Gonzini

Hi all So, the dealers replaced the passenger side window regulator a few months back as it had completey failed and the window dropped on one side. (on the same day i picked the car up from them to get a bad water leak fixed...) For the first time I attempted to drop the window all the way but notice it stops before it disappears into the door as the drivers side does. It sits slightly above the top of the door trim. Have they fitted it wrong or does it need some kind of reset? I've tried the one where you keep the button pressed but that hasn't helped. The auto close still works anyway. It seems like it dosen't always stop at the same posistion either, i haven't messed about with it as don't want to make worse if it goes that way. Closes up OK though. Cheers

Not sure what happen with mine now I've looked a bit more into it all. It sounded like it was already to go and it refused. I think its been discharged at the moment as it won't turn on. No idea how much gas was dumped as no mention about that. There's a possiblity the components might be covered on the extended warranty on mine having spoke to Skoda, if the condenser is damaged by a stone then not as to be expected.

I'm just going through this today. Took the car to a local independent VAG specialist this morning for a regas as it suddenly started to make hissing sounds and odd noises when first swiching on. Also an alarming squeal at one point. When i demonstarted mine to the Skoda tech (we were out on a test drive for other issues...) he suggested a regas but said they couldn't actually do the new type of refrigerant that their site! Suggested i took it elsewhere... I guess you have the older type of refrigerant as on my 2019 mk3 its around £140. They should of done a pressure test first to check for leaks as mine did, who didn't find a leak and it all looked good. He went to regas it and it refused to continue due to a leak somewhere, not sure why that would happen if it didn't detect anything initially. Tried the UV die but couldn't see anything. So now looking at replacing the condensor which apparently is a common issue as can take a hit from a stone or something. Thats an almost a £500 job... As for the squealing sound, probably the clutch on the compressor which you can't replace separately so that would be a compressor change, another £500.... Luckily they didn't charge me for today, which was great of them really. You are probably going to have to take it somewhere due to the specialist equipment required.

So, bearing noise appears to of gone but still have a hollow droning noise. Guess its the tyres, when the fronts got replaced i got them to rotate the rears to the front. Still have loads of tread on them, just under 6mm. Maybe they've gone a bit hard, though there's no cracking visable. Maybe I'll get them to swop back around again and see if that shuts it up or at least reduce it.. The aircon now is also making new noises that don't sound good, but thats one for another post! Its never ending. I might look at a S/H mk4 Fabia later in the year, they had a few at the dealers. Have to see what issues people are having with those. Or jump ship to another make.....

Does seems very low millage for a wheel bearing to start playing up. Have to see what the others do. I've never been convinced of the build quality of these newer Fabias, i had a mk2 before this one that seemed much better built. Just typical of everything these days, they design a service life into them. So its seems the warranty did pick up the repair bill having just taken a call. Picking it up in a bit so see how things are, hopefully no more noises, well not that one anyway...!

Skoda labor here is £156 p/h! See what happens, hopefully they will agree. Find out tomorrow...

Was the 2 year All in cover that Skoda do. Covers 2 services, minor & major, 2 MOT's, roadside recovery, extended warranty. And maybe something else I've forgotten. Actually made sense to do it looking at the numbers, glad i did as passenger window regulator failed a few months back so covered.

Managed to get Skoda to look at this today, been like nearly 2 months. They agreed that its a wheel bearing on the way out, hopefully extended warranty will cover it. Cars at 32500K miles, would expect a longer life than that. Skoda quote is £385, i asked another place up the road cost of a replacement and they reckon around £200. So i know where I'm going if they refuse... Though there is a good will option having spoken to the warranty people.

Thinking back i did notice something but it was much quieter, just put it down to cabin noise. Brought from new, full service history etc. Zero, its a 6 speed manual Always!

Now i can hear it, its driving me mad. I'll see what its like tomorrow... Or at least would be good to know what it is. Battery was replaced a couple of years back, should be good for a while longer. The passenger footwell was filling up with water, really hard to pin it down looking myself. They found a seam was leaking, would of been up under the window area i guess. Like that from new no doubt, but i guess opened up more to become a noticable problem. They would of removed the whole interior, seats and centre console. Hopefully its not leaking anymore but hard to say without ripping all the carpets up again... £625 later... but they did replace the failed passenger window regulator that failed when i picked the car up under the extended warranty i took out. Guess the drivers side will be next...

nta16 I just pumped the tyres back up to 32 PSI all round. Didn't see anything hanging off or loose underneath and the wheel arch liners all seem to be good. Wondered if they got removed when it went in for the expensive leak fix... Think Im just going to see if it gets any worse or changes, i guess if it completely fails then will know what it was! I have been charging the battery periodically, more in the colder months. On the way back from the folks last xmas i had charged the battery up before the journey back but it triggered the ESP (i think its that one..) warning that i first saw with the old battery that i replaced. I guess it saw a voltage drop where its not 100% charging and triggered it. After restarting when i got home I've never seen it light up since. Always turns over OK, i never leave the auto start / stop enabled either. rum4mo Have to see what happens over time with it, cars only done 32.5K miles in 7 years. But nothings built to last these days it seems...

