GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Chat about your 2018+ AW/BZ model Polos here!
DenzGTI
New
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 9:36 am
Drives: 2019 Polo GTI
Location: South Africa

GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by DenzGTI »

Hi guys,

My first post here, awesome forum btw.

I have a 2019 Polo GTI here in South Africa. On start up the car gives me an error of " Only leave vehicle in position P. Please visit workshop"

This error goes away after a few minutes later while driving and the car drives perfectly normal.

I booked the car in at my local VW Dealership and they said there's nothing wrong with the car and that this is a software issue. They said that VW hasn't released the software yet to clear this code or correct this error code.

Have any of you guys had a similar issue with your GTI?

Thanks
Denzil
SRGTD
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 3508
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 9:40 pm
Drives: 2020 AW Polo GTI+, Pure White.
Location: UK

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by SRGTD »

Welcome to the forum DenzIl.

This has cropped up a number of times on various VW / Audi group forums and is a known issue - or at least there’s a known issue associated with that error message. It indicates that the gear selector is faulty.

If you Google ‘ VW warning message only leave vehicle in position P’ you’ll see lots of results. It could be that your gear selector needs to be replaced rather than it being a software issue.

Maybe worth mentioning to your dealer that it’s likely to be a faulty gear selector, although really it shouldn’t be for the customer to have to tell the dealer what the problem is!
DenzGTI
New
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 9:36 am
Drives: 2019 Polo GTI
Location: South Africa

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by DenzGTI »

Thanks for the welcome and advice bud :)

Yeah i did mention to the dealer that it most likely could be the gear selector switch as i did some research before booking the car in but VW SA don't want to change it.

I guess they wait for it to fail completely before replacing it. I will contact a different dealer here and check if their response will be same.

It's just unacceptable to see this error on a relatively new car every morning
User avatar
OomStu_ZA
Gold Member
Posts: 622
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 6:06 pm
Drives: 2019 VW Polo GTi
Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by OomStu_ZA »

Hey Denz

Welcome boet! I also had this error only once and could not replicate for Barons N1 service agents to "see". Havent seen it again so hopefully was just a glitch in the matrix.
DenzGTI
New
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 9:36 am
Drives: 2019 Polo GTI
Location: South Africa

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by DenzGTI »

OomStu_ZA wrote: Thu Jul 09, 2020 2:54 pm Hey Denz

Welcome boet! I also had this error only once and could not replicate for Barons N1 service agents to "see". Havent seen it again so hopefully was just a glitch in the matrix.
Thanks bud,

i called another VW dealer yesterday - VW Hatfield Bryanston and they confirmed its a software issue. I will have to wait for the software update. :(
Steve_2019
Bronze Member
Posts: 156
Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2019 2:30 pm
Drives: VW Polo SEL DSG 2019
Location: U.K.

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by Steve_2019 »

I get this message when I open the drivers door after been sat in the car parked up listening too the radio. I don’t get it any other time. I just ignore it.
monkeyhanger
Bling Bling Diamond Member
Posts: 2643
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:58 pm
Drives: Audi A4 Avant Quattro 40 TDI, Polo GTI+
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by monkeyhanger »

Steve_2019 wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2020 9:45 pm I get this message when I open the drivers door after been sat in the car parked up listening too the radio. I don’t get it any other time. I just ignore it.
I've had it twice after sitting in the car way after parking up an switching the ignition off.
MattHGR
Bronze Member
Posts: 222
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2018 6:22 pm
Drives: GTI+
Location: GB

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by MattHGR »

monkeyhanger wrote:
Steve_2019 wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2020 9:45 pm I get this message when I open the drivers door after been sat in the car parked up listening too the radio. I don’t get it any other time. I just ignore it.
I've had it twice after sitting in the car way after parking up an switching the ignition off.
I've also had this after sitting in the car for 30 mins + with ignition off.
I just had one beep from the dashboard with this message before it realised I was in park.
Seems like a software glitch rather than a hardware fault.

Sent from my SM-N9750 using Tapatalk

DenzGTI
New
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 9:36 am
Drives: 2019 Polo GTI
Location: South Africa

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by DenzGTI »

Thanks for all the replies, really appreciate it.

Yeah guess i will have to live with it until VW upgrades the software.
john896
New
Posts: 46
Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2019 12:43 am
Drives: Polo GTI+ 2019
Location: Middlesbrough

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by john896 »

The mrs has had this come up a few times on hers and once when she came home from work I noticed she had the reverse lights on when the car was not running (stop start was turned off). Then the next morning when she went to start the car it wouldn’t start due to the car thinking it wasn’t in P. After dropping her off at work I managed to get it to start by holding the start button and then the error went away and didn’t return no matter how many times I stopped and started it. I remembered about the reverse lights so I tried replicating the error by stopping the engine with the car in reverse then moved it to park and sure enough the error message came up. Seems to be a fault with the software rather than hardware with the car not recognising any movement of the gear leaver when the engine is turned off.
DenzGTI
New
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 9:36 am
Drives: 2019 Polo GTI
Location: South Africa

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by DenzGTI »

Thanks for the reply John, yeah its so weird.

