Phil866

11 February, 2017

After running a Kia Rio pretty much faultlessly for 8 years and 120.000 miles I bought dads low mileage 2010 Fabia 1.2 elegance last year. It has a lovely engine but I don't like pretty much everything else, especially the 'nanny state' remote control that thinks I'm going to be carjacked in a sleepy Lincolnshire village. I also dislike the controls geared for driving on the left hand side which are a pain, but hat's not VAG's fault as Ford et al also do this. Oh, and the crap dipped headlights, oh yes and the tramlining on our rural roads. You get the idea. So anyway i will keep it for another 18 months (now I've spent over £500 on brakes and servicing) and then buy a new Kia Rio. A 7 year 100,000 mile bulletproof warranty and a customer services department willing to join in on the Kia owners club forums seems like a no brainer to me. :-)

Phil

9 December, 2016

My 2010 HTP Elegance has the Swing unit with reversing sensors fitted from new.

2 November, 2016

Sorry if this has been done to death but I just need to check that they are H7's? Haynes says H7 55w main beam and H7 35w low beam. Now I've never heard of a 35w headlight bulb so is this a typo? The Skoda manual says H7 but does not specify wattage. My local auto electrical dealer's book say's H1's, which I'm sure they are not. Confusion reigns.......

5 October, 2016

I've recently had my first experience of night driving with the Fabia and like Delta925 I found the dipped beams dire to say the least. Also like Delta925 my first job will be to make sure the headlights are set up properly and then look to fit brighter bulbs. I really hope I can improve them.....

21 September, 2016

It can be a real pain but you need to find the wedge that is part of the adjustment mechanism, there are a few videos on YouTube that may help.

Once you pop these up, the shoes will retract and the drums are a simple job to remove. They are accessible through the wheel retaining bolt holes when you have the wheel off. Once you have done 1 the other side will be a breeze.

Good advice but the shoes are not the issue as the adjusters are not working anyway. Its the drums that have rusted solid on the hubs that are the problem. Just a quick flash with the old oxyacetylene would do the trick, but sadly I don't have any. :no: Thanks anyway Wonky.

21 September, 2016

Well a few weekends ago I replaced the front discs and pads on my 2010 1.2 htp (£49.99 with trade discount) without issue. As easy as the old Kia Rio. Today it was strip down and clean the rear brakes day. Although the car has done 42,000 mile it has a full main dealer service history, the last being the 40,000 mile 3 months ago before I bought the car from dad. It took me about an hour to remove the alloys which were well corroded onto the hub. A breaker bar and squares of oak were required. Once they were off it was easy to see that the drums had never been removed in their lives. No wonder the adjusters had stopped working and the shoes were scraping on the backplate, not to mention the awful brake squeal when stopping. A few bangs with the old trusty 2lb hammer (I am an ex mechanic from when drums were often found on the front as well as the rear) revealed clouds of black dust and that heat was going to be needed to shift them. I have no heat so gave up and left it at sanding down the hubs and coating in copper grease so at least I can get the wheels off in the event of a puncture.

I thought that I would be pleased to get away from having to remove the hub nut and bearing to access the rear brakes, but not any more. I much prefer drums on light cars (my Kia Rio was still on the original drums and shoes at 120.000 miles, and the automatic adjusters never stuck) but these, which have the Audi symbol on them, are a nightmare.

I know it's a servicing (or lack of) issue but I felt that you would understand if I had a whinge. Anyone any tips before I turn it over to a garage?

6 September, 2016

I've just had my front tracking sorted at Kwik Fit in Sleaford as the nearside tyre was getting ruined. They are Hunter equipped with a slave monitor in reception so you can watch the whole process from the comfort of your chair. I asked that they ensure the steering wheel remained straight which they did, which is a first for any car I've ever had tracked. Kwik Fit seem to have done the job well, kept me informed, and charged me a reasonable price. And the staff seem to have grown up and are now looking and behaving like professionals The car is now transformed and handles as it was designed to. There is a bit more to this story if anyone is interested but its not relevent to the original post.

