patrickd

I really would avoid this dealership at all costs. I bought a 2 year old Fabia sdi from them back in 2005. i then endured another year of terrible service and some of the most aggressive 'customer service' I have ever experienced. The car needed developed numerous faults during the remainder of its warrenty and I had to go thro Skoda UK customer service on almost every occasion to get this awful garage to carry out the work. The first time I got a courtesy car from then I discovered that neither window wipers or indicators were working - a lethal combination on a dank, wet day, but on ringing the garage the ******** service manager told me it was my problem and my responsibility to call out the AA to recover the car as I consider it unsafe to drive - no apology or compensation for time lost was offered. I came to dread entering the place so unhelpful and beligerant were the service staff - its now almost four years since I last used them and still the memories are vivid. I no longer live in scotland and have subsequently used skoda dealerships in London/south east/ manchester - some of them have been poor but never, ever as bad as this *********************** - worst garage in the country, seriously

Yes it has got ABS Could it be that?? Sounds expensive if it is.

Thanks for all the above suggestions. In answer to the points raised, no the sound doesn't seem to conitnue when the fan is running, it is only when I turn the ignition key forward to the position prior to actually firing the engine. As regards glow plugs, I didn't think they actually had the potential to make a noise??? It literally is just an electrical whiring or whining that persists for 5 -10 seconds prior to ignition and it seems to be very close to the passenger side dash. I've assumed that it was something priming the engine in some way but it obviously isn't very happy at the moment

It is a bit of a gurgling sound but it last longer than a second and has gotten progressively louder over the past couple of weeks. It actually sounds quite electrical, a humming that persists until the engine fires up - it may go on beyond that but the SDI is so noisy it's hard to tell

My 02 Fabia SDI is giving out a strange whiring noise behind the dash on the passenger side when I turn the ignition before starting the motor. I don't have air con and searching through the forum this seems to be a cause of similar problems. Does any one know what this could be and if it needs rectifying?? I can happily live with the annoying sound I just don't want to risk any serious damage being done by leaving it unattended. Many thanks

Apologies for asking such a boring question but does anyone know if there is anything vital that should be carried out during the 100k service for the Fabia SDI aside from the oil change?? I used to have this car dealer serviced but recently switched to the garage around the corner to save money. For the 90k service I had a simply oil change and wasn't planning to go back to the dealer until 120k service when the cambelt will need changing again. when I asked for a quote from this garage they said it would be £160 + VAT if they carried out all the checks Skoda recommend or £50 for an oil change and brake check. Do I risk missing some vital sign of wear and tear if I opt for the basic service? I do over 20k miles a year in this car and can't really afford to have it fail. I'd be grateful for any input Thanks Patrick

The noise seems to be speed related but sounds as if its coming from the engine bay. It's been there since the cambelt was changed and I did take it back to the dealers a couple of times because the engine seemed more noisy and fuel economy dipped a bit but they tested it on 2 occasions and said that they could find nothing wrong. hence my reluctance to return to MKG and try to explain the whining. I think they're pretty geniune but I do wonder if they put the cambelt on correctly or if they are qualified to identify subtle stuff like the causes of engine whines. havaing said all that, tghe perfoemance seems about the same and economy is around normal again. It just doesn't sound healthy

Thanks for all the responses. I have a Fabia SDI which has developed a a strange metallic whining at high revs or when it's under strain. As you can probably tell I'm not that technically literate and as I have no idea what the problem could be I find it hard to explain to the dealer what is going on. I've always found MKG decent enough to deal with but this problem is only really apparent when you drive the car and they seem reluctant to ever take it out for a test run. i did persuade them once to run it around the block when there was a problem with the rear wheel bearings but this would require a longer run at higher speed and I'm not convinced they will do that. I just thought a fresh approach might help but if there are no other candidates that stand out in people's minds then i suppose I'll stick with MKG. either that or take it to the local dealer up in Bolton where my girlfriend lives. They seem pretty decent and a wee bit cheaper, just 200 miles away. Incidently, if anyone has any idea what that whine under the bonnet might be I'd be grateful for suggestions. MKG changed the cambelt about 9000 miles ago but thats the only major work on the engine and performance/ economy are no worse than usual. Many thanks

Thanks for the suggestion, I think they're a wee bit far away from me but I will check them out.

Hello, I'm based in N herts and looking for somewhere to get my Fabia serviced. I've been using MKG Motors in Stevenage for a while who have a been pretty good but i have a few persistant problems and as its next service is due i wondered if anyone could recommend somewhere else??? It doesn't have to be an authorised dealer, just someone who can be trusted and knows their way around a diesel engine many thanks

Thanks for the response. Thats a good question. It does seem to mostly occur in 5th but then thats the gear I cruise in and i've never attempted to get the car up to 70 in 4th. It does sound a bit like gears not quite meshing but the performance and economy don't seem to be effected at all. I've tried dipping the clutch and freewheeling and the sound lingers for a wee while but as speed drops so does the sound and it is a very noisy engine to begin with so picking up any sound over the usual clatter can be difficult.

