Mrrnoname

Hi, Yes the rear doors were leaking badly, I've just fixed that problem by removing the door carriers and re-sealing them. I tried the silicone polish trick as first port of call, no joy ☹️ . During very cold months the belt makes no effort to retract at all, even when fully extended. Max.

Hi All, I have a 2003 Reg Skoda Fabia 1.9 SDI. The front passenger seatbelt does not retract between the months of November and Feburary,.. In the summer months it retracts fine and can be used as normal, but in the winter months I can't take a passenger in the front as the seatbelt becomes slow to retract, when it's very cold it doesn't retract at all, so if you pull it out, the belt sits like that until March. It's October now and it's starting to slow up again. I'm guessing that some kind of grease on the mechanism has gotten thick and when it's cold it's too stiff to allow the belt to retract. That or the spring has gotten weak. 1. How do I get to the seatbelt mech? 2. Can it be "greased" or "oiled" or am I looking at replacing it. If so how do it get it out? Thanks in advance! Max.

Thanks Wino, that website is amazing for diagrams! Should I specifically avoid a third party mount? is this the correct one? it's listed as a rear engine mount: https://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Skoda_Fabia_1.9_2001/p/car-parts/suspension/suspension-and-steering/engine-mount/?338440965&1&b54c0a6966df38d466b1b0032d49d5a9956cb4a0&000461 Any notable difference between the ECP one that's £107.99 and one like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FEBI-BILSTEIN-REAR-ENGINE-MOUNT-MOUNTING-31112-P-NEW-OE-REPLACEMENT/153621614179?fits=Car+Make%3ASkoda|Cars+Type%3A1.9+SDi&epid=248677326&hash=item23c48fce63:g:oakAAOSwQ8xdZwQ0 Max.

Hi All, My 2001 reg Mk 1 Skoda Fabia 1.9 SDI has developed this issue where by it shakes violently when first pulling away from stand still (boy does it shake!!). The problem is far worse if pulling away up a hill. The issue has taken some months to develop and is slowly getting progressively worse. What I know so far: The vibration can be felt all over the car, steering wheel, dash, glovebox. everything shakes No vibration can be felt especially through the pedals (they feel normal) No vibration can be felt especially though the gear-stick (it feels normal) This is only felt when pulling away in first, it's much worse up hill. Once the car starts rolling, driving is normal. No knocks when changing gear and clutching up / down The engine itself appears fine, idles like normal, no excessive shaking. Pulls smoothly once driving. If I give the engine some revs and pull away at say 1800rpm instead of the usual lower rpm, the shaking is much less If I clutch up faster to pull away quicker, the shaking is very violent, but passes quickly. It's an SDI with a solid flywheel, so the engine is naturally quite thumpy, it's almost as if somehow that's being transferred to the body of the car. I have two identical 1.9 SDI Mk 1 Skoda Fabias which allows me to compare them. The other Fabia is smooth as butter when pulling away. I had my mechanic take a look at them both and compare. He said that it's not "clutch judder" & engine mounts "looked alright" but didn't really say much more... I've tried rocking the engine with my hand, there is "some" play and I can see the upper engine mount on the left hand side move, but it's movement is no more than my other Fabia which doesn't have this issue. The car is 18 years old and has mainly been used for city driving which I know the SDI's don't really like. It's got 45,000 on the clock. The clutch is original and has loads of bite left. I'm leaning towards engine or gearbox mounts. Does that sound plausible? How many mounts does the engine / gearbox have? If I choose to replace them are third party mounts ok or should I avoid? Thanks in advance for any help! Max.

I ended up removing the plastic lock assembly bracket as suggested and running a bead of butyl rope around the carrier. I used this stuff https://www.amazon.co.uk/TEEPAO-Multi-purpose-Viscosity-Insulation-Windshield/dp/B07S6B8J6M/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=butyl+rope&qid=1568102922&s=gateway&sr=8-5 which was slightly too thick, but I stretched it thinner as I applied it to the indent where the original seal used to be. It worked perfectly so thanks for the suggestion. It made fitting the carrier so much easier than it would have been if it has plumbers gold around it. I also ran a line of plumbers gold around the outside for good measure.