19 August, 2016

I'm a bit baffled by all this, but this is not new. My elegance has drl's which can be disabled via a switch in the in cabin fuse box. I have never been flashed because of them. When I turn my sidelights or headlights on the drl's go off, so I am baffled by reports of them going dim. I also have fog lights at the front which, as GoneoffSki correctly says, are rarely useful. They were designed to be used before modern patterned headlights to 'cut under' fog or mist. As you cannot use foglights without dipped headlights by definition they become useless at anything other than crawling speed. Am I missing something here??? :-)

6 July, 2016

Thanks for the input everyone. The fuel gauge is an odd one but as most folk are saying I'm going on the trip to be safe. I know it's an impossible question but what do others with a 1.2 70bhp get from a tankful in miles and mpg? I've yet to work mine out as I'm still learning to drive it efficiently (that 3 cylinder engine sounds so nice at 5,000 rpm). Fabiamk2se I know about fuel tank vents but what is 'venting and how to do it'? It sounds like it should have it's own cult following so tell me more!

The speedo is another thing I'm going to have to get used to I think. I've checked it against my own Garmin (bloody useless thing) and dads Tomtom that came with the car. Both indicate the speedo is reading about 12% slow, which I've verified by the local parish councils smiley faced speed check device. *I know I know but it's all I've got. ..*. I can't believe that all sat navs read slow otherwise cruise missiles would miss their targets by miles! The question about changing km's to miles is in relation to the MFD which can display my speed in km's. Can this be altered to miles, and would it make any difference if it mirrors the speedo? And one last question please, tow bars. I need to fit a tow bar to pull a 6 ft trailer for the odd dump trip etc. Will a swan neck work with the reversing sensors or do I need a removable type?

Many many thanks

Phil

3 July, 2016

Sorry for the late reply on this. The tyres are Avon 205-45-16's and are standard on the elegance. The handling problem was solved by putting the correct pressure in them! It was main dealer serviced and mot'd 5 days before I bought it from dad. I can only assume whoever checked the tyre pressures mistook 2.1 bar for 21psi. The car now handles perfectly..... The speedo is still slow but am learning to live with this. Is the km's per hour lcd readout adjustable to mph, and would this read any different if so?? And the fuel gauge reads 1/1 until the 200 mile mark when it drops rapidly, but as GoneOffSKi says I just need to refuel before the 350 mark to avoid embarrassment. I've just completed a 200 mile round trip on all sorts of road and I am really enjoying it (thanks kevberlin) except for those nasty speed bumps in the middle of road. My last car was wide enough (if I was accurate enough!) to drive over them without trouble but the poor Fabia has no hope. I think however that the Fabia may have converted me back to european cars.

Thanks again

29 June, 2016

Many thanks again. Must learn to use the search function!

Phil

29 June, 2016

I'm loving this Fabia HTP Elegance despite swearing I would never again own another european built car* (the last was a '53 Corsa 1.2 on a 4 yr lease. Recalled and fixed so many times I lost count...). So happily driving along today I noticed a black line in the windscreen stretching about 6-8 inches below the rear view mirror. Anyone any idea what this is? Aerial?, de-mister?

Thanks

* And I don't count my Spitfire because it's a classic obviously..........

22 June, 2016

I've bought a really nice car! I tend to keep my cars for a long time and this 2010 Fabia will hopefully be no exception.

Likes so far are the engine (and that's a big surprise as I thought I would hate it). It's very tractable and fun for a 1.2 normally aspirated engine and I love the sound. Reminds me of half a Triumph GT6 for those old enough to know. I like the Elegance trim level with it's cruise control, climate control and arm rest etc. I like the driving position and the adjustments available to the front seats. It has excellent brakes with, thankyou Skoda, drums at the back. I like the easy servicing aspect (no stub nut to remove the drums etc and the luxury of a Haynes manual ) and I like the solid look and feel of the car.

So far I'm unsure about it's handling in a crosswind or when overtaking a fast lorry (anyone else?), and that the gear lever can be pushed down 2" in any gear, most unnerving, but I guess I will get used to it.

And so far I don't like the inaccurate fuel gauge, it said half full yet I managed to get 38 lites into a 45 liter tank... , and the inaccurate speedo, which at least runs 4 mph below the 30 speed limit and not over.

If the Fabia proves to be as reliable and economical to run as my Kia Rio I shall be very happy indeed. If I scrap the Kia tomorrow and get nothing for it, it will have cost me just £375 per year to own over 117.000 miles and 8 years at a regular 43 mpg. That includes a new clutch last year, but not mot's (although it always passed without issue) or servicing. Big shoes to follow then Fabia!

