[k491]

2022 Polo GT Legend

1 Year, 24,500 kms Update. Alternate Title : Re-discovering the pains of owning a VW group car.



My last update was in august last year after completing 10k kms in 100 days. Mile munching has slowed down as days have gotten a lot busier.
I was planning to write another update at 20k kms but glad that I held it off so that I can talk more about car and the problems that come along with it.

The car on its own, it's simply amazing. But having already experienced the pains of owning a VW group car ( 2014 Skoda Rapid 1.6 TDI), it's Deja Vu for me.

The problems started after the first service (15k kms) and they kept on piling up.

1. Broken AC vent clip, the driver side AC vent clip broke soo easily, I don't even use that vent much as it's always pointed towards the window, the clip alone cannot be replaced, one has to replace the entire vent.

2. Alignment/Balancing: Ramani Cars, Hosur did the alignment and balancing at 7.5k kms and 15k kms, but after the first service, there was slight pull towards left and steering wheel centering was a bit off. Had to get it fixed outside.

3. I never use the charging port when the engine is turned off, but once I was on an important call and charged the phone with engine turned off. The next day the battery drained. There was an error on the cluster as well as the VW connect app for a few days, was thinking of clearing the error using obd eleven but the error went away on its own.

4. Engine refinement: When the car was new, one couldn't tell if the engine was turned on or not, but now there are very mild vibrations during idle,( I'm just writing this off due to age of the car as I've already driven 24k kms in a year). There is a jerk when you start the car (like a diesel engine). is anyone else experiencing this?

5. Sensitive to fuel: I strictly stick to IOCL XP95 and Shell V-power. Earlier most IOCL outlets used to have good quality XP95 but recently it's easy to tell which outlet has good quality fuel and which ones are selling regular petrol as XP95. If the quality isn't good, the engine doesn't pull as easily, the turbo lag is much more apparent and the shifts are jerky. Coming to the Shell V-Power, for the first time in life I noticed engine knocking sound, at first I thought it might be a bad batch of fuel , I gave a month break and refueled with V-power again, noticed the engine knocking sound again. Haven't refueled with V-power since February. This is not a VW issue but more of an issue with quality of the fuel available.


6. Trim rattling: There are minor sounds from various placed(dash ,rear doors) I've shown this multiple times to the service advisor, but they asked me to leave the car for at least 3 or 4 days to completely diagnose the source. I have postponed this as I don't have much free time till June.

7. Vibrations: I don't exactly remember when it started (most likely around 20,000 kms) but the car starts vibrating after 120kph and get's worse as you go faster. I thought it was alignment issue but there wasn't any pull towards left or right even at high speeds. (more on this later)

8. Braking: Nothing much to elaborate, just poor quality brakes.

All these are minor issues on their own but together they are very annoying.


First Service (15k kms):
This was in December 2022 and there weren't any complaints other than worn out brake pads and mild shuddering under braking. The service advisor at Ramani Cars, Hosur suggested to replace the brake pads and skim the disc (which was done outside). Which they did and it fixed all the issues. I had mentioned about the rattling sound due to loose trim but I couldn't leave the car for 3 or 4 days at that time. The bill was Rs. 12.5k not cheap for a first service.

Car insurance was due for renewal in April, spam calls from multiple insurance agents started well before a month in advance. I spoke to as many agents as I could and asked for two things, high IDV and a good deal on the insurance premium. Many offered 10 to 20% discount, cash back etc. but none offered more than 9 lakhs IDV, but Royal Sundaram offered 10 lakhs IDV with 20% NCB, Rs. 1200cash back offer as well with a low premium compared to others (Rs. 14,400).

Now coming to the pain of VW ownership.

Since my mile munching phase has slowed down significantly, I didn't go on long drives for few months and didn't get to stretch the legs of Polo on open Highways. Because of this I can't really be sure when the issue started but I noticed this around end of February this year. The car started vibrating mildly at 120 kph and got worse at higher speeds. Called the service advisor and talked about it briefly, but couldn't come to a conclusion without inspecting the car. There wasn't any pull to left or right when let go off steering completely, there wasn't any wobbling so I pushed off the visit to service center. 3 weeks ago I asked a service advisor at Bosch to check out the issue, he took it for a small drive and told me that Tire was the culprit. I was planning to visit the service center soon and at around the same time my front bumper got damaged when parked by a Tata Ace, there was an inch wide hole which I couldn't ignore.

