losing power vw polo

babs

TK Veteran
hi my daughters car seems to be loosing power when your driving it.when you change the gears there is a drop in speed.it was serviced on saturday and the mechanic says it may be the distributer speed sensor.can anyone let me know would this be the problem.:confused:
 
babs rather than spending time looking around looking for answers to your problem,I would if it were me go and get the car diagnostically tested there are so many issues in the modern day car regarding sensors it could also be one of a number of other issues,i recently had to get my own car plugged in due to something similar,if the fault shows up then you are getting to the heart of the problem immediately and not replacing parts that dont need to be replaced,the down side is that the ecu (engine control unit) can clear the faults itself and you could find that nothing will show up on the diagnostic test,so try and get it tested asap,sorry for not being more helpful,if i was to list what i think could be wrong then i would just be speculating.
 
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thanks moh i will do that and let you know we had a problem like this before and it was some sensor.the mechanic says it maybe a speed sensor.
 
No probs babs hope you get it sorted i would be very interested to know what the problem is,let us know how you get on (y)
 
whats the year ?diesel or gas? by losing power do you lose rpms at the same time?any codes displayed?please post back with this info.
 
thanks aldan its year 2000 and runs on gas nothing is on the display and when you go up a gear it seems to be slowing down.
 
distributor speed sensor should post a code.have it scanned for codes and maybe a fuel pressure test.half the battle these days is finding a reputable shop.never heard of this model,im in canada tho.another thing to look at is the caylitic converter.pull one of the o2 sensors and see if it runs any better.if it does you may have a plugged cat.cheers Al.
 
thanks aldan the distributer speed sensor was mentioned so i will get that checked out and let you know.
 
hi cacti aldan is canadian so it gas there petrol here.we think its the speed sensor i will let you know when we get it sorted.:)
 
i havent got it sorted yet moh. our mechanic said distributer speed sensor on his machine but vw supplier have said they never heard of that,so still tring to sort it out moh. thanks for asking if you have any ideas i would appreciate your advice thank you.
 
Dee Your mechanic may have input the wrong info into his diagnostics machine considering VW have said that they never heard of a distributor speed sensor,i would get a second diagnostic test done else where,with regards to the engine management unit as i have said it can clear the fault codes and your real problem may not show up,your problem could be one of numerous things with regards to losing power.It could be a vacuum hose/brake servo hose which is loose or has a hole in it,,this allows too much air to be drawn into the inlet manifold which weakens the air/fuel mixture causing the car to lack power,and have poor acceleration, thats just one suggestion.If you could post back the year engine size,at what stage during a journey does the car lose power,i will ask a few of my friends that are in the motor trade and i will post back a list of suggestions for you to look at.pm me that you have posted back here as this thread isnt a busy one and i tend to over look the fact that its here :)
 
update on vw polo brought it to vw garage there wac a tube loose so air was getting into carrburettor so hopefully problem sorted.thank you all for your help.
 
Nice one Dee glad you got sorted and its great news that it was the cheapest of fixes considering the amount of things it could have been :)
 
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