UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Just took delivery of a brand spanking new Polo Black Edition. The steering wheel wobbles and there is seat vibration at 60-70 mph. It feels to me like the wheels are out of balance - or possibly an alignment issue. The branch won't do anything until the car has done 600 miles. They say this is VW 'settling in' period? I pointed out that it isn't going to get better in 600 miles so why can't they address it now? But they won't.

My worry is that if balancing and alignment turns out to be correct it may be something more fundamental? My second worry is that their poor response on my first raising this issue does not fill me with confidence that they will suddenly sort it out after 600 miles.

Any experience of this? Is this 600 mile BS a real thing?

Wow, that is terrible after sales service and never heard of such nonsense but then I am in another country and maybe thats just how it is there. Here if I buy a new car and there is an issue I take it straight back, no questions, ifs, or buts. Good luck and hope the issue does not get worse for you in the next 600 miles.

Who supports new VW Group cars in UK in terms of breakdown - I'd be letting them do your dirty work for you as this should not be happening and possibly renders the car unroadworthy - and that would not look good for VW UK if/when you went public on this.

It sounds like you have been talking to someone who is just working as a "gate keeper" for new substandard cars being put on the road.

@JohnEds; that’s very poor customer service from your dealer and unacceptable IMHO. I’ve had issues with new VW’s in the past just after I’ve taken delivery and I’ve never had to wait until the car has done 600 miles. A brand new car should be delivered to the customer in perfect condition and if it isn’t, then IMHO the dealer ought to rectify any issues highlighted by the customer without delay.

I’m assuming it’s either the sales person you dealt with when you bought your car or one of the service advisors at the dealership who is fobbing you off. In your position I’d be contacting the dealership manager / dealer principal (or whatever title the ‘top dog’ at the dealership is known by these days); hopefully, they’ll ensure the issues with your car are investigated and rectified pretty much straight away.

VW usually issue a customer feedback / customer satisfaction questionnaire to customers shortly after they’ve taking delivery of their new car. In my experience, dealers don’t like to receive anything less than a perfect score, so I’d make sure the score you give accurately reflects your post-delivery experience with your dealer.

Please update this discussion topic with developments and the outcome for the benefit of other forum members in case they find themselves in a similar position. Good luck, and fingers crossed for a speedy resolution .

Thanks for the input. I have emailed customer services and made it known that I'm not happy about this, and that I will reject the car if it turns out to be anything other than alignment or balancing. I at least had a quick reply with a reference number so it's logged in the system.

I am minded to take it to a local tyre shop and ask them to check the tracking and balancing? I don't mind paying a few quid to definitely know either way. I wouldn't necessarily get them to adjust anything but if they say everything looks spot on, then at least I know the problem is somewhere else. If they say one or other is out then I have that knowledge when I eventually go back to the VW.

Vibration at a certain speed is bound to be something that spins, and wheels are the most likely culprit. The frustrating thing is that these are very easy to check and I don't know why a VW workshop would not just deal with it and nip it in the bud straight away.

Unbelievably I had the same problem. The first time I noticed was when I was on the motorway and the steering wheel vibrated in what seemed like a high pitch.

I took it to my local tyre shop and it turned out the weights were put on incorrectly at the factory. In my case the weights that should have been on the outside of the wheel were on the inside and vice versa. After a rebalance all was well. The tracking was also out

You wouldn't think a new car could be delivered like that. A VW salesman from elsewhere told me they had it once due to a weight coming off the wheel. Never heard of that but I suppose it could happen. I'm going to get it checked.

VW customer services confirmed that the 600 mile thing is rubbish and booked me in to have the tracking and balancing checked and adjusted as necessary. In between time though I took it into a local tyre bay and had the wheels balanced. Two of them were 70g and 65g out - the other two were 35g out. Properly balanced and the car is now normal.

Yep, sorted

@JohnEds; it’s good that it’s been sorted, but IMHO it’s shameful that the VW dealer you bought your car from wouldn’t help, plus they blatantly lied to you over a so called 600 mile settling in period before they’ll fix faults. What’s to say they won’t adopt a similar unhelpful / untruthful attitude with you again in future?

VW’s new car factory warranty (link below) includes adjustments such as wheel balancing during the first 6 months / 6,500 miles of ownership - no mention of having to wait until after an initial ‘settling in’ period. Although the cost of wheel balancing is relatively small, in your position I’d be writing to the dealer principal at that VW dealership and ask to be reimbursed for the amount you had to pay to get your wheels balanced at your local tyre fitters.

https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/en/owners- ... terms.html

I’d not be setting foot inside that VW dealership again - I’d find another that’s hopefully more helpful and adopts a more customer-focused, service-oriented approach, even if it means having to travel further to get work carried out on your car.

Apologies for the rant but IMHO poor customer service is unacceptable , especially when buying an expensive product such as a new car - and it’s one of the reasons I no longer drive a VW; poor vehicle build quality is another. VW once had a reputation for the so called legendary German build quality that was considered to be a cut above many other comparable car manufacturers’ products. Sadly, IMHO that’s no longer the case .

Rant over………

"What’s to say they won’t adopt a similar unhelpful / untruthful attitude with you again in future?"

To be honest, that is exactly why I opted to take it to a local tyre bay and have it checked independently.

VW customer services were quite good. The person who dealt with me literally said she was shocked that they didn't attend to it when I returned to branch and she'd never heard of the 600 mile thing. She arranged an appointment for me to take it back again and assured me it would be different this time. The branch isn't my local - it's an hour drive - so if any warranty issues arise I wouldn't be taking it there anyway.