Finally this incident warranted me to visit the service center. I would have visited the Hosur ASC, but they don't have a body shop and if one wanted to get body work done by Ramani Cars, we have to send the car to their Salem branch and the car owner has to bear the petrol expenses. So I decided to visit Elite Motors, Hosur Road(Singasandra). Even my friend decided to tag along as his Virtus 1.0 AT was due for first service. I will not mention any names but this has to be one of the worst service experiences for both of us.

At the time of drop off, I told the service advisor to replace the bumper by claiming insurance, they don't have cashless facility with Royal Sundaram. Before I continue my rant regarding elite motors, A thumbs up to Royal Sundaram, they sent the surveyor immediately and he completed the survey within 2 hours of registering the claim. They also sent the approval within 2 days. Back to the issue, I had mentioned the vibrations/wobbling, the rattling noise in trim so they asked me to get a general checkup and I obliged. Fast forward 7 days and I go to pick up the car and I notice paint scraped at the edges on the newly replaced and painted front bumper, when asked they said the body shop might have cut the paint during polishing and asked to come back the next day as they would repaint the bumper. I collected the car after 2 days, i'm not entirely sure if they repainted the bumper or just sprayed some pant at the edges but there wasn't any visual discrepancies so no harm done. The service advisor told me that they tried their best but couldn't pin point the cause for the vibrations at 120 kph or higher and suggested me to take the car to Madhu's wheel alignment as they have all the equipment required to check out everything. On the way back home I noticed the vibrations now started at 70 kph rather than 120 kph. The "VW Mechanics" just made it worse rather than fixing the issue. A quick call to the service advisor made me realize they didn't know how to rectify the issue. Oh yeah the general check up, not sure what exactly was done, they didn't check the wipers had to be replaced, they didn't fix the rattling noise, they didn't fix the loose beading on the boot door ( A black beading strip on the boot door comes with Legend edition), just a total waste of money.


The car was now undrivable as the vibrations were bad at 70 and got severe past 90 kph. I couldn't wait to make time and visit Madhus, instead I visited a nearby local Alignment place where they don't even use the laser alignment, but everything is done manually. After one quick test ride, they removed all 4 wheels to check for any issues with the alloys, the alloys were totally fine and just by visually inspecting the tires they said that issue was uneven wear. They removed the balancing weights added by the certified VW mechanics, swapped tires diagonally, rebalanced and now the vibrations are almost gone. How much did it cost me? 400rs for Alignment, 400rs for Balancing and 300rs for the weights. (1100 Rs total). The balancing guy said that after the swap, the wear and tear will be much higher now and to replace all 4 tires after a few thousand kms. The whole ordeal with elite motors service has left a sour taste in my mouth.

Adding to the list of issue with elite motors, like I mentioned earlier my friend also dropped his Virtus 1.0 AT for the first service as well as rear bumper replacement and dent removal on boot door (with repainting). It took them 3 weeks to finish the job ( they blamed HDFC insurance for the delay ), they didn't even touch the car to fix other issues as the car was sitting idle waiting for the liability from the insurance company. At the time of delivery, the same story repeats, the rear bumper wasn't fit properly, the boot would touch the bumper without locking, the tail lights on the boot weren't properly fixed, they even missed fitting back one of the license plate lights. They asked to leave the car for another day to fix all the issues *sigh*. Just be extra vigilant with Elite motors service division. People say it's a costly affair to own and maintain a German car but in this case even if you ready to bear the costs of maintenance but you are paying money to buy more issues


Enough of the rants,

I have a few queries to long time Polo owners,

1. Tires: What's the best tires for Polo (195/55 R16), some suggested me Continental or Yokohama Earth 1, but the Skoda advisor swears that continentals aren't that good and he has seen multiple continental tire failures, Our rapid has Earth 1s (R15) but I feel they don't offer the same grip as alternatives. Some suggested me to go for Michelin tires and this has left me in confusion. I am looking for something with good side wall strength without much comprise in grip. It's okay if they last for 30 to 40k kms as the current Good Years lasted for 20k kms before the vibrations kicked in.

