UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

hi there i have a number of issues and wondered if anyone else has any of these, they seem a bit rare but just wondering. :

cold start - when starting the car when it’s cold after it initially starts there will be a grinding/squeal coming from the engine. i have taken it to VW and they said it was the starter motor. they replaced the starter motor but the following morning and every cold start afte it would make the same noise.

braking when reversing - when i reverse and then apply the brakes it sounds like metal is getting hit. like a sound slapping noise. this only happens when reversing.

city break active when nothing in front - there has be multiple times when i have started driving (nothing in front) and the car decide to emergency break to a complete stop. it’s scary and if you have people behind you they think you’re break checking them too.

steering wheel and start stop - when i got the car, the start stop would turn off the engine and the steering wheel would become heavy but you could easily turn it slightly and the engine would come back on and the steering would go back to normal. after a VW visit, all of a sudden when the engine cuts off the steering remains to be light so it then become easy to move the wheel and the engine turns back on.

handbrake - i know it’s now been a recall due to a nut, i had mine ‘fixed’ and got to drive a courtesy car (polo) and the handbrake felt so crisp and easy to use and snap. i got my polo back and it did perform better but still didn’t feel as crisp.

fell free to ask any questions. thanks

Hi,

For the first issue, can't advise. Could be anything.

Reverse clunk issue is common with rear drum brakes. Nothing dangerous but the brake shoes have slight movement I think.

For the city brake, there should be an option in the car settings to reduce the sensitivity of this.

With steering wheel, it may go stiff when the engine is off because keeping it powered is a waste of battery.
However, some models keep it powered. Can't explain why it has changed for you, but won't cause any damage.
If you move the wheel too much, the engine will still kick back to life to recharge the battery.

Handbrake issue is an odd one. Some have never had the issue, and some have.
Of the people who had the issue, it's mixed whether the handbrake was ever fully 'smooth ' after.

Hope that helps.

thanks for the reply.

yeah not sure about the starting noise either.

okay i’ve never had drum brakes before so was unaware that happens.

i think the city brake has 3 options, high med low, it’s currnetly on med but the fact that nothing was in front of the car and it applied the breaks is less about sensitivity and more about a system error maybe.


thanks

Switching the 'city brake' function off is easy from the right hand steering wheel controls.
From the 'mileage to empty' screen which I have as my default, it's two presses of the right hand button and one press of the middle.
I do it most journeys as I despise the function.
You do have to suffer an orange warning light when you do this, but it's better than having the function on for me.

Colds start engine noise is different from a warm start. That sound your describing is perfectly normal, all my cars have made this sound the first 15-20secs when starting cold.

I had the same issue when braking in reverse. It is due to play in the front pads when everything is new and clean. When a bit of dust and corrosion sets in the problem should go away. Mine has done 10000 miles now and the noise is almost unnoticeable now. When it was new it sounded terrible.