VW Polo - Stuttering when accelerating

neglectarino

Hi All,

A friend has a 2000 VW Polo that stutters when accelerating (in any gear I think). It has done this for > 1 year. She brought it to a local independent mechanic who couldnt diagnose it; his attitude was that it is "one of those things with the car". So... she is learning to live with it. (she's skint so cant afford to go to a VW garage)

By looking at various threads, it seems like there could be some coil or spark plug problem.

Anyone had this problem and able to diagnose it?

Cheers

pvt.joker

I had a similiar problem with a golf. mechanic changed a spark plug cable/lead and it was fine.

cashmni1

First thing is change the .................mechanic.
As*hole.
Most likely a faulty coil pack but unfortunately, you have to go to a qualified mechanic to get the correct info/diagnosis.
Do not go to a VW dealership. That IS a waste of money. Ask around for a Good mechanic. Shouldn't cost too much for him/her to have a look at the car and diagnose the fault.

JimmyCrackCorn!

"one of those things with the car":eek:

Its not the first time iv heard stuff like this and if he had the balls to charge for that bit of advice/work i would have ripped him a new one just for that attitude.


Get to a good mechanic and ask do they have diagnostic equipment.

rick_fantastic

does it cut out when idling?

does it struggle or stutter when accelerating?

usually a mix between the spark plug leads / plugs or the throttle body.

i had a similar issue with a 98 polo.

fixed by changing spark plug leads, cleaning out throttle body.

also maybe get the distributor cap cleaned out.

new spark plugs and vw spark plug leads will set u back around 100euro.

macrubicon

If she does a lot of short hop runs, the Polo's are known for dirtying up the throttle body.

Usually a quick clean for a few quid does the trick, but if it's always doing short hops it will come back.

Most independents who see Polo's will have a quick job for a few €€ to sort it out.

It will show up on the diagnostics as well - you don't need a VW dealer for them.

neglectarino

1. Yes it just struggles during accelleration
2. Yes, a lot of her driving is short hops

I'll pass on this advice and recommend she uses a different mechanic.

Thanks for all your help!

Avns1s

pvt.joker wrote: »

I had a similiar problem with a golf. mechanic changed a spark plug cable/lead and it was fine.

+1.

Take out the plugs one by one and look for a faint thin black line down the side of the white porecelain part. Sign that you need a new plug lead. Best to change the 4 while you're at it. The rest wont be far behind.

It is a classic plug lead symptom tough.

pvt.joker

Can I also just say your mechanic is a complete clown. Surely this is one of the most basic problems that go wrong with cars. People like him give decent mechanics a bad name.