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Amartha

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    Somerset

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  • Model
    Fabia 111 1.2 Estate

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Explorer (4/17)

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  1. Well, the car is booked in for Saturday. They didn't change the plugs (which should have been done) and the air filter is not due until 60k. They will do the plugs whilst investigating the sensor problem. The fuel consumption has definitely taken a hit by whatever the problem may be. I had to do a 150 mile journey yesterday pm and the consumption only just made it into the low 40s when normally I would have expected 50-ish even allowing for the current OAT. I was on a prepaid (fixed) service schedule until this last service, but as the car goes out of 3 year warranty in March I will be doing the standard stuff myself from thereon. I have a laptop based fault code reader and have been working on my cars and bikes for many years so I would rather avoid dealer bills once I am able.
  2. Unfortunately the invoice is at home so cannot see what was on it for certain. I am pretty sure that plugs were not on it though there was at least one filter (pollen was definitely there but cannot recall if air filter was). I had a brake fluid change done as it is coming due and all in it came to around £340. I am waiting for the service manager at the dealership to call me back, so I will take up the points you suggest, thanks.
  3. Thanks, Awaoffski and rum4mo. Yes it has been mine from new and has had full main dealer servicing - the last service has only just been done, though I don't recall that plugs were on the schedule of tasks carried out. I never sit with the car running at idle to de-ice etc (once oil is circulating I am able to drive off gently for the first couple of miles so the whole car warms up throughout) and I am lucky that my commute is a 100 mile round trip mix of quick A road and dual carriageway with no hold-ups other than a few moments at junctions. The car rarely gets used for short journeys or in traffic. The two instances of the light illuminating have been on different tanks of fuel (I refuel to full from typically 1/4 tank without fail owing to my regular journey requirements). The car is still (just) in warranty so I will be contacting the dealer to get it looked at asap, my main interest was what the implications on the car were of having to use it with the failed sensor?
  4. The Saturday before Christmas I had the 'Exhaust Inspection Light' come up on my 40,000 mile Fabia 1.2 Tsi 110 estate and so went to the local Skoda dealer with it. The mechanic hooked up the laptop and proclaimed that it could be one of two lambda sensors (either pre or post cat) but that it was not a problem and should only cause the fuelling to be slightly off. He cancelled the warning as the car was due in for service on the 3rd of Jan and I would be only using the car for local journeys over the Christmas. At the service I asked them to look into it (plus pull and remake the connector) but there was no fault found. This morning on my normal 50 mile to work commute it has come on again... I have also noticed that the normal 50 mpg average has dropped to 40mpg for the same journey, so it is probably running very rich though there is no obvious impact on the performance. Firstly, does anyone know the implications of running with this warning illuminated and secondly, are the sensors easy to get hold of and change, or does it require large amounts of time/effort to get at such that it is better left to the dealer?
  5. +1 to above comments. Very close to 40k miles now on my pre week 22 estate, and would have another for definite. I loved my 1.9Mk1 Elegance, was much less impressed with the 1.6 Mk2 but the Mk3 in 110bhp 1.2 form is excellent as a real world car. A little more power and less tyre noise would be nice, but it wouldn't stop me getting another.
  6. Mick's Garage do a range that I have used on the Mk2 and 3 Fabia (fitted with standard seats). Their range for the Mk2 is as good a fit on the Mk3 (the Mk3 wasn't specifically quoted when I got my covers as it is one of the early cars, so I got a Mk2 set and fitted it to the Mk3). They are reasonably priced and I consider them to be a good fit (assuming that you put in the effort to fit them well in the first place!) except for the headrests covers which are only just acceptable in my opinion. I have had mine on my Mk3 for 2 years and over 30k miles to protect the seats from liftshare pax and dogs (with additional blankets) and they are wearing well apart from a couple of seams that are beginning to show signs of giving (no tearing of the material). I had a set on my Mk2 (which is now on my wife's old Ibiza) that did 20k miles. When they have had it I will probably get another set.
  7. Skoda do their own tow bar which has a removable hitch. A hole is cut in the bumper which is filled with a clip in panel when the hitch is removed. There are pictures in the handbook (mine is an early car, so not sure if the handbook will still show it) showing installation and removal of the hitch. The clip in panel is a pretty good fit, so although it's not invisible, it is not immediately noticeable.