Phil

17 June, 2016

I've now collected my parents '10 reg Fabia HTP Elegance. It smells very strongly of their dogs and has scratches on the tailgate that I was not informed about (dad dropped the garage door on it apparently... .). I have been told by mum to get these repaired and take the cost from the price we agreed. Okay, I can do that. The drive home (5 miles) was the first time I have driven a Skoda since borrowing my sisters brand new 1984 120L for a holiday in Scotland, and the first time I have driven a 3 cylinder engine since my Daihatsu Charade Turbo in 1984. How things have come on since those days!. What a nice car this is for a mature driver like me! I have a sorted 100bhp Triumph Spitfire 1500 to re-live my youth in but for work and sensible driving this car is going to be perfect. I am muchly impressed by the car and I have had fun reading the owners manual (the Triumph takes about 2 seconds to work out except for the choke which takes a lot of getting to know, especially with stub stacks and K&N's etc). I suspect I will keep this one fort a few years yet so may well be asking the experienced forum members for advice at some point. Thanks all for your advice so far.

13 June, 2016

A Ford 2.8 Capri? Nice, except for the mpg and the back end overtaking you on a damp roundabout....

10 June, 2016

Given the mileage and known history it sounds a good buy for the top specification so long as 70bhp under the bonnet suits you and your usage. You could easily pay far more for a car needing significant expenditure or with problems.

He's had it from new and Hortons (Lincoln Skoda) have done all the servicing apart from the the most recent service (to Skoda specs) and mot which was done a couple of days ago by the Kia main dealer (Draytons) who are just up the road to my parents. As he is giving up driving (90 yrs old and about time tbh) I want to give him an honest price. I was going to run my 05' Rio into the ground until I retire in 2 1/2 yrs but I think it will want money spending to get it through the MOT in September. So I want a car to use for work (about 300 miles per month local runs) and a couple of Northumberland holidays per year. When I retire I get my lump sum and that is when I buy the Aston Martin! I think his Fabia will do me until then.

9 June, 2016

A wide open question here as I said I would buys dads spotless 2010 1.2 HTP Elegance at 38k miles from him for £4,000, and I will keep my word as long as he does not damage it between now and the 17th June. However, if I changed my mind what would you guys recommend I looked at for the money. I have been tempted by a Suzuki Swift and by a Kia Rio (which should still be covered by Kia's excellent 7 year warranty) as I already own one and am muchly impressed. Any thoughts or recommendations??

8 June, 2016

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/214776-wtf-is-abs-edl-asr-esp-hhcetc/

Everything you need

Perfect! Thanks.

8 June, 2016

Really helpful stuff. Thanks!

8 June, 2016

Hi all, I've just noticed in the specs for the 2010 1.2 HTP Elegance I'm buying next week that it has an Electronic stability programme. Ermmm, coming from the world of Triumph Spitfires and 2005 Kia Rio's I don't have a clue what this does. :wonder: Can anyone help on this please?

Phil

2 June, 2016

No, but you can expect a sowing machine type sound...

That made me laugh......I think. I've only really driven it once or twice and now you mention it..............................

2 June, 2016

Well, this is probably not helpful (and sorry for the hijack) but the '05 plate Kia Rio I have owned for the last 8 years and 117,000 miles has never needed a drop of oil between services ever. It's a Mazda 1.3 engine. I pick up my dads 10' reg Fabia 1.2 HTP next week so can I expect the same sowing machine reliability?

21 May, 2016

Hi all, i am about to buy my fathers 2010 Fabia HTP elegance from him. He has, at age 90, wisely decided to stop driving and as my '05 Kia Rio is going to fail it's MOT I thought I would have it. The KIa has been a fantastically reliable car over the 8 years and 117,000 miles I have owned it and I am hoping for the same from the Fabia. It has covered 37,000 miles and was bought from Horton's of Lincoln and always serviced by them and is being serviced and Mot'd today. I also own a fully restored 1977 Triumph Spitfire which I have had for 15 years. I was a mechanic in the 70's and have carried out all the work myself. I have serviced the Rio (changed disc's, pads, shockers etc) but left the clutch replacement to the local garage. Anyway enough rambling, I must say farewell to the Kia forum now.

Thanks

Phil

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