Mrrnoname

Hi All, Recently started driving a nice 2003 reg 1.9 SDI mk1 Fabia estate that had been sat garaged for 3 years (run daily before this). Did the usual, change of all fluids etc and it runs great. It has a strange clutch issue though which I am hoping to pin down. Occasionally (maybe once a month) when the clutch pedal is pressed, it only raises a very small amount when lifting my foot back up. i.e the pedal stays almost fully depressed. Then if I press the pedal down again, when lifting my foot back up for the second time, the pedal comes up to normal height, but when it does so the clutch grabs almost instantly on the pedal travel, much further down compared to the usual biting point. Enough to lurch the car forward and almost stall. Then when pressing the clutch in again and releasing, the pedal acts normally, and the biting point is back to normal. I cant say whether the clutch is actually engaged or not when the pedal is sat almost to the floor after the first press, as every time it has happened I have been going in to neutral coming to a stop (and so I have pressed it again to get in to gear). Hopefully that makes sense! Other than when the issue above occurs, the pedal feels totally normal. Not stiff, loose etc. No strange noises, biting point is normally about half way up the pedal's travel, car has 83k on it. The issue was present before the brake fluid change + bleed. To my knowledge the issue wasn't present prior to the car sitting. Any ideas? Thanks!

I guess not, six years later and the resistor has failed again. Currently trying to locate another fan and came across my own post 😁

Thanks, I'm going to pull the interior light fitting down and try to investigate further. Though I'm guessing that because the light comes on manually and with key out of ignition the ground is ok. I'm struggling to work out what both doors share which could communally affect both. The buzzer doesn't work either so I'm convinced that the car doesn't know that the doors are open.

I suppose yes it could. Both were working last week though so they would have had to have failed within days of each other. Not impossible I guess...

I will check and get back to you. Came across this diagram (attached). Struggling to read it though. Neither door is operating the light so it can't be the door switches.

Hi All, I have a 1.9 SDI 2001 Reg Skoda Fabia. It's the classic model with no central locking, no alarm, no glovebox or boot light and no electric windows A few days ago when getting in the car at night I noticed that the interior light had not come on with the door being opened. I have since read a tonne of threads about interior light issues but none seem the same as my symptoms. My current findings are below: 1. Interior light does not come on when driver or passenger door is opened. 2. "Lights left on" buzzer no longer comes on when driver's door is opened once the key has been removed. 3. Interior light does come on when manually put in to the "always on" position. 4. Interior light does come on when key is removed from ignition after engine on. 5. Interior light comes on and then immediately goes off again when starting the engine. My first thought would be the driver's door microswitch (i.e the car doesn't know the door has been opened). But that doesn't explain why the passenger door doesn't turn it on either. Being that the car has no central or electronic locking I don't know if the door open switch is the same as those with? I've read about the 10amp fuse (fuse4?) but assume that's ok as the light does function (just not when the door is opened). Is that true or is there a separate fuse for the door switch? Any help would be appreciated.

Not a Vrs. A 2003 1.9 SDI 🙂. So is there any difference to the bumper shape at all if I was to get one from a 2007 hatchback?

Hi all, My Fabia got rear ended and I'm looking for a rear bumper. During my search I've noticed that some are listed as 2000-2007 and others as 2004-2007 "facelift" but all for a mk1 What exactly is the difference? My Fabia is a 2003 reg. Is it likely to be pre or post facelift? I've googled to death but can't find much on it. Thanks in advance!

Could anyone tell me the difference between the MK1 and MK1 "facelift" rear bumper? I have found one from a 2007 Fabia and it says "2004 -2007 facelift". My Fabia is 03 and I'm wondering if it will fit? Thanks!

I searched every key word I could think of and that listing didn't show. Thanks for linking. Unfortunately you are too far away from me and that bumper is in pretty rough shape so a days driving wouldn't be worth it, the rest of the car has almost mint bodywork so I was looking for one in better condition. Thanks anyway though.

Could you provide the link?

Hi All, I've just been rear ended and am in need of a Mk1 rear bumper (preferably in Black Magic) Can anyone help? Thanks!

Thanks Very much appreciated Wino.

Gearbox Code is "GDR"

Will check and get back to you 🙂

Hi All, I have a 2003 reg Skoda Fabia 1.9 SDI with 160,000 miles on the clock. I've owned the car for roughly 6 years and have never had any issue with gear changes, they have always been butter smooth. This year now that the cold weather has arrived the gearbox is reluctant to change gear. The gearbox feels stiff and notchy\clunky. It's definitely a change to how it usually feels. I'm being very careful not to force the gear changes. It gets better after about 20 minutes of driving. I am considering changing the gearbox oil (it's original), but need some advice on what oil it takes? I've done quite a bit of reading but can't find a definitive answer on the right specification. I want to make sure that I put the correct oil in as I don't want to make the problem worse! Any tips or things to do / avoid would be really helpful! Thanks! Max.

Thanks Wino, That's the next plan, just to see if the light does go back to "normal" with another battery. To be honest though it's causing no issue. I have done 200 miles in the car since in quite a few journeys and after that few seconds in the morning the ABS light never illuminates when the engine is running, so although it's odd behaviour. It's not really a problem. Maybe the discharging of the battery when the alternator was broken caused it to weaken. I'm beginning to suspect the alternator was failing to charge for about a week before I noticed as I remember thinking that my window was slow to move up and down days before the incident, which at the time I put down to the motor becoming worn.

