Josdad

I got the car back from the dealer this afternoon, much quicker than I thought. I was told that the car’s computer had crashed and a software re-installation had done the trick. Only drove about a mile home and all seems ok. Just glad I’ve got the extended warranty!

The first thing that I noticed was that the EPC light was on. Then a stop/start fault and the interior and glovebox lights not working. The instrument panel digital speedo and the infotainment screen dim to virtually nothing when the headlights are on in daylight, they work as normal in darkness. Then the car went into component protection mode. The car went into the dealer last Friday but they didn’t sort it, it is going back on Wednesday as it is a job for the master tech. Anyway as I was leaving the dealer it showed an emergency braking and an airbag fault. This morning the radio has gone silent although it is showing the stations. Lane Assist is working and I can’t turn it off because the screen is just flashing CP mode! They think the software is corrupted and I think they are going to remove it and reinstall. If that doesn’t work they will look for a faulty component. I previously had an experience when the power steering failed, luckily on my driveway. It recovered after a couple of starts and was checked by the dealer. I’ve also had, I think it’s the SOS module, replaced. When I bought the car I planned to keep it for a few years. I don’t think that I can, I really don’t trust its long term reliability anymore. Shame because it’s basically a good car. It’s a 2019 car with only 20,000 miles.

Ok, will give it a go. Got a 70 mile round trip tomorrow so that should give the battery a top up. Thank you for your advice Warrior193, it is much appreciated.

I can only see the end of the number, 105B. I think that it’s an EFB. The charger is a Halfords smart charger. It says on the box that it’s suitable for cars with stop-start.

Thank you Warrior 193 and Varooom for your replies and advice. The car will be going into the dealer for a service in November or maybe before for the SOS module replacement, I’ll ask them to check the battery condition. I do have a battery charger so I could give it a top up if I haven’t had any longer runs.

Don’t know why that previous post has reappeared. Must have clicked on something by mistake. Now deleted. I do have one day of 4 x 3 mile trips but my other journeys are 10 to 15 miles, plus the occasional 100 mile round trip. Average of about 100 miles a week.

Thank you for your reply Warrior193. The battery is 2 3/4 years old. It seems to be ok. Stop/start works fine, when I forget to switch it off, so I think it is fairly well charged. Since the fault occurred there hasn’t been another problem. If you are right and maybe the battery was low on power and caused the fault then we seem to have cars that won’t function correctly with a less than perfect battery, even to the point of causing a loss of power steering. This really is unacceptable design as it would be impossible to be sure of the safe operation of safety critical functions of our vehicles. I do wonder if, in a few years time, cars with perfectly functional mechanical parts will be scrapped because the cost of repairing flakey electronics will be so high.

After unloading the shopping I restarted the car to put it in the garage. I got messages on the instrument panel screen saying lane assist not available and then front assist not available. The power steering had also failed. I switched off and restarted with the same results. I switched off again, locked the car and left it for a few minutes and when I restarted the car it was ok again. I have had messages before to say lane assist not available but it cleared on the next start up. Booked the car into the dealer and they told me that they had found fault codes which they have sorted and have reset everything correctly. I also need to have the SOS module replaced but the part is on back order at the moment. I had noticed the suspension was getting noisy. It sounded as though it could be the drop links. I had problems with those at about the same mileage, 13,000, on my previous Fabia estate. However the garage found that it was the cuff on, I think, the strut mount, which was turning freely. The receptionist said that there was a factory TPO about this and the technician had followed the repair procedure which included greasing it and, I presume, tightening it up. I follow the Scala, Kamiq, and Octavia 4 forums and can’t recall these faults being mentioned before. Loads of electrical problems but not the power steering failure.

My Scala developed a really annoying buzzy vibrating rattle that I thought was coming from the left side of the dashboard or the door. Passengers heard it from their right. I went out with a tech. from the dealers and he found it was coming from the glasses holder area. He arranged for the car to be booked in and said they would remove the fitting and have a look. This seems to be quite a big job, disturbing the headlining. I've found that the noise is coming from the information button. I made a little plastic wedge to fit and the noise has stopped. Blessed relief! I am wondering whether I should cancel the dealer appointment and leave well alone now. It's not a button I'm ever likely to push and I'm concerned that dismantling and re-assembling will cause something else to rattle that's ok at the moment.

Even light drizzly rain can build up a layer of moisture on the sensor and stop it working.

My SE, which was delivered in December, has the boxes under the seats and the seat pockets.

Just checked my SE and yes it has the 12v socket in the boot.

Sorry Keithchesterfield I didn't read your last post before I wrote mine. I bet your problem is worn drop link bushes like mine, both at 14,000 miles. I have an extended warranty with Skoda but I felt sure that they would charge me £60 to put the car in the workshop and then say that they couldn't find anything wrong, which is why I went to an independent garage. The charge for the parts and 0.6 hours was £125. I know that I shouldn't have had to pay this but it's worth it to know the suspension is ok. The bonus is that I've found a very good independent VW group specialist.

My 14,000 mile Fabia started getting the feeling and sound of something loose and rattly on poor surfaces, not only on bigger bumps. The Skoda dealer couldn't find anything wrong so I took the car to Vasstechnik, an independent VW group specialist. They checked the suspension over and said that the ARB bushes were a bit worn but not really enough to replace and to monitor the situation. Kevin, the owner, didn't charge me either. Very impressed! When I saw this thread and that the O.P. had bushes replaced @ 14,000 miles I went back to Kevin and arranged to have the drop links changed, which was done yesterday. It's done the trick. I've still got the standard Fabia thumpy suspension but that loose rattly noise has gone. It hasn't done much for my faith in Skoda that things like drop links should need changing at such low mileage.

It's car being clever. Works with non auto wipers. I used to drive a Berlingo van that did the same.