[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by anubhavy

Should I go for the original height adjustable seats from Volkswagen or buy Sparco or Recaro custom seats.

IMHO, original height adjustable seats from Volkswagen and sell the old seat outside. Anything you get will be a bonus I suppose...

All the best..

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by DueLLeR

Disc Brake Lock Up on Polo 1.6


On closer examination, we saw that the disc brakes (pic attached) had jammed and the brake pad (or whatever was left of it) had carved a perfect circle on the disc. We pushed the car to the parking with the help of the watchman and opened up the bonnet to check the vital fluids, brake fluid being the number one suspect. To our surprise, we found that the brake fluid level was full, however, the coolant level was low.

The exact same thing happened on my i20's front right brake disc last year. Picture is there in the link:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post2091054

The reason that the RO & that good for nothing Hyundai workshop in Junagadh were giving was "a small stone might have got in between the brake pads & the disc" causing such a carving to show up on the disc. I never believed them since the front brakes were making screeching noise from the start itself and I don't think they found any "stone" when they opened up the front brake disc. They changed the brake discs , yet the screeching noise continued. Just one visit to a more competent Hyundai workshop with the same complaint and that brake noise issue vanished.

[razor4077]

Originally Posted by shrisri

* Upgraded the tires to 195/60 R15 Michelin Primacy LC. They're really good. Ride comfort has improved and road noise reduced significantly compared to OEM Apollo Accelere's. (Heard that Michelin will soon launch 185/60 R15 - stock size tires).

Congrats on your new Polo! Question to you, or anyone in the know - how much do the PLCs cost in this size? And what kind of buy-back value can one expect for new stock Polo tyres (185/60/15)?

EDIT: Found the answer after some digging around here:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2381205

[nowwhat?]

Sorry to hijack your thread yet again, Anirban.

One year for my wife's Polo 1.6 was up in September 2011. We went to VW Downtown end of August to get the Extended Warranty. Now there was a balance amount of around 6K that was due to me for which I kept reminding the dealer, but nothing happened. So one year later when I finally got the bill for my car, I adjusted the Extended Warranty against the balance amount.

While I was sorting out the Bill and Extended Warranty which took 2 hours, I checked about servicing our car. That's when I learned three things:

• There is no AMC facility on any Polo other than the 1.2 Petrol.
  
• I have to take a service appointment to get service. Call me pampered by Maruti, but I usually used to just call up Pratham Motors or a nearby Maruti A.S.S. to get my car picked up for servicing. Nevertheless, I fixed an appointment for two weeks later on September 16th which was the earliest available day.
  
• The car's service takes 2 whole days which meant that my wife would have to make an alternative arrangement for at least one day.

Regarding the AMC, I escalated to VW in Bombay and a Customer Rep called me back to tell me that while AMC is available for the Polo 1.2 Petrol, it is not there for the Diesel and 1.6. I cannot understand why VW would discriminate among variants. I guess Chethan B. G. and uvmallya are the only ones in India with an AMC on their Polo Diesels.

On September 16th, my wife had to go to the outskirts of Bangalore and so she couldn't give the car. I arranged for an alternate car around Ugadi and asked them to call the moment a slot opened up. No luck there, so I finally took an appointment for Saturday October 15th and tried to get them to deliver the car early on Monday.

So we went to deliver our car and here's what I found.

• When I went in, our name was on a board along with the others for service that day and so I felt everything is well organized.
  
• The Service Rep spent the majority of the time identifying dents and scratches on the car and marking it on the sheet.
  
• When it came to things that would help us rather than the dealer, such as registering the amount of fuel, he didn't do that until we reminded him.
  
• The Service Rep chipped some paint off the driver-side door while opening it in the narrow confines of VW Downtown.

The entire process of giving the car for service took only half an hour and I felt happy as it was the first time I had gotten out of VW Downtown in less than 2 hours.

There however was a disagreement regarding getting the car back on Monday by 10:30 a.m. as was promised to me on the phone, but they said they would try their best and call me in the evening to confirm the actual delivery time. I got a call in the evening as promised confirming delivery at 10:30 a.m. and I felt even more happier.

Since I felt confident so far, I asked my wife to pick up the car since she had to go work subsequently in the same car. My wife reached there at 10:30 a.m. and I guess she got the car only at 11:30 a.m. because out of the blue I got a call from my wife who was hysterical at the other end because there was a brand new 4-inch gash on the front bumper. My wife asked me to talk to the Manager and he readily accepted their fault. He suggested doing a touch up (basically apply some paint there with a brush). Since I knew my wife must be tired by then and anxious to get to work, I told the Manager to get the touch up done and give an acknowledgement on the bill so that I could ask for a full paint job for the bumper later if I was unhappy.

The whole process took a number of phone calls and honestly I too was tired and disappointed.