Ah ok, if there is no benefit of having them there then I will cut them off, they will certainly make it easier to re-install the carrier. Regards, Max.

Thanks sepulchrave and Wino I was considering removing that plastic bracket as one partly broke when I was removing the carrier and couldn't work out what was retaining it to the door, but I wasnt sure if that bracket was somehow required? (why else would Skoda invest in it?). It looks like it has a guide for the locking rod built in to it. So it's completely safe to remove? That would also make putting the carrier back on much easier. Thanks, Max.

Hi All, I am in the process of re-sealing my rear doors for the second time, the first time was around 6 years ago, and they held up ok, but the silicone has now perished and they are letting water back through. This time, to do a proper job (and be able to remove all of the existing silicone) I have completely removed the door carriers & window regulators and scraped off all of the factory foam seal (it was completely rotten). I am about to put the carriers back on, and have a tube of plumbers gold but I am concerned about a couple of points: 1. If I run a bead of Plumber's Gold around the inside of the carrier and then bolt it on, how on earth will I ever get it off again, say if someone smashed the window and I needed to clear all of the glass out or the window mech broke? The carrier would be glued solid to the door. I had considered running some sort of self adhesive foam / rubber strip around the inside of the carrier instead and then using plumber's gold on the outside but I'm concerned that it won't seal well. 2. The carrier has a V shape along the outside rim where the factory foam sat, will Plumber's Gold seal ok despite this or do I need to put loads on? I'm not quite sure how I am going to install the carrier without making a total mess once it has a bead of Plumber's gold around the edge. Thanks in Advance! Max.

Yes it's ice cold so I will leave it well alone Thanks!

Hi Everyone! I own a 2003 Mk1 Skoda Fabia 1.9 SDI. It's rock solid and has given 150,000 of trouble free motoring. Yesterday I noticed that after running the (ice cold) air-con for an hour, the rear of the engine bay was soaking wet, and water was dripping off of the rear felt on to the steering rack below. I've attached pictures showing the felt that's wet. I assume this isn't right and something is up with the aircon drain? Where is it located and how is it supposed to drain out? Also I noticed that a U bend pipe at the front of the car on the aircon's piping had a yellow oily drip on the bottom and appears to be leaking some sort of lubricant? Is this pipe easy for a garage to change? Thanks! Max.

Hi All, This morning both of my sidelights have stopped working on my 2001 reg Mk1 Skoda Fabia 1.9 SDi Classic, bulbs are fine. Everything else (as far as I can tell) is working fine, and there are no other issues with the car. Dipped and Main beam lights are working fine, as are indicators. Can someone point me in the right direction? Thanks!

To add to this i've since noticed that if I lift the clutch when the gear stick is against this "wall" and not quite in 1st gear the stick jumps in to 1st of it's own accord without me putting resistance on it. Any gearbox experts about that might know what this signifies? Thanks!

Hi All, Over the past year my 2003 Skoda Fabia 1.9 SDi Classic has slowly been developing an issue with 1st gear. When I am at a standing stop and go to select 1st I find that roughly 60% of the time the gear knob only goes half way in to 1st before I come up against resistance. It's like there's one final thing that needs to slot in to place to engage 1st but it won't and the stick comes up against a brick wall. If I then return to neutral and select 1st it slides in normally. I am finding that more and more often when I pull away I need to half select 1st gear until I come up against resistance, then return to neutral, then fully select 1st. When it does go in to 1st there is never any crunching or grinding. If I come to a stop, then slowly roll forward and select 1st it always goes in easily the first time. If I come to a stop, then roll backwards a tiny amount in neutral and try to select first it will always fail to go in to 1st the first time requiring that I try again. Sometimes two or three times before it goes in to 1st. Purely for testing purposes I once tried applying a little force to the gear-stick when it came up against this "wall" and it did go in to 1st, however I wouldn't want to drive it this way as it felt like I could cause damage. I've read up about resetting the gear linkages but have no idea if that cures this type of issue? I've also thought about getting the gearbox oil changed? Car is on 145,000 miles and probably has the original gearbox oil. Other than this issue the car runs and drives perfectly. As good as new. Selecting every other gear is fine (but obviously i'm moving). Reverse Gear is also fine. Thanks in advance for any help that you knowledgeable folks can offer.

