UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

I picked up my new Polo SE 95 PS today, and parked it on my steeply sloping drive, nose downwards. I later tried to start it and had a horrendous struggle. Turning the key failed, releasing the clutch and accelerating failed. In the end I pressed a button on the right side of the gear stick and that seemed to allow me to start it. Could someone please tell me what I am doing wrong,

BTW it’s a lovely car.

Put your foot on the clutch and turn the key should start it? If you turn the key without pressing the clutch down there should be a message on the display telling you to press the clutch down.

Regarding the button to the right of the gear stick, can’t remember what that is but isn’t it stop/start on/off? I’ll have to take a look tomorrow.

Thank you, much appreciated. I think you are right about the button.

I know the immediate temptation is just to get in a new car and drive it, but one of the first things I do when I get a new car is to go through the owners manual. Boring? maybe, and it’s certainly not the most exciting read, but if I’ve just spent thousands on a new car, I want to understand the operation and functions of the car and get full use out of all the features I’ve just paid for. There’s a section in my manual (previous model Polo) on the starting procedure, so I’d be surprised if the manual for the current Polo doesn’t cover this.

I’ve seen threads on other forums about features that owners have ‘just discovered’ on their cars, sometimes 3-4 years after they bought it. If they’d read the manual, they would’ve discovered those features much sooner and’ve been able to make use of them for the 3-4 years they’d owned their car.

SRGTD wrote: Sun Apr 01, 2018 9:02 am I know the immediate temptation is just to get in a new car and drive it, but one of the first things I do when I get a new car is to go through the owners manual. Boring? maybe, and it’s certainly not the most exciting read, but if I’ve just spent thousands on a new car, I want to understand the operation and functions of the car and get full use out of all the features I’ve just paid for. There’s a section in my manual (previous model Polo) on the starting procedure, so I’d be surprised if the manual for the current Polo doesn’t cover this.

I’ve seen threads on other forums about features that owners have ‘just discovered’ on their cars, sometimes 3-4 years after they bought it. If they’d read the manual, they would’ve discovered those features much sooner and’ve been able to make use of them for the 3-4 years they’d owned their car.

I agree with that completely, I covered most bases but did not work out exactly when Hill Hold would or would not engage, I've now found out that it will not engage(I think) if you are not in gear, when I reverse out of my garage and my driveway slopes upwards from the garage, if I stop using the footbrake and knock the car out of gear, Hill Hold will not engage, I just thought that was one of its little quirks, but then I've discovered that if I engage reverse again and press teh foot brake it engages.

I have a 2010 Audi S4 that was built with only rear parking sensors, so I upgraded it to full front and rear with OPS, now, what I need to remember is with that car, the parking system, I think because it is an earlier version than the Polo's is not active as you approach an wall ect, ie driving into a parking space! You need to manually switch it on! Though when starting and reversing away from that wall it will always get switched on until you exceed maybe 10MPH (my guess), as you all know, with the Polo, the system seems to always be on standby so always alarms when driving into parking spaces - well towards a wall. One day, if I am unlucky, I will fall into that trap which is to use the parking sensors to judge distance from objects, and waste the moeny I spent trying to protect my front bumper, which might have been part of my justification for adding the front sensors, but I needed a car upgrade challenge at the time and that fitted the bill.

Yes, I’ve looked at the manual, but to be honest I find it rather a slog. It can be quite hard to understand, and quite long winded. A combination of playing around, and reading seems to work. Today I set up CarPlay, and I am very impressed at how it works. I now have access to a large screen to view Google maps for navigation purposes. And of course a I can play my music, and control it from the steering wheel. Awesome. I also set up the VW car app that uses a Bluetooth dongle.

For a manual:
Hill hold usually is only activated by putting your foot on the brake on an incline then taking it off. It does not set itself when the handbrake is on.

If it is engaged you simply drive off and it will release when it detects pull on the brakes correlated to raising the clutch/throttle.

If you engage hill hold by holding the brake pedal then release and wait, after 10 seconds the car will automatically release the brakes. It won't hold you forever.

Yes no magic with Hill Hold all it is doing is trapping the brake fluid in the pipes by utilising the valves on the ABS block.

Proper Hill Hold, when coupled to an electric handbrake works even better and holds basically for ever, it will be a clutch pedal switch that releases the fluid valves if they have not already run out time in this Hill Hold Lite system that Polo has.

Edit:- corrected some stupid "wrong keys hit" number/letters!