I then again got a call from my wife at around 12:30 p.m. en route to work and this time she tells me that the car is absolutely filthy inside with dirty footprints all over the carpet. By this time, I had enough so I told her that I don't work for Volkswagen. To pacify her, I finally told her that maybe next time, we will take the car to VW Palace Cross.

I checked the gash and the filth in the evening. She had every reason to be upset. I asked her for the bill to find out what they had done and she gave me a receipt for Rs. 10,202. I again asked for the bill and she said that's all she got. As usual, VW Downtown was unable to provide a bill. So right now I have no idea what VW Downtown did or did not do. According to my wife, the car runs the same way as it did before, so I have no way to tell.

So to recap, here's what VW needs to do:

• Open more service centers so that we are not at the mercy of a few.
  
• Ensure that your service centers don't give cars the "Volkswagen kiss". In all my years of giving cars for service, I have not received a car with a defect it did not go into the service center with.
  
• Ensure that your customers get bills for the car, service, etc at the time of delivery. What kind of a mom and pop operation is this?
  
• What is the deal with the AMC? Suppose you do start one, what will happen to us who bought our cars in 2010 and have already completed one service?

Volkswagen, in case you are reading this please remember that many of us early adopters put our faith in your company last year without seeing or in my case driving the car. We hope that you will listen to your customers and provide us with cost-effective, efficient and quality service.

[tburman]

You should escalate the matter to VW directly. Try their customer care email, failing which their top management emails should be readily available. I've had some success with this.

Tushar

[sadnabrina]

I got an opportunity to push my Polo 1.6 hard this week end and was able to reach an indicated speed of 182 Km/h (in 4th gear no AC) at around 5500 rpm on upsized tyres - 195/60-15 and everything else stock. Considering that with the upsized tyres the speedo should show 2% less speed than actual, The correct reading should be around 185.5 km/h. However this definitely is not an accurate reading by any means (needs proper equipment to measure) but makes me believe that with proper modifications this car is capable of speeds upwards of 190 km/h.

[NevGin]

[quote=sadnabrina;2740280]I got an opportunity to push my Polo 1.6 hard this week end and was able to reach an indicated speed of 182 Km/h (in 4th gear no AC) quote]

In 4th gear! I would have assumed that the engine would have just cut off considering what your tacho would have been displaying. But briliant nevertheless. My TDI tops off at far lesser.

[sadnabrina]

Originally Posted by NevGin

In 4th gear! I would have assumed that the engine would have just cut off considering what your tacho would have been displaying. But briliant nevertheless. My TDI tops off at far lesser.

Yes in 4th gear. 5th gear is an overdrive, thus it is usually not possible to reach the top speed on 5th. The tacho reading was around 5500 RPM, which is the max a 1.6 would reach. The moment I slot the 5th the car slows down. This is because there isn't enough torque to overcome the drag at that speed.
This time I was pitting it against a Civic belonging to a fellow TBHPian on a TBHP drive/meet. He finally overtook me and reached 201 km/h before slowing down.

[alexanish]

Originally Posted by sadnabrina

All,
My Polo 1.6 have completed 5000 KMs today. Summary of my experience covering 2 months 19 days and 5000 KMs -

1) Minor rattle from the boot floor board - fixed by the workshop by pasting additional sponge buffers underneath the board
2) Rocking drivers seat - fixed by the workshop by tightening the bolts (claimed that it was not properly tightened after fitting the seat covers - by their mechanics only)
3) Reached a top speed of 163 kmph with 4.5 passengers and with AC on.
4) Average FE has improved and stands at 11+ (Tank full to tank full) with full time AC. Highway runs returning 14.5 to 15 as per MID.
5) MID FE is usually 0.8 to 1.0 kmpl off (more) the acutal FE (TF to TF).
6) 3rd gear at 30 kmph, 4th at 40 and 5th at 50 returns excellent FE. 3rd gear best after 30 kmph.
7) Minor squeak from the doors (possibly from the rubber lining between the doors and body) - need to take to the workshop.
8) 4 punctures till date - Kolkata roads
9) Paintwork not the hardest - marks/scratches on the door around the handle caused by nails (the top coat is possibly not very hard)
10) Possibly need some adjustment of the brakes - seems to have lost some bite.
11) Power steering veering slightly right - happened only once and solved by killing and starting the engine.
12) ABS kicks in quick. Have experienced at least 3 times on hard braking. The ABS sound might be a bit scary to the uninitiated (feels like something is broken :-) ).

Nice and helpful review, I must say!

I am curious to know were you able to fix the list item 7 about the minor squeak from doors? I have a month old polo which has the same squeaking sound. I have taken it to a VW service center out side Bangalore while I was on a vacation last week and they confirmed there is some problem. But they said it may take a day or two to fix and I didn't have that much time to leave the car with them. I have spoken to my sales person in Palace Cross when I reached back Bangalore and I am planning to take the car to their service center this weekend.

