Managed to pull over and turn the car off. Left it a few minutes turned it back on and all seemed to be ok. No warnings at all.
So off we went again, but I instantly noticed a lack of power (same as the car drove when we had our turbo die). We got about 20 minutes down the road and encountered the same problem.
Turned it off, waited, back on and no errors. So we were driving again got to about 5 minutes from home and errors again. so we pull over and go through the same routine. When the car is turned back on the error for the Catalytic Converter is still on. Reading the manual this seems to say the cause is misfiring. So it's off to the dealer on Monday.

After we get it back I don't think we will hold on to it very long. Simply not worth it. This car has had constant issues since we got it and VW will not admit there is a problem.

[nomadx38]

Could be an ignition lead failure, I had one of mine go a while back - Though it definitely wasn't a slow failure. It was working perfect until it decided to completely fail going up a hill. Not fun running on 3 cylinders I can tell you that. Could be you just got a bad lead from the factory.

I have to say its one of the major downfalls of this engine, that been it is one of the only VW engines to still use HT leads unlike the other engines which have coil on spark systems which are much more reliable (due to less variables, disregarding the fact that VW coilpacks always seem to be a bit poor on quality) and they are easier to troubleshoot.

[Tigga1]

hi msolok, i sympathise with your feelings about the car.
I have the GTI, have had one engine replaced (and looks likely car needs a second engine replacement!), mechatronics unit replaced, centre armrest latch replaced (under wry), and none of these were easy or quick visits...each one a long, drawn out process with repeated calls/emails/visits to a feast of moving service advisors and managers at dealership...
I am so over the ownership of this car...and can't wait for my lease to come up in June...
having said all that, still enjoy driving it most of the time...gavs has been a great help in sorting out issues, thanks gavs!

cheers, and all the best

[gavs]

Hey all. Just thought I would check in with a bit of an update.

So we had to drive around 120km (each way) to a wedding today. On the way there it was pretty good. It didn't seem to have any juddering or jerking issues (maybe happened once or twice but was very minor).
Driving back it was far worse. The car was jerking, juddering and driving really poorly. We got about half way home and it broke down. Dashboard lit up like Christmas tree with all the errors and warnings. Managed to pull over and turn the car off. Left it a few minutes turned it back on and all seemed to be ok. No warnings at all.
So off we went again, but I instantly noticed a lack of power (same as the car drove when we had our turbo die). We got about 20 minutes down the road and encountered the same problem.
Turned it off, waited, back on and no errors. So we were driving again got to about 5 minutes from home and errors again. so we pull over and go through the same routine. When the car is turned back on the error for the Catalytic Converter is still on. Reading the manual this seems to say the cause is misfiring. So it's off to the dealer on Monday.

After we get it back I don't think we will hold on to it very long. Simply not worth it. This car has had constant issues since we got it and VW will not admit there is a problem.

I have been hearing murmurs about engines losing compression, I hope that you get sorted and can move the car on quickly!

[nomadx38]

Actually have you had the 24v9 service campaign? (Turbo shim install / ecu update)

It has been reported that some of the turbo wastegate actuators can get jammed at various positions which causes surging and lack of power depending where the actuator is stuck...could be somthing to look at. Thing is with major faults they are logged in the ECU so the dealer should be able to pinpoint it within seconds (beware though I did say "should", some of these techies are quite dumb)

This is where VCDS comes in awesome.

Also a compression issue wouldn't fix itself after a engine restart. The engine check light is general in nature and doesn't always mean its emissions related, only that a fault code is stored within the Engine control module.

[msolok]

nomadx38: Had that happen to the car a couple of years ago. Exact same thing as what happened to you (car seemed fine, then going up a hill it failed and I had to pull over). It was different to what happened that time, but it could be the same thing come back.

gavs: That sounds like something that would happen with my car. Hell, just about everything else that could go wrong with the Polo HAS gone wrong with mine, so why not that

nomadx38: All recalls/Service Campaigns as of August last year have been applied to my vehicle. As far as I know the only outstanding campaign is the oil change for the DSG, which was late last year. Not to mention numerous other 'fixes' to keep the car semi-running.

[msolok]

Hey Guys,

A bit of an update on my car. Turns out there was a problem with the ignition lead again which was causing misfiring in piston 1. So the lead had to be replaced.
But the dealer also found that there was an issue with the ECU. So a new ECU had to be ordered and installed.

Thankfully VW covered all fixes as 'good will' and it didn't cost me anything. We have since decided that there is no way keeping the Polo is economical or sustainable (not only from a money perspective but from a time and convenience perspective as well) so we traded it in and bought ourselves a wonderful Mazda.

To beonest we are glad to see the back of VW. The entire experience has been a total nightmare.