woody252506

They looked at a previous job on the same car that they had done for another customer. It was around £900/£1000. They couldn't remember if that was the price for all 3 valves or just 1 as it wasn't stated on their records. They didn't charge me for diagnosis and were very fair. The guys themselves even said why spend that on a car that is only worth around £1k!!!

Well what a nightmare. My local vw Indy had a look today and it seems that cylinder 1 is misfiring due to low compression. They tested the coil pack and sparks and all that is ok, thus the dreaded valve problem seems to have hit my car! Not a cheap fix and I've only had the car three weeks! Yet another lemon after the saga with the corsa. Not the news we wanted with the wife on maternity at the moment. :( I'm seriously looked at getting rid as its not worth the cost with the car only worth around £1k. Seriously considering getting something like a picanto for £4k to £5k on finance. There are a few 11/12 plates around for that money from Kia approved used. We cant keep on throwing money at low end used cars at this rate. At least a Kia of that age will still have 3/4 years warranty left to cover us. I'm really disappointed in the engine, especially with it been a vw. The car has been well looked after - 11 stamps l, serviced every year with the first 7 been at a Skoda main dealer.

Update: Yesterday I had to switch cars around on the drive as we weren't using the fabia so it went under the car port. When starting it the exhaust emissions light didn't stay lit. I used it to come to work this morning and again, the light wasn't on anymore. From starting cold the idle is a little rough, the needle stays pretty constant and it isn't hunting for revs. Its much better once warmed up. Im thinking maybe its me not used to the 3 cylinder engine? I can feel a bit of vibration through the pedals once its warmed up to 90 on the temp gauge which i'm guessing might actually be normal for this engine and car? Im used to driving our civic which is very quiet, so much so I have to give it a blip on the accelerator when stuck in traffic at times as it feels like ive stalled due to how quiet it is! Its still due to go into the garage on Friday so I haven't cancelled that yet but if the light stays off over the next day or so I think I will. I have my diagnostics reader ordered and on the way.

Thanks hafsol. What solved the problem, did you change a spark plug, lead or the coil pack?

Well I took the engine cover off and had a good look around. There was a couple of small cracks in the rubber pipe that ran from the back of the brake servo to under the area near the throttle body. Nothing major but this has been taped up tight. The throttle body was clean too. I took it for a run and id say there is a little improvement. The car drives great though the gears and is really smooth. There is still a bit of a 'chugging' noise from the exhaust on idle and the exhaust emissions light is still on.I've ordered the reader from amazon.

Thanks Wino, will do. Your help is much appreciated.

Thanks. I've found one on amazon for £13. If I dont see anything obvious tomorrow (split pipe etc) or the throttle body clean makes no difference im ordering one.

I'm going to give the throttle body a good clean tomorrow without disconnecting it, then I wont need to get it re-aligned. I'll also have a good look round for any signs of damage to any pipes anywhere. Where abouts does the cheap reader plug into on the fabia wino?

Well the exhaust emissions light went away but has come in again and flashed for a while today! The car seems noiser on tick over than it was too, its almost like its struggling to breathe, especially from cold. I've got a sinking feeling at the moment. I've reluctantly booked it into my local independent Skoda specialist next week, they could only do Friday though. If I've got another lemon car I'll be an unhappy chappy!!!!!

Thanks Wino for all your help. I agree about fixing it been well worth it. After the disaster of a Corsa and a leaking footwell its a pain having to take up carpet and dry it out. Id rather fix it and avoid any future problems just to be sure.

I think its just the rears. The front drivers door was dry at the bottom of the door card, I didn't check the passenger front so will do that shortly. Its odd that the carpets are so dry yet this carrier seal is obviously leaking water. Im sure the fact the door cards have the thick fabric covering that soaks up water has helped stop the footwells becoming saturated.

I checked this morning after a night of rain and there is some water on the rubber seals that you said to check. Not a great deal, just a few drops. Oddly though the carpets are definitely all bone dry, even when I really push down hard with my hands there is no evidence of moisture whatsoever. The last owner had it for 4 years and parked it outside so maybe this isn't causing an issue and its drying out before any build up of moisture begins in the footwells. The door cards in my fabia aren't plastic, they have a chequered fabric effect. When I feel along the bottom of the door card they are wet, maybe the fabric is soaking up most of the moisture and then drying out when the rain stops which is why there isn't a lot dropping onto the rubber seals? Just a theory! Anyway, I don't want to leave anything to chance so ill be following the guide on the link you quoted to seal the carrier on the inside of the door card. For the moment ive put a microfiber cloth under each door where the water leaks so that will soak up most of the rain, its due to stop raining in a few hours anyway.

Thanks very much for your help. The impending rain over the next few days should give me a good idea wether I need to do some sealing. I know the person I bought it off had it parked outside all the time so i'm hoping it isn't an issue. I have put all my weight on the carpets to see if any moisture works its way through and they are all definitely dry. There were some real heavy showers a few weeks ago here so if it was a problem id have expected some dampness in there already.

Thanks Wino. When you say the rubber seals, do you mean the one in the picture below

Hi Wino, Its the 12v 64 bhp version. Ill have a look into the fault codes readers, thanks. I did have a good feel around all the carpets everywhere and they were all bone dry. Maybe the seal on the inside of the doors has been fixed in the past by previous owners?