Thanks in advance!
Anish

[manubhai]

Curious: Now that the 1.6 has long been discontinued, any idea how many polo 1.6 have been sold in India in all.... ?

[sadnabrina]

Originally Posted by alexanish

Nice and helpful review, I must say!

I am curious to know were you able to fix the list item 7 about the minor squeak from doors? I have a month old polo which has the same squeaking sound. I have taken it to a VW service center out side Bangalore while I was on a vacation last week and they confirmed there is some problem. But they said it may take a day or two to fix and I didn't have that much time to leave the car with them. I have spoken to my sales person in Palace Cross when I reached back Bangalore and I am planning to take the car to their service center this weekend.

Thanks in advance!
Anish

Nah! The door sqeak issue has never been permanently resolved. It goes off after service but comes back after a few months. It is caused by friction of the rubber lining between the door and body. A little light lubricant applied on the rubber seal helps remove the noise for a few months but once the lubricant dries out the noise comes back.

[sadnabrina]

Guys, today I got amazing FE figures from the 1.6 petrol. I drove for about 150 kms with a/c and 3 passengers on a near empty highway. The average FE returned as per the MID was 19 kmpl! My MID reading is usually accurate (compared to tankful to tankful measurement) to 5%. This is very close to diesel territory and the best I have ever got. Average speed as shown by the MID was 60kmph. I maintained around 90 kmph, stopped at 4 toll booths and 3 traffic signals, kept a very light foot and agave way to anyone who wanted to overtake. The Highway run was followed by a 30 km City run at much slower speeds but more or less smooth Sunday traffic and the figure dropped to 17 kmpl.
I was so happy with today's performance that thought of sharing with you all.

Ps: my Polo 1.6 petrol is 3 years old now and has has been driven around for 52000 kms. The tyres were replaced at around 30k kms and the battery changed recently to Amaron 45mAh Flo.

[invidious]

Originally Posted by theragingbull

I have had the same exact problem pictures of which I have posted in another thread and posting it again now. Just to let you know, VW Downtown Mumbai has agreed to replace the louvers under warranty. But it took them nearly 3 weeks to come to the decision. Please check with your dealer again. I'll be going to the workshop this Friday to get all the vents replaced.

Thanks for this - I happen to have the same problem in my wife's Polo - all the vents are broken. Is there anyone you specifically spoke to at Downtown VW?

[sadnabrina]

I have not been updating this thread for a long time, so thought of putting in a few lines.

It has been nearly 5 years of ownership of the Polo 1.6. I wouldn't say it was absolutely trouble free, but despite the issues it was definitely an enjoyable 5 years.

Till date the it has covered all of 77K kms and have drank at least 4.5 lakh rupees worth of petrol. It had been to the service center for 5 scheduled services plus at least another 5 unscheduled accident or breakdown services.
The recent highway tour was to Bankura and Purulia districts of WB in April.

From the top of mind I can remember the following things that have been/to be done
1) Tyres changed twice (now running Bridgestones with upsized to 195)
2) Front brake disks changed once, pads twice
3) Rear brake shoes changed once
4) Brake fluid changed once as per schedule on 60K
5) 2 ABS speed sensors replaced once under extended warranty and one after (quite expensive around 4K for 1 I think). They say the earlier model was prone to early failures and the latest ones have been rectified and no longer causes early failures.
6) Front right window internal channel for the glass has worn out and needs replacement. Planning to do in 2 week's time
7) Steering Rack had to be replaced. Although it had not reached the end of its life, there was an irritating vibration and noise when driving over rough patches. The WB standard roads were making it worse.
8) Battery changed once (to Amaron)

etc etc

There has been a lot of changes in the automobile scenario and the new Polo has arrived with a new set of engines and transmissions.

On the personal front I have decided to get another car and have booked the new XUV 500 W8 AWD. Expecting delivery by end July. For the time being the Polo stays as the 2nd car, however I still have not figured out a parking space. I will wait for a few months and see if we at all need two cars or it is becoming too expensive to maintain. Will decide on selling the Polo then. Anyone interested to buy an used 2011 Polo 1.6 Petrol may check with me around Sept.
Logging off for now. Cheers!

[sadnabrina]

The Polo 1.6 chugs on. Crossed 91K KMs.
Few issues are cropping up and needs to be sorted - slow leakage of coolant, front shock absorbers and the clutch have become weak and would need a replacement soon.
Changed the battery for the second time last week. The last one lasted 42 months. However this time I have upgraded to a higher rated battery that comes with Vento 1.6 Petrol. The original battery also did not last more than 3 years. This I attribute to VW providing underrated battery for the Polo - they have fitted 1.6 with the same battery as in the 3 pot 1.2 L Polo. I think the low rated battery is unable to take the crank load when it becomes a bit weak. The Vento 1.6 comes with a higher rated battery. This prompted me to upgrade to the Vento battery this time around. Let us see how it performs over time. Will give an update after 48 months