Handbrake update

[Pololass]

Got car in June last year and found the handbrake to be very poor - in fact it didn’t hold on a hill and when you live in Yorkshire that’s not great. Went back to dealer who said the wrong cables had been fitted and replaced them.
To be honest, it was better but not brilliant and a couple of times recently there’s been a lot of play and I’ve had to use both hands to pull it up high enough to hold. Anyway hubby, who rarely drives the car, has encountered the ‘burning clutch smell’ so booked it back in at the dealership so thought I’d get everything done at once.
Clutch - no problem found (no surprise there)
Rear middle seat belt - fixed
Handbrake - more new cables needed - 4/5 day delivery- so will need to take it back. Where are these cables coming from? Why did the last ones only last 6 months or did they fit the ‘wrong’ ones again?
I also asked them to clean inside the windscreen as the shipping document was clearly legible when the windscreen steamed up although, having read grudgey’s post, I look to have got off lightly!

[Andy Beats]

The burning clutch smell is presumably when he does a hill start?
It's a difficult one, it really is.
The trouble with the 95, in my opinion, is that it feels like it's going to stall on a hill start, so it's easy to overcompensate for this feeling and pile on the revs.
Revs + slipping clutch = smell.
The dealer won't be able to replicate the smell if they just drive around their place, or if the mechanic is more used to the feeling and doesn't pile on the revs.
Really, it just needs practice.
I've found myself that the car won't actually stall, or not very easily, it just feels like it will.
It's the most peculiar car I've ever driven in this respect, I'm just glad I don't have to do hill starts very often.
It can make a very experienced driver feel like a beginner.

[Pololass]

I think he maybe slips the clutch a bit cos he’s used to driving a van so not used to how poor the polo is at low revs but he swears not! It’s happened twice to me - when I was reversing uphill round a corner (with hindsight a 3 point turn might have been easier) and then turning off the main road onto the steep incline to our garage - 2nd gear was a no no so I had to put it into 1st and got ‘the smell’.
Like hubby says if we need a new clutch at some point (bearing in mind the car only does about 4K miles a year) then at least it’s on their records as being flagged as an issue.
Not sure if the mechanics even took it out - if they did it was for less than a mile cos I noted the mileage when I dropped it off.

[Andy Beats]

It is a worry, as any garage will just claim 'wear and tear' if the clutch needs replaced.
I find I mollycoddle the clutch now.

[SRGTD]

Like hubby says if we need a new clutch at some point (bearing in mind the car only does about 4K miles a year) then at least it’s on their records as being flagged as an issue.
Not sure if the mechanics even took it out - if they did it was for less than a mile cos I noted the mileage when I dropped it off.

Under VW’s new car factory warranty, the clutch is only covered for six months or 6,500 miles, whichever happens first. Any issues after that are deemed to be wear and tear.

[Andy Beats]

Under VW’s new car factory warranty, the clutch is only covered for six months or 6,500 miles, whichever happens first. Any issues after that are deemed to be wear and tear.

I think that would be easily challenged under UK consumer law.
Clearly, 6500 miles is NOT a 'reasonable time' for a clutch to last.
And VW putting this stipulation in their warranty doesn't override UK consumer law.
I hope I never need the opportunity to test them on this, but I bloody-well would if it came to it.

[Muldoon]

I agree it does feel very weak on hill starts - combined with the stiff handbrake and trying to judge the revs / biting point it's more difficult than it should be. Maybe it is due to the small 3 cylinder engine not having enough power from standstill to get the car moving, this is the first 3 cylinder car I have owned and to be honest I don't like the rough noise it makes under certain situations - low revs and when you give it high revs to move quickly. My previous cars with 4 cylinder engines seemed to have more smooth power delivery and that extra bit of push to get moving. I have been driving 31 years and in this Polo feel like an amateur on hill starts. I come back to other observations that the car is set up for motorways / autobahn driving to mimic the Golf or Passat - high gearing, no low down power - and not for town driving which most smaller cars spent their time.

[Andy Beats]

I agree it does feel very weak on hill starts - combined with the stiff handbrake and trying to judge the revs / biting point it's more difficult than it should be. Maybe it is due to the small 3 cylinder engine not having enough power from standstill to get the car moving, this is the first 3 cylinder car I have owned and to be honest I don't like the rough noise it makes under certain situations - low revs and when you give it high revs to move quickly. My previous cars with 4 cylinder engines seemed to have more smooth power delivery and that extra bit of push to get moving. I have been driving 31 years and in this Polo feel like an amateur on hill starts. I come back to other observations that the car is set up for motorways / autobahn driving to mimic the Golf or Passat - high gearing, no low down power - and not for town driving which most smaller cars spent their time.

Three cylinder engines do have their own unique sound/feel.
The Citroen C1/Toyota Aygo
Or, for motorbikes, the Triumph triples.
Interestingly, MotoGP2 is switching to Triumph Triple engines next year, the noise will be a whole lot different from the howling fours.