Page 1 of 4
Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 6:21 pm
by chrisshorter
Hi I have a 2015 polo 1.2 TSI se design I have a bit of a strange problem that started a few weeks after collecting the car in March this year. When pulling away it's impossible to get a smooth takeoff especially when trying to get out into gaps at roundabouts the revs rise car begins to move then revs die back down to just below 1000rpm and I get a brrrr noise from under the bonnet and car bogs down for a second or two then springs into life also the same when cruising along and then wanting to accelerate to overtake etc same thing noise from under bonnet and car bogs and actually begins to slow down then all of a sudden takes off.
I know that a bit of turbo lag is to be expected but this seems a bit extreme.
It's been back to Volkswagen and they have said they can't find a problem and that's just how they are but I'm not convinced especially seeing as it didn't do this to begin with when I first collected the car and the test drive model I drove wasn't like it either.
Has anybody else on here had the same or similar problem? And did you get to the bottom of it?
Thanks in advance
Chris
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 6:22 pm
by iichel
i dont know anything about the new TSI engines, but is it a manual or a DSG gearbox?
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 6:30 pm
by chrisshorter
Its a Manual sorry should have put that in original post
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 6:30 pm
by deltalimamike
My GT seems to bog down a bit at roundabouts on the DSG box. I think it's because it's not always in the gear I'd expect it to be if i was driving it manually.
I think a remap would help but it's a company car so can't really do that.
It's ok when cruising though.
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 3:16 pm
by chrisshorter
Cheers for the replies, it's going back into vw on Friday for them to have another look at it and hopefully I can drive another one of their demo cars and compare the two
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 10:31 pm
by aircraftengineerpat
I know what you mean. i sometimes have the same problem when pulling away. just seems dead until it gets enough revs for the turbo to kick in, makes a rattly noise too. i had a problem with the turbo actuator which vw replaced a few months back which helped with the problem a bit, apparently was faulty when they checked it. doesnt happen all the time though, depends how im driving. also sometimes when im sat idling for more than a minute, i feel random jerks from the engine, almost like its misfiring, but not a proper missfire if you know what i mean. anyone had this before?
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 2:50 pm
by tomaspolo7
Regarding your symptoms,just a suggestion but on my Golf mark 4 1.6 the throttle body used to "hunt",e.g. rev of its own accord usually when idling.Often when accelerating there was a delay from when you pressed the accelerator and the car moving away.The car had done 88,000 miles though,the throttle body was cleaned out which helped a lot.Sold it shortly after that. Anyway may be a bad Throttle Body?
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 7:02 pm
by chrispy.
I get all these issues in my 1.2 tsi but mines the 2011 model.. Done 55k miles.
I get a rattle when changing gear, and then metal slotting clunk when i engage the clutch.
Also a rattle when accelerate.. Really annoying especially when the windows are down.
I hate pulling away in 1st because its too jerky, and then find the power runs out by 2000 revs and the engine is just screaming but no movement.
I also get the jerky 'misfire' when sitting in idle.
The car is great! But it is slightly ruined by these problems.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 8:53 pm
by chrisshorter
After reading everybody's posts I'm starting to think they are right when they tell me that it's just how the tsi engine is. A bit of a shame really as these little problems do let down what is otherwise a brilliant little car.
Will wait to hear from vw again tomorrow see what the latest is on my car but it seems I may just have to live with it
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 11:20 pm
by chrispy.
Fingers crossed we dont have to live with it and we have infact one of the biggest coincidences in the world, in that we all have picked faulty cars
That VW should fix

for free ..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 7:43 pm
by chrisshorter
The latest update after today's vw visit they had it all day and still saying that they can't find anything wrong with it. But he did say they have reset the ecu settings so they have told me to drive it as much as possible for the ecu to relearn everything and let them know if it's still the same.
So fingers crossed really see what happens
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 7:57 pm
by deltalimamike
chrisshorter wrote:The latest update after today's vw visit they had it all day and still saying that they can't find anything wrong with it. But he did say they have reset the ecu settings so they have told me to drive it as much as possible for the ecu to relearn everything and let them know if it's still the same.
So fingers crossed really see what happens
Basically they turned it off and turned it on again. Lol.
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 9:29 pm
by RUM4MO
I've noticed a bit of this with wife's new Polo 1.2TSI 110PS SEL but I expect that we will be able to work round it, especially as we have not owned a turbo charged car before, today when driving out of our estate and up a steep hill instead of down it, the car went very limp for a while, but as I said when we get used to it we should be able to adapt to it, it certainly seems to move quite well, though I'm only comparing it with a late 2009 Ibiza 1.4 85PS.
On a completely different topic - I needed to adjust the front wipers as the driver side was hitting the pillar (sitting over an inch too high when parked) and the passenger side was about 0.5 inch too low - all sorted now!
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 12:44 am
by Ders1905
Hi i am having the exact same problem with my 2015 polo 1.2 tsi dsg has you explained. Could you please advise on how vw fixed the issue. Has they cannot pick up anything on they side.
Re: Polo 1.2 TSI Problem
Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 9:10 pm
by BigDaveGti
Have you had the cam shaft adjuster recall done? Also the turbo actuator is quite common on these engines