A VW Polo day?

So, after the school summer holidays have finished. Fortunately, then we start to get busier in the garage repair side of the business. Happily, the tyre side starts to pick up nearer November, with the approach winter.

Like many other garages we try to plan our work schedules. Booking the various car repair jobs in accordingly.

One particular day last week when we were fully booked up and very busy. Subsequently, a breakdown truck turned up on the forecourt with a black VW Passat on the back. Firstly, the car looked to have had a small front end shunt. Because, the front wheel was sticking out at an angle. The VW Passat was a 2009 TDi and the car had been bumped when parked up in the local supermarket.

We pulled the VW off the trailer and pushed it onto a ramp. We soon discovered that the front wheel had been hit and had completely bent the steering arm. This had totally disabled the car from being driven. The remedy was easy; a new steering arm was fitted and the car was given a Laser Wheel Alignment to correct and re-set the steering. The owner picked up his car and went home happy.

Next car with a engine problem

We were not so lucky with the next car that was booked in for the engine shuddering and banging. The car was a VW Polo 1.4 TDi 2002. It belonged to a friend of the family’s son, who had just passed his driving test.

The VW Polo had been left with us and we took the car out for a road test to try find out what the problem was. The first thing that we noticed was that the clutch had gone, but there was other things going on at the same time, it was a mix-match of problems. We were well trusted by the customer and so decided that we had to fix the clutch first. We removed the clutch housing and found that the clutch had indeed gone.

After replacing the clutch the VW Polo did go a little better, but the engine was definitely not right, it was shuddering and juddering.

VW Polo Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF) had to be checked out.

The MAF sensor is the instrument that checks the temperature and the weight of the air that is entering the VW Polo engine. This information is then sent to the on-board computer, which calculates the correct amount of fuel that the engine requires to operate at.

The sensor works by measuring the current that is required to check the temperature while the air blows past. The MAF will start to clog up with dirt and other particles over time and this blockage is the thing that can cause your engine to have problems. The symptoms are exactly what was related to this problem. Poor starting, the engine would not run properly and would not accelerate, especially up hills.

Clean MAF sensor

Some people say that if you can clean the MAF sensor at regular periods then these problems would not arise, but we have always found that we have had to replace the part. Importantly, we also fitted a new air filter and the VW Polo was a different car. It was road tested and the change of the MAF sensor revitalised the car, back to normal engine functions.

We also noticed that the steering had got a knocking noise and a vibration and on inspection found that the car also needed a Front Arm rear bush. We fitted this new bush and adjusted the wheel alignment. Here at Pellonautocentre we can repair all makes and types of cars.

It was an expensive day for the customer, but you would be surprised how many of our customers drive their car until it drops to pieces, nothing new there?

Just a few problems that we can get: in a busy garage.

Also sell Pirelli Car Tyres online from our website.