Alasdair1 / mac11irl I'll have a look at that and any other bits of plastic, thought did cross my mind if could be something like that. rum4mo Mines @ 32.5K. Thinking back i think i noticed something before i had the tyres changed but not as loud. I noticed if i moved my head nearer the drivers door it got louder so just put it down to resonances building up in the cabin. This time when i noticed it i thought it was something in the track i was listening to on the stereo, but having muted it i heard it much louder than before. Might just be a coincidence it lined up with getting tyres replaced. I notice it does have a kinda beating sound character to it. nta16 Can't do much about the shorter journeys at the moment, works just up the road about 8 miles away so 16 mile round trip. Other than a quick local shopping run it sits there for 4 days now. Then sometimes makes a grauching noise on first start after not being used... starter motor? Who knows..!

Cheers guys. Garage that fitted new tyres did all the work. Old tyres still have min 5mm tread, they're the original Dunlops. They look in good condition still, no cracking. But yeah i hear what your saying. Sure direction is all OK, but will check again now you mention swopping sides. I'm sure they are aware of that one. I don't think its the new tyres, sounds like the noise is coming from the front drivers side seems louder but hard to pinpoint as cabin accoustics affecting things. I'm not doing loads of miles of late, work part time now for 3 days just up the road. Need to try it on some different road surfaces but that droning noise always seems to be there.

Hi all Wonder if anyone might regonise this droning noise I've been hearing, i can't un hear it now and its anoying! I've just had a new set of tyres fitted on the front and had these moved to rear, Then what was on the rear moved to the front to finish the useful life of those off. Not sure if i had been hearing this droning noise before, i think i might of done but seems very noticable and louder now since tyres moved about. I thought it was the new tyres but Im not so sure now. could just be coincidence. Maybe a wheel bearing getting noisy or other transmission? It starts building up noticably from 50mph, by 60mph is definetly there. Not managed to try it on other roads at speed to see if it changes if it is tyre noise. Garage suggested to reduce down to 30PSI all round to see if that changed anything. Still the same after that. If i drop it into neutral and just coast the noise remains so dosen't appear to be engine or maybe directly gearbox related. Though the transmission on mine isin't the quietest, been like that since new. Here's a link to a short YT video with some audio. First 1:20 is EQ's a bit to clean it up but is fairly good representaion of what Im hearing. Last 1:20 is the same audio but with the sound more isolated. Attached an mp3 too, didn't realise could do that. Cheers https://youtu.be/AQnv2ahr29o Fabia Noise.mp3

Just got the car back, £624 later.... Time will tell if they've fixed the leak, a load of rain coming in later for the next few days so find out sooner than later i guess. So they intially flagged the passenger window regulator being noisy but didn't end up replacing as they felt it wasn't bad enough for a warranty claim (taken out extended warranty...) I get home and think I'd ought to just try it as wasn't aware it was a problem. Straight away as it moves lots of horrible grinding noises and the window only moves on one side. Something went ping as well.. Managed to get the window back up and taped it just in case it drops. They also managed to get the drivers side footwell rubber mat and door seal along with the door speaker grill soaking wet after washing it. Bearing it mind all the interor has just been removed and dried out... While clearing the water up i notice fresh paint damage and a dent on the door sill. Also the speaker grill has a long deep scuff across it. I guess the paint damage is where they removed the seats. So now its going back in next Monday FFS. Really not a good look or experiance from the dealer, been going there for years and never had a problem in the past...

Had some news back from the dealers yesterday. They found a seam was leaking and resealed with some gunk. Might get to see some pictures as i think some got taken. Hopefully they can sort the window regulator out under the extended warranty, i can't believe those are still an issue. Even going back to when i had a VW Bora, they failed on that.

Yeah, i was a bit ****ed. I said my thing and moved on. Its like going to the dentist, they always charge you on the first vist then get you going back for more like a cash cow. End of the day i need to leave the car with them which i could of done today but setting it up for next week as can move the days i work around being part time these days. If it wasn't raining all the time it would be easier to deal with. I have a cover for it which is stopping the water ingress while its parked up. I might try taping up around the windscreen seal to see if that stops it or slows it up. Its probably just a stupid gromet in the bulkhead popped out or something. I thought they might of managed to just check the plenum chamber at least.

Cars been into the dealers this morning, for 1 hr so they have done nothing... I told them it was a water leak at point of contact so seems like it was booked in wrong. All they did was get it up on a lift for a vehicle health check, give me a list of things that need sorting. Including a passenger side window regulator! So back in it goes next Thurs for what should of really happened today. All the interiour is coming out and they will do a leak test (£624). Then the costs to fix whatever they find on top. 3 or 4 days with them i guess. Hopefully the window regulator will be covered under the extended warranty i took out, they said its noisy and likely to fail soon. Can't say i noticed that one. I have no choice but to let them get on with it, i can't really deal with it here and nobody else locally would take it on. Which i totally understand. So i get the feeling that the life of these mk3's is around 7 years before stuff starts failing, but i know it all comes down luck really. I think the starter motor is also getting noisy as been hearing a quick grinding noise on cold starts or after been sitting about for days. Mileage on mine is around 36K now i think.

