COMMON VOLKSWAGEN PROBLEMS

I've owned no less than 20 cars, the bulk of which were VW vehicles. I am thus qualified to say that the most troublesome car in the Volkswagen stable without any doubt is  the VW Jetta but it is very closely followed by the Volkswagen Polo, regardless of winning  2010 World Car of the Year. 

Whether you drive an older 6n Polo or a later 9N3 Polo classic 1.6 or 2.0L Highline, or a newer Polo Vivo 1.4 Trendline, or a VW hatch 1.4TDI Highline or a VW sedan 1.5TDI Comfortline, or a VW hatch 1.2TSI Highline, or a Polo BlueMotion or a Polo GTI, or a CrossPolo, or even a Polo 6R, either manual or auto, you are bound to encounter some or all of these problems listed below over time or even perhaps in very close proximity to one another.

Since I've had my VW Polo 2.0L Highline, I've personally experienced most of them and the only reason I know that these are common problems is because I've encountered so many people with similar problems. They go as far as to say the VW Polo is a thoroughly unreliable car, adding that it's poorly built and that they should have stuck to Japanese cars. Some complain about the high repair bills they had to foot for problems that shouldn't be haunting fairly new cars,  let alone the atrocious VW customer service they experienced. Their final words - "Stay away from Volkswagen".  "I'll never buy Volkswagen again!"

Soon after I purchased  my VW polo 2.0L highline I noticed an above normal level of cabin noise. The conclusion I came to, was that the door rubbers doesn't seal very well allowing type road noise to enter. This was even confirmed by water droplets falling onto the door panel armrest and on me when it rains. In fact when I open the back doors and look at the B-post and front door rubbers seals, I can see a air gap of about 5mm between the B-post and the rubbers door seals. I would agree that the Polo isn't  built very well. 

At another time, I noticed a humming sound emitting from its gearbox when accelerating.  Convinced that it wasn't there before, or if it was, it was hardly noticeable, I took the Polo to a VW service centre, only to be told, "There is no problem with the gearbox, that sound is perfectly normal for all Polos."  Ya right! Like its normal for a person to have 4 ears.

A friend who owns a 2011 Polo Vivo 1.4 Trendline also noticed the interior cabin noise was getting quite annoying when driving at speeds above 100 km per hour. As a result he had both front wheel bearing replaced thinking that may be the problem but it didn't make any difference. The VW service centre says it has much to do with wheel balancing and alignment.

Something else I'm quite unhappy about is that the interior fabric has  separated from the roof lining of my 2007 Polo Highline  and hanging as if filled with water. However I'm not as pissed about it as my neighbour is, who ownes a 2011 VW Polo Vivo 1.4 Trendline. He says it's totally unbelieveble that a five year old car should be falling apart whereas as his 20 year old Mercedez Benz's fabric ceiling still looks new, like the day he bought the car.

The airbag malfunction light seems to be another VW problem on an epidemic scale. Once its on, it cannot be turned off, not even by experienced auto shops. Replacement of the airbag is the only way that light is going to turn off and stay off. This was a problem that originated with the 2006 VW jetta when nearing 160,000 kilometers.  Somehow this problem found its way into other VW's especially the Polos.

Another Jetta problem that seem to have infected VW Polo, is Ignition Coil failure which tend to  appear around 120,000 kilometers. Its a good idea to keep one or two spare coils in your repair kit because they die when you least expect it.  When they do, your car shakes as if its a washing machine in spin dry mode. I've also had one or two of my radiator fan lades snap off and when it engaged shook my entire car as if I small tree in a blizzard. After the initial fright when this happens is the thought of cost immediately springs to mind.  So some reason or the other my radiator fan just disintegrated.

The Check Engine light and the EPC light turning on, are classic VW Polo problem that just waits for an opportunity to present itself. This often occurs when your decelerate, or yielding or driving slowly or when you start it first thing in the morning. Its perfectly normal or the EPC light to come on during a 3 sec self test when the ignition is turned on but should turn off when the vehicle starts. If it doesn't, your in or a very long day. 

EPC problems sometimes evokes limp mode which I found can be quite dangerous even life threatening because I've experienced limp mode with a 30 ton road-train just meters from my rear bumper, with just fractions of a second to get out of its way. I've experience EPC problems on the freeway on-ramp in peak hour traffic. I've experience EPC problems on a lonely stretch of road in the dark of the night. I've experience EPC problems to the point that I didn't want t drive my Polo anymore and even contemplated selling it.

Wiring harness problems especially on the doors and the alarm system and the DSG gearbox. The headlight connectors tend to melt from the heat of the lights and contact becomes intermittent to the point that whilst driving they go on and off.

Leaking coolant from under the water pump or from the black metal hose that runs along two side of the engine. Either the water pump needs to be replaced or the corroded pipe needs to be replaced.