2002 VW Polo Exhaust Emissions Warning Light

[Snave]

I bought a 2002 Polo 1.2 just after Christmas and noticed it would chug like hell when idle a few weeks later. Took it into the dealer (not a VW one) who changed the spark plugs and one of the coils after diagnosing a cylinder misfiring fault - but this did absolutely nothing. I was told that it probably wasn't doing any damage to the car so just to come back if it got any worse.

Today I was driving home and the engine emission light came on for the first time. I pulled over and checked the book and it told me to take it in to the garage - I did so but all of the mechanics had gone home and I was told to bring it back tommorrow morning.

Bit wary to take it in now it's out of warranty as I don't want them throwing parts at it if it's not going to fix it!

I noticed no lack of performance or any chugginess when the light came on but I would prefer it if it would disappear!

Has anyone had any luck getting rid of any idling problems similar to mine? I'd be hugely greatful if I could avoid a trip to the garage!

Cheers

Josh

[STEOGORMAN]

Mine comes on and off regular, but what i have noticed is the temp gauge goes up and down even when engine is hot,so car thinks its cold when really it isn't and it can affect tickover. Not sure what to do. I asked a mechanic but he thought the temp switch on engine looked ok as normally he said they go all green and furry and the two wired variety were more reliable than the previous four wires. Anyone got any ideas what course of action to take?

[darkwall]

Hi,

My 2003 Polo FSI has been running fine since I bought it (just over 4 months and 2000 miles ago) then yesterday it felt as though I was in the wrong gear when approaching a roundabout (the car was juddering) and the Exhaust warning lamp came on... I stopped and got towed home.
I was going to take it to VW today but after reading all the comments on here I'm not sure that is the best thing to do!

I'm happy to do any work on my car but I don't want to risk doing any more damage to it than there already is - the car seems to idle at very low revs (approx 550 to 600 rpm) and sounds very rough - as though its running on 2 or 3 cylinders instead of 4.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - I live in the Preston (Lancashire) area and don't know a local garage who can do the diagnostics for me.

Cheers...

[darkwall]

Just to give an update on what I have done with my 2003 Polo (1.4 FSI)
As it sounded as though it was running on 3 cylinders;
I disconnected the coil packs one at a time and started the engine for a couple of seconds, if it sounded worse then I was sure that the one I had disconnected was OK, I then replaced it and moved onto the next one... Sure enough this showed that when I disconnected one of them it made no difference. I then knew that the fault was definitely with either the coil pack or the spark plug...
From reading some of the other posts about 1 pack failing then subsequent packs going I changed all 4 plugs and all 4 coil packs. Cost £139.50 for all of the parts and took about 20 minutes to change them all over.
Car is now back together and is running smoother than ever before. I may well have changed parts that weren’t faulty but at least I know that for under £150 I've got new plugs and coil packs so I should be OK for a few more miles now...
Hope that this helps someone else with a similar problem in the future

[STEOGORMAN]

get your timing chains checked as mine jumped/broke still don't know which to the tune of £800. The car just wouldn't start, had to tow it from my drive 1/4 of a mile away as AA wouldn't come cos i didn't have homestart but could upgrade for 70 quid. But i knew it must be something to do with the orange light that had plagued my life on and off. AA came fair play, spent 2 hours trying to get it going but his original hunch was right that the timing chain had jumped. Towed it to the dealers as my local garage were too busy took 3 days they also changed the oil pump, got it back low and behold next day the bloody light came on again. Back to dealers again, said they had put it on the diagnostic machine, canceled the light and wouldn't charge me as i was such a good customer

[wipy]

my golf 2001 showed the emission warning light a few days ago. the car drives ok i think, just a bit jerky at low gears.

i took it to local dealer who charged me 35 quid for a diagnostic check.

that revealed a '16486 P0102 mass air sporadic: flow circuit-g7 low input" which they said would require a new air flow meter. is this a common problem? how much do they cost?

2 other faults showed up which are apparently due to the air flow problem (namely pressure dropped in connection turbocharger to throttle valve, and mixture adaptation system too rich). what do these mean and are they related to the air flow problem?

he reset the computer so the light is not showing. can i still drive my car until the light shows up again? or should i replace the air flow meter?

would be grateful for any advice.

[Jimjim1]

Hi. I am having a simular but different problem which I think is due to the Lambda sensor but any help would be great. My 2001 1 Litre Polo is running fine except on long journeys or when it's pushed. If the car is pushed say on a motorway then it's guarenteed that the Engine Management light will come on. A few days later and it will probably go off again. During this time there is no drop in performance etc. Any suggestions!!! Cheers...

[freakyshadows]

mine happens in the same conditions, either a long trip or hard drive, with my 2002 1.2 polo. I thought maybe it was the carbon or other deposits lifting off due to the engine gettting properly hot.

Mine also goes off after a few days. Thought these deposits might lift off and interfere with the sensor some how?

I also dont have any change in performance or fuel consumption so I assume its nothing to worry about!