Hi all, To complete this thread - it was the main (larger) fan's inbuilt resistor that had failed. A replacement fan resolved the issue. Both fans now run at slow speed continuously when the air-con is on (fans start a few moments after it's switched on, not instantly) Replacing the fan was fairly easy (three screws and a connector at the bottom right) however required the car to be jacked up to reach the lower screw that secures the fan in place.

I had almost these exact same symptoms on my 1.9 SDI after the cambelt was changed by a garage which managed to get the mechanical fuel pump a tooth out. A small adjustment and it was back to perfect again. I would get the timing checked.

Hi all, The blower flap motor (that turns recirc on and off) on my 2003 mk1 skoda fabia 1.9 sdi appears to have packed up. About a year ago recirc stopped working when the button was pressed and the motor does nothing. I changed it for another motor but that didn't fix the issue. Apparently it's a common fault so I'm wondering if the spare motor I picked up was also bad. Does anyone know how I can test the motor itself out of the car to work out if it's bad or not? Thanks in advance!

Thanks for your response. It's 2003 Reg. Yes the larger fan does seem to come on at full speed. It's much louder and faster than the other one. I'll check the number of pins on the smaller fan but that one seems to be working ok. Thanks for your help.

Hi All, Car in question is a Mk1 Skoda Fabia 1.9 SDI Classic with air conditioning. For the first time in around a year I turned the air-con on today. It's functioning and the air is cool (although I don't think as cool as previous years). The engine bay has two fans, a larger one on the right and a smaller one on the left (when viewed from the front). When the air-con is on, the smaller fan is continuously on, the larger fan alternates between being off for around 20 seconds, then on for 10 seconds. I don't remember the fans behaving like this in past years but it's possible that I haven't noticed. This happens regardless of engine temp. Outside temp is 25 degrees C. As soon as the air-con is switched off both fans remain off. Is the larger fan supposed to alternate between being on and off like this continuously? It seems like strange behaviour. Thanks in advanced!

Hi All, To complete this thread, The problem slowly became more and more common over the past year. Recently I finally got around to swapping the coolant temperature sensor. (15 minute job). Even though the temperature gauge always started on 0 and smoothly rose to the middle position while driving, it was faulty. With the new sensor in place the problem has not happened once. When testing the coolant temperature sensor with a multi-meter. it's showing as open circuit for anything less than about 60 degrees, the replacement had a steady reading at any temp. So for anyone else who is suffering from similar symptoms (glow plugs staying on far too long and then a rising idle) try swapping the sensor. A Genuine one is about £40 from Skoda.

To follow this up, recently my area has had much less rain and the issue has stopped happening. I am now pretty certain that water is getting to the door electrics which is why the issue only happens when it has been or is raining.

As others have said, when engaging reverse the recirc flap opens to prevent exhaust fumes from entering the cabin. When the recirc flap is open there is less suction needed to draw in air (instead of the blower's intake tubing, the air is now sucked directly in to the motor via the flap), so the blower motor's speed & pitch slightly increases.

The car is now locking itself when driving, I have also noticed that when the passenger door is opened the interior light does not come on (works for all other doors). I wonder if this could point to the issue?

Thanks KBPhoto, doing that fixed the windows, I guess they had just lost their positions when I disconnected the battery. Thanks George, I will definitely have a look at this when I get the chance. The problem stopped happening yesterday although I fully expect it to come back.

