VW Polo bluetooth: Needs some rethinking. The cheap add-on doesn’t work.


UPDATE 2: VW advise you connect to bluetooth via the Steering wheel buttons NOT the add-on unit.

      Update 1:- to our recent story on the Bluetooth out the Polo GTi: vw POLO Bluetooth unit We have now run the unit for about a month. As I am always want to say: If something annoys you on the test drive it’s going to be amplified the longer you own the car. In this case the bluetooth we didn’t like on day one has shown to be even more problematic than we first thought. 1: If you start the car with a phone/ipod connect via USB cable, the system hangs 2: Making a call from the iPhone will often make the system hang 3: incoming texts show up on the system as incoming calls 4: connecting a second phone (adding it to the list) very hit and miss 5: removing and replacing the unit each time the car is used is annoying 6: Voice dial far harder to use than the native iPhone system 7: Audio streaming sounds so bad as to be unusable 8: overly complex in operation. We wonder if most people will bother using it. 9: You’ll find yourself either not taking out of the glovebox, or not putting it in In short, the system is very disappointing. It’s hard to use, unattractive and leaves an enormous hole in the dash should you ever want to change it. Given the audio system is the same as the Golf, not including a fully integrated Bluetooth unit can only be a financial decision. For an entry level car costing over 30K the very least you can expect is bluetooth as good as that in a 13K Korean shopping cart especially as VW have them available across their range. VW-Polo-GTI-preview-02s
Written by Alan Zurvas

Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.


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13 responses to “VW Polo bluetooth: Needs some rethinking. The cheap add-on doesn’t work.”

  1. funnmtb.co.uk Avatar

    I love what you guys are usually up too. This
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  2. Angie Avatar

    My iPhone 5 has been paired to the bluetooth unit in the 2013 Polo but the module only comes on 50% of the time when the car is started.Of course when I took the car into the dealer they couldn’t replicate the error! This morning the bluetooth came on each time the car was started but not this afternoonl! Sometimes I try and partly remove the module but that can still take 4 attempts for it to light up.

  3. Maureen Avatar
    Maureen

    Could you please share a photo or something to show where on the steering wheel I can fix my bluetooth issue? After 2 years, the bluetooth screen doesn’t charge up anymore, just stays a black screen. I can’t see anywhere on the steering wheel that I can connect via the steering wheel. I have a 2012 WV Polo TSI. Thanks!

  4. Kevin Avatar

    Its like you read my thoughts! You appear to know a lot
    approximately this, like you wrote the ebook in it or something.
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    wonderful blog. An excellent read. I will definitely be back.

  5. Ryan Avatar

    Hi, I have just brought a brand new Volkswagen Polo R-Line, and this also came with the same Bluetooth wireless unit. It worked fine for a few weeks and now every time I connect my phone (Sony Xperia Z) it works for a bit then restarts itself every few minutes. If I don’t connect the phone then the Bluetooth just says searching for phone, it never resets.
    So it could either be my phone or the Bluetooth unit. Any thoughts??

  6. Jonathan Avatar
    Jonathan

    HI,

    I have a Polo and the bluetooth is not connecting to my phone. I have got the whole unit replaced by the dealer once, for the following same reason of fault, which worked for a couple of month. The unit just stopped connecting to my phone and keep throwing out a message “Please connect UHV”. I did not take out the unit since it was fitted in. Any idea how this can be resolved?

    Thanks.

    Regards,
    Jonathan

    1. gaycarboys Avatar

      We wondered y the head unit from the golf wasn’t used since it had BT built in. I’m beginning to think the only way round it is to completely replace the audio system. There are units which are the same size and use the same docks. They also make use of the steering wheel buttons but I’m not sure how they interact with the menu system. But it can not be worse than the system that’s in it.

    2. gaycarboys Avatar

      I forgot to add that we tried cleaning the contacts with a bud and cleaner and it seemed to work for a while. Give it a go.

  7. jess Avatar

    Hi
    I have a blue tooth issue, I have a 2012 POLO with the above blue tooth unit in your photo.
    It works when I start the car, it pairs my iphone etc, however if I forget to put the unit in and begin driving and then put the unit it, the screen is black and it won’t work?

    I have had the screen replaced twice and the control unit, now the dealership are telling me that I have to stop the car and then start the car again for the unit to work is this correct? it sounds wrong?? thanks jess =)

    1. gaycarboys Avatar

      It’s the only way we could get it to work too. It doesn’t like being put in after the car has been started. If I were you I’d ring the customer care line and complain. It’s by far the worse unit we ever seen. The reasoN you have to keep restarting the car is to reset the unit as it has no “off” button. We can’t see why they didn’t use the unit in the Gold which has none of these issues.

  8. Jess Avatar

    Hi
    I have the 2012 polo and I’m having a blue tooth issue, I had to have my screen replaced, now the new one requires me to pair my iPhone to it each time I remove the blue tooth from it’s holder is this normal?
    Thank you
    Kind regards jess

    1. gaycarboys Avatar

      No it isn’t. Could I suggest pairing the bluetooth by NOT using the dash mounted unit, but the steering wheel button. Certainly VW Australia no longer suggestes you pair your phone using the add-on module. Presumably there is something about the function that works better if you use the native buttons. Give it a try and get back to us. We have a Polo in the immediate group as a personal car so can give it a try and get back to you with instructions.

      1. jess Avatar

        Thank you, they managed to pair my phone with the blue tooth uni and not on the steerring wheel, though it took ages to pair, and two screens have been replaced since, and I just posted another comment above re: black sreen, any ideas? thanks so much! kind regards jess

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