Significant side-to-side movement of handbrake on 2016 Polo

[R826583]

The handbrake on my 2016 Polo has significant side-to-side movement while in the down position. It even exists to a lesser degree in the up position. The side-to-side movement in the down position must be almost 8mm! Does anyone have any ideas of how to tighten the side-to-side movement? I am hoping it might be a loose screw or something similar. I haven’t had a chance to pull the plastic trim surrounding the handbrake off yet. I am planning on doing this tomorrow.

[R826583]

I found the culprit. It was the bolt holding down the handbrake that had come loose. I would like to clean all around the handbrake area… but how do I remove the surrounding plastic?


I’ve circled the plastic trim that I would like to remove in the photo. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[ciclo]

You have to remove several trims to remove the center console.

and small parts that get in the way, e.g. the handbrake cover, etc.



It is possible to remove the push button without breaking it if you do it with care/love and good tools.

What we have all known as having a fun time.

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Everything seems better when it's clean.

[R826583]

Thank you very much. It’s good to see your Polo apart and clean!

A few questions:
- In the 1st image tool 3409 is needed. Will the attached photo of some tools work as a substitute?
- What is the screw driver size needed? (EDIT: I’ve found the torx screw in CarProg2 and the remark is 4,2x16 - what does this mean for the torx size?).
- Do I need to remove the handbrake cover to remove the plastic trim? It looks to me like the trim would slide over the handbrake even with the cover still on it. If not, what is the part number of the handbrake button just in case it brakes?
- How long did it take you roughly do disassemble the trim as seen in your photo?

[amer6R]

maybe use a nylon nut to prevent that from happening again

[R826583]

Will do

[ciclo]

- I have some 'blue' panel disassembly tools (Ali) that are great. I also have some red ones that are not as good.
- Length x Width.
- The handbrake cover must be removed.
- 6R0711333C 3Q7 Silver.
- 6R0711333B 041 Glossy black (cheaper and nicer). https://imgur.com/AB34aZw
- It will take you from one to two hours, it depends on personal skills.


-The handbrake push button can be released 'after' releasing the retaining tab of the handbrake cover. Determinedly pull the handbrake cover in a single movement, the push button will fly away.

[R826583]

Good to know, thanks for that. Regarding the torx size for the plastic trim around the handbrake, how do I find it? I now know the screw width x height but how does this translate into torx size? From doing some research, I believe the screw is a T25 but I’m not sure how to confirm this. Is there some relation?

[ciclo]

No, the metric is not related to the shape of the bolt head.

The interior bolts/screws that hold the interior plastics/trims/parts are usually T20, although there are also T25, T30 and some in the trunk are even larger.
I would say that the ones on the center console are T20 torx, I'm not 100% sure, ... it doesn't matter if you have one, two, three or more sets of varied bits.



This brand is excellent, lifetime warranty.

[R826583]

I was planning on just getting the one torx bit that I need to remove the plastic trim but it isn’t that much more expensive to get a kit (T20, T25, T30, etc.) of them. I’ll go that way Your sets of bits looks very nice.

Perhaps this is a slightly strange question… but what is the torque spec for the M10 spline bolts that hold down the front two seats? I figure I might as well put the torque wrench to good use! Also, do you know what bolt size holds down the handbrake assembly to the car chassis? I have to order this in as I’m going to put nyloc nuts on… as amer6R suggested to stop the nuts from coming loose in the future.

[CarbonChaos]

My guess would be M8 nuts that hold the parking brake lever to the vehicle floor

[R826583]

I’ve found some stainless steel M8 nyloc bolts from a local shop. I’ll hopefully be able to install them in a few days when I remove the plastic trim.

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Is erwWin (.de) down for anyone else? It is still being slow for me. I will have to try a VPN to access it from Australia perhaps. It is strange because it worked for 15 minutes when I first logged on.

[ciclo]

[R826583]

Thank you for the help! I would have found these myself, but I still cannot get through to erWin at all and I couldn’t find the handbrake under the part group on ETKA CarProg2

[ciclo]

It requires some time and experience to find the parts in the part catalogs, don't worry, you will improve with time of use.

If possible, I will try to help you in this way with the information in the erWin PDFs.
I'm sorry you're having communication problems with the erWin website.

Curiously, https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/au ... t%20second.

(where I live, the internet speed is one of the best in the world, which is definitely a plus)