Team-BHP - VW Polo - Maintenance and Service cost and dos/don'ts

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sid13 (Post 4925809)

However, when enquired they said that they would do the service, but wont recommend a 1 year or 15000 km oil change. He says under our Hot, dusty and humid climate conditions along with bad traffic, no engine oil would give optimum protection to engine for 1 year or 15K kms. He recommends oil change in 6 months or 8K kms. He also added, when VW polo was launched the service interval was 6 months and later was changed to 1 year because it offers a marketing advantage. In his perspective the car which gets annual oil change is likely develop engine issues after the warranty period, and it adversely affect longevity of the engine. He said its quite okay if you plan to sell off the car after 5 years or so.

FINALLY, a mechanic who knows what he is talking about!

What he has told you is absolutely worth it’s weight in gold. If you want your engine to last as long as possible, for Indian city conditions, change your oil & oil filter every 5,000-8,000kms. I personally follow the 5,000kms interval in my vehicles with high running & my vehicles haven’t required any engine work apart from regular wear & tear parts.

This is why Toyota & Honda recommends 6 month (or sometimes 5,000kms) oil changes for a lot of their vehicles because Indian conditions are harsh especially in the cities.

I find it amusing when people crib about the short service intervals because obviously they haven’t got a clue about engine degradation due to dirty/contaminated oil.

This is the reason why engines which have had regular oil changes every 5,000kms continue to run flawlessly well over 250,000kms whereas the ones with 15,000kms intervals start burning oil well before 100,000kms.

It’s your choice, but if you want your engine to last as long as possible, change the oil every 6 months or every 5,000-8,000kms.

The OEMs will be happy to sell you a new car after 5 yrs if your engine blows up due to planned obsolescence.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChoosetoCruze (Post 4925819)

FINALLY, a mechanic who knows what he is talking about

This is why Toyota & Honda recommends 6 month (or sometimes 5,000kms) oil changes for a lot of their vehicles because Indian conditions are harsh especially in the cities.

The mechanic quoted the same example. Honda recommends most of its cars oil change every 6 months. He says a honda petrol car which has had timely periodic service is much unlikely to loose freshness of engine, let alone engine failure, even after a decade of use. And the service interval has lot to do with it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sid13 (Post 4925809)

Hence I was planning to use Liqui Molly engine flush as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sid13 (Post 4925852)

The mechanic quoted the same example. He says a honda petrol car which has had timely periodic service is much unlikely to loose freshness of its engine let alone engine failure even after a decade of use. And the service interval has lot to do with it.

Never flush engine oil unless there is a LOT of sludge within the engine. If you flush oil in your engine, it is very likely to start burning oil with age because the flush will allow oil to get past the seals and only bad things start happening from there on. Stick to changing your oil every 5,000kms and you’ll never ever have to flush your engine oil.

Same goes for automatic transmission, don’t flush it otherwise you increase the risk of it slipping prematurely. Never flush engine & transmission fluids.

My Nissan Micra 2010 AT is still running smoothly at 170,000kms with fresh mineral oil every 5,000kms. The car still accelerates & the transmission shifts smoothly just like a brand new example, even though I drive her hard. Apart from wear & tear part replacements, the engine & transmission is untouched.

Remember, take care of your vehicle & the vehicle will take care of you.

Don’t fall for marketing gimmicks or everything you read on TBHP. Do your own research & never blindly trust anything you read on the internet (especially this forum). At the end of the day, it’s your money & it’s your vehicle.

Guys, a few months back my Polo's front axle boot got damaged and the VW service center asked to do the replacement as soon as possible because any water/dust entered could damage the axle itself if not changed immediately, I wanted to change it soon but unfortunately since this part rarely requires a change, the ASC didn't have in stock and told they would call me when the part arrives. My father called up a few times but the stock didn't arrive and then the lockdown happened.

Recently, I found out a FNG with good reviews who work on German cars too. Since I had to replace steering rack as well and the ASC was charging me a bomb, I decided to give my car here. They sourced me the front axle boot as well within 1-2 week.

Now the problem is, I'm having slight knock sound coming from the axle when I lock the steering to one end and move the car. I immediately informed the garage guy and he says that it is because I drove a lot after the axle boot got damaged, hence there was a slight damage to the axle as well. He says it is okay to drive and I have to change the whole axle to get rid of the knock sound but it's better to change only if it gets worse.

