aford12

**Resolved** Turns out one injector was knackered, and another was starting to go. Thanks everyone for your suggestions - I now know a lot more about my car than when i bought it.

Thanks for the tip! Interestingly I did get the Cam belt changed as soon as I bought the car (not sure if it had the symptoms before that or not), so will definitely be getting the timing checked! Thanks again for the info - will definitely swap out the ECT seeing as it is cheap and easy, and will be really thorough when fitting the new fuel filter. Will keep you updated!

Thanks. I've taken another look and still can't see any leaks in the fuel supply, and all the fuel pipes are connected securely. is there anywhere you can think of to check that isn't obvious just from opening up the bonnet and taking a good look? I will be changing the fuel filter at the weekend to check it isn't that (even though it has had a new one fitted recently). The other suggestion from a mechanic was that the catalytic converter is blocked (and airflow is restricted) - when we put the car through an MOT it struggled to get a reading on the emissions machine due to lack of airflow out of the exhaust, even at high revs so this is what gave us the idea. Just putting your hand over the exhaust it does seem like there is very little coming out the back. At the mechanic's suggestions I've bought some Cataclean (meant to clean out your catalytic converter) so will be trying that this weekend. Just to be clear he is a mate and wasn't trying to make me buy something from him. I'll post here with the results. Failing all of this I will replace the ECT sensor but as the thermometer on the dash seems to work perfectly I'd be surprised if this was the issue (please correct me if I'm missing something here).

I ran a full tank of diesel with Wynn's diesel treatment added and unfortunately still no improvement. Also checked for loose hoses etc. and nothing obvious! Thanks for the tips in any case. Any other tips or things to check would be hugely welcome! The car is still running great over a thousand miles later but 2 attempts at starting + white smoke can be slightly embarrassing at times!

Cleaning/greasing the starter motor or using the Diesel treatement? I'll give the diesel treatment a go this week - thanks!

Thanks for the quick reply! It is when the engine is cold - i.e. the problem has occurred when I have left the car sitting for anything from 2-3 hours. I did have a nosey around under the bonnet and couldn't spot anything obvious... Will take another look tomorrow though (assuming this rain stops).

Hi all - this is my first post here having trawled through the site looking at related issues! I've been having an intermittent problem with my newly acquired Skoda Fabia SDI 1.9 Diesel (2003) - it was a private sale so unfortunately I cannot take it back to the dealer. Apart from the problems described below the car runs perfectly and has no other issues. It has done 75K miles. Symptoms: When starting from cold (i.e. the engine hasn't been run recently and so the engine is not up to temperature - regardless of the air temperature outside), after waiting until the heater plug light goes out on the dash, the engine either: i) Turns over as normal, then splutters at very low revs for a second or 2 before idling normally as it should ii) Turns over as normal, then splutters at very low revs for a second or 2 before stalling. When trying a second time after this has occured the engine always starts as described in (i) Attempts to solve the problem: Accelerator flat on the floor whilst starting - seems to make no difference Replaced the heater plugs with a new set (as far as I know they have never been changed since new) - again no improvement. Does anyone have an inkling as to what might be causing this? I am a moderately capable mechanic so anything i can try myself would be awesome, otherwise a trip to the garage may be due... Equally if anyone has any recommendations for a decent garage in the Ealing/Twickenham/Isleworth/Brentford area that would be great! Thanks in advance!