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Advice please (features on car, possible battery drain and service parts)


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Hai again!
 

I bought the Fabia, and I was wondering

 

  • How on Earth do I open the boot, when Im already inside the car? (ie: if passengers want to put something in there?)
  • What on Earth is the button on the driver hand side of the car, which is in red?
  • Can someone explain the details on the trip computer please? I get the how many miles left of fuel, current mpg, mpg of trip 1, but then there's some other random stuff to do with time and stuff. Also the garage said that the trip computer said that the next service is in 6000 miles, but I couldn't see this in the trip computer??

 

Battery drain?

I can connect something in to my 12V port in the car, and even if the engine is off, it continues to charge. I have a dash cam, and I don't want it to continuously charge, and deplete my battery by the morning!!

 

Also...servicing. It's had ALL it's servicing done by Skoda itself. I may choose to continue with Skoda service. Are Skoda "cheap" (ie: obviously not cheap, cheap) compared to other manufacturers? The other thing, is where on Earth do I buy Skoda genuine service items, or equivalent good brands (ie: Denso, Bosch etc.. )? 

For my Honda, I used to use "cox motor parts" because they were cheap (and sold genuine Honda parts), but Skoda seems a bit all over the place. Also, what on Earth do I do regarding oil? For the Honda, I could just get "genuine Honda green oil" For the Skoda, Im not even sure what to get :D There's no "one choice"

 

 

Think that's about it atm :)

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If the button you refer to is on the door panel, near your right hip, that'll be the remote boot pop. Some models have them, some don't! (Mine, an early Greenline, doesn't).

 

Theres a feature to tell you how long you've been driving, at low fuel level, the trip changes along with a "Bing" To tell you how far you can expect to drive prior to having to push! This will only go up or down, depending on driving style, in 5 mile increments, not continual miles. Trip 2 tells you miles per gallon etc over time, unless you reset it. Trip one tells you same but resets itself if the car is turned off for two hours or more.

 

The accessory plug socket is constantly live so will keep things charged or eventually flatten your battery if you kept something plugged in for months without running the car. Stuff like lights, stereo etc turn themselves off after an hour, in case you left them on by mistake.

 

Parts, I usually get service parts from either carparts4less or eurocarparts. There are a few other parts specialists out there too, so look around, compare prices and get the best deal. Many often have discount codes or you can find them online. Sometimes, Skoda parts are made by say Bosch, etc but branded VAG. (Vw Audi group) Which covers Skoda, along with Seat. 

 

Oil, You do need to be careful to use the correct grade. Ask Skoda what VW number you need and again, the car places I mentioned often carry a good quality version, as long as its got the VW code and the correct grade. I think it'll almost certainly be fully synthetic and Skoda will charge around £50 a pop for oil change quantities. I got Petronas for under half that, from Euro, the savings paid for the oil, air, cabin filters and went some way to paying for the fuel filter too!

 

Small trick if you're not in too big a rush. Put the items in the online  basket but when at checkout, DONT!  In about two days, they'll email you, if you have logged details, and offer you a further 5% discount to complete your order. Works quite often!

 

If they are local, you can collect within an hour, otherwise, free delivery too! Click and collect will be cheaper then going in store too as they will charge retail prices without further discounts, usually, in store.

 

As for Skoda pricing... Many things CAN be pricey but some are cheaper too as Skoda set a certain amount of time to do certain tasks. I have been quoted stupid amounts for a clutch by one repairer as they say it takes 5.5 hours, plus parts. this came out WAY over Skoda's charge, although I've also been quoted less by another clutch fitter. cam belts, too, same or similar price labour wise for trickier Skoda's then the Fabia due to price/time structures. 

 

Often, it really IS worth trying a few places for quotes first, bearing in mind, Skoda GENUINE parts have two year warranty so could be better value long term. 

 

Hope thats answered a little of your query.

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If the button you refer to is on the door panel, near your right hip, that'll be the remote boot pop. Some models have them, some don't! (Mine, an early Greenline, doesn't).

 

Theres a feature to tell you how long you've been driving, at low fuel level, the trip changes along with a "Bing" To tell you how far you can expect to drive prior to having to push! This will only go up or down, depending on driving style, in 5 mile increments, not continual miles. Trip 2 tells you miles per gallon etc over time, unless you reset it. Trip one tells you same but resets itself if the car is turned off for two hours or more.

