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Hi guys

I drive a 1.4 tdi 2003 9N polo (yes its first car)

And the revs are really difficult to manage.

The engine labours at 30mph in 3rd gear (as its below 2000rpm) and have to travel at 35 to satisfy it, by ensuring its above 2000 rpms.

Also in 2nd the car is only happy once above 20mph, cannot even consider turning right or left in 2nd gear.

Finally in 4th gear the car is only satisfied once upto 45mph again once it succeeds 2000rmps.

The car has recently been serviced, so it must be a fault. Surely the car must be cabable of comfortabley travelling at 30mph in 3rd. VW surely cant expect drivers to travel at 30mph in 2nd and claim this car to be fuel efficient, I always manage to keep the revs above 2000 but it means exceeding speed limits and sacrificing fuel economy.

So does anyone else have these problems? I understand the engine is 3 cylinder so maybe that is a factor but just wondering if anyone has any ideas.

My mrs has the 1.4TDI and you can do 30in 3rd easily, even 30 in 4th

Maybe its got a gearbox that isnt right for the engine as that would throw the ratios right out causing what you are seeing

It almost sounds like you are a gear out, as 45 in 5th is possible in hers.

Thanks for reply. Yh maybe something to look into.

if its any help , i own the 1.4 16v and the engine is always comfortable doing 30 in 4th gear

my friend has a seat ibiza , 2003 1.2 , i think he had the same problem ,car used to rev quite high , 5000 mark but car couldnt even do 25mph in 3 and not stall and poor fuel economy

was fixed by replacing the clutch i think

sounds like a clutch/flywheel thing to me..

i used to have a 1.4 tdi and it did do 30 in 4th comfortably until the clutch started to wear out

Sounds expensive

sutt456 wrote:Sounds expensive

Have you considered getting a fault code reader and plugging it into the OBD port ? (it's just above your right knee when driving)
full VCDS is expensive but maybe worth it in the long run (good resale value on ebay too)
Then you can describe better what the problem behind the problem might be, if you get me.
Other fault code readers can be found cheaper
Newer diesel engines like yours have the power higher in the rev range than diesels of old. But to complicate matters further, the relationship between torque and power is something that is confusing to most. F1 engines have loads of power because they have such high rpm, but they only last a few miles!
Power = Torque * rpm (therefore, Torque = Power / rpm), but the power changes with engine speed therefore so does the torque.
Consider also that your turbo takes a second or two to speed up from slow to fast, this affects the boosting pressure into the engine. Of course all of this is managed (as best as possible) by the ECU, and if the ECU is getting a faulty reading from a fautly sensor, then it cannot be expected to make the right judgements

Ive got a 2004 9n 1.2 and mine is the exact same, if it drops below 2000 revs it has no pull atall, i do not change gear untill atleast 3000 to eliminate the problem but this uses more fuel as you would expect.
I contacted the previous owner of the car who had it from new and they said it had been like that from factory.
Obviously mine is a less powerfull car and will not have as much power as your 1.4 TDI but its not harming the car atall and chasing the 'possible' issue may come to no avail, costing a pretty penny im sure!
All the best