Donald M

Poor service

I spent the Christmas period with a very heavy heart due to an extremely disappointing experience with the VW Polokwane branch. On 09 December 2025, I took my vehicle to the VW Polokwane dealership for a routine oil service, unaware that this would result in significant issues. On the same day, while driving home after the service, the vehicle displayed an airbag error warning. I immediately pulled over and contacted the dealership. I was advised not to worry, as the issue was believed to have been caused by a jump start, and I was informed that the warning would simply need to be cleared. I was instructed to return the vehicle to the dealership. I continued driving home, and upon arrival, additional problems became apparent. The air conditioning system stopped working, the seatbelts no longer detected occupants when fastened, and the start-stop system began activating with warning sounds. The following Saturday, we returned the vehicle to the dealership, where we were advised to come back during the week. Upon contacting the dealership again, we were referred to the same representative who had initially assisted us. She indicated that Volkswagen was only aware of the airbag issue and stated that the additional errors were not the dealership’s responsibility. We were instructed to make another appointment for a diagnostic assessment, at our own cost. We proceeded to book the diagnostic appointment and paid the required fee. When we ask for the cause, they say airbag can trigger these errors . Following this assessment, we were informed that to repair a damaged component would cost approximately R15,000 as the first step, while the vehicle was in VW’s care. This experience has been extremely distressing and disappointing, particularly given that the vehicle was taken in for a standard service and returned with multiple faults that were not present beforehand.