Driskos

Just bought a 12 year old (51 plate) Fabia 1.4 classic. Only done 16,000 miles since new. Owned by an elderly couple (genuine). Serviced every year by Skoda dealer, although looking at the service book it seems they didn't do much more than visually inspect it most of those years. Oil not changed for 3 years and brake fluid not changed for at least 5 years etc. It is due to go in for it's annual service and I'll be taking it to a different Skoda dealer near to where I live. It is a great car, and I want to get another 10+ years, and many more miles, out of it! My question is, what type of service shall I ask the dealer to carry out? I am concerned that, although low mileage, it is still an old car and surely any rubber parts, belts and various other components will be knackered just because they are all 12 years old. It has done less miles in 12 years than most cars do in 2, and that can't be good for it. Currently, it runs as sweet and tight as a nut. (just fixed the leaking back doors by following the advice from you guys on Briskoda- so thanks for that) Any advice on what I might need to have checked/replaced? Many thanks

I had the same problem. Leaking rear doors were the case, soaking the carpet. There are some excellent Youtube videos that show how to fix it. Use Plumbers Gold sealant.

re: DIY door seal repair Hi all Bought a Fabia 1.4 a couple of weeks a go and found both the rear doors to be leaking. After looking through Briskoda, and also the great videos on YouTube, I decided to give it a go rather than take it into the Skoda dealer. My car is 12 years old, so no chance of a warranty repair! Followed the youtube video and Briskoda instructions. Got the door window winder off, and also the other plastic bits so that I could access the 3 screws OK. No problem, just used a screwdriver with a rag to protect the plastic bits and some patience. Prised the door card off the using a plastic kitchen spatula to ease it off. Broke about 3 of the door clips on each door. There are 7 in total on each door. Because I figured that some would get broken I had already been to the dealer to buy some replacements in advance at 79p each- but despite giving them all the necessary details, and receiving their reassurance that they would fit, they gave me the wrong ones! So, I bought some off the internet with next day delivery instead. Are Skoda Parts Departments really this useless? I undid the bolts that hold the centre internal door panel in place and eased it open slightly so I could let the water drain out and also so I could squeeze in some Plumbers Gold where the useless, and waterlogged, neoprene seal sits. Then tightened the bolts up again to squeeze it shut. Then I used the Plumbers Gold to seal all around the outside of the centre panel, along the line of the visible neoprene seal. I went halfway up the door on each side of the seal, and put plenty around the area where the water had been trickling out. I used the Wonder Wipes to clean up, as the Plumbers Gold is super sticky. As luck would have it, it started heavy raining just after I finished putting the door parts all back together. Plumbers Gold is supposed to set even when underwater, so we shall see. Went for a fairly long drive in the rain. Rear footwells are absolutely dry, with no signs of new water ingress at all. Still a small amount of condensation coming up about 1 inch on the inside of the rear door window seals, but that may be the water vapour evaporating from inside the door as it dries out. What it cost me to do: £3.45 for 10 door card clips from eBay ([email protected]) £8.68 for Everbuild Wonder wipes from Amazon (Tools 24/7)= only used 3 wipes, but these are really excellent for getting stuff off your hands. £7.22 for Everbuild 'Plumbers Gold' from Amazon I am not very mechanically minded, and so I did this very slowly. Took me about 1 hour to do each door. Allowing time for a mug of tea halfway. If I can do it, then absolutely anyone can. Loving driving my Fabia!!

re: DIY door seal repair Hi all Bought a Fabia 1.4 a couple of weeks a go and found both the rear doors to be leaking. After looking through Briskoda, and also the great videos on YouTube, I decided to give it a go rather than take it into the Skoda dealer. My car is 12 years old, so no chance of a warranty repair! Followed the youtube video and Briskoda instructions. Got the door window winder off, and also the other plastic bits so that I could access the 3 screws OK. No problem, just used a screwdriver with a rag to protect the plastic bits and some patience. Prised the door card off the using a plastic kitchen spatula to ease it off. Broke about 3 of the door clips on each door. There are 7 in total on each door. Because I figured that some would get broken I had already been to the dealer to buy some replacements in advance at 79p each- but despite giving them all the necessary details, and receiving their reassurance that they would fit, they gave me the wrong ones! So, I bought some off the internet with next day delivery instead. Are Skoda Parts Departments really this useless? I undid the bolts that hold the centre internal door panel in place and eased it open slightly so I could let the water drain out and also so I could squeeze in some Plumbers Gold where the useless, and waterlogged, neoprene seal sits. Then tightened the bolts up again to squeeze it shut. Then I used the Plumbers Gold to seal all around the outside of the centre panel, along the line of the visible neoprene seal. I went halfway up the door on each side of the seal, and put plenty around the area where the water had been trickling out. I used the Wonder Wipes to clean up, as the Plumbers Gold is super sticky. As luck would have it, it started heavy raining just after I finished putting the door parts all back together. Plumbers Gold is supposed to set even when underwater, so we shall see. Went for a fairly long drive in the rain. Rear footwells are absolutely dry, with no signs of new water ingress at all. Still a small amount of condensation coming up about 1 inch on the inside of the rear door window seals, but that may be the water vapour evaporating from inside the door as it dries out. What it cost me to do: £3.45 for 10 door card clips from eBay ([email protected]) £8.68 for Everbuild Wonder wipes from Amazon (Tools 24/7)= only used 3 wipes, but these are really excellent for getting stuff off your hands. £7.22 for Everbuild 'Plumbers Gold' from Amazon I am not very mechanically minded, and so I did this very slowly. Took me about 1 hour to do each door. Allowing time for a mug of tea halfway. If I can do it, then absolutely anyone can. Loving driving my Fabia!!