2. Engine oil: Does it void warranty if we provide with engine oil of our choice rather than the Castrol 5W40 used in VW ASC ( given it's the same grade as suggested in manual)? If it doesn't void warranty what are some good engine oils for the sweet 1.0 TSI engine?

3. Brakes: Where can I source some Brembo Rotors in Bangalore? What are good alternatives which doesn't cost sky high?

Bonus:

Here's my fuel expense tracking



Cheers.

[MayurS]

Originally Posted by k491

2022 Polo GT Legend

1. Tires: What's the best tires for Polo (195/55 R16), some suggested me Continental or Yokohama Earth 1, but the Skoda advisor swears that continentals aren't that good and he has seen multiple continental tire failures, Our rapid has Earth 1s (R15) but I feel they don't offer the same grip as alternatives. Some suggested me to go for Michelin tires and this has left me in confusion. I am looking for something with good side wall strength without much comprise in grip. It's okay if they last for 30 to 40k kms as the current Good Years lasted for 20k kms before the vibrations kicked in.

2. Engine oil: Does it void warranty if we provide with engine oil of our choice rather than the Castrol 5W40 used in VW ASC ( given it's the same grade as suggested in manual)? If it doesn't void warranty what are some good engine oils for the sweet 1.0 TSI engine?

1. If you are okay with upsizing the tyre try the 205/55/16. My suggestion would be MRF Perfinza or Verdstein Ultrac Vorti. Steering would be bit heavier but grip levels are excellent.

2. Ask the SVC to use 0W20 oil grade which they use for Tiagun and Virtus 1.0 TSi. 0W20 is imported oil manufactured by Shell HongKong Divison. It will not void the warrenty

[fluidicjoy]

Originally Posted by k491

2022 Polo GT Legend
4. Engine refinement: When the car was new, one couldn't tell if the engine was turned on or not, but now there are very mild vibrations during idle,( I'm just writing this off due to age of the car as I've already driven 24k kms in a year). There is a jerk when you start the car (like a diesel engine). is anyone else experiencing this?

7. Vibrations: I don't exactly remember when it started (most likely around 20,000 kms) but the car starts vibrating after 120kph and get's worse as you go faster. I thought it was alignment issue but there wasn't any pull towards left or right even at high speeds. (more on this later)

8. Braking: Nothing much to elaborate, just poor quality brakes.

2. Engine oil: Does it void warranty if we provide with engine oil of our choice rather than the Castrol 5W40 used in VW ASC ( given it's the same grade as suggested in manual)? If it doesn't void warranty what are some good engine oils for the sweet 1.0 TSI engine?

Please have the engine mounts inspected. Violent jerks and increased vibrations, which are not exclusively felt on the steering wheel could potentially arise from issues with the engine mounts. Someone I know already had an engine mount replacement on this 1.0 TSI engine.

There are plenty of brake upgrade options available on this car, depending on your requirement and appetite for experiment. If you'd like to start small, please consider trying ATE brake pads or other brake pads with the stock discs. Merely replacing the Stock discs with Brembo discs meant as stock replacements will not give you a substantial braking improvement compared to trying a new braking combination. Plenty of Polo owners have liked the braking after trying pads like EBC YellowStuff, ATE etc. There are hundreds of threads, posts about brake upgrades with owner experiences that could help you get better brakes. If you'd like to go big, the Big Brake Kit is also naturally an option.

Originally Posted by MayurS

Ask the SVC to use 0W20 oil grade which they use for Tiagun and Virtus 1.0 TSi. 0W20 is imported oil manufactured by Shell HongKong Divison. It will not void the warrenty

How has your experience been with the 0W20 engine oil? Do you prefer the feel of 0W20 over 5W40 since you've driven both?

[TeaYesEye]

Originally Posted by k491

2022 Polo GT Legend


1. Broken AC vent clip, the driver side AC vent clip broke soo easily, I don't even use that vent much as it's always pointed towards the window, the clip alone cannot be replaced, one has to replace the entire vent.

This is a known issue and yes an eyesore and expensive one! I had to replace all the vents in my 2021 model

Originally Posted by k491

2022 Polo GT Legend

3. Brakes: Where can I source some Brembo Rotors in Bangalore? What are good alternatives which doesn't cost sky high?

Connect with Engineering Exponent in Whitefield via Instagram. They are the trustworthy FNG

[MayurS]

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

How has your experience been with the 0W20 engine oil? Do you prefer the feel of 0W20 over 5W40 since you've driven both?

