[nowwhat?]

Hi sadnabrina,

Today there was a torrential downpour in Bangalore and my wife said the streets are waterlogged so I went to meet her on the way. By the time I met her, she (and her Polo) had already come off the waterlogged area.

I sat in the car which was stationary because of a traffic pileup and after a few minutes I could see smoke radiating from the bonnet. I mean there was a lot of smoke, so much so that both of us felt that the engine might have caught fire or something. In panic, my wife switched off the engine. After that the smoke stopped and there was also no problem when she started the engine once again.

I am wondering what exactly happened. It was also very cold outside -- I was literally shivering on the way to meet my wife.

We know that the engine gets quite hot, so have you faced anything like this?

Do you think this was a combination of the heat + the environment or do you think it could be something more serious?

Thanks.

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

Hi sadnabrina,

Today there was a torrential downpour in Bangalore and my wife said the streets are waterlogged so I went to meet her on the way. By the time I met her, she (and her Polo) had already come off the waterlogged area.

I sat in the car which was stationary because of a traffic pileup and after a few minutes I could see smoke radiating from the bonnet. I mean there was a lot of smoke, so much so that both of us felt that the engine might have caught fire or something. In panic, my wife switched off the engine. After that the smoke stopped and there was also no problem when she started the engine once again.

I am wondering what exactly happened. It was also very cold outside -- I was literally shivering on the way to meet my wife.

We know that the engine gets quite hot, so have you faced anything like this?

Do you think this was a combination of the heat + the environment or do you think it could be something more serious?

Thanks.

I may have an answer for this.
Actually in very moist or rainy conditions, the pulleys have some water on them (splashed in your case), and the water pump belt / AC belt might slip on the pulley and give off the smoke. I had a condition as your in US where after a big snowfall, the next day was sunny, and thawed ice on the pulleys gave off an incredible puff of white smoke.
Nothing to worry about IMO , if it doesn't occur again.

[drpullockaran]

Temperature in a sealed radiator assembly reaches near about 83 to 87 degrees centigrade. Water that has collected on the radiator pores is evaporating off the radiator core and thats been seen as steam or condensed water vapour. It is similar to condensation of water vapour when we blow vapour laden air from our mouths on a cold winter morning. You can see the mist even though your body temp will never be near boiling point of water. It's common in cars that have been washed at the service center and then when crawling in traffic on winter days especially in coastal areas where the air is moisture laden. It was so pronounced in the GTX that I had other drivers warning me about smoke which was actually water vapour.

For assurance just hose your radiator with water tomorrow morning and start the engine and after five minutes the spectacle will be repeated.

[vivekz]

Great buy Sadnabrina. IMO, this is as complete a A+ segment car as one can get in India and still be affordable. The perfect mix of Power+Ride & Handling+Quality. I think with that combination, I would not mind giving up on some goodies and features.

The Red looks absolutely smashing. Waiting to hear a long-drive report from you soon. I hope you were able to out-run a few Swifts and likes when in a mood to play.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by blackasta

I may have an answer for this.
Actually in very moist or rainy conditions, the pulleys have some water on them (splashed in your case), and the water pump belt / AC belt might slip on the pulley and give off the smoke. I had a condition as your in US where after a big snowfall, the next day was sunny, and thawed ice on the pulleys gave off an incredible puff of white smoke.
Nothing to worry about IMO , if it doesn't occur again.

Originally Posted by drpullockaran

Temperature in a sealed radiator assembly reaches near about 83 to 87 degrees centigrade. Water that has collected on the radiator pores is evaporating off the radiator core and thats been seen as steam or condensed water vapour. It is similar to condensation of water vapour when we blow vapour laden air from our mouths on a cold winter morning. You can see the mist even though your body temp will never be near boiling point of water. It's common in cars that have been washed at the service center and then when crawling in traffic on winter days especially in coastal areas where the air is moisture laden. It was so pronounced in the GTX that I had other drivers warning me about smoke which was actually water vapour.

For assurance just hose your radiator with water tomorrow morning and start the engine and after five minutes the spectacle will be repeated.

Thanks for your replies, blackasta & drpullockaran!

I am relieved on hearing your explanations.

[pannags]

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

Rated this thread 5 stars as your report has been invaluable to me.