 

The accessory plug socket is constantly live so will keep things charged or eventually flatten your battery if you kept something plugged in for months without running the car. Stuff like lights, stereo etc turn themselves off after an hour, in case you left them on by mistake.

 

Parts, I usually get service parts from either carparts4less or eurocarparts. There are a few other parts specialists out there too, so look around, compare prices and get the best deal. Many often have discount codes or you can find them online. Sometimes, Skoda parts are made by say Bosch, etc but branded VAG. (Vw Audi group) Which covers Skoda, along with Seat. 

 

Oil, You do need to be careful to use the correct grade. Ask Skoda what VW number you need and again, the car places I mentioned often carry a good quality version, as long as its got the VW code and the correct grade. I think it'll almost certainly be fully synthetic and Skoda will charge around £50 a pop for oil change quantities. I got Petronas for under half that, from Euro, the savings paid for the oil, air, cabin filters and went some way to paying for the fuel filter too!

 

Small trick if you're not in too big a rush. Put the items in the online  basket but when at checkout, DONT!  In about two days, they'll email you, if you have logged details, and offer you a further 5% discount to complete your order. Works quite often!

 

If they are local, you can collect within an hour, otherwise, free delivery too! Click and collect will be cheaper then going in store too as they will charge retail prices without further discounts, usually, in store.

 

As for Skoda pricing... Many things CAN be pricey but some are cheaper too as Skoda set a certain amount of time to do certain tasks. I have been quoted stupid amounts for a clutch by one repairer as they say it takes 5.5 hours, plus parts. this came out WAY over Skoda's charge, although I've also been quoted less by another clutch fitter. cam belts, too, same or similar price labour wise for trickier Skoda's then the Fabia due to price/time structures. 

 

Often, it really IS worth trying a few places for quotes first, bearing in mind, Skoda GENUINE parts have two year warranty so could be better value long term. 

 

Hope thats answered a little of your query.

 

Thanks and generally it has. Also I consulted my manual a bit more, and had a google. The red light on the driver door has something to do with stopping the alarm going off, if you have an uneven load in the back (or kids)

 

Hmm I left my dash cam in the "on" button today, forgot to turn it off, until three hours later and it was still on?

Oooh carparts4less seem cheap enough. Tbh, Im totally fine with buying say from Bosch, Pagid, Denso, Castrol etc... Just "brands that I can trust" :) I used to buy genuine Honda green oil and get a Bosch oil filter as that was cheaper

Looking at ECP, and CPFL it appears that I require  "5W 30" engine oil. I was considering sticking to Castrol personally as it says "Skoda recommends em" Are Petronas any good? They're certainly cheaper! Ahhh forgot about the fuel filter! I'll have to consider that at my next service

 

Also, was looking at say

 

brake fluid

glow plugs

 

The car has done around 54000 miles. Looking at ECP, glow plugs should be replaced every 40-60,000 miles and brake fluid once every 2 years?

And that's true I guess.... I was just wondering who to go to for an official service as it were!

 

That did answer a bit of it (tbh most of it!!) 

 

I also assume that transmission fluid change needs to be done at around 100,000 miles? (By which time I'll have sold the car probably)

Edited by skodanooob
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Skodaparts.com for genuine parts, they are very helpful!

The button on the drivers door is to deactivate the interior sensors for the alarm if for example you have pets/kids in the car and lock it from the fob.

I think you can press and hold the button on the remote to open the boot while it'sthe ignition, not sure?

If the engine is running the boot will remain locked for anyone trying to access it from the outside until you open the drivers door.

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Skodaparts.com for genuine parts, they are very helpful!

The button on the drivers door is to deactivate the interior sensors for the alarm if for example you have pets/kids in the car and lock it from the fob.

I think you can press and hold the button on the remote to open the boot while it'sthe ignition, not sure?

If the engine is running the boot will remain locked for anyone trying to access it from the outside until you open the drivers door.

Thanks!

 

Tbh, Richard, mainly I wanted to get "quality" parts. Bosch is quality enough for me tbh, but good to know where I can get Skoda genuine stuff!!!

I also read the manual a bit more, and noticed that the buttons for "unlocking" and "locking" includes unlocking and unlocking the boot too

 

The other questions I have is:

 

My 12V socket is CONSTANTLY ON :( (As pointed out by Briskodian) and I intend to hardwire two mobius cameras to it (one rear, one forward facing) - would this not drain the battery? I currently have a dash cam in it atm (a rear view mirror camera) and I have to remember to switch the dash cam on and off, when I'm done. I want the added security of two dash cams, without having my battery drain :( The other thing is, I don't really want my dash cam footage to start to over write itself recording nothing but the darkness/daylight in the company car park or on the driveway. That seems a bit silly really.

