Clive618

I have to go to the stealers in the morning anyway to pick up some parts, will see if there's a Vrs there I can have a look at. Just had another look at them on the Skoda website - 50 quid!:eek: I'm sure they were a lot less than that last time I looked!

Just been through quite a lengthy process, with my local dealer, of tracking down the correct guide tubes. There are several types used on the Fabia. Pre and post facelift cars are different and on the later cars, 3 different size tubes are used; the fronts, outer rears and the centre rear are all different (go figure!!). Am picking them up tomorrow morning so will hopefully be able to post the correct part numbers (at least for onyx ones).

Thanks for the responses. Doesn't look like I'd gain much by changing them then. Can't really justify the cost on looks alone (though they do look good).

I sometimes find the standard hard plastic Fabia pedals a bit slippery if my shoes are a bit wet, especially trainers for some reason. Just wondered if a set of the sporty ones might be worth a go. The certainly look quite good and aren't horrendously expensive. I presume the simply clip over/in place of the originals? Clive

Hi, I have a 55 plate pd100 and I too searched in vain for these outlets. Not had any problems but thought I ought to check them after reading various forums on the subject. I've not looked at an earlier car for comparison but it seems likely that they have been changed. If you throw a bucket of water at the screen, the water drains into the wheel arches. Seems quite free flowing so hopefully there should be no problems with the later cars.

Thought I'd post my views as as 'standard' Fabia owner (PD100 Elegance): Good: Most of it to be honest. Never been so impressed by a car before. Looks Equipment Fit and finish Great fun to drive, really great fun! Plenty of power Outstanding economy (60mpg plus) Excellent heating/demisting, though the diesel takes a while to warm up on very cold days. Aircon is great, demists the car in seconds, could never be without it now Always had good service from Skoda dealers (including 10 previous years with a Felicia) No grubby white upholstery on the Elegance:P Bad: Leaky doors - very easily sorted but should never have been a problem in the first place. That it should still be such a major problem 7 years on is disgraceful Side air bags should have been standard Rear seat space is a bit cramped compared to the Felicia, though headroom is better That bl**dy seat height adjuster - why does it have to be so big?! Over all a fantastic car:D

That is the problem, the info on ETOS is misleading. Mine is an 05 model with the later style fittings. The diameter of the stalks on the centre restraint are much thicker than the outer ones and they are not interchangeable.

Hi, can anyone help with finding the part numbers for the centre rear head restraint guides (the 2 plastic tubes the restraint slides into) which fit into the seat back? They are different to the outer ones (and indeed the front ones) and my dealer is having difficulty tracking down the correct part numbers. The colour is Onyx.

The drawer units do look the same on the new Fabia and Roomster as on the Mk1 Fabia (logical as they are share the same floorpan I believe), so presumably I could fit the underseat fire extinguisher (GCA000001 + GCA700001) to a Mk1 Fabia?

I've had my 55 plate Elegance TDI for exactly a year now and have been delighted with it. It has been completely reliable, no creaks or rattles, has excellent performance and 60+ mpg economy. The rear door carriers leaked, which I fixed myself in about half an hour with some roof and gutter sealant, but other than that, can't fault it.

I managed an average 62 mpg on a recent 700 mile round trip to Cornwall in a PD100. The most I've managed from one tank (straight fill, no fancy ventectomy stuff) is 550 miles - it took 42 litres to fill up after that. Even in the very heavy South London rush hour traffic I usually drive in, I manage around 50 mpg so I'm very pleased with the economy.

Thanks for the advice, I'll have another go when I have a bit more time. When I removed the rear door trims, I released the clip on the inside of the armrest using a bent screwdriver through the little hole in the base of the armrest. That way, by pulling the panel upwards, away from the door, the outside clips released without needing to be levered. I thought the same would apply to the front but there seems to be something within the armrest that is stopping it from lifting away from the door.

How do you remove the electric window switch panel from the driver's door armrest? There is a rattle coming from somewhere in mine which I want to sort out. I've released the clip at the back with a bent srewdriver but it simply will not budge any further, even after using considerable force. I can see two white plastic pins or something inside as I try and pull it away, but can't work out what's stopping it from coming away. I've removed the blank panels on the rear doors before without difficulty and thought the front ones would be the same, just with the electrics attached, but there seems to be more to it than that.

I have also had good service so far from Allams. I was impressed with the sales experience when I bought the car from them last year. Just had the 2 year/20,000 mile service done and have no complaints. They quoted the price straight away when I phoned to book, a courtesy car or transport was offered, they've used the correct oil and everything was very friendly and efficient. They phoned me shortly afterwards with a customer service questionaire and offered me £25 off next year's service. Definitely recommended.

Does anyone here have the "official" accessory subwoofer kit (part no. ABC400001)fitted in their Fabia? If so, how easy (or otherwise) was the installation? I'm looking for a solution that works with the standard Symphony h.u. and would involve the absolute minimum of disturbance to the trim and electrics.