My question is, there was no sound before I gave the car to the garage, even though the part was broken. Now after the part is changed, I'm getting the knock sound. The justification to this is that there was mud and other dust particles stuck inside which caused the sound to not appear earlier. :confused:

Could this have been an error from their side? Maybe they damaged the axle while removing the axle boot perhaps? Any ideas?

Hello All,

I am observing a problem with the radiator fan in my car (Polo 1.2 TDI). I generally hear the fan starting once I take the ignition keys off after a drive of around an hour , but off late it looks like the radiator fans are not starting on its own once I switch off the engine after these drives.

I later did a cold start and kept the engine idle with AC turned off for around 25 minutes to check on whether the radiator fan will start automatically , but the results were negative. I later switched on the AC and I could see that the radiator fan starting when the AC is switched on.

I did drive for more than 3 hours and did not get any temperature warnings in the instrument cluster. Those drives were with AC on , so not sure whether that could be the reason.

Will this be due to any issues with the thermostat? Is there any other way in which I can confirm the same?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ankur_fox (Post 4937503)

Hi guys,

I noticed a peculiar problem with my AC. After about 1 hour of constant running, the FAN reduces its output capacity by about 95%. I have to shut down the AC system completely for 3 minutes or more to get it throwing cool air normally again.

When the difference between the ambient temperature in the car and set temperature is high, the blowers run at higher speeds. When the difference between the ambient and set temperatures are low, the blowers reduce their speed. This is by design.
You may want to also check whether the temperature sensor is working properly and that the cabin filter isn't chocked.

Quote:

Originally Posted by swissknife (Post 4938300)

Thanks but its not the thermostat / temperature sensor and the cabin filter is brand new. The blower speed reduces to almost 0 and does not increase even after manually increasing the speed. Further, a strange mini-vibrating noise is heard and felt right through to the accelarator pedal ... as if the blower fan is grinding on small stones.

However, when I stop the blower for 3 or more minutes, its as if the AC system resets itself and then restarts normally.

An hour later, rinse and repeat. I'm baffled as to what is causing this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ambersariya87 (Post 4931731)

There is metallic noise coming from engine. I was told that there is some issue with idler bearing and that needs to be replaced.
I went ahead with replacement and the noise went away for a new few days and now it's back again.

A golden rule when diagnosing a worn out pulley run by the drive belt is to check all the other pulleys/bearings driven by the drive belt. Often, there are more than just one pulley which has worn out. I’m not surprised at the lack of skill by your ASC.

For your better understanding of the problem in your car - https://youtu.be/UqLXwN2GNeU

Quote:

Originally Posted by logicalidiot (Post 4935705)

Now after the part is changed, I'm getting the knock sound.

Could this have been an error from their side? Maybe they damaged the axle while removing the axle boot perhaps?

The trouble with a CV boot ripping & letting the grease out is, it’s a question of when and not if the joint will start clicking. Your symptoms indicate a classic case of the CV joint itself having worn out & needing replacing.

I don’t know how long you drove the car with the ripped boot, or if the FNG did a shoddy repair, but it’s too late for all that now. Your best (safest) option now, is to replace the CV axle as the damage has already been done.

This video will explain it better - https://youtu.be/Ot_CgAjyCFQ

Quote:

Originally Posted by Napo (Post 4937562)

Is there any other way in which I can confirm the same?

Check your coolant temperature sensor reading using a good quality scan tool. It sounds as if it’s not recording an accurate reading, as a result, it isn’t signalling the cooling fans to turn on.

Do all your cooling fans turn on when you switch on the AC, or only one?

Here’s a video to help you diagnose - https://youtu.be/iUuK5t-9fiQ

Quote:

Originally Posted by ankur_fox (Post 4937503)

After about 1 hour of constant running, the FAN reduces its output capacity by about 95%. I have to shut down the AC system completely for 3 minutes or more to get it throwing cool air normally again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ankur_fox (Post 4938405)

The blower speed reduces to almost 0 and does not increase even after manually increasing the speed. Further, a strange mini-vibrating noise is heard and felt right through to the accelarator pedal ... as if the blower fan is grinding on small stones.

However, when I stop the blower for 3 or more minutes, its as if the AC system resets itself and then restarts normally.

Sounds like your blower motor is on its way out. Try slapping the dash above the blower motor & check if that gets it’s running again. If it does, you caught the culprit red handed.

Watch this video to diagnose the problem accurately - https://youtu.be/4edK8fa-Ypg