So after some testing: Resting battery voltage in the morning is 12.7 volts Voltage dips for a brief moment to 9.5 volts when the car is started (less than a second, but this is when the ABS light comes on) Car running voltage is 14.4 volts a few seconds after starting Car running voltage is 13.8 volts with headlights, radio, blowers on full and rear window demister on. Would you expect the voltage to briefly drop to 9.5 volts (less than a second) when the starter is cranked, not sure if this is normal, or if this is what's causing the ABS light to come on? Is 14.4 volts normal for engine running? Max.

Tried something new this morning. Started the car in the morning and the ABS light illuminated when the engine started and remained on for 4 seconds. After it had gone out I stopped the engine and repeated the sequence. This time the abs light stayed on for 2 seconds after the engine had started. I then stopped the engine and repeated the same sequence and this time the abs light stayed on for 1 second. Finally I stopped the engine and repeated the same sequence for the 4th time. This time the ABS light did not illuminate after the engine had started. It will continue to be this way (i.e acting normal) until the next morning. Quite interesting. It's almost as if something is struggling to "wake up" in the morning when it's cold. Incidentally the battery had absolutely no issue starting the car 4 times from cold, each time it spun over really fast and fired right up. ABS light never comes back on during driving. Max.

Yep. I'm going to plug one of those cigarette socket voltage meters in and see what the voltage is reading when the light is flashing for those few seconds after the cold start. ABS light never comes on during driving though and the new alternator is changing the battery fine so I assume that's working as it should. It's not affecting driving or anything, just odd that the behaviour has changed after 16 years and 170,000 miles 😀. I've become so attuned to the car & engine that any little change / difference is immediately noticed. It's a super car overall though. Max.

Yes the battery light comes on with ignition but then goes off as soon as the engine is started. The ABS light also comes on with initial ignition but goes off after a second (normal). Then when the engine is started it's back on for two seconds flashing, but goes off quickly. Only happens during the first cold start of the day. If I turn the engine off and repeat the sequence I don't get the ABS light flash once it's running again. What was mentioned in the other thread about the battery being unable to provide enough volts shortly after the high load of a cold start makes sense, but I've never had any trouble with this battery in the three years that it's been installed (it's a Bosch S5), it whips the 1.9 SDI engine over, even when it's sub zero outside. Seeing as I've just had a new alternator fitted it's quite a coincidence.. I was wondering if there is any way that the new alternator could be causing this ABS behaviour. It's not a massive issue I guess as the light goes out within a few seconds. I just get the inkling that something isn't quite right. Max.

Hi All, I have a 2003 reg Mk 1 1.9 SDI Skoda Fabia. Two weeks ago I noticed that the car was slow to crank over one morning. Then on my way to work the battery light came on. Garage looked at the car and diagnosed a faulty alternator. Alternator was changed and all was well. Battery light is off when driving and the car cranks over quickly in the morning again. However, now when the car is first started in the morning and the engine is first running the ABS light comes on for about two seconds and then goes off. Reading around this indicates that the battery is bad and can't provide enough volts after cranking, so the car is receiving a false abs issue. The battery is only about 3 years old and a quality brand. It also spins the engine over really quickly, even first thing in the morning. No sign of struggle at all. Should I be looking at replacing the battery or could my replacement alternator be doing something it shouldn't? I've ordered one of those plug in cigarette socket volt meters to hopefully catch if the volts are dropping low after it first starts. Any advice would be much appreciated! Max.

An update - I changed the dogbone mount the other day which made no difference. I am now starting to think that I might have an engine problem as some other symptoms have developed (a juddery knock when driving and change in engine tone). ☹️

I achieved this over the weekend, for anyone in the same situation the seatbelt can be accessed as follows: The column's trim is separated in to three sections, the top part which holds the seatbelt loop, a middle piece, and the lower piece that also runs horizontally along the doors. To access the seatbelt mech the top and bottom pieces need to be loosened, and the middle piece removed. 1. Start by prying the top piece at each side, close to the bottom so that both edges come away forward from the rubber strip. This top piece is held in place at the bottom by a single clip which is right behind the seatbelt loop in the centre, once the trim is away from the sides you can get a tool in and pry this clip out. All clips are metal, going in to the metal body of the car. The top piece is now loose. 2. The middle piece is held in place by four clips and two plastic "tabs" which slide behind the bottom piece. This means that you cannot pry the middle piece out at the bottom, you will beak these tabs. Instead start at the top along each side, using a tool pry at each side to release the two top clips. Then repeat the process for the two bottom clips. Then finally the middle piece can be slid upwards and off 3. You can then pull on the bottom piece (towards the seat) to unclip it and access the seatbelt mech. Refitting is essentially the reverse of removal, but I struggled with getting the middle piece back in to place, I found that I had to locate the plastic tabs behind the lower piece before I refitted the lower piece back in to position. If I was to reattempt this I might try loosening this lower piece first to make it easier to remove the middle piece. It was also awkward getting the middle piece behind the top piece as the seatbelt was in the way. Removal and refitting only took about an hour, and that was working it all out. A couple of pics attached to show locations of the tabs and clips.

I'm going to have a go at lubricating it I think like advised in the below thread. Do you have any tips on how to get the trim off without breaking things? Where to pull or pry etc?