Having use both grades I would say that engine noise was less during 5W40. I am using 0W20 nowadays and engine noise is more prominent. I would also like to point out that fuel efficiency is better by using 0W20 as compared to the 5W40, not by a big margin but 10-15% more.

[sameer_vwagner]

After a year of no hassles, the Polo decided to spring a surprise just before I was planning to take it for a spin to Valsad tomorrow morning.



Just as I was about to drop off my aunt, after crank up, the dreaded check engine light decided to illuminate itself. Called up my SA Rupesh at BU Bhandari and the first question he asked me is that if I topped up the tank within a day or two. I refilled with Power95 just a few hours back and he says it might be an injector issue.

Since the car is 18-months old, it’s covered under warranty and RSA. Called up the RSA number only for the system to disconnect the call 4 times. Got lucky the 5th time. RSA has arranged for a flat bed to pick the vehicle up tomorrow morning and they’ll be taking it to Mody at Mira Road.

Keeping fingers crossed this issue is resolved sooner. Will update this thread once I hear from Mody folks.

[k491]

Originally Posted by MayurS

I am using 0W20 nowadays and engine noise is more prominent. I would also like to point out that fuel efficiency is better by using 0W20 as compared to the 5W40, not by a big margin but 10-15% more.

Is the engine noise harsh or a deeper grunt (like that on Virtus 1.0)?

[MayurS]

Originally Posted by k491

Is the engine noise harsh or a deeper grunt (like that on Virtus 1.0)?

deeper grunt just like Virtus 1.0

[true_sedan]

Originally Posted by k491

2. Engine oil: Does it void warranty if we provide with engine oil of our choice rather than the Castrol 5W40 used in VW ASC ( given it's the same grade as suggested in manual)? If it doesn't void warranty what are some good engine oils for the sweet 1.0 TSI engine?

Yes you can use Castrol 5W40. As long as you don’t tell this at ASC no harm done. But never use oils of different grade. All the seals in the engine are designed to operate optimally at the recommended grade of oil. Using thinner oils can cause leaks and eventually may lead to premature wear. Only use 5W40 but avoid telling it at ASC.

Cheers!

[ankitsharma]

Originally Posted by k491

2022 Polo GT Legend

1 Year, 24,500 kms Update. Alternate Title : Re-discovering the pains of owning a VW group car.

4. Engine refinement: When the car was new, one couldn't tell if the engine was turned on or not, but now there are very mild vibrations during idle,( I'm just writing this off due to age of the car as I've already driven 24k kms in a year). There is a jerk when you start the car (like a diesel engine). is anyone else experiencing this?

5. Sensitive to fuel: I strictly stick to IOCL XP95 and Shell V-power. Earlier most IOCL outlets used to have good quality XP95 but recently it's easy to tell which outlet has good quality fuel and which ones are selling regular petrol as XP95. If the quality isn't good, the engine doesn't pull as easily, the turbo lag is much more apparent and the shifts are jerky. Coming to the Shell V-Power, for the first time in life I noticed engine knocking sound, at first I thought it might be a bad batch of fuel , I gave a month break and refueled with V-power again, noticed the engine knocking sound again. Haven't refueled with V-power since February. This is not a VW issue but more of an issue with quality of the fuel available.

Running the same EA211 under the hood of Skoda Rapid, I can vouch for the above 2 points. In fact I could feel the engine note and driving behavior changed right after the first service.

What had changed ?

1. Engine Oil
2. Software Update

I have reasons to believe that the factory fill oil was a different grade than being used here in India (0w20 maybe). This has been discussed multiple times on the forum as well.

And yes this car is a fuel tester for our family & friends. Even slightest change in quality can be detected very easily as you have mentioned. Turbo lag will increase, NVH levels will increase and you will have hard time accelerating.
Try filling in XP100 sometime.

Originally Posted by k491

I have a few queries to long time Polo owners,

2. Engine oil: Does it void warranty if we provide with engine oil of our choice rather than the Castrol 5W40 used in VW ASC ( given it's the same grade as suggested in manual)? If it doesn't void warranty what are some good engine oils for the sweet 1.0 TSI engine?

