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-   -   VW Polo - Maintenance and Service cost and dos/don'ts (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/101925-vw-polo-maintenance-service-cost-dos-donts-96.html)

We use Sundaram Motors in Whites Road.

OK, so even without all those tempting extras, I still think the total is a lot for an annual service, but they are happy to listen to what I don't want. and even to tell me what I don't need.

4th Service this year. Warranty over. The field will be open, and I'll probably go to Ignite as I live nearby.

Two Polos, two denting/painting jobs. One was done by Sundaram, one by Ignite. On balance, Sundaram wins for speed.

I need to adjust the left full beam on my Polo. It has regular H4 headlamps. I could manage to locate hex bolts on top of the headlight assembly but i am confused which ones are for horizontal and vertical beam adjustment.
A picture will give a better understanding if anyone has done this exercise.

I did the headlamp alignment a few years ago. I figured this out by turning the adjusters, one at a time, by multiple complete rotations, and resetting each adjuster to its prior position, before proceeding onto the next.

After having done so for one headlamp, you should be able to figure it out, while preserving the current alignment at the end of it. I don't remember which adjuster is for horizontal adjustment, and vertical adjustment. I would have provided a straight answer, otherwise.

My Polo was starting to shudder while braking softly. Shudder doesnt come if I press the pedals hard. The car is now at 50,000 km and had undergone a disk rotor replacement at 25,000 km due to warped rotors. I am not that kind to the brakes. My office commute is a 15km highway and I tend to brake quite late. But definitely not very aggressive. The first rotor replacement was a bit of surprise since I expected VW parts to take the beating longer. No issues on the brake pads though so they were not replaced.

VW Trivandrum did a round of tests and confirmed a very slight warping on the new rotors. I was angry this time since I cannot believe that VW OEM rotors cannot stand 25000km of highway use. And this is the 2nd time ! I asked them to skim the rotors rather than replace. No change in brake pads since they are still in very good shape. Cost me 1900/- for the skimming + other charges.

I gave a negative feedback since I really cannot understand how the rotors start warping at 25000km and the brake pads are absolutely in perfect shape. VW Trivandrum has checked the hubs etc and said they are perfect. The CRM tried to pacify me saying that this happens in ALL cars. He went on to say that other manufacturers apply emery paper sanding on the rotors during routine service. This is a mini-skimming kind of and therefore no one notices such issues. But it seems VW strictly prohibits sanding the rotors using emery paper and that is why after some usage the debris build up causes uneven rotors.

I am like :Frustrati !

Hey kutts, your agony is eerily similar to mine, and even the clicks on your Polo are identical. :Frustrati

I have had to change the rotors and pads at around 22K kms on my GT, and they probably only lasted for 20K kms more. This is completely ridiculous, and at best cheap.

I have decided to go ahead and source some premium rotors and brake pads, as I am pretty sure OEM will never change.

All you had to do was to spell out the car model to that genius....it is a POLO not a PORSCHE!! :D

I have driven Swifts/I20 Diesels which have clocked nearly 70K kms and the last thing they do is shudder upon hard braking.

I always thought if you are changing discs that have warped then changing the pads is mandatory as well. At least that is what I did when I got my discs skimmed on the Pajero long time ago. Never had warping again till the discs reached their service life. More recently I changed the discs and the pads all together.

This is another common issue with the Polo/Vento/Rapid. IIRC, Skoda had even issued an advisory to replace the discs under warranty. I remember someone in the forum mentioning that. Don't fall for the CRM's tricks & let him know that you will give him the rating he wants if he can do a warranty replacement of the discs at least, since this is a known issue.

I had this shuddering issue in my Polo which started when the odo was around 8k kms. As the odo touched 13k kms, it became unbearable. It used to happen when braking from speeds above 70-80kmph. Changed the brake pads to Brembo red & it's 95% fixed. I can feel a wee bit of vibration still, but it's not really noticeable. The bite is stronger and it gives much more confidence during highway drives. The pads are holding up well even when I'm nearing the 34k kms mark:

I noticed the brake shudder for the first time at 18k kms on my GT TSI. Since my car rarely sees highway duty, I guess I did not experience it earlier. But a couple of months back I took it out on the highway and the brakes would vibrate badly while trying to slow down from high speeds. I also noticed that stopping power is extremely poor once the brakes heat up.

I pointed it out to the service advisor during regular service and was even prepared to change the rotors and pads. Guess what? The service advisor says it is normal in our cars so don't bother changing :Frustrati

In fact the braking in this car is so poor that the 1.2 TSI + DSG combo is a borderline dangerous variant. The recently introduced 1.0 MPI engine is more suitable given the kind of brakes it comes with. I am sure in this variant there won't be any complains from the brakes. :uncontrol

Could you help me with information on where you purchased the brembo pads from. I would like this upgrade on my GT. Thanks in advance. :)

I bought it from a nearby car accessories dealer. But I see that it's available in Amazon:
Brembo pads

There are two types of pads for Polo, depending on the model year. The link I posted above seems to be the Type 2 pads. Make sure you contact the seller & choose the right type for your car.

Could you help me understand your diagnosis of shuddering on the Polo a bit more.
As I understand the rotors are still warped, correct ?
How will replacing with a different brand of pads (Brembo) help in this case ?

Hi guys,

I have to send my Vento TSI for a servicing tomorrow. I have chosen the VW downtown service centre in Sewri (after my brother's not-so-great experience with the Andheri E workshop).

They asked me if I want to go for a 2 years AMC. The 'discounted' cost is 28k, which is the same as two regular services. I wanted to know if there was anyone here that might have opted for this and whether it's worth it?

For those who are interested, I have attached the details of the AMC.

Thanks!
VENTO TSI.pdf

Hi Folks,

One of my friend has accidentally broken the fuel lid cover connector in her Polo. I suppose the entire assembly needs to be replaced right?

Please help!

My Polo GT TDI had shuddering too. Then I realised it was actually the car quaking with fear at being serviced by EVM.lol: Jokes aside, did you try getting your wheels balanced. This was what sorted out the issue for me. Later on I used to notice that the alloys of the Polo are prone to bends due to sharp impacts. Any time this happens the wheel balancing is affected. The bends were noticeable only on the inner edge and not on the outside. I then used to make it a point to get the wheels balanced every 10K kms. I used the car for 90K kms and never saw the need to change the discs. Pads used to last about 45K kms. Used a no name brand as well as Bosch pads after the first change.

I am a bit surprised as I was very happy with the braking of my GT TDI which is a heavier car. I would think that the GT TSI being lighter should be even better in this department. I had upsized the tyres to 205/55 R15 though which would definitely have a positive impact on the braking.

Drive on,
Shibu.

Hi, I understand that the brake shudder could be caused due to the rotors getting warped, but I'm not sure if my rotors were warped. When I replaced the pads, I did run my fingers over the surface of the discs and they didn't have any sort of deep grooves or any uneven patterns. And even now, the surface feels and looks pretty much the same. From my limited technical knowledge and experience, I couldn't notice anything wrong. I'd also like to hear a better analysis from someone who is more technically knowledgeable on the matter.