So driving to work this morning my freshly serviced and mot'd vw polo (diesel) started juddering, kind of like it was mis firing. When I got to work I sat and let it idle and it was stuttering with an occasional little bit of black smoke from the exhaust on the occasional big judder.
Not very knowledgable on engines (in particular diesels) so wondering if anyone on here has a clue to pre arm me for when I speak to a garage.
If it makes any difference its just clicked past 170k (51 reg)
Cheers,
which engine? pd's injector loom can mess about. The injectors can also have problems too. On a good point the loom is a easy to replace. Probably best to get is diagnosed properly, where are you?
Its a 1.9 sdi I am based in Birmingham but work in Warwick.
Was hoping when I return to the car at the end of th eday it will magically have repaired itself 
What's the temperature like outside?
Not cold enough for frost a bit chilly tho.
It might be suffering from the cold and having a little shiver, no real help though. 
If the service included a fuel filter change, some crud lodged in the system may have been disturbed and is now partially blocking one or more of the injectors.
You need to return it to the garage, but please don't blame them. Sometimes it just happens.
Hth
Marko
My pick up truck went into the garage running fine and when it came out it was running as rough as .... I mentioned it to the guys and they reckoned changing the fuel filter may have caused it. They recommended some 'fruity' driving and it would clear through.
I did.
It did.
Cheers all, just went to the car park and gave it some dixey revving to see if it would clear it so to speak. Didn't have time to leave it idling for long (should be working!) but it didn't seem to splutter.
Should I just give it hell on the way home then? I had done the opposite once I noticed it and pootled in.
when my Alfa behaved like that it was munching its way through valves as the timing belt had slipped.
Not trying to be alarmist but I'd try and get a better diagnosis before just giving it a load of welly and seeing what happens.
lol yes this is true wwaswas 
It's had a good innings though would rather not have to buy a new car or have some serious work done on it.
Will ring the garage and get it booked in for them to have a look at.
Should I just give it hell on the way home then?
Yes. If the valves were being damaged then it'd be knackered in no time, you'd not have got to work. Was it driving normally otherwise? Normal power etc?
Sounds a bit like contaminated fuel or some crud dislodged.
You could take it back to the garage but they'll probably just take it out and thrash it. No other way really to clean out the insides. Why let them have all the fun Well, as much fun as you can have in a 1.9 SDI Polo.
Suspect the garage - a VW garage screwed around with my Polo after an expensive service - I think they left the air inlet unfiltered as they didn't have a spare to fit, so bypassed the filter.
It could be the maf sensor on its way out, if it persists after a ragging.
Turnerguy thats shocking 
, VW would do their nut if they heard a dealer had bypassed the engine air inlet filter!
Does that engine even have any electronics? It's quite basic is it not? But it might be the non turbo version of the original pre-PD tdi.. not sure.
Yeah it's very basic.. underpowered and sounds like a tractor oh and its the estate guise so even more street cred there!
Fingers crossed a thrashing will sort it, a bit like turning your computer off and back on again
I was thinking about a new car come the end of the year anyway so may just have to bring plans forward if it turns into a costly problem.
Doh.. gave it a thrashing on the way home and it seemed fine but when I tried to start it tonight it took a few goes and I had a flashing coil light on the dash. It used to start at the turn of a key. :v( am guessing its more than a bit of shit on a filter.
Flashing coil light? Difficulty starting? Sounds like glowplug issue.
A long shot, but check they havent pulled whatever fuse controls the cold start / glow plug circuit. Our Galaxy broke down in a simmilar fashion once, because they taken out the fuse for some reason & forgot to put it back. Like I said, a long shot. But thinking, if they have changed a fuel filter they might have pulled a fuse to prime it etc. 
Flashing coil light = engine management has detected a fault.
Why manufacturer's ever thought that was a good way to let the driver know there was a fault, I'll never know, especially considering by the time diesels had engine management, most instrument clusters had a normal engine warning light for petrols!
As for the problem, could be something simple like an air leak on the fuel system (usually where the pipes go onto the filter on VW's, as the pipes often perish and they won't reseal again), or could be something more expensive.
maybe dirt or leaves had been kicking about in the airbox (when they replaced the air filter) and have since taken a flyer through the thin wire in your sensor.. possibly damaging it? have a close look yourself and see if you can spot anything tweaked.
Take it back, or at least call the garage and ask them for advice. If you break it they'll just say you shouldn't have been driving it. They've probably knocked something.
As the engine management light has started flashing, check all the plugs you can find, particularly anything that is near the filter boxes etc.
could be something simple like an air leak on the fuel system
My money is on the O ring between the fuel filter and the filter body. It could be drawing air into the fuel system
My money is on the O ring between the fuel filter and the filter body. It could be drawing air into the fuel system
How much?
Nothing like a guaranteed winning bet
Took it to the VW dealer round the corner from work.. just waiting for a call to let me know what the deal is.
Weeps.. 4 major faults on sensors looking like 1200+ parts and labour. 
time to look for a new car then.
In other words they are just guessing and changing the most expensive bits.. You need to find someone who does diagnostics not just randomly keep changing parts till the fault goes away... I cant see you having faults on 4 sensors all at the same time...
fuel filter changed but not fully primed?
someone at work has a polo sdi and it doesn't sound much more advanced than our 70's tractor, so can't do that much harm, Italian tune-up?
When one thing goes wrong it can cause the sensors to give out faults in other areas that are actually fine. Our b6 passat recently had the common key steering lock fault which makes difficult to start. When it first went in it listed key/steeringlock, injector, fuel pump faults. VW cleared the ECU and asked us to run it till the fault reappeared then to bring it back in. When in went in it just showed the steering lock fault, so they sorted that and its been absolutely fine since.
Havent got the long list to hand but there were 4 items that their technician thought we should get sorted asap.
Having said that it was sweet as a nut driving home, I guess its just a case that it could go sometime be it tomorrow morning or in 6 months.
Either way with over 170000 on the clock its done alright. Think I will take my chances with it whist we source a replacement.. I pay for my AA cover, might aswell use it!.
Cheers for ppls suggestions.
What exactly did the original service include before the poor running?
It's no wonder people don't trust garages!
I suspect they plugged it into the VAG diagnostic tool, saw four fault codes and told you you need four sensors. Take it back to the original garage, or mail me your location, as I may know a garage you can rely on.
Hth
Marko
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