Polo Front anti-roll bar!!

[d1esel]

Hi, mine is a 1.4tdi 02reg polo with 30k on the clock. The front roll bar bushes have collapsed and the dealers say it needs a new bar and updated bushes. £260 all in sounds a bit steep to me. Anybody know of a way to get vw to help out?

[Pozzer6]

Hi

I have a 3 year old 1.4 SE with 40k miles which developed squeaking then knocking from front end. My local independent garage has told me its the anti roll bar which has moved and is rubbing on the suspension mount. It also looks like the bushes are coming adrift. I'm taking the car to the VW garage on wednesday so we'll see what they say ! Seems to me to be a fault but I can't find anything on the VW site.

Pozzer

[cyelland]

Hello, I have a Polo 1.4 SE FSI, 2003, with 42k on the clock. Took it in for MOT today and they tell me an anti-roll bar needs replacing,costing £170. Sounds like other people had this problem too, so I don't feel *quite* as angry as I did about 1/2 hr ago. I have to say that my Polo has been extremely expensive since the warranty expired, the heater went wrong £600, the inlet manifold went wrong, another £600, endless problems. Also I am very unhappy about the VW servicing, i.e. extremely expensive, and when told to fix a problem they do half a job, and create another 4 or 5 problems. Here's another problem: the door mirror adjustment. When set to 'R' the joystick adjusts BOTH mirrors at the same time. I told my local dealer this and they told me "oh it's meant to do that" ha ha yeah right! So why didn't it do this when new? "No idea sir!" Rubbish. I must look like a moron or something. I am driving my Polo for another year and getting rid of it. Needless to say I am never going buy another VW either new or used. It's back to Japanese for me. My previous car was a second hand Micra and it never went wrong in 10 years.

[Clem]

Hello all,

I had this problem on my previous POLO a 2003 1.4 FSI Sport. It had done less than 20k miles when it developed a knocking sound from the front.

Dealer told me it needed a new roll bar because the bushes were worn.
In the past these bushes could be replaced seperately, now they are bonded to the roll bar.

When I took the car along to have the work done they took the roll bar off
then realised the did'nt have a new one in stock ! They refitted the old one and I had to go back 2 days later to have it done.

These bushes seem to be a problem on the newer models. I wonder if any other moderls in the VW range have the same trouble.

[cyelland]

hmmm..well my car wasn't making any funny noises. Maybe the VW garage justs thought "ahh, here's another mug - let come out with anti-roll bar story". VW = rip off.

[g40jon]

try powerflex! they sell retro-fit poly bushes. all you have to do is remove the old ones and refit the new ones. they will last much longer and you wont have to replace the ARB. if you dont want to diy it, most ecent independant will fit them for you and it will still work out cheaper, plus your car will handle better too.

[NeilMorey]

My Wife's Polo had exactly same problem, the plastic bushes deteriorate with age and then the bar is free to move about and hits the underbody making the knocking noise.

The bushes aren't designed to be replaced but a decent garage wil be able to repair rather than replace by using a slightly smaller bush to make up for the wear that has occurred.

I got told all this by Bellingham Motors in Edinburgh who successfully fixed it on our car.

[BODGE]

Hi, mine is a 1.4tdi 02reg polo with 30k on the clock. The front roll bar bushes have collapsed and the dealers say it needs a new bar and updated bushes. £260 all in sounds a bit steep to me. Anybody know of a way to get vw to help out?

02 models had a weak anti roll bar according to a friend of mine who also had and 02 plate (like myself). When it failed after a measily 20,000 low miles he complained to VW UK who acknowledged it wasn't upto the job but refused to reimburse him for either the new uprated part or the labour costs involved in having it changed.

Mine failed at 57,000 miles - not cheap to get it repaired.

[BODGE]

Hello, I have a Polo 1.4 SE FSI, 2003, with 42k on the clock. Took it in for MOT today and they tell me an anti-roll bar needs replacing,costing £170. Sounds like other people had this problem too, so I don't feel *quite* as angry as I did about 1/2 hr ago. I have to say that my Polo has been extremely expensive since the warranty expired, the heater went wrong £600, the inlet manifold went wrong, another £600, endless problems. Also I am very unhappy about the VW servicing, i.e. extremely expensive, and when told to fix a problem they do half a job, and create another 4 or 5 problems. Here's another problem: the door mirror adjustment. When set to 'R' the joystick adjusts BOTH mirrors at the same time. I told my local dealer this and they told me "oh it's meant to do that" ha ha yeah right! So why didn't it do this when new? "No idea sir!" Rubbish. I must look like a moron or something. I am driving my Polo for another year and getting rid of it. Needless to say I am never going buy another VW either new or used. It's back to Japanese for me. My previous car was a second hand Micra and it never went wrong in 10 years.

i've had a lot of suspension problems with mine, plus the fact that both motors for both rear windows are faulty. Also found out today that the A/C compressor has failed.

I agree - I'll not be buying VW again. Had a Ford previously - much cheaper to run and it was more reliable.

[NeilMorey]

I think people are a bit optimistic expecting a dealer to pay out on a 6-7 year old car after 30,000 miles. You might claim it's a low mileage but unless it's been main dealer serviced all it's life I can't see a good will payment be offered. Maintenance is part and parcel of owning an older car.