I hope this will motivate you to update more frequently!

+1 to that.

In my case, however, the contention is to move from the Esteem to the Polo 1.6 (or the vento Petrol H/L)

[sadnabrina]

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

Thanks for your replies, blackasta & drpullockaran!

I am relieved on hearing your explanations.

Nowwhat?,
What is your current mileage? I am getting around 10.5 within city now with full ac. Have covered nearly 2900 kms.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by pannags

In my case, however, the contention is to move from the Esteem to the Polo 1.6 (or the vento Petrol H/L)

We moved from the Esteem to the Polo 1.6.

First thing I have to say is: The Esteem makes it very difficult to move to any other car because of its price. You will find that most decent sedans will cost almost double that of the Esteem.

We too were confused what to do but in the end chose the Polo because it is a well-proven German car with excellent build quality.

One thing I can say about the Vento is that you will get the same Esteem-quality boot. Both close with an identical sound.

However the Vento Diesel makes a compelling case for itself because of the engine.

Originally Posted by sadnabrina

Nowwhat?,
What is your current mileage? I am getting around 10.5 within city now with full ac. Have covered nearly 2900 kms.

Anirban, I wouldn't be too worried with 10.5 kmpl with 100% AC and city driving.

I really don't know the mileage apart from that on the MFD as I have not yet done a proper tank-full to tank-full.

The car has only been filled twice so far and last time I did some back-of-the-envelope calculations and I could make out we were getting at least 11 but that is with around 20% AC.

I am not worried about fuel consumption at all. So far I am getting a least the same as the Esteem going by the petrol bills.

One thing I must say is that if you follow the VW way of driving as mentioned in the manual, 30 kmph in 3rd, 40 in 4th and 50 in 5th, you will get excellent mileage. I tried it on the Inner Ring Road and the MFD went up to to almost 17.

However, the car is driven almost entirely in 1st and 2nd gear in the city right now.

Since your usage is more than mine, I would appreciate if you could check the oil level. Chethan had to top-up his oil and I am wondering if we would have to do the same thing.

[naveenvenkatesh]

Hey can you tell me how good the stock head lamps are? Are they H4?

I am planning to get a Bi-xenon kit from the US. So want to know the specifications for the polo.

This is what i have in mind : Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (H1) - Complete Kits from The Retrofit Source LLC

[sadnabrina]

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

One thing I must say is that if you follow the VW way of driving as mentioned in the manual, 30 kmph in 3rd, 40 in 4th and 50 in 5th, you will get excellent mileage. I tried it on the Inner Ring Road and the MFD went up to to almost 17.

However, the car is driven almost entirely in 1st and 2nd gear in the city right now.

Since your usage is more than mine, I would appreciate if you could check the oil level. Chethan had to top-up his oil and I am wondering if we would have to do the same thing.

Not sure about the VW way of driving. With a/c at 50kmph it will not pull in 5th.

I will check the oil tomorrow. What exactly needs to be checked and how?

[methecupid]

Got a call from KSM Motors in Mumbai, saying the Polo 1.6 production has been put on hold :o anyone can confirm that?

[sadnabrina]

Originally Posted by naveenvenkatesh

Hey can you tell me how good the stock head lamps are? Are they H4?

I am planning to get a Bi-xenon kit from the US. So want to know the specifications for the polo.

This is what i have in mind : Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (H1) - Complete Kits from The Retrofit Source LLC

The stock h/l is H4. However the throw is not good with the stock bulbs. I have switched to Philips Xtreme Power, it gives much better light at the same wattage.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by sadnabrina

The stock h/l is H4. However the throw is not good with the stock bulbs. I have switched to Philips Xtreme Power, it gives much better light at the same wattage.

sadnabrina, can you please give me the details of the new bulbs you have fitted - rating, price, model number...etc

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

sadnabrina, can you please give me the details of the new bulbs you have fitted - rating, price, model number...etc

He has mentioned it is the stock wattage i.e 55/60w, they will be H4 bulbs. I have no clue about the price but my guess is they will be in the range of Rs.700

[NevGin]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

He has mentioned it is the stock wattage i.e 55/60w, they will be H4 bulbs. I have no clue about the price but my guess is they will be in the range of Rs.700

Yes they cost me Rs 720 when bought at Opera House about 3 months back.