That looks the dog's danglies:thumbup: Been thinking about fitting the third headrest to my Elegance but haven't been able to stump up the readies yet for the parts, let alone pluck up the courage to cut holes in the trim! This has spurred me on to go ahead (once I've paid for it's 20.000 mile service next week that is!:eek:) There were no problems with the installation then? Anything to watch out for?

Although they round up the service intervals to 10,000 miles for us imperial measure users, the Fabia's computer is set for 15,000 kms and warns about 1,500 kms before that, which equates to approx 8,400 miles since the last reset. There should be plenty of life left in the oil for a good few hundred more miles. I hope so as my oil service light came on just before a 700 mile round trip to Cornwall, swiftly followed by a 300 mile trip into Dorset! Will book it for it's service in the next couple of weeks though.

Just to put my two pennies worth in, from my experience, the problem is NOT with the drainage holes in the bottom of the door, which can cope with the throughput of water if kept clear, but with the poor design of the door carriers and their seals (across most of the VAG range, not just Fabias) which allows any water running down the inside of the door to run straight inside the car before it reaches the drain holes! One look at the rear carriers, with a huge gap between the rivets where the aluminium panel bows out and provides absolutely no pressure against the seal at the lowest point on the door, makes this obvious. Copious amounts of good quality silicone sealant as per VRStu's guide usually seems to do the job, I've had no more problems since doing this, but basically the carrier design is at fault. It really should be hooked INSIDE the door panel at the base to ensure the water takes its intended course but VAG obviously decided to put production line efficiency over vehicle durability in this case. Very short sighted when you consider how many warranty claims this must have generated across the group!

Would really like to add the centre rear head rest to my Fabia. Done a few searches on here which seem to suggest this should be a straightforward process. Went to the dealer to price up the parts and it looks to be in the region of sixty something quid all told, not cheap but not too bad, considering the original option was in the region of £45 IIRC. The parts guy was most concerned at my thinking of tampering with the car though, worrying about dire consequences like torn upholstery and whether the seat back was different and the guide tubes wouldn't fit. In light of this, I just thought I'd check on here whether anyone is aware of any problems I might encounter before I commit to spending the money and cutting holes in my trim!

Yes, this is my conclusion too after delving a bit further into the murky world of VW oil specs. The official word from SUK is that 507.00 is approved across the range, including all PD engines. This is bourne out on Shell's website; only V10 and some pre 2000 diesels are excepted. It's a newer specification that EXCEEDS 505.01 rather than being different to it and looks as though it will ultimately supercede it. It isn't NEEDED in a Fabia with fixed service intervals but, presumably the higher price means more profit for the dealers so they're pushing it.

Just been down to my local dealer (Allams of Epsom) to buy a litre of top-up oil for my PD100 Fabia. It doesn't actually need topping up yet, but I thought I should have some in reserve. I was sold a bottle of Shell Helix Ultra VX, in a posh little zipped pouch with gloves and wipes and stuff, which is 507.00/504.00. I questioned that it didn't specify 505.01 but the parts guy insisted that it was the only oil that should be used in Skodas and that is what they use when they service all Skodas. I get home and double check the manual, lo and behold, 507.00 is NOT recommended for fixed service PD engines, ONLY 505.01 should be used. Now, not only do I have to take the top-up oil back, handbook in hand, to show them the error of their ways, but also need to establish what oil they put in the car when it was serviced. (I bought the car at 1 year old and 7000 miles, they completed the first annual service it before I took it over.) I don't drive the car hard and oil consumption has been negligible since I've owned it (about 6000 miles now) so I wouldn't imagine any harm has been done to the engine even if the wrong spec. oil has been used but it is very frustrating when even the authorised dealers don't seem to know (or care!) what type of oil they put in these engines. I'll update the post when I've "discussed" the matter with them!

I have no idea what planet your dealer is living on! The only "official" iPod connector I am aware of is the Denison Ice-Link Plus which costs near enough

The smell is coming from the soundproofing felt under the carpets. If this has got wet, you'll have to take out the rear seat squabs, peel back the carpet as far as you can and dry it out with a hairdryer or fan heater or some such. As far as the carrier repair is concerned, so long as it is done thoroughly, the silicone sealant approach seems to be completely effective, or at least it has been on my car. The design of the carriers is so unbelievably poor, with a huge gap between the rivets at the lowest point on the door, that I don't see how you could ever achieve sufficient pressure between the carrier and the door to form a decent seal with the feeble bit of foam rubber Skoda use, short of adding some extra screws or rivets which is not really an option due to the risk of rusting.

How exactly DO you remove the plastic battery surround? Can't quite work out what unclips from where and the Haynes manual is predictably vague and unhelpful. Can it be done without disconnecting the battery?

I bought some trim removal tools from ipodcarkitdirect which included a forked, wide bladed lever which made life a bit easier. The trim panel itself is tough enough and won't break but the clips holding it to the door will, so make sure you have some replacements available. I didn't bother to completely remove the trim from the top of the door as there's enough access to apply the sealant just by releasing the clips. Also the small retaining screw by the door handle is a bit fiddly to replace, I blocked up the gap with masking tape to make sure it didn't drop down inside the door! The other thing is to make sure you remove all the excess original seal from around the carrier before applying the sealant.