Paul52

"Well, what a considerate driver you are - as long as you are okay then sod the rest of motorists". It's not just other motorists, as you will agree if you've ever tried to cross a busy road, concentrating on the traffic, and cracked your shin into a towing hook. "You should be looking where you're going" isn't really an answer when we've got an increasingly ageing population and more people with less than perfect eyesight.

I've got a Yeti of a similar age and the 1.2 petrol engine. I know from that part of the forum the early models suffered from problems with the ignition leads - one of them ran too close to the engine and wasn't sufficiently insulated. This was a regular problem and was solved with modified leads and, I think, with cars from about the time mine was built by re-routing the affected lead. There may not be the same problem with Fabias but at 50,000 miles and accepting you don't want to go throwing money at it would it be worth changing the leads, even if you had to get a second hand set from a scrapyard just to see if it confirmed this as your problem? I will admit I'm not very technical so hopefully someone will be along that can give you better and more specific advice but I thought I'd mention it. Good luck.

Ah, the reference to the 100E and vacuum wipers brought back fond memories. A mate had one and in pouring rain we had to negotiate in an upwards direction a long and steep hill. The higher we got the slower the car got and with it the wiper speed (I think there were two - barely moving and not moving at all) and towards the top there was a real risk we would be reduced to a man walking in front with a red flag - a concern for me as the passenger as I'd be that man!! My own car was an elderly 105E in its 997cc guise but with electric wipers although the benefits of these were somewhat offset bay a whole in the passenger side wheel arch which a previous owner had professionally patched with a copy of the Sum and a tea towel; I discovered this at 2am in a near monsoon. The next car was another 105E in rather better shape before taking the plunge with a Ford Escort Mark 1 estate, less exciting than the Ford Anglia Alladette which I'd been tempted by from a "friend of a friend" which I subsequently found out was "rotten as a pair" and with an insurance rating for an 18 year old student which would mean I'd still be paying the instalments now. Totally off topic but what else to do on a Sunday?

Just taken a look at the puck for jacking (There is a specific polyurethane "puck" made by Powerflex: VAG JACK PAD PF3-1661 https://www.powerflex.co.uk/product-details/VAG+Jack+Pad+Adpator/13324.html which is exactly the right profile if you want to try and protect the seamsealer) and the Yeti isn't listed (or I'm going more senile than I thought). Regarding the jacking points, I would agree those little raised triangles can be a devil to see even on a dry day in daylight. For something so important you would expect them to be very obvious. From memory on my Volvo there were similar marking but on the edges facing outwards so you could see them when you crouched down to fit the jack, which seems to make sense. In this case "Skoda - Simply (Not) Clever.

Thanks e-Roottoot for reposting the video of the 4x4 vs winter tyres video. It reminded me of why I run on Cross-Climates as a sensible all-year compromise - I don't have a problem with it taking a bit longer to get up to speed every time I have to accelerate (I'm old - where do I need to get to in a hurry; except a bathroom maybe?) but braking in the shortest possible distance if it becomes necessary is rather comforting. Being able to go faster in circles - well, I get dizzy standing up....... (When I first started visiting this forum reading about the advantages of having a set of winter tyres on a set of steel wheels I must admit to having been tempted; my previous Volvo V50 was a nightmare in snow. But I'm glad I resisted as living on the South Coast I don't think we've seen a snowflake in the seven years I've now owned this car so that would have a been a lot of wheel changes for little benefit. I suppose it would have kept me fit).

"As I'm oldish....." Unless I'm much mistaken that's actually an essential requirement to be a Yeti owner - that and devilish good looks and wearing socks with sandals. You have to score two out of three. And back to the OP's thread.

I also opted for 16" wheels when I bought my Yeti back in 2013, based on the advice of members on this forum, and never regretted it - I find the ride comfortable and the road holding/steering excellent. (It always surprises me how, for a car so tall, you can throw a Yeti round corners). One "hidden" advantage of the 16" rather than 17" wheels is I found the tyres were a lot cheaper to replace when the time came - I think for my Michelin Cross Climates (which I recommend) it was around £40 a tyre although that was a while back so things might have changed. Lots about the relative merits on 16" vs 17" wheels on this forum if you go back a bit........ Don't forget your decision on suitable tyres might affect the accuracy of the speedometer.

