UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hello there,

Im new and I have a polo. *cuh-ching!*

Erm....no really, I do. Im taking a stab at where to post because I have no idea what MK means....

But thats half the reason I'm here!

I have a L Reg genesis and it is quite frankly THE BEST CAR IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD (my excitement has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it is my first car and I still havent passed my test... )

Its gorgeous. It does die sometimes. But apart from that it is gorgeous
Infact i find it quite endearing....

sometimes it just kinda chugs and I floor it and it wont go any faster than 10-20 depending on what speed I was going before the chug-ness...so I have to change down and then up again or take my foot off and put it back down again...(you can tell im a learner cant you?) its a bigger problem when it does it in 1st....and stalls.

p.s feel free to use jargon...just give me a little definition afterwards...lol

nice to have you at uk-polos

i'm pretty sure a genesis was a mk3

easy way to tell is has it got round lights and little bumpers like this...


or big bumpers and square headlights like this...


and i'm sure you'll hear coupe and squareback/hatch too which is the 2 shapes e.g that top pic is a squareback (has a square back, you see where that name came from ) and the bottom pic is a coupe shape which curves round and has an angled rear window

Sounds like it might be in need of a really good service? when was the last time the car was serviced. Theyre pretty straight forward engines so the problem shouldnt be too significant.

Is it only occasional or does it do it everytime you drive it? Well done on choosing a Polo for a a first car, i loved mine

It could be the oil in desperate need of a change, or the carb/tb in need of a good clean.

Too much oil and the engine lurches and tries to die whilst it coughs it up into the filter housing, check that the air filter isn't sitting in a puddle of oil, if it isn't it's worth while wiping the inside of the housing clean with a cloth and spraying some carb cleaner down the draught anyway.

Is the idle speed lumpy, continuously going up and down? It could be a vacuum leak if so.

There's a number of posabilites as to what it could be.

Yeah, tis a mark 3. A lil 1 Litre to save on the old insurance.

Thanks for the reply and the welcome! I'm planning on getting my hands dirty with this one, I want to learn all about her! Which as a car virgin will be a challenge...

Looks like so.....




Bless its lil L plates and twigs....

Its got 10month MOT and it doesn't happen all that often, I reckon I'll get used to it and it'll be fine, I gotta go up a hill when I literally leave my carpark and its a bit of a blindspot with cars parked right in the junction, which is only like 2meters up so I gotta go slowly, thats what does it. And when im in too a high gear for my own good, then it just does it on flat...lol.

Got my test in 3 weeks....whoop!

quinny wrote:It could be the oil in desperate need of a change, or the carb/tb in need of a good clean.

Too much oil and the engine lurches and tries to die whilst it coughs it up into the filter housing, check that the air filter isn't sitting in a puddle of oil, if it isn't it's worth while wiping the inside of the housing clean with a cloth and spraying some carb cleaner down the draught anyway.

Is the idle speed lumpy, continuously going up and down? It could be a vacuum leak if so.

There's a number of posabilites as to what it could be.

If its going up hill its chugging up and down and then will stall if I cant accelerate (due to safety reasons!) but on straight it just rides blissfully at 20-30 lol, I will open the bonnet and have a look tommorrow, but first....whats the carb/tb?

Chally_Rai wrote: If its going up hill its chugging up and down and then will stall if I cant accelerate (due to safety reasons!) but on straight it just rides blissfully at 20-30 lol, I will open the bonnet and have a look tommorrow, but first....whats the carb/tb?

the throttle body sits on top of the carb and allows air and fuel to mix, to clean the throttle body open the air filter housing (big round flying saucer type thing) and clean the air inlet hole and butterfly valve that you can see in the centre

welcome to the forum good to have another girl on board!!

and u can't really beat a polo as a first car!! hope u have many happydriving experiences in it!!

Welcome to the forum

Polo Paul wrote:the throttle body sits on top of the carb and allows air and fuel to mix, to clean the throttle body open the air filter housing (big round flying saucer type thing) and clean the air inlet hole and butterfly valve that you can see in the centre

I cant open the damn thing! I cant get the clippy things off which i assume is how your supposed to open it...i duno if im being weak or dumb! or if they are stuck....ahh well, im going to halfords in a bit, i wonder if they have manuals...

googles it....

hrm....

many thank yous for my welcomes !

welcome to the site...

hope u get it fixed!!

try putting a screw driver in the clips... "prize" them open! i use a screwdriver as u get ur hands less dirty... lol... and its easyer!

mellow, i will try that. I still need some 'carb cleaner' as my dad was in a hurry and wouldnt let me try and find some in halfords. i also seem to have a battery problem...had to jump start it to go today and then when we came out of halfords! running around the carpark picking up random pushers as we went....all in the name of guadalupe saviour!

its only happened once before and ive had her for 2 months maybe? Last time i thought i mustve left something on, but if i am leaving something on ive no idea what it is....

Im going to try and open the flying saucer once its cold.

She is also ticking....It soulds like the oil thing is ticking i duno if maybe its just something expanding because of the heat though...

I got a manual though....so thats something!

my dad reckons i might need a new battery....

Poor starting but being able to bump start is probably the battery if it is old or hasn't been used in a while. Also grab a new fan belt (alternator belt). You will need a belt dressing too, I use belt slip and recommend it, only costs £3.00 a can.

New spark plugs, ignition coil and HT leads wouldn't go a miss either.

Ticking could be a number of things, a description will be required there, is it consistent? Can you locate the sound? Is it related to revs? ect. ect.

Mine used to tick every now and again, its normally a sign that the oil isnt getting around the engine as well as it could and a sign that the oil and filter need changing. Also if the car is just doing short runs that will be why your batter has gone down, short runs, lots of stalling equals a dead battery