  8. Just approaching 28k miles and booked in for third service. So far its has proved to be an excellent car - good fuel economy coupled with adequate power and (in estate form) enough space for everything I need. I bought outright on the strength of two previous Fabias (Mk1 and a Mk2) and shall be keeping this one for the foreseeable future.
  9. I had a Mk2 that appeared to be no where near as stable as my previous Mk1 as soon as the tyres started to wear. This manifested itself primarily as 'white lining', ie it followed any deformations in the road surface along your direction of travel without any steering input from the driver. As a motorcyclist of many years this was not an unusual occurrence - many bikes do this once the tyres wear, though modern designs tend to be better. Similarly, I had a TVR Griffith 4.3 that exhibited the same problem on poor surfaces. I had the Griff wheel alignment checked and corrected, but the improvement was small (as were the original errors in the settings) so I put it down to the tyre/suspension/car weight and drove around it. The Fabia Mk2 started to do it within the first 5k miles from new and I again put it down to a combination of tyres etc - tyre pressure changes had little effect. As the tyres wore to near the point of changing I got so fed up of it on wet roads that I changed the tyres early and had the steering geometry checked and corrected (there had been no 'kerbing' or other driving events that would have caused it to change from new). The improvement was very noticeable - not perfect, but much better. As I never 'gelled' with the Mk2 and needed an estate by then, I got a Mk3 when they were introduced; the steering was back to the quality of the Mk1 (possibly better). However, as the tyres have worn (now at 27k and near ready for changing) the white lining characteristic has shown itself on a few occasions. If the car is new, I would suggest complaining to your dealer and insist that he checks and adjusts the geometry (with a 'before and after' printout). If it is older, with tyre wear starting, or you don't know its full history wrt any 'potholing' and kerbing that may have changed the geometry, you may need to get it done yourself and accept the cost. If this gives no improvement, a change of tyre manufacturer may improve matters before you resort to a wheel change. Best of luck!
  10. Dave ABC, I have a Fabia 111 1.2TSi 110 estate that was delivered new and subsequently fitted with the Skoda towbar by the Skoda dealer, which incorporates a removable, lockable, hitch. The bumper is cut on installation of the towbar and a removable section approx. 10"x7" incorporated to allow access to the hitch attachment point and electrical connector. It is visible, but not unsightly; the removable panel clips in and so the fit isn't perfect to fractions of a millimetre, I consider it to be acceptable as a functional item.
  11. Dave ABC, I have a Fabia 111 1.2TSi 110 estate that was delivered new and subsequently fitted with the Skoda towbar, which incorporates a removable, lockable, hitch. The bumper is cut on installation of the towbar and a removable section approx. 10"x7" incorporated to allow access to the hitch attachment point and electrical connector. It is visible, but not unsightly; the removable panel clips in and so the fit isn't perfect to fractions of a millimetre, I consider it to be acceptable as a functional item.
  12. After 24k miles+ I am (still) getting a reliable 48-52mpg, though I hardly ever do any in-town driving and try to avoid using reheat... if I can!
  13. There is some additional data on headlights, bulbs and other subjects at the end of the pinned 'owners manual' thread above that may be of assistance if you (like me) have had the vehicle since they became available and not referred back to that thread since..!
  14. glosrich - Probably not, as it is not noticeable at any other time - though I have not checked. GoneOffSki - The Skoda official response was from Skoda's tech support area. I was only able to scan the response the garage had received in response to their query to Skoda, but it was as I (heavily paraphrased) wrote in my last post. As an engineer, I find it hard to believe that the VW/Skoda designer would have allowed his system to be delivered with this characteristic - though it was probably the only solution to an emissions problem and the funds had run out for further development! Curiously, first cold start post-service, it didn't do it this morning... and in truth, as Trevor B33 wrote, it is not a significant issue to make it a concern and would only become so if it became more intrusive and for a longer duration.
  15. The Skoda (official) response to this is that it is as a result of a system to promote rapid warming of the cat to reduce emissions on cold start - the technician reported that the (same) VW 1.2 engine behaves in the same manner in his Polo.
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