VW Polo Engine Cutting Out
Discussion
Hello all, I am new to these forums, and know bugger all about cars, so will explain my car and situation as carefully as I can.
I have done a lot of searching on here and other forums, I have found similar issues, but nothing conclusive which has helped.
I have recently bought a VW Polo, 1.4 automatic, 2003 (the model with the round headlights), 26000 miles on the clock (not sure I believe it either), generally in very good condition, and typically drives very nicely.
Shortly after buying, the engine management light came on, and I had a couple of instances where the engine cut out (more detail on that later). After pulling over and re-starting all seems fine, until it happens again.
I took it to a garage (German car specialist) who ran the fault codes, it had a lot of errors, but they all seemed to be pointing toward the throttle actuator (or something very similar, I am at work so will check the exact wording this evening). They replaced that, and it cleared up all the errors - engine management light is now off again. Also had a 'health check' and service, all seemed fine. They did point out that there was a very minor oil leak in the automatic gearbox, but nothing that needed urgent attention.
Drove off and later that day, the engine cut out again. This has happened a few times now, and there seem to be two very specific times / ways that it happens;
1. When at low revs/idling (i.e. say during a parking manoeuvre) the engine will simply cut out, the engine management light comes on. Only happens occasionally, cant really discern a pattern to when it does or does not. Simply turn off the engine, restart and all fine - engine management light has gone off.
2. When accelerating (say for example when kicking down to get the auto gearbox to drop a gear) it will cut out, the oil light comes on, and there are three audible beeps. Again pull over, re-start and all is fine.
I have it booked into the garage again this Saturday, but was just wondering if anyone can provide any advice, as I am starting to feel like I am throwing money at what is a nice, but essentially not very valuable car.
Internet research I have done has pointed to hall sensor/distributor for case 1 above, and oil pressure valve for case 2 above. Have not found anything that would cause both of the above. Have to stress that I don't know (beyond a basic understanding of the words involved) what any of those things mean!
Any advice much appreciated.
I have done a lot of searching on here and other forums, I have found similar issues, but nothing conclusive which has helped.
I have recently bought a VW Polo, 1.4 automatic, 2003 (the model with the round headlights), 26000 miles on the clock (not sure I believe it either), generally in very good condition, and typically drives very nicely.
Shortly after buying, the engine management light came on, and I had a couple of instances where the engine cut out (more detail on that later). After pulling over and re-starting all seems fine, until it happens again.
I took it to a garage (German car specialist) who ran the fault codes, it had a lot of errors, but they all seemed to be pointing toward the throttle actuator (or something very similar, I am at work so will check the exact wording this evening). They replaced that, and it cleared up all the errors - engine management light is now off again. Also had a 'health check' and service, all seemed fine. They did point out that there was a very minor oil leak in the automatic gearbox, but nothing that needed urgent attention.
Drove off and later that day, the engine cut out again. This has happened a few times now, and there seem to be two very specific times / ways that it happens;
1. When at low revs/idling (i.e. say during a parking manoeuvre) the engine will simply cut out, the engine management light comes on. Only happens occasionally, cant really discern a pattern to when it does or does not. Simply turn off the engine, restart and all fine - engine management light has gone off.
2. When accelerating (say for example when kicking down to get the auto gearbox to drop a gear) it will cut out, the oil light comes on, and there are three audible beeps. Again pull over, re-start and all is fine.
I have it booked into the garage again this Saturday, but was just wondering if anyone can provide any advice, as I am starting to feel like I am throwing money at what is a nice, but essentially not very valuable car.
Internet research I have done has pointed to hall sensor/distributor for case 1 above, and oil pressure valve for case 2 above. Have not found anything that would cause both of the above. Have to stress that I don't know (beyond a basic understanding of the words involved) what any of those things mean!
Any advice much appreciated.
Get a copy of the fault codes. If the garage keep charging you to do this then buy a bluetooth OBD2 adaptor (ebay £12) and load the Torque app onto your smartphone. This will allow you to read and reset the fault codes.
There are so many things that may be causing the issue, IIRC the idle needs to be set with a computer, has it had any major work, cambelt replaced? Could be coil pack, plugs all sorts of things. Each time it cuts out you need to read the codes, copy them and delete. However they may be a red herring as often a code appears when power is lost that is not the cause of the problem which can start people off into a "code xyz - replace that then" situation.
There are so many things that may be causing the issue, IIRC the idle needs to be set with a computer, has it had any major work, cambelt replaced? Could be coil pack, plugs all sorts of things. Each time it cuts out you need to read the codes, copy them and delete. However they may be a red herring as often a code appears when power is lost that is not the cause of the problem which can start people off into a "code xyz - replace that then" situation.
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