Can I suggest perhaps it is time to issue an deadline for this to be resolved after which you will start legal action - if you are prepared to go down that route as there is no point making the threat if you can't/won't follow through? Presumably everything is well documented so you can show they were made aware of the fault within warranty and no-one has told you that it is a series of different faults which have been rectified but all unfortunately around the gearbox. Martin Lewis's Money Saving Expert site is very good with its layman's guide to the law but my understanding is that if a defect is brought to the attention of the dealer (as that is who you have your contract with) within the warranty period they can't later dismiss your claim because time has run on and the car is now out of warranty. It's important to remember that although Skoda UK can be helpful in getting things resolved to protect the Skoda reputation you don't have a direct claim against them. There's also some interesting stuff about only being entitled to make one repair. Might be worth sitting down with your paperwork and making a list of the key dates, what was agreed/diagnosed, by whom, what action was taken and the outcome. This could go with a letter (I'd send it recorded delivery) to the dealer setting out what you want done, by when and in the absence of resolution what you will do next. A summary of the issues may also may be helpful if you do have to involve a solicitor and help keep any costs down. One final thought, whilst a letter from a solicitor might focus the dealer's attention if you feel capable the Small Claims Court could offer you a way forward. I've used it a couple of times now for disputes and the paperwork is easy to complete (you can download it to have a look), you don't need to be represented by a solicitor either in court or to prepare the application - and in fact the guidance suggests this should be avoided if possible - and it's cheap; making an application to the court costs around £80 from memory. The hearings I've attended were in small conference rooms with just the judge, myself and a couple of defendants. Even if you lose provided the case was "reasonable" (as this would seem to be, it's not premature, frivolous or vindictive) it's extremely unlikely either side would be awarded costs against the other so all you'd be risking would be your time and court fees. If you got a judgement in your favour then you will have a CCJ against the dealer and then if necessary this can then be enforced by High Court Sheriffs - there is a small fee to have the case transferred to the High Court and Sheriff fees but you should get that back. Sheriffs (I think they are now called High Court Enforcement Officers) have additional powers over bailiffs including being able to enter commercial premises to seize goods. I suspect you wouldn't need to go that far - a solicitor's letter and possibly filing an application to the court should get their attention; no reputable business wants to find itself in court with an unhappy customer with the attendant bad publicity. If you do decide to file an application I would get two or three estimates to have the work done elsewhere and ask for a judgement for either the work to be completed by a specific date or the cost of having the work done elsewhere including any incidentals, such as rental car - if you don't ask it won't be in the Court Order. Good luck. (I should make clear I'm not a legal professional just a stroppy b*****d whose had to learn the hard way).

I remembering asking the same question some while back - I'd had my Yeti about 18 months when I discovered it and that was driving every day!

This is why I love this forum!!! Thanks Frenchtone, easy once you know how. I quite expected the pin at the back to be broken but it wasn't so goodness knows how it got round that way - it took a bit of effort to get it back in position. And thank you to Brian for sympathy.

Gave my Yeti it's annual clean yesterday to find one of the control rings for the vents into the rear footwell was missing. No sign of it in the car and how long its been missing I've no idea - I never sit in the back. Has anyone else had this happen? And more importantly, is it possible to get a replacement control ring? And just as importantly is it an easy fix or is it one of those things where you have to buy a whole load of extra bits you won't need and take half the car to pieces to do so? It's annoying but as my car is now seven years old and I don't think I or anyone else has adjusted the control since the day I brought it home it's not something where it's worth spending a lot of time, money and effort.

Not had this problem but it's a 2016 car in Stockholm. Is it possibly one of those strange, intermittent problems that can occur when the battery is in the early stages of failure but still good enough to start the car and run most of the systems, lights etc without a problem? Often we've seen reports on this forum of strange apparently random faults disappear when a new battery has been fitted. Just a thought as the battery is of an age where it's had it's best years so replacing it maybe a year of too early if this isn't the problem isn't a big and unnecessary outlay.

As Wino - use tap water to get you to a garage to get the problem fixed. Many years ago I drove around 150 miles to get home with a serious leak requiring a stop.cool down/top up bout every 30 or so miles. A rather stressful drive but no harm done to the engine. Personally I wouldn't worry about recording how much water you add because it sounds as though it's not been changed in at least two years so a a complete drain and refill would be sensible once te problem is solved.