3. Brakes: Where can I source some Brembo Rotors in Bangalore? What are good alternatives which doesn't cost sky high?

Cheers.

I have resorted to changing the oil every ~7500 Kms for now. Once SMP is over I will resort to 10K oil changes. I had used LM Molygen 5w40 and the difference was night & day. NVH level decreased to considerable levels and the turbo lag had also reduced to quite a good level.
Then again 30K service I was back to high NVH. I will be trying out Mobil 1 or Motul this time.

You can get Brembo kits from Motrparts and Boodmo both.

[sameer_vwagner]

Originally Posted by sameer_vwagner

Keeping fingers crossed this issue is resolved sooner. Will update this thread once I hear from Mody folks.

Ths issue was identified as a faulty carbon canister that was replaced under warranty.

However, within 10 days, the CEL came alive on the console again. This time I requested folks at Volkswagen Downtown to rectify. Will keep this thread posted on what comes out.

[Phukan23]

Originally Posted by fluidicjoy

Allow me to explain the scene here. Volkswagen has offered quite a number of dual tone horn offerings in the past. Vehicles sold in the last few years have come with a single High Tone Horn, which is on the right side of the vehicle when you're looking at the vehicle.
Attachment 2119718
It is held on by a C-Clamp Horn Bracket. Now, Volkswagen offers a kit which replaces this C-Clamp bracket with a set of two horns which fit on a single bracket, and the Horn Signal wire is one which splits from the Stock Horn Connector. In this case, the dealership sells you the entire pair of Dual Tone Horns this replacing your stock brackets.
Attachment 2119720
The twist in the tale is Volkswagen has continued to keep an extra wiring socket for the horn in the left of the bumper. It is tied with a zip tie and covered with a weatherproof connector. Ideally, on older vehicles, a Low Tone Horn could be separately purchased and connected here from the mounting hole you can see. The 1.0 TSI Engine does not come with a mounting hole for the Low Tone Horn which we had previously.
Attachment 2119723
This is a picture of the present component. However, I purchased a Low-Tone horn with a Harness from the dealership, and we drilled a suitable hole in the location and managed to get the Dual Horns working. Notice the absence of the hole which you can clearly see in the above photo, which is from a 2018 Polo GT TSI. The dealership sold me the Low Tone Horn, Bracket, Wiring Harness and the bolt for Rs. 3000. After drilling the hole, everything was a perfect fit. Now the horn sounds like it should.
Attachment 2119721
Attachment 2119722

Also, did you mean to refer to the T-Roc's Flip Camera? Since the Tiguan has no provision to have a Flip Camera. Why don't you go for the Genuine Flip Camera I went for? I can help you source it for a fair price for your Polo. You can read more details on my thread and I am happy to help you install it.

After removing the weatherproof connector, we can now directly plug it in the horn, and there is no further requirement for any other tweaks on the wiring end, right? The picture below denotes the blue arrow as the weatherproof connector, and the yellow denotes the connector that will be directly connected to the horn, isn't it?

[Sierra__foxtrot]

Hello, My 2021 GT TSI has clocked shy of 50k kms and I need to change the tyre. Pretty straightforward but I want to upsize them or is it even possible ? The current size is 195 55 R16. need some suggestion on which brand and what size. thanks

[MayurS]

Originally Posted by Sierra__foxtrot

Hello, My 2021 GT TSI has clocked shy of 50k kms and I need to change the tyre. Pretty straightforward but I want to upsize them or is it even possible ? The current size is 195 55 R16. need some suggestion on which brand and what size. thanks

205/55/16
Options are MRF Perfinza, Continental UC6, Vredestein Ultrac Vorti, Apollo Alnac & CEAT Sportsdrive

[MayurS]

Originally Posted by Phukan23

After removing the weatherproof connector, we can now directly plug it in the horn, and there is no further requirement for any other tweaks on the wiring end, right? The picture below denotes the blue arrow as the weatherproof connector, and the yellow denotes the connector that will be directly connected to the horn, isn't it?

You have to invert the position of the wire inside the yellow one. Remove the wires with terminal removal tool and change their position from 1-2 & 2-1.