Hi all, Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction here as I am not sure how to go about diagnosing this! I have a 2003 Skoda Fabia 1.9 sdi classic. Yesterday everything was fine, central locking and electric windows were working exactly as they should. Today however, I unlocked the car with the key fob and opened the passenger door, when I did this the other three doors locked. The passenger door also went in to the "locked" position so when I closed the door it too was locked. Opening / closing any of the other doors does nothing. But consistently if I open / close the passenger door the central locking locks or unlocks. If I open the passenger door ,all doors lock. If I close the door with moderate force all other doors unlock and sometimes even unlock and then lock again. If I press the lock button on the inside of the drivers door (next to the window button) all doors lock except for the passenger door which locks and then bounces and unlocks. The key fob still works exactly as it should. Either locking or unlocking all four doors. When parked or driving the doors remain either locked or unlocked, they do not activate on their own. Only when the passenger door is being open / closed. I have tried disconnecting the battery and leaving for 30 seconds then reconnecting but this has made no difference. In addition to this, yesterday my electric windows were working fine. I.e you lightly pull / press the switch and hold for brief activation or heavily press the switch and then let go for the window to go all of the way up/down. Now however I have to always hold my finger on the window switches. Even if I click the switches to the second position, when I let go the windows stop and do not continue to go up / down. This can't be a coincidence! I have read that there is a convenience control unit behind my steering wheel, and there is also a locking module and window module in each door (I could be wrong here). I don't know enough about auto electrics to be able to give an educated guess as to what might be causing this. An uneducated guess would be something in the passenger door as it is opening / closing this that sets the locks off!? Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance for any help! Mrrnoname

Hi all, Last time you were all really helpful when I had a query about my 1.9 SDI, I now have a new issue and am hoping someone can point me in the right direction! I am the proud owner of a 2001 Skoda Fabia 1.9 SDI with 30,000 on the clock. The issue is a little complex so bear with me while I try to explain as best I can! Around 50% of the time the car starts normally: 1. Key in ignition 2. Glow plug light comes on for a second then goes out 3. Turn key to start and car fires up normally. Idle is just below 1000rpm (in the normal place for this engine) 4. Car runs fine. 5. When pulling away I rev to 1500 and pull off, nice and smooth Ok so finally to the issue, the other 50% of the time: 1. Key in ignition 2. Glow plug light stays on for 10 seconds+ (In summer, not normal) then goes out eventually 3. Turn key to start and car fires up, revs roar to 3k+ for a split second then settle to idle at just under 1500 (too high) 4. When driving the revs stick at just under 1500 (you can hear they are higher as well as see it on the needle). 5. If I clutch up without accelerating the car pulls off at 1500 but jerks (bunny hops) 6. If I accelerate the revs rise higher than 1500 but pull off is smooth. 7. If I rev the engine in neutral it revs up but they always return to 1500. 8. There is no engine light on and it's not down on power at all. 9. While driving, after 5-10 minutes the idle suddenly corrects itself to just under 1000 (normal) and is fine for the rest if the journey. When the glow plug light appears to be stuck on I have tried turning the key to start after 3 seconds ish and the glow plugs go out as soon as the engine is started but the problem still happens the same. I have no idea what the glow plugs sticking on has to do with the idle being too high? When the glow plug light appears to be stuck on I have also turned the ignition off (glow plug light goes off) then turned it back on but the light still stays on for 10+ seconds or until the engine is started, then the problem happens the same. I have noticed that if I drive the car hard, the next time I start the engine this is pretty much guaranteed to happen. If I drive it normally. The next time I start it there is a 50/50 chance it will do this. I'm thinking maybe a sticky valve or something? Also (I think this is related) occasionally when in gear travelling down hill (using engine braking) the car will jerk forward as if I am quickly pressing and depressing the accelerator? This doesn't happen often though. Any ideas guys? I'm not as familiar with diesels as petrols and am not sure where to look with this one! Thanks in advance for any help.