Service Campaign 24wh on AW Polo GTi

[kaamil777]

Good day all,

I have a 2019 AW GTi, can anyone on this forum or know of anyone with a GTi that has had Emissions Service Action Code: 24WH done to their vehicle? I had taken my car in to check out some other noises and they had told me they did an ECU update with this code which is for lambda sensor calculation correction.

However, after driving the car, it no longer dumps fuel into the exhaust, causing no DSG shift noise, no crackles, different feeling on boost. This is not how a performance car like this should feel and I rightly took it back to the dealer to try and understand what the issue might be and if the VW factory in Germany have a solution to this. The factory had advised that they are unable to assist, which I somehow cannot accept as a whole answer.

I do accept that an emissions tune on the ECU would affect how fuel is used off throttle but I find this disheartening as the personality of this car has changed completely; the drawcard being the noise and the torque on offer, have now been replaced by this dulled down experience.

Any replies and answers are welcome as I cannot find a whole lot of info on this on google.

[Howie-WP]

Good day all,

I have a 2019 AW GTi, can anyone on this forum or know of anyone with a GTi that has had Emissions Service Action Code: 24WH done to their vehicle? I had taken my car in to check out some other noises and they had told me they did an ECU update with this code which is for lambda sensor calculation correction.

However, after driving the car, it no longer dumps fuel into the exhaust, causing no DSG shift noise, no crackles, different feeling on boost. This is not how a performance car like this should feel and I rightly took it back to the dealer to try and understand what the issue might be and if the VW factory in Germany have a solution to this. The factory had advised that they are unable to assist, which I somehow cannot accept as a whole answer.

I do accept that an emissions tune on the ECU would affect how fuel is used off throttle but I find this disheartening as the personality of this car has changed completely; the drawcard being the noise and the torque on offer, have now been replaced by this dulled down experience.

Any replies and answers are welcome as I cannot find a whole lot of info on this on google.

This would be the "Emmissions" part of the Emissions Service action code: 24WH???

If you want the "drawcard being the noise" get the ever popular pops and bangs tune that seemingly everyone has.

[kaamil777]

That's quite the cynical reply I must say, however, the car is still under a maintenance plan, happily, so I wouldn't do anything to jeopardise that.

What I am trying to do is find someone who does know something about this issue, in order to restore it back to its sound before this update, a sound which did have crackles, 'pops and bangs' as you put it.

[Howie-WP]

That's quite the cynical reply I must say, however, the car is still under a maintenance plan, happily, so I wouldn't do anything to jeopardise that.

What I am trying to do is find someone who does know something about this issue, in order to restore it back to its sound before this update, a sound which did have crackles, 'pops and bangs' as you put it.

My guess, because of this, VW will ensure your car has the latest update (they do it for a reason) and warrantees / maintenance plans run off these updates. Even if you regress it, it will be updated at next service. I say move on ....

[Howie-WP]

edit: Ask your dealer for the details of the service action, so you can see what it is all about. Tell them you want it for you files / info wrt to maintenance plan. If no luck, contact VW Customer care with the same request) Then we can search on the 'net (as I can't find anything about 24WH.

[Raoul92]

Hey Kaamil

I created an account to reply to your post, I also own an AW Polo GTI under a maintenance plan and I was contacted now in May by my dealership to bring my vehicle in for a software update. At the dealership they explained that the update was just to reduce emissions so I had no objections. After about a week I noticed that the 'pops and bangs' were completely gone. When I contacted the dealership they informed me that I must contact VWSA if I want to lodge a complaint regarding the software update.

I have since lodged a formal complaint to VWSA and they informed me that they would issue a response by the 15th of June. I completely agree that this has resulted in a dulled down driving experience. I'm also curious if this campaign affects other GTI's as the vehicle's sound is one of its biggest selling point, therefore I doubt this issue would affect the Golf 8 GTI and the face-lifted Polo GTI.

On a side note, I've also noticed that my fuel consumption has gotten significantly worse since the campaign. on a few long distance trips I've been averaging around 10 l/100km while driving on Eco for most of the trip, whereas in the past I was able to average between 6.5 - 7 l/100km on the same journey.

I doubt I will receive a positive response from VWSA, but if I do I will respond to this comment. The only way we'll be able to resolve this issue without losing our maintenance plans is if enough owners lodge complaints to VWSA.

[Reegz]

Eish guys. Sorry to hear about this. Dunno why they'd kill the aspect of the GTi that makes it such an appealing car on all fronts.

Please let us know when and if you hear back from VW SA on a fix or a reversal of the update.

Interesting to hear that consumption has taken a hit as well. I wonder if there are more owners on the forum who are similarly impacted.

[PersonX]

Hey All,

This issue many many individuals are facing.

My story is that someone I know have a Polo GTi 2019 went in for a service just after the update came out and the individual asked if there will be any changes and was told there are no changes and was very standard. After the service which they made some other mistakes during the minor service they typically make and forget to do - They noticed car did not sound the same and did not have the iconic DSG farts.

That someone I know called the service representative that they spoke to previously who suddenly stated yes there are a lot of changes which make the car leaner and something to do with the CO2 emissions. From going to "standard zero change update" to many complaints already and they working on a fix is highly unethical.

They refuse to roll back the software till VWSA approves it and this is illegal as well since they returned a defective product back after service. The fact that they call it a fix is proof that it's defective.

The consumption is very slightly higher and every 10th start or so it sounds like car car slightly struggles to start post update.

VWSA has been putting off a resolution, however we need everyone to file a complaint. It's not about the sound anymore - I hate liars.

Call 086 043 4737 to start a complaint that will head to VWSA and join others to get this rolled back as I highly doubt it will be for anyone else unless it's requested and complained about.

If you have a 2022 GTI you will notice that this software came out in the cars and I believe doesn't do this and this could be considered by design which means it's not a defect unless you find an early model that may have not have this update, however this can be classified as a defect and is the same as bringing a Ferrari to get a service and it coming back sounding like an etios.

It's defective. The consumer protection act will protect us. I don't know if the post with the individual from VWSA on this thread could be used for proof it being named as a "Fix" may help though worth a shot if you want to add further evidence since they work for and represent VWSA.

[kaamil777]

Hey there

Just came back to my original post to see if there are any updates or good news but it seems like many are still facing this issue with the polo. Was told today after my car's service that VW had reigned in the power output with this software update as the original software was probably going to be detrimental to the engine life span. I don't buy it though, my car was never he same after that update and unfortunately can't simply jump in to a newer model /better sounding model.

Just wanted to keep this thread alive.

Cheers.