vw polo 2002 faulty engine management sy

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Thu 13 Mar 2003 18:06
vw polo 2002 faulty engine management sy - Polo Owner

vw polo bought from new 1 March 2002.

After 11 months engine management system warning light came on. Dealership said it was a faulty coil and was replaced. This happened twice more. Once three days later and another a couple of weeks later.

About one week later engine management system warning light came on again. This time the dealership said it wasn't a faulty coil and they would try replacing all three spark plugs.

After just a couple of days the engine management system warning light reappeared and the car has now been at the dealership over a week. They have been trying to find the problem with no success and only in the last couple of days managed to replicate the appearance of the engine management system warning light but with an unknown cause.

I have found the following on this website about the vw polo 2002 :-

"The dealer attempted to fix the faulty engine management system and rogue warning lights 4 times without success (this is a generic fault with most of the cars, they told me)." He managed to reject it after 6 months. Which? subscribers also report engine management system problems (maybe the VAG universal coil problem)"

does anyone have a similar experience or any advice on what to do next?

Alan Fisher
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Fri 14 Mar 2003 14:38
vw polo 2002 faulty engine management sy - bertj
This is going to sound absolutely crazy! Engine management light came on my wife's Year 2000 Polo. VW dealer said 'Check whether the brake lights are working'!!! It had a faulty brake light switch which interfaces with the engine management system - it's to do with the fly by wire accelerator system (work that one out!). So check you brake lights!
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Sun 16 Mar 2003 10:10
vw polo 2002 faulty engine management sy - Polo Owner
no, it isn't the brake lights.

It's one of the new Polo's, and there seems to be problems with some of the early ones.

I've heard some of them have been replaced. I want to know how bad the problem was to get the car replaced, and what procedure did they take?
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Mon 17 Mar 2003 17:38
2002 1.2 polo faulty cylinders - Polo Owner
with regards to my previous post \"vw polo 2002 faulty engine management system\" 13 March. The dealer has now informed me that two of the cylinders are faulty (we only have three!), and just wants to replace the two cylinders.

Do you think this is acceptable, or should we ask for a replacement/refund.

With regards to your previous post - I have included this current post along with the previous post as it is all on the same subject. This saves people having to look back at the previous post for reference - as well as keeping things tidier. DD
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Mon 17 Mar 2003 17:41
2002 1.2 polo faulty cylinders - shaun
If it's within the 30 day exchange period then get a refund or new car, but if it's outside then i think that they'll just fix it.
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Mon 17 Mar 2003 17:44
2002 1.2 polo faulty cylinders - shaun
Sorry just read you previous thread, and i don't think you have a chance of a new car or refund, but at least they will fix it under warranty.
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Mon 17 Mar 2003 22:13
2002 1.2 polo faulty cylinders - borasport20
I'm curious to know in what way your 2 cylinders are 'faulty' and how your dealer plans to replace these two cylinders -

can you give us some more information ?

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Tue 18 Mar 2003 14:13
2002 1.2 polo faulty cylinders - Polo Owner
>I'm curious to know in what way your 2 cylinders are 'faulty' >and how your dealer plans to replace these two cylinders -

>can you give us some more information ?

All the dealer will say is that they are "out of spec". They had to get a piece of equipment from VW to get them out, and they have been to sent to VW for testing. VW are sending two replacements for them to fit.

I don't think they know what is up with the car, and this is the most likely cause of the problem that they have been able to come up with. VW will only replace the car if they have tried everything. I find it strange that the car has run perfectly for nearly a year, and then when the coils started going faulty this happens. Could there be a link between the faulty coils and some sort of engine damage.
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Tue 18 Mar 2003 17:30
2002 1.2 polo faulty cylinders - borasport20
What have they actually replaced. Unless this engine is a radical use of a very old design concept (and i don't think it is), you can't replace a cylinder.

You might replace a cylinder liner, or a piston or piston rings, but not a piston.

I'd appreciate it if somebody who knows more would comment on the theory that if a coil is duff and there is no ignition in a cylinder, then there will be a lot of unburnt petrol around, which could accelerate wear - but i think it would have to run badly for a long time to make a difference.

What i would say is if there have been igntion problems for any while and it is still under warranty, get the garage to confirm the catalytic converter is alright or get it replaced under warranty before it's too late !!


I have to grow old - but I don't have to grow up
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Tue 18 Mar 2003 21:09
2002 1.2 polo faulty cylinders - Polo Owner
>What have they actually replaced. Unless this engine is a radical use of a very old design concept (and i don't think it is), you can't replace a cylinder.

They are replacing two pistons.

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Wed 26 Mar 2003 17:34
vw coil failure causing further damage? - Polo Owner
Could someone please give me their opinion on the following sequence of events. The car had been running perfectly until the coil packs started to go. What about further damage i.e. to the catalytic converters.

VW Polo bought from new on the 1st March 2002.

17th January 2003 - Warranty repair to replace Cylinder 1 coil pack at 12653 miles.

27th January 2003 - Warranty repair to replace Cylinder 1 coil pack at 12945 miles.

25th February 2003 - Warranty repair to replace Cylinder 2 & 3 coil packs at 13999 miles.

4th March 2003 - Warranty repair to replace all 3 spark plugs at 14138 miles.

13th March 2003 - Warranty repair 2 valves, 2 hydraulic lifters in cylinder number 1 including replacing the Cylinder head gasket at 14380 miles.
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Wed 26 Mar 2003 18:44
vw coil failure causing further damage? - Polo Owner
The engine is a 1.2l 3 Cylinders.
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Wed 26 Mar 2003 19:27
vw coil failure causing further damage? - Dynamic Dave
I have included this current post along with previous posts as it is all to do with the same car/fault. This saves people having to look back at the previous posts for reference - as well as keeping things tidier. DD
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Thu 8 Feb 2018 14:59
vw polo 2002 faulty engine management fault - Gurchetan Garcha

Hi all

I have had similar problems with my vw polo, 51000 issues with engine management light.

This light comes on when the car is stationery and sitting at lights.

I had an engineer connect a laptop to diagnose fault and it came up with a fault code on the coils. I then had at first 1 coil changed, and then the other 2.

THIS IS NOT THE COILS, AND NOT SPARK PLUGS!!!!!

I have asked an engine specialist who deals with this issue, and has said that they regularly deal with these issues.

THE PROBLEM IS THE VALVE GUIDES (MORE LIKELY) OR THE TIMING BELT NEEDING ADJUSTMENT.

I could be wrong, but the engine specialist told me this is very likely the cause, and that there is no point spending money on coil replacement (as this will show at the first sign as being the problem.

Ask an engine specialist, if not sure.

Regards

Gurchetan Garcha

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Sat 10 Feb 2018 10:46
vw polo 2002 faulty engine management fault - Big John

Your timing CHAIN is probably worn out - big job I'm afraid. It needs sorting soon before it jumps and destroys the engine

The 1.2 cylinder engine does not have a timing belt

Edited by Big John on 10/02/2018 at 10:47

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