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Final update on this if anyone is interested in the outcome: The car started running really rough up to a point where every hill would mean coping with a misfiring cylinder. Engine light would pop up when misfiring but didn't stay on. The codes were checked and revealed a misfire on cylinder 3, pointing at coil failure. #3 coil was replaced with a new one and no codes appeared but the engine kept going a bit rough. 3 new spark plugs did the job! Total cost was 100€ (60€ for 1 coil, 10€ per spark plug + service). I managed to avoid the dreaded burnt valve problem for now I guess. TL;DR: Change spark plugs if you're changing your coils

You're a natural! Hope you get to do more of these reviews I have to disagree on the motorway part though. Despite being able to keep a decent cruise speed, you really need to keep it above 3000 RPM. The 12v totally pays off on those situations due to its torque curve but you still need to thrash it hard beyond 40mph on hills or overtakes. But it's a very nice car for urban/extra-urban trips. Thanks for the video!

Another update on this if anyone is curious: Compression is fine (don't know the actual values), I was told. It began acting up really bad and a fault code came up: Cylinder 1 misfire. Coil #1 was replaced with #3 and the problem suddenly went away. Bad contacts maybe? Going to have a few more miles with it and see if the codes come up again (hopefully on #3 this time...).

Thanks Wino, I'll be sure to ask him that! A bit of an update on this: another 200mi journey. The slight misfiring continues, although not as harsh. The cooling fan still triggers at low speeds and I've noticed there's an odd burning smell coming from the engine bay. I can't really describe this smell except it's a bit nauseating like burnt rubber or plastic. Burnt clutch maybe? It seems like it's coming from the radiator (or close) and with the cooling fan on I can smell it on the driver's side.

Really horrible news :(. Can you tell me how much is your VW specialist charging for the job, if it's not too much to ask?

Thanks for the feedback! Got the codes checked and only one showed up: - Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold Bank 1 I'm not sure, but this could be unburnt fuel in the cat from yesterday. It also picked up as an intermittent fault. The CEL still didn't light up. Mechanic suggests replacing all spark plugs first to see if the problem goes away. Having cooled from yesterday, I took it for a little drive and gave it a few pushes to 4500 once it was warm. There was some hesitation but far less noticeable than yesterday. One thing I noticed was the cooling fan being triggered every 3 or so minutes when driving slowly. Might be the summer but triggering it used to be quite hard last year. Really hope it's not the dreaded exhaust valve problem...

Hello everyone, My Fabia is at it again, this time with really annoying power losses. Today I did 200 miles with two or so 1 hour stops on motorways at around 75mph. While on the road, I noticed that on an incline it couldn't get past 35mph in 3rd even with my foot glued. This is all very strange to me as I've driven there before and managed 45mph with moderate effort. Like 20 miles before getting home, I noticed that on heavy acceleration or when under 2000RPM on high gears, the car would lose power, shake violently (like a misfire) and the exhaust would also pop. This did not happen if I gave it only a dab of throttle. Turning on the AC obviously made this worse. No lights came on before, after or during the trip and the temperature gauge was always on the middle. However, when I got home, I looked at the engine and noticed a faint light purple/red hue by the left of the block, where the alternator is. Any AWY/AZQ wizard had a similar experience? Is this just the Furby not being able to cope with long motorway journeys? If not what do you guys think it is? Thanks in advance!

With the money you'd be using for performance mods + resale value from your current car + a few more pounds, you could probably get a PD100. Not sure how are the prices in the UK. Good job not choosing the 6v by the way!

Battery is 3-4 years old I think. I've never had a bad start in the whole year I've owned the car. The lights dim when there's power steering usage but that seems normal as my old Fiesta also had that.

That sounds horrifying. Thank you for the very nice input! What were the "warning" signs before failing?

Hello everyone, Might be just my paranoia but I noticed that when my little 1.2 AWY Fabia has high-beams on or when the power-steering is doing heavy effort, the engine responds with a sort of rattle. My mechanic says this is OK, it's just the car struggling to keep the peripherals powered and that it's normal. I've put some audiovisual evidence: lights on (struggling) vs lights off (normal) Is this normal? Cheers!

Hello everyone, I'm curious about the longevity of the 3 pot timing chains, so I thought I'd open this thread! If you've replaced the timing chain on your 1.2, at what mileage/years and what was the cause, if any?

It was a faulty coil pack. Initially we thought it was the plugs but they were still mint. It isn't a bad idea to replace both though, I'm just cheap .

Had the emissions light a few months back. First appeared on the motorway, no symptoms, and a few days later it went into limp mode with the light flashing and what not. The error codes pointed at the catalytic converter and cylinder #2 misfire. Only the misfire bit matters since the cat error code is a consequence of the misfire. Had ignition coil #2 replaced. Word of advice: check the codes as soon as you can!

Thanks for the reply. Finally got the Fabia! Wouldn't describe it 'shakey as hell' but it provides you with a soft massage when idle and it's a relief to know it's not uncommon/abnormal. I noticed a springy, squeaking noise when dipping the clutch and some very mild rattling/grinding while it's dipped. Should I be worried?

Hi everyone! I am going to close a deal on a 2003 Fabia this Monday and I'm really chuffed! Has a 1.2 6V engine, under 100000 kms on the odo and looks mint inside and out. However, I had a look at the engine bay and while everything was really clean and looked well kept... the engine or just plastic cover appeared like it was shaking a bit when idle. There was no misfire, and the car idled steadily RPM-wise, only the slight shaking kept me worried. I drove the car for some good 10 kilometers, pushed it well and it seemed responsive. The clutch pedal did appear to vibrate when depressed but the clutch itself seems fine as I tried to accelerate in 5th at low speed and it didn't rev. I should probably point out that I've been looking for a car for 6 months. Am I being too paranoid? Thanks in advance!