It's me again, responding to my own thread as it seems to be slipping down the order . Has anyone got any ideas on this????? I know the SDI is a noisy engine but this sounds very unhealthy and as I am A/ Very poor and B/ Mechanically illiterate, I really don't want to pitch up at the dealers again without some idea what the problem might be. Someone please, have a guess, you're bound to be better informed than I am Thanks

I have an 2002 diesel SDI fabia with 68,000 on clock. For the past few months it has started to make a metallic grinding sound - hard to describe, a bit like ball bearings rolling around in a can

Many thanks for all the responses. I'll check the brake lights. Assuming the brake lights are uneffected, can I do any harm driving the car with this light flashing away?? thanks again

Hello, The glow plug light on my dash has started to flash on and off while I'm driving. Does anyone know what this means? The car (a fabia SDI) still starts alright and runs ok so I assume they don't need changing. I'm about to make a long trip and a bit worried it could be serious. I'd be very grateful for any advice Thanks

Thanks again for all the responses. The car isn't excessively sooty/smokey so I sort of ruled that out. As for it being due to the MAF - I'm not entirely sure what that is but it sounds a wee bit expensive. As it's been to 2 seperate dealers and had a number of diagnostics carried out on it I assumed they would have picked up on something like that. Am I being niaive??? Likewise the engine coolant sensor - wouldn't they have checked that??? Carrying out any checks myself is way beyond my limited mechanical know how. As for the whinning, I thought it might be due to worn wheel bearings but it seems to be related to the engine, the whole thing sort of settles down into a reverberation at certain cruising speeds like the old aircraft propeller engines. I also had the wheel bearing replaced at the back recently. They had been playing up for a while and the wheels were difficult to turn by hand when jacked up, but this never seemed to effect the economy.

I don't know if anyone is still reading this, but after further checks on the SDI today, the dealer still can't find anything wrong with it to explain higher fuel consumption. I'm getting a bit fed up with the situation. The car is definitely getting around 10mpg less than it used to AND has developed a distinctive whine at speed but after three visits to 2 seperate dealers no one can find a problem. I've also changed the tyres, fitted a new airfilter, used numerous fuel additives, all to no avail. I've told both dealers that I think it relates to the changed cambelt but both of them (one of whom actually changed the belt) deny there is any problem. What else can I do but roll over and take it????

Many thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. I'm off to the dealers tomorrow morning so I'm hoping I can hold my nerve and sound convinving

In an earlier post I asked if anyone could explain wny my fabia SDI had grown thirsty. I've changed the air filter, tried fuel additive, waited for warmer weather, all to no avail. The increased fuel consumption seem to start after the cambelt was changed with its 60,000 mile service. Various people have suggested that the timing may have been altered because of the work on the cambelt, causing the car to use more diesel. When I've mentioned this to the dealer they dismiss the idea and say if that was the case it would be difficult to start which it is not. It just uses more fuel and seems to run a bit rough, particularly at speed when it seems to whine a bit. I know nothing about mechanics and the car is going back to the dealers in a few days for further investigation. Can anyone tell me how I can persuade them it was the work that they carried out on the cambelt that caused the problem? I really don't want to pay out for more work to be done but don't feel confident enough in my understanding of diesel mechanics to argue my corner. Any explanations of exactly why the faulty installation of the cambelt could cause the problem would be gratefully received. many thanks.

Don't know if anyone is still reading this thread but thanks to anton for that last post. That almost exaclty mirrors my own experience. since i posed the question I have changed the airfilter, fed the damn thing various additives (including millers diesel power plus thingy) AND taken it to another dealer who gave it a clean bill of health. But still the mpg is down. The last dealer suggested it might be due to some tiny upset in settings when the cambelt was changed (couldn't follow exactly what) but said this was unlikely and would involve stripping the engine to check. It still only manages late 50s/early 60 mpg even on long steady slow runs when the air temp is not too bad. It used easily manage around 70 on that sort of run. AND it still seems to bang a lot more than it did pre-cambelt change. As per the last post, it also seems a lot happier at higher speeds on the motorway and driving it gently seems to actually have a detrimental effect. I've run out of ideas of what to do next and I'm just living with it hoping the warmer weather will impropve things. After 2 years with this car, I have to say I agree with what has been said elsewhere here ie that this is an engine that really has no place on the road these days. It is SO underpowered, economy is it's only redeeming feature and when that begins to slide.....

Many thanks for the responses. Feel a bit of a fool as I had another look under the bonnet last night and it's pretty obvious. Whether I can actually fit it without breaking one of the many a large plastic lumps that abound in this engine bay is another matter.

Sorry to show such technical ignorance but could someone please tell me where the air filter is on the SDI and how easy it is to replace. I bought the filter today and it's bloody huge but I can't see anything obvious under bonnet to indicate where it goes. many thanks

Many thanks for all the responses. I'll have a go at changing the air filter myself (presumably you can buy it from a halfords????) As for the cambelt, I can't say I noticed a dramatic decline in economy (though I wasn't really monitoring it tht closely before the belt was changed). It does seem noisier though and there seems to be less torque since the cambelt was changed.

i should mention that the engine also seems to 'bang' a lot more than usual. It's always been noisy but now even when it's warmed up it makes more of a racket than it used to. It gives the impression of working a lot harder than it needs to.

No real smoke emissions under power Air filter was changed at 40,000 mile serivice in December 05. I've no idea where it is to check it or what state itr should be in.