 

The other thing is for regular servicing, what do you guys use for oil? Skoda recommends Castrol. Castrol have Castrol Edge, Castrol Edge titanium as well, but Petronas is a lot cheaper?

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Petronas is of the correct grade and meets VW specs so why waste money? You are driving a modern car but not the high performance variant. Pertains is actually quite a good (If somewhat underrated) Brand.

The fuel filter, at least on mine, is SOOO simple to change, costs less then £15 for Bosch so worth doing at every service. Keep the gremlins out of the injection system!

 

Glow plugs... Never had an issue, done little shy of 100,000m.

 

I also invested in an oil sump syphon. Pela brand 6L model, £50 from Machine Mart. You push the tube down into the oil dipstick fully, pump the pump 20 or so times and it syphons out the old oil. This saves monkeying around under the car to remove the sump bolt, drain the fluid and re fit NEW bolt (£3) Skoda only sell bolt, even though you ask for washer... It is a non removable washer to keep the oil tight integrity of the thread. Change the filter, re fill and Bob's you auntie's hubby!

 

My car is lowered and has the long version of the underbody engine tray... Fiddly to remove both tray and bolt so far better to syphon oil out. Now I have it, I'd use it on any car rather then lay underneath fiddling with bolts, pans etc. The cost is outweighed by not paying the dealer to drain and refill it as they charge about a ton for labour and oil. Use the Petronas, you will buy the syphon, filter, oil, cabin AND air filter for that!

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Petronas is of the correct grade and meets VW specs so why waste money? You are driving a modern car but not the high performance variant. Pertains is actually quite a good (If somewhat underrated) Brand.

The fuel filter, at least on mine, is SOOO simple to change, costs less then £15 for Bosch so worth doing at every service. Keep the gremlins out of the injection system!

 

Glow plugs... Never had an issue, done little shy of 100,000m.

 

I also invested in an oil sump syphon. Pela brand 6L model, £50 from Machine Mart. You push the tube down into the oil dipstick fully, pump the pump 20 or so times and it syphons out the old oil. This saves monkeying around under the car to remove the sump bolt, drain the fluid and re fit NEW bolt (£3) Skoda only sell bolt, even though you ask for washer... It is a non removable washer to keep the oil tight integrity of the thread. Change the filter, re fill and Bob's you auntie's hubby!

 

My car is lowered and has the long version of the underbody engine tray... Fiddly to remove both tray and bolt so far better to syphon oil out. Now I have it, I'd use it on any car rather then lay underneath fiddling with bolts, pans etc. The cost is outweighed by not paying the dealer to drain and refill it as they charge about a ton for labour and oil. Use the Petronas, you will buy the syphon, filter, oil, cabin AND air filter for that!

Hmm perhaps so.

BTW it's £36 or so at eBay

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PELA-6000-OIL-SUMP-PUMP-OIL-FLUID-EXTRACTOR-6-LITRE-VACUUM-HAND-PUMP-BOAT-CAR-/191306569885?hash=item2c8ac2989d:g:ftQAAOxyUrZSpbSm

 

Thanks regarding the glow plugs. Probably wont need to sort it then!

 

How about anti freeze/coolant?

The other thing is, I intended to basically buy the parts, and give it to a garage, so I knew what went in to my car 

I want to service it myself eventually, but it's a 5K car, so I dont fancy messing something up!!! Maybeget a cheap old Peugeot project car first :D

 

Oh and what do I do regarding the 12V battery issue and getting two dash cams in? Thanks in advance btw!!!

Edited by skodanooob
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That syphon is well cheap there then! They do variations in size etc but that does say 6L despite looking small (In a small photoIf you are getting someone to fit your parts, ask for the old bits back and put a discreet mark on the new bits, perhaps with a marker that needs an ultraviolet light to see it with. You can be sure they replaced the part and did not just say they did!

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Have a look here regarding the 12V supply

Ignition feed from fuse box for an auxiliary power supply

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/index.php?/topic/379332-Ignition-feed-from-fuse-box-for-an-auxiliary-power-supply

Really easy.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Thanks. Just gotta get my head around the system I want in my car, what additional things I need etc.. etc.. etc..

 

I think I've got the regular servicing stuff now as in where to buy. Car Parts For Less is cheap!!

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