VW Polo problem

[johnboy]

This is a draft letter I intend to send to my VW dealer head office it contains the problem any comments gratefully recieved

 

 

 

Dear Volkswagen

 

I am writing to complain about the poor quality of service I have received from the **** branch and about a number of problems which have beset my 2003 Polo with a mileage of only 10,000 miles. I purchased the car as I believed Volkswagen’s cars had a reputation for reliability and that their products would need very little, if any, maintenance for the first 20,000 miles.

 

Recently I took the Polo into *****Volkswagen’s garage as the emissions warning lamp had reappeared for the third time on my dashboard. I needed the car the following day and was forced to pay £500 for labour and parts to detect and replace a lambda probe sensor, a problem which should have been easy to detect via the electronic control unit.

 

This is the second time in less than two years a lambda probe had to be replaced; the last time being September 2005. In 2004 wiring to the original lambda probe had come loose.

 

I don’t think it is reasonable to expect a new Volkswagen vehicle to need two lambda probes to be replaced within a two year period when the car has travelled only 10,000 miles. Staff at ****** Volkswagen were unable to identify which lambda probe had needed replacing in September 2005, so in effect the part which was replaced during warranty may have failed within a very short space of time.

 

I have spent £300 on a service at *****Volkswagen and £50 in June 2006 on an MOT and am very unhappy that I have had to pay ***** Volkswagen a further £500 so soon afterwards.

 

After talking to local trading standards officers and taking advice, I feel that in respect of the terms of my statutory rights, The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (amended) which says that goods should be of satisfactory quality for six years from supply, meaning goods must meet the standards that any reasonable person would expect, taking into account the description, the price and all other relevant information.

 

Satisfactory quality includes the appearance and finish of the goods, their safety and durability and whether they are free from defects (including minor faults).In light of these facts and given the number of problems with the lambda probe, I believe the vehicle I purchased in July 2003 is not of satisfactory quality. An inherent fault in the vehicle has not been rectified.

 

I therefore believe that ******Volkswagen should reimburse the £500 charge to replace the lambda probe and that this fault is monitored and repaired free of charge as and when it should re-occur until the six years are up.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

******

[louiboy]

I think the warranty for a Polo is

2-year unlimited mileage manufacturers warranty

Plus a further 1-year / 60,000 miles (whichever is soonest) retailer warranty.

Let VW UK know about your problem.

 

I don't know much about Polo's. However I recently did some research into Lambda Probes. My Alfa (70,000 miles) needed a probe for the MOT. A Lambda probe has a working life of 30,000 miles to 50,000 miles. Somewhere between £30 - £90 for a replacement. The probe measures the gasses passing throught the exhaust and reports back to the engine management system. The system then adjusts the fuel/air mixture.

 

Early failure of the Lambda probe can be an indication of other faults

 

IE: Tiny amount of dirt in the throttle body stopping it closing fully. Engine allows extra air into the system that the Lambda probe reads as weak mixture and adds extra fuel. Car now runs with a rich mixture to compensate and soots up the Lambda Probe. Same as running with the choke on / cold start.

 

Faulty temperature sensor. Engine thinks it's in cold start mode and Lambda tells it to run rich.

 

Some sort of loose conection in the circuit, as you previously had.

 

Problem with the engine management system

 

leaky injector

 

If the car is used for constant short journeys where the cold start system doesn't have time to come off this can cause premature failure.