I will reply to you guys once VW has the new software so we all can get that updated, they are going to call me once VW Germany has released it.
Aube
Bronze Member
Posts: 104
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2018 7:18 am
Drives: Polo SEDSG
Location: Sussex

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by Aube »

Hi,

My daughters 2018 Polo SE is showing this fault, so asked for this to be looked at today while the car is in for its service. The service advisor said they have TPI that says there is software in development to correct this fault. Unfortunately I didn’t believe him, so called VW Customer Service and spoke to an advisor who said there is nothing on his system that refers to this. This is a worry, but maybe the advisor doesn’t have access to these documents!

Anyway, a case has been raised that at least puts this issue on the VW Customer Service system. I then called the dealer who said he has a TPI about this, so they will clear the fault, and if it comes back will need to do further investigation.

This is unacceptable as the message says ‘Please visit workshop’ with an orange warning triangle lit up on the dash as well. I asked him if he would let one of his children drive a car with this warning, and obviously he side stepped the question!

So, has anyone had this error message, and if so, what was the outcome? And is there a way I can get hold of the TPI, as the dealer said these are confidential and not for public viewing.

This is now the third safety related issue with her car and it’s not even 3 years old! After the rear seat belt buckle debacle, the handbrake not being effective, and now this, her faith in VW is not good. Oh, and the entire instrument cluster being replaced because of poor workmanship on the circuit board, a failed engine sensor that resulted in two days at the workshop to get the car properly diagnosed and repaired, and I won’t mention the VW Roadside technician who damaged the steering wheel while he was working on the car when it went into limp home mode. Fortunately they paid for a replacement steering wheel!

Any help will be appreciated.
ho8882000
Bronze Member
Posts: 153
Joined: Fri Sep 20, 2019 9:06 am
Drives: 2019 (AW)
Location: South Africa

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by ho8882000 »

Aube wrote: Fri Oct 16, 2020 11:15 am Hi,

My daughters 2018 Polo SE is showing this fault, so asked for this to be looked at today while the car is in for its service. The service advisor said they have TPI that says there is software in development to correct this fault. Unfortunately I didn’t believe him, so called VW Customer Service and spoke to an advisor who said there is nothing on his system that refers to this. This is a worry, but maybe the advisor doesn’t have access to these documents!

Anyway, a case has been raised that at least puts this issue on the VW Customer Service system. I then called the dealer who said he has a TPI about this, so they will clear the fault, and if it comes back will need to do further investigation.

This is unacceptable as the message says ‘Please visit workshop’ with an orange warning triangle lit up on the dash as well. I asked him if he would let one of his children drive a car with this warning, and obviously he side stepped the question!

So, has anyone had this error message, and if so, what was the outcome? And is there a way I can get hold of the TPI, as the dealer said these are confidential and not for public viewing.

This is now the third safety related issue with her car and it’s not even 3 years old! After the rear seat belt buckle debacle, the handbrake not being effective, and now this, her faith in VW is not good. Oh, and the entire instrument cluster being replaced because of poor workmanship on the circuit board, a failed engine sensor that resulted in two days at the workshop to get the car properly diagnosed and repaired, and I won’t mention the VW Roadside technician who damaged the steering wheel while he was working on the car when it went into limp home mode. Fortunately they paid for a replacement steering wheel!

Any help will be appreciated.
Hello Aube,

According to Ross-Tech (VCDS Manufacturer), you can find TPI on Volkswagen's ErWin website.

But you will have to pay a subscription fees in order to access their documents.

FYI:
http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.ph ... nformation
Aube
Bronze Member
Posts: 104
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2018 7:18 am
Drives: Polo SEDSG
Location: Sussex

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by Aube »

Hi,

The dealers looked at the car and said nothing in the cars system showing a fault, so now we are back to square one with the fault still occurring randomly. I have photos of the error message and now plan to document how this happens it terms of how the car is started, if the radio is on, or lights, even wipers, and then back to the dealer with this data.

I’m in touch with VW CS as well so will chase them next week.

Thanks and I’ll look at the ErWin web site as if I remember you can get short term access for a small payment.
Last edited by Aube on Mon Oct 19, 2020 10:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
ho8882000
Bronze Member
Posts: 153
Joined: Fri Sep 20, 2019 9:06 am
Drives: 2019 (AW)
Location: South Africa

Re: GTi- only leave vehicle in position P

Post by ho8882000 »

Aube wrote: Sun Oct 18, 2020 7:44 am Hi,

The dealers looked at the car and said nothing in the cars system showing a fault, so now we are back to square one with the fault still occurring randomly. I have photos of the error message and now plan to document how this happens it terms of how the car is started, if the radio is on, or lights, even wipers, and them back to the dealer with this data.

I’m in touch with VW CS as well so will chase them next week.

Thanks and I’ll look at the ErWin web site as if I remember you can get short term access for a small payment.
I know VW released a repair kit for the same problem in the VW Golf 7, but I don't know if they have a similar repair kit for the Polo (AW).

Have a look on the video below, it is about the Golf 7's repair kit:
Post Reply