VW Polo issues

The_Kitty

I had a solid orange checklight on my 05 VW polo. Brought it to garage today and apparently its the cat thats the issue and it needs replacing. He said something like theres an issue with the sensor but he thinks that the sensor will work better if the cat is replaced. does this mean I'm probably screwed for the emissions from an NCT point of view? Its due an NCT in January but I usually do an early NCT in November. Is what the mechanic saying plausible or could I still fail the NCT on emissions if he replaces the cat?

standardg60

I think you're being taken for a ride here, faulty cats won't throw a light on, it's most likely a faulty o2 sensor which are peanuts to replace and take ten minutes. From what he said he knows it's the sensor but wants to make some money. (cats are expensive)

Bring it somewhere else.

colm_mcm

Is it going through a lot of oil?

Stoolbend

Faulty Cat can throw a fault. More than likely there’s an underlying issue to cause it to fail though.

Is the car driving ok besides?

The first thing we check on any of those engines is compression.

The_Kitty

standardg60 wrote: »

I think you're being taken for a ride here, faulty cats won't throw a light on, it's most likely a faulty o2 sensor which are peanuts to replace and take ten minutes. From what he said he knows it's the sensor but wants to make some money. (cats are expensive)

Bring it somewhere else.

He is saying 200 - 250 euro for the fix. At the moment am saving for a new car so ideally would like to nct the polo and have it until march next year so I don't mind spending a bit on it but my fear would be after replacing it the car would still fail nct and need more parts or just die completely. its not worth spending a fortune on an old car that i'll have to replace anyway.

The_Kitty

colm_mcm wrote: »

Is it going through a lot of oil?

The light came on a few weeks after being serviced. I checked the oil level and was fine if thats what you mean about burning oil.

The_Kitty

Stoolbend wrote: »

Faulty Cat can throw a fault. More than likely there’s an underlying issue to cause it to fail though.

Is the car driving ok besides?

The first thing we check on any of those engines is compression.

It seems to be driving ok besides that. Like I wouldnt be expecting miracles from an old car but its in use daily and has never failed to start or broken down so far.

CoBo55

Set a budget and don't spend a penny over the amount, they're a dreadful engine made of chocolate and they swallow your money quicker than the speed of light. You have been warned...

The_Kitty

CoBo55 wrote: »

Set a budget and don't spend a penny over the amount, they're a dreadful engine made of chocolate and they swallow your money quicker than the speed of light. You have been warned...

I've had the car 4 years and this is the first engine issue but even knowing nothing about cars when he said the cat my gut feeling was that replacing that was an exercise in futility as theres prob a lot more wrong with it. What small car would you recommend if it comes to replacing sooner than I was hoping?

Stoolbend

Check engine light won’t fail the NCT. Did they do an actual emissions check? If not get someone to test them. If they pass just put it through NCT in November and see what it fails on then.

If you’re thinking of changing it anyway there’s not much point spending money on it. We have a few customers that the cars throw up a catalyst efficiency fault but still pass the emissions. 2 of them have had the light on for years.

CoBo55

The_Kitty wrote: »

I've had the car 4 years and this is the first engine issue but even knowing nothing about cars when he said the cat my gut feeling was that replacing that was an exercise in futility as theres prob a lot more wrong with it. What small car would you recommend if it comes to replacing sooner than I was hoping?

Yaris..

standardg60

The_Kitty wrote: »

He is saying 200 - 250 euro for the fix. At the moment am saving for a new car so ideally would like to nct the polo and have it until march next year so I don't mind spending a bit on it but my fear would be after replacing it the car would still fail nct and need more parts or just die completely. its not worth spending a fortune on an old car that i'll have to replace anyway.

I doubt he's replacing the cat for that price.

Would also just bring it for the nct first and take it from there if there is an issue..would cost as much to get an emissions test done beforehand anyway

The_Kitty

Stoolbend wrote: »

Check engine light won’t fail the NCT. Did they do an actual emissions check? If not get someone to test them. If they pass just put it through NCT in November and see what it fails on then.

If you’re thinking of changing it anyway there’s not much point spending money on it. We have a few customers that the cars throw up a catalyst efficiency fault but still pass the emissions. 2 of them have had the light on for years.

It says on the nct website they wont do the emissions part of the test if the check engine light is on?

Stoolbend

The_Kitty wrote: »

It says on the nct website they wont do the emissions part of the test if the check engine light is on?

That’s just for Diesel engines. Even at that it’s not usually an issue either. Engine light on a petrol car does not affect the test.

The_Kitty

Well it passed the NCT without doing anything to it and seems to be driving fine. I'm taking it for a service tomorrow, is there anything I should ask them about it? If the cat was faulty would it have failed the emissions, does it mean something else caused the engine light? Or could there still be an issue with the cat? The light went off by itself and hasnt come back on.

CoBo55

The_Kitty wrote: »

Well it passed the NCT without doing anything to it and seems to be driving fine. I'm taking it for a service tomorrow, is there anything I should ask them about it? If the cat was faulty would it have failed the emissions, does it mean something else caused the engine light? Or could there still be an issue with the cat? The light went off by itself and hasnt come back on.

Ask the garage to scan it for fault codes but do nothing else without authorization from you. Be interesting to see what the code is.

The_Kitty

CoBo55 wrote: »

Ask the garage to scan it for fault codes but do nothing else without authorization from you. Be interesting to see what the code is.

Will codes still come up if the light is off now?

standardg60

The_Kitty wrote: »

Will codes still come up if the light is off now?

It may have stored the code but if it went off by itself i wouldn't worry too much about it.

Well done on putting it through the NCT first, treat yourself with the money you've saved!

CoBo55

The_Kitty wrote: »

Will codes still come up if the light is off now?

Yes it should be stored.

The_Kitty

They checked compression during service and apparently the car is almost dead will only last another month and that i should get a replacement as soon as possible.

standardg60

The_Kitty wrote: »

They checked compression during service and apparently the car is almost dead will only last another month and that i should get a replacement as soon as possible.

Amazing. They don't happen to sell cars aswell do they? So they checked the compression, told you the car would only last a month, but carried on with the service anyway? If the compression was poor the car would barely move, never mind pass an nct.

Stoolbend

It’s pretty much worthless now anyway so just drive it until it stops. There’s no point replacing it while it’s still driving ok for you.

It could last a long time yet.

Stoolbend

You’ll usually get a bit of a misfire first. I would wait until then to look for a replacement. Especially after paying for a service.

CoBo55

The_Kitty wrote: »

They checked compression during service and apparently the car is almost dead will only last another month and that i should get a replacement as soon as possible.

Now there's a surprise...

The_Kitty

CoBo55 wrote: »

Now there's a surprise...

I know, you said the engines were made of chocolate lol. Defo a headwreck, I suppose I've been lucky to have it last this long.