Dazza95

I did consider it but the tax and fuel economy is putting me off a little tbh.

It was a 54 plate Ambiente. I've just been told it's sold so it's out of the question now. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201607045535609?utm_source=Triggered_Emails&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Email_a_Dealer

Cheers, these all sound like a pain to sort? Are these usually to be expected at higher mileages? The ones I've been looking at are all around the 75k-90k mark. This is actually one of the other engines I'm looking at, and the SDI. I've not had too much bother with my TDI and I do a lot of miles. My only concern was the low mileage it'd be doing with it being diesel (circa 8k a year) but I could still take it for a good run every couple of weeks.

Hi all, I've done a search and most posts seem to relate to the Mk.II. I'm thinking of buying a 1.2HTP 12v 64bhp Fabia for my partner. I know of the usual Fabia issues such as leaking door seals, bushes etc. but is there anything specific to this particular engine that I should look out for when inspecting the car and taking it for a test drive? I'm hoping it'll be a nice cheap to run runabout, it won't be used for any long journeys. The particular one I am looking at has full dealer service history. Cheers,

No VNT on the 1.4TDI, I think the 90PS Audi A2 fitted with the same engine has a VNT turbo. Have your tried something like Redex and taking it for a spirited drive? This works quite well for me when it starts to feel a bit sluggish.

Ah so that's what it is, I just assumed the glass had been replaced at some point by someone who didn't do a very good job of it. It does look awful

Yes I find them fantastic; no skidding at all in the rain and very little aqua planing at high speed in puddles etc. I also haven't had any problems on soft muddy ground. We didn't have a lot of snow last winter but I found them to work well on icy roads. My MPG dropped slightly but it doesn't bother me as the tyres feel much safer. In terms of wear, I've not measured the tread depth yet but I got them in September last year and have done around 20k miles and still have a lot of tread left. Can't comment on 'performance' use but they seem good enough on a spirited drive whatever the weather.

I would definitely go with OEM as said above, I got my alloys from a user on here who was breaking a Fabia Elegance. The tyres are 185/60/14, I have Bridgestone All weather tyres fitted and find them to be brilliant.

Thanks guys, I will pay the extra and stick with the Quantum Platinum if that's what's best. Only reason I asked was because I could get the stuff from Shell for around £7!

Hello, I recently got given a Shell fuel card from work, this is a perk of the job and allows me to buy all my fuel and engine oil for a fraction of the advertised price. With regards to engine oil, I've always used Quantum Platinum 5w-40 which meets the required VAG spec. The only oils Shell seem to do that meet VAG 505.01/507.00 are 5w-30 grade. Will the slightly thinner oil make much of a difference in an engine that has done over 130k miles or is it all much of a muchness? The car is on fixed service intervals. Cheers

+1. Very quiet and efficient smooth operation. About £21 delivered from Ebay.

Pretty sure all models have the same Denso compressor, nothing tells me otherwise in my AC workshop manual. Remember when replacing the compressor you really need to get the system flushed and the dryer replaced.

Yeah if you had a gauge set you could have checked the pressures yourself, for that price you might as well get it regassed. 0 bar would mean no gas if the sensor/wiring is OK. You probably have a compressor shut off code as well relating to low pressure in the system. Do you know when it was last regassed?

There's a little table in this thread showing what the pressure should be in line with outside temperatures. Can't see to copy it on my phone http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/401703-intermittent-aircon-fan/#entry4641513

Glad it wasn't something more serious. It could be, what is the reading from the G65 sensor in measuring block 02?

Yes it's temperature dependent and it can give you a rough idea of the charge in the system, see table below of where the pressure should be for corresponding ambient temperatures: These are when the system is not running of course. Read more: http://tinyurl.com/jdce5bp

I had the same problem, you need to get under the car and inspect the wiring to the N280 control valve on the compressor, when you locate the compressor, you'll see a black wire, follow this and make sure all the connections etc. are in properly. There was a broken connector on mine. See thread with image on page 2: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/397269-air-con-troubles/ If the wiring is OK, you can test to see if the N280 or the compressor itself is at fault, testing procedure is decribed in the first post here: http://forums.ross-tech.com/showthread.php?633-Tis%92-the-HVAC-Season In addition to wiring issues, or the sensor itself the high pressure sensor fault can also be triggered by low refrigerant pressure so it might need regassing. HTH

I second this, if the pressures are too high the AC compressor can't load properly and provide the required cooling, more noticeable in the warmer weather we've been having. I seem to remember reading on another forum that the compressor will shut off if the pressure gets too high which would make sense.

I haven't, have you got a recording of how it sounds?

I can only comment on the gearbox end seal, if it's the same one which was leaking on mine, I was charged £45 for a genuine new seal, labour to fit and top up the small amount of oil lost due to the slight leak. This was at a VAG specialist in Nottingham.

Excellent, it must have been chilly with the interior as cold as 16ºc! When I tested mine it was around 21ºc outside but the car was sitting in the sun, the temperature at the AC panel was reading 38ºc but I sweated/suffocated for a while to test it properly I've seen a few posts on here saying the AC isn't very good in the Fabia but I think it works rather well at regulating the temperature, I rarely have mine set anything below 18ºc.

What a shame! I guess you're not exactly sure about just how long the small fan has been 'overworked' as it were. Keep us posted on how you get on

That does make sense. Forgot to add that I allso cleaned the condenser, it's easily accessed with the bonnet open - used a degreaser, let it sit for a while and then hosed off. I did get quite a few bugs and general grime out.

Nice work guys Just to close this one out for anyone experiencing problems as per my initial post; the first thing to do is to scan for fault codes. The fault codes and advice on here led me to check the wiring to the compressor (more specifically, the N280 control valve), this wiring was damaged and repairing it got the compressor running. The second issue was the cooling fan only operating on high speed, for proper and correct operation, it should work at low speed when the AC is running - it shouldn't pulse at high speed. I suspect the issue with mine was the resistor for low speed within the fan as described above. A new fan solved the problem, however if your low speed doesn't work it could be other things such as the fan controller, wiring etc. To check the fan(s), with the engine running, put the AC on and turn the temperature knob all the way to the left, the cooling fans at the front of the engine bay should run at low speed (it may take a minute or so to come on). Low speed operation is pretty much silent, high speed you can hear from the car. If using VCDS, check meas block 01 and 02 - 'cooling fan stage 1' should be on. You shouldn't have any compressor shut off codes in meas block 02 for the test to be accurate. I monitored the system today using Meas Block 01-04 and with the system set to full cooling, the temperature at the centre vents went as low as 2c after around 20 minutes. The cooling fan stayed at low speed thoughout (stage 1). Hope this helps, I've learnt quite a bit about the system in trying to get it all working correctly.

The tax is worked out on CO2 so the 1.4 petrols must have higher emissions. 2500 miles a year doesn't really warrant a diesel IMO. Someone on here worked out how many miles you'd have to do for a diesel to make sense but I can't seem to find it. Your best bet is to test drive a few different models to see what you prefer and then sort out the insurance. It can all be a bit daunting but once you've been driving a year (hopefully without any claims), it'll start to get much easier/cheaper. You may just have to stick with a black box for the first year too.