bertJ

I took the filter out this afternoon with no trouble whatsoever and found that it was a bit grubby but nothing serious. I thought of changing the filter because I have severe hay fever but the car's only done 8k miles in 3 years (one careful, previous owner) so I'm not sure if a new filter will help. However, putting the filter back was very easy until I tried to get the plastic base back! After a long struggle I realised that it's simpler to 'click' the clips back on when the plastic base is back in rather than trying to put the plastic base in with the clips located in the open position. It's no fun reclining on your back with your head in the foot well and feet on the ground outside! BTW, Europarts have one of their usual part's discount available for the next two days - EGG80

Try this - https://catalog.mann-filter.com/EU/eng/vehicle/MANN-FILTER Katalog Europa/Vehicles/CARS + TRANSPORTERS/SKODA;jsessionid=68F2D2A7D2DE2E99458CF214D9C27416 Thanks again

Thank you very much. There's no way I would have worked that out without your suggestion about the Mann filter information.

I've spent ages trying to work out how to change the pollen filter on my Mk.3. I can't find any info on the web whatsoever except some stuff that defaults to older Fabias, Octavias and Superbs. I assume that the filter is behind the glove box but I'm not even sure of that. Two screws underneath the box are virtually inaccessible plus three screws along the top of the glove box that are also quite difficult to access. I'm not even sure if these screws are relevant. I'd be very grateful for advice, especially from anyone who has done this replacement.

Yes, this happened to me on a Passat during some hot weather a few years ago. The pressure on all the tyres had increased by about 3ibs so I reset the pressure warning and it never happened again. This pressure warning system seems to be very crude and prone to false alarms. Just check your pressures with a good tyre pressure gauge and reset the warning system if it happens again.

That's interesting, I didn't know you could still get these dowels from VW. I also had one in an old Passat many years ago but I tried to buy one about 5 years ago and the dealer didn't know what I was talking about.

Just for the record you can still buy steel versions of the wheel locating dowel. They are extremely useful for locating a wheel because VW/Skoda etc. uses wheel bolts rather than studs fitted to other makes. They are particularly good when fitting much heavier wheels on Octavias, Golfs, Passats etc. but still good for the smaller wheels on Fabias. I bought mine from Demon Tweeks.

There are no stupid questions; only stupid replies!

TBH, I've given up worrying about the low voltage warning. I've been getting it fairly frequently for at least 4 months since I bought my 3 year old 1.2 tsi dsg. The car always starts with no sign of hesitation and, as a bonus, the stop/start system doesn't work! If it's a battery problem I'll just wait until failure becomes obvious.

As rum4mo it's a lottery!

Ask the dealer to actuate auto locking. Also set up remote unlocking - you can have it set so that one press unlocks all doors and the boot, or just the driver's door. There are obvious advantages/disadvantages to either. IMO you're paying enough for a new car so I would be very annoyed if the dealer refuses to do these 5 minute jobs.

Thanks very much for your excellent advice. That's a very good idea for saving money towards repairs and I'll certainly find an independent garage for regular servicing etc. Unfortunately I can no longer carry out routine servicing myself (oil changes etc.) because of advancing years and declining health. Hopefully I'll keep the Fabia until it's worthless!

My Fabia is coming up to 3 years old with a ridiculously low mileage (8k). I bought it secondhand about 6 months ago and I intend keeping it for the foreseeable future. I'm vaguely thinking of taking out an extended warranty and would be especially grateful for comments from anyone who has had experience of these warranties. They seem very expensive with lots of restrictions. My inclination is to make sure the car is regularly serviced and checked and to keep my fingers crossed! Thanks in advance.

You have to keep your foot on the foot brake while stationary in Drive to remain stationary. The handbrake will not keep the car stationary in Drive. It seems that the Fabia has the old version of this system so there's no way you can move off by releasing the handbrake. In contrast all recent VW's with DSG boxes (i.e. MK 7 Golfs etc.) will remain stationary in Drive without keeping your foot on the brake pedal or using the handbrake. To move off you just touch the accelerator - an excellent design. BTW, Golfs etc. have an electronic/electrical handbrake that is completely automatic and holds the car whenever it's stopped. It's about time all Skodas had this system, not just the Superb etc.

Never noticed any turbo lag. Only slight problem is trying to move off from a standstill without a sudden jerk. It's probably a characteristic of the 7 speed dsg box combined with the petrol engine. My wife's 6 speed diesel 150bhp dsg Golf moves off very smoothly but does have some turbo lag.

My Fabia is the 110bhp DSG version - this might be the reason I can't detect any difference compared to yours.

Carista settings don't seem to produce any difference - probably not implemented in the Fabia.

Thanks for that. I'll try changing the settings when the weather improves; it's too icy at the moment to fiddle with accelerator responses!

Somewhat off the point, I noticed yesterday if you stop the car with the wipers on continuous wipe, they change to intermittent wipe and resume to continuous when you move off - clever.

One of the options in Carista is entitled 'Throttle response behaviour'. There are two possible settings - 'Gradual, controlled by time' and 'Direct, controlled by threshold' Could someone explain to me what these setting mean? Thanks.

I've just carried out the 'new' Carista modification and it works correctly and solves the problem of the too bright at night DRL's (LED's on my SEL). The only minor gripe is that the rear lights are not illuminated in the complete 'C' configuration when only the DRL's are on as is very well explained by Alec.

I assume that a key operated ignition will use a mechanical form of steering wheel lock where removing the key from the ignition will cause some form of bolt to engage with the steering column. If the two parts are not aligned when the key is removed then it will be necessary to slightly turn the wheel until the 'bolt' clicks into the locking position. To release the lock when the key is reinserted it's often necessary to move the wheel slightly to release the pressure stopping the 'bolt' from being retracted. Obviously, keyless ignition must do the same thing but this can only be done by electronic/electric means possibly involving the use of solenoids etc.

'Scam' is probably slightly too strong a word but If the aircon is working then it doesn't need anything doing to it. If there is a nasty smell coming from it this will almost certainly have been caused by the aircon not being turned on for a long period. Garages/Dealers are always looking for a way to increase their profits - I can remember one dealer attempting to charge me for replacing the air in the tyres with nitrogen. They tried to convince me that it would provide a smoother ride!

Are you using Carista? If so, the only way you can dim the drl's with the headlamps on is by turning the drl's off in the lights menu. The drl's then revert to parking (side) light mode. I don't know if you can program the drl's correctly using VCDS. The LED drl's will certainly cause severe dazzle if on at full brightness with main dipped beam on.

Could be page 180 depending on the edition.