Volkswagen Polo IV - VW Polo 1.4 2006 juddering and engine light on

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Sun 5 Mar 2017 18:31
Volkswagen Polo IV - VW Polo 1.4 2006 juddering and engine light on - AlexVW

Hi all

Just purchased my first vehicle a 2006 VW Polo 1.4 with 58000 on the clock. Car is very neat and tidy and seems well maintained, nothing major in the SH.

Driving it back to Leeds from Manchester (about 60 miles) and I noticed it was juddering in all gears but especially third and fourth in low- medium revs (stops after about 3.5/4k). Now, when I drive it for a more than a few minutes the engine light comes on solid amber and when idling it keeps nearly cutting out. Also, not sure if I am imagining this but it seems to be consuming a bit more fuel than I'd expect and it seems to be struggling with power in second gear- i live at the top of a big hill and had to put it down to 1st to get up it.

I'm not happy with the dealer to say the least, it was MOT'd just before I bought it and allegedly serviced so surely this is something that should have been noticed? Other than this though the car does seem in very good condition for its age. He has agreed to come collect it and repair it tomorrow but I just want assurance this isn't something he can 'tape over' and then crop up again 3 months down the line.

Any suggestions on what this could be- I've heard several things- sparkplugs, coils, flywheel?!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 5 Mar 2017 19:21
Volkswagen Polo IV - VW Polo 1.4 2006 juddering and engine light on - elekie&a/c doctor

Very possibly a coil fault.(4 on these).A common problem and can fail at any time.Doubt if it would have been picked up at inspection/service.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 5 Mar 2017 21:13
Volkswagen Polo IV - VW Polo 1.4 2006 juddering and engine light on - Big John

As menstion could be Coil / coil pack issue - Especially if the car has been parked on a forecourt for a while. Some of these engines have individual coils per cylinder and some have a coil pack (twin coil/wasted spark) on the right hand side of the engine & ignition leads.

If it is -easy to fix properly

Edited by Big John on 05/03/2017 at 21:15

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 5 Mar 2017 21:40
Volkswagen Polo IV - VW Polo 1.4 2006 juddering and engine light on - IneverSaidThat
I had a similar issue with my Golf and it was the coil pack. You can easily test it by pulling the cool packs out one by one while the engine is running. You will notice the difference in the engine sound if you pull a working one out; if you pull a faulty one out, you won't notice any difference. Also I learnt it the hard way, the coil packs work in pairs, if you keep your car running with one faulty one, you will most likely damage one more. I hope this helps. Oh, check Eurocarparts for the parts. I think I got HAAS ones for about £20 each.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link