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I have 2010 VW Polo 1.2 diesel with 85,000 km on it. One year ago, the display started with the check engine light on and flashing: Pre glow light. Speeds are decreased after 90.

After driving 1,500 km, the engine oil and coolant levels decrease. I also observed white coloured smoke coming out of the silencer and the oil level dipstick pipe. Some mechanics suggested it's a problem with piston block ring and some are suggesting replacing turbo.

Any suggestions?

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    What were the codes from the check engine light? Does the smoke coming from the silencer smell sweet? This could be multiple problems.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Dec 3, 2016 at 11:28
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    Hi, and welcome to mechanics.stackexchange.com! I've cleaned up the grammar and formatting in your post to improve legibility. Feel free to re-edit if you feel I detracted from the true meaning of your post.
    – anonymous2
    Dec 3, 2016 at 12:17
  • Does your car shakes at cold start and or it takes a bit more time to start? If yes, you have a blown head gasket, repair it ASAP
    – Iman Nia
    Dec 5, 2016 at 23:38

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I'm 99% sure it's a head gasket problem. The more you drive it, the worse it will get until you'll ruin the engine. Does the oil look like café-au-lait? or is there some oil in coolant reservoir? Only an internal inspection will tell you for sure, plus tell you what other problems you have created by driving it with blown head gasket. The white smoke says you are burning coolant and fuel mixed together by a hole in the gasket.

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    This makes a lot of sense, and is an unfortunate diagnosis.
    – Kyle Baker
    Dec 4, 2016 at 1:26
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I agree with the suggestions that it is most likely a head gasket problem – I don't think it is a turbo or a piston ring problem. In my, somewhat limited, experience the VW TDI turbos are quite long lived. I've currently got two that are both closing in on 500,000 KM. So I would focus on the head gasket. I'd also suggest contacting VW to see if they might extend warranty coverage, 85,000 KM seems way too soon for a head gasket failure.

With such an early failure, make sure to try to find the reason. The head and block deck should be checked for flatness and it would be good to check the head bolt torques before pulling them. What you don't want is to just have the head gasket replaced and to assume that that will fix the problem. The only time that will be the solution is if the head wasn't torqued down properly. Even then you'll want to make sure there hasn't been any erosion of the head or block that would cause the new gasket to fail.

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