UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hi Guys,
So, couple of problems lately with the polo - wondering if anyone has had these issues before:

1) My car has a coolant addiction! - I'm having to top up my coolant every 2-3 months - is this normal?
2) My car seems to drip water out of the exhaust which is sometimes accompanied by white smoke (which i think is just "steam") and it doesn't smell of anything
3) When i first start the car (cold start) it STINKS of petrol until its warmed up then the smell is gone
4) Car seems a bit more sluggish than normal - it used to have no problem going up a slight incline at 60mph in 5th gear, but now it just looses speed
5) If I'm coming to a junction (slow down to 1st gear) then floor it (to avoid getting hit lol) the car seems to take a little while to realise I've pressed the accelerator

- there are no fault codes showing up in vag com

Any ideas as to what could be the cause of these?

Thanks for your help guys

Sounds like a blown head gasket. Better take it to a garage.

when i had my 1.4 match 2012 I also had the delay at a junction. must be a normal thing but it could potentially cause accidents if you cant get out quick enough because of the delay, feels like you've stalled. I have a blue gt now and it does not do that

Clearly this is a fault not a type characteristic, it didn't do it before, it does now.

The water in the exhaust, the appetite for coolant and the lack of performance are, as our learned friend suggests odds on to be a cylinder head gasket failure.

I have seen various patent sealants employed as a short term fix. My local garage were asked by a client to use one of such remedies to see him through a financial crisis. They advised against it but he said he only needed it to last a month so they used it. Over a year and twenty thousand miles later it is still doing the business.

I would advise against it but the only experience I have with such remedies was forty years ago, things move on and today's chemicals are far more advanced than they were when I was into shoe string motoring.

Remember an engine with a failed head gasket will not cool itself efficiently or evenly, keep using it and you risk serious and expensive engine damage, I speak from my own painful experience.

I hope you are able to sort it without too much financial grief.

Thanks for the advise guys!

The car was bought in February this year (with 31K miles on it) its now on 42k miles since then

The car came with a 1 year RAC warranty, so hopefully if anything is about to go bang it can be claimed under that before anything serious happens.

Just waiting to get the car seen to buy the garage i bought it from!

Best of luck, let's hope it's sorted quickly for you.

No comfort to you, but in general, this old engine is more reliably/durable than the newer TSI engines, so it should be easily repaired and returned to being reliable again.

Car is booked in for a look at this evening, will update yous once i know whats what