Going to need it i think, once your on top of it a bit it helps. I'm still finding wet foam sound proofing, just been trying to get fresh air around it when possible, been at work this end of the week. I had the brain wave to line the footwell under the now much dryer carpet and sound proofing with some thick like plastic rubble bags and then lined out under that with news paper. Then can check where its going. Still got the half cover over it and also covering the plenum chamber area now. No idea what's happened on the drivers side as not lift the carpet. Its going into the dealers on Tuesday morning, so see if they can work it out... At least its not house, seems like loads of that going on around the country.

Dehumidifier has pulled a fair amount out in the last 24hrs, the front section of the passenger footwell seems dry now. The extra fan will of helped getting air movement around down there under the carpet. There's another bit which i can't pull away up top so that could still be wet. I've been stuffing chunks of foam under anything that moves to create air gaps. I just blasted it again with a small fan heater under the seat area / up under the dashboard to get the temperature right up in there and set it off again. If i could loosen off the drivers side trim i would pull the carpet up there as well. I know its all got to come out really as you just don't know. Hard to say if anything has got in over night, plan is to get some newspapers up under the bulkhead where the foam was soaking wet. Then see if anything shows up. Also hopefully it will soak up anything that comes in and not undo the drying out down lower. I did find some damp areas up there higher under the same bit of foam but might of of just been where there's been no air flow where it touches the metalwork. I've had the cover over the whole top of the car so all the glass is covered, just leaves the plenum chamber area exposed. We had a lot of rain over night, people up the road have woken up to flooded houses and people trashed their cars trying to drive through the adjacent flooded road. Got the car booked in for next Tuesday which is better then Feb 17th they told me yesterday... I'm really limited in what i can do here and its really not the weather to be pulling the car apart outside. On top of that i have nowhere to store and dry out the carpets / sound proofing that's not outside. I will do the easier jobs on the car but once it gets more involved i just have to give it to someone to deal with it these days.

Just going to have to go with it as is, its all i have here. I do have some blue tarps in the shed but no bungees here to secure them. Though not ideal way of attacking the problem the dehumidifier is helping to pull moisture out. I poured quite a lot out of it on Sat / Sun. I'm just not in a position to be able to pull both seats out and remove all the carpet and soundproofing. And i need to drive the car middle of the week to get to work and back. I must of been driving it like this for weeks, maybe even longer like months. Other than the excess condensation of late its all hidden. I had extra matts down as well so wouldn't of noticed the footwells. I've been cracking open the windows for weeks now when able too. I don't want to use the aircon at the moment as might be the cause of the problem. Unless i can prove to myself it is dumping water out under the car, I'll try and run it and see if that's happening on a warmer day and check inside as well. Its just the wrong time of year to be able to deal with it. Anyway see how it all pans out i guess... I think its one of the worse problems you can have due to the mess angle. Obviously there are more terminal expensive failures. In coming storm pic, hopefully be more on the edge of it here as seems to be tracking north. I'm in the middle southcoast. Not much better tomorrow either last look...

Blimey, that's more than I'm going to be able to do here. I'm going to have to book it into the local dealer to look at, i rang them earlier. Also went around the local places and they didn't want to get involved. Totally understandable. They all said a body shop would be the best bet. I managed to pull back the carpet enough from the centre console. Looked at removing the door trim but it looks like its the whole length of the car and a section above between the doors. Its completely soaked under there. All I've been able to do is direct a fan under there and run the dehumidifier again. I ran a fan heater at it for a while as well to try and speed it up initially. Its damage limitation at this point. There's a big storm passing through tonight into tomorrow just to add to the problem, loads of rain.... I've made use of the half car cover i had, hopefully that will keep the worst of it off. Unless the wind has other ideas... I'm sure its coming from the bulkhead area as the foam soundproofing up there was soaked. I checked the plenum chamber drains and they are all clear, tested with some water and it drained out onto the floor. That's about all i can do here. I will need to drive it again Weds to Fri, hopefully be OK and a bit more dried out by then... The alarm has been OK since, though i have disabled internal monitor today. Though if the module is under the seat it could end up being a victim...

Cheers guys, going to get out there in a bit and have another look about. I hear you about lifting the carpets, i wasn't sure how to remove all the plastic bits with out breaking anything. I did start looking and removing the door seal but again didn't want to damage it. What a complete pain in the arse! Also there's lots of rain about, bit drier at the moment but last tome I looked a load of it coming in tomorrow & weds. I didn't expect to have this issue at this point, car is like 7 years old and not abused in anyway. Might be the last Skoda i ever buy, or any of the VAG group. £18K that car cost offset with a trade in.

Hi thanks for the reply, its been getting a bit desperate. Its quite alarming seeing all the water in the footwells... I've had a dehumidifier running all day yesterday for like 12 hours. It had pulled a fair bit out but the tank wasn't even half full. I went out to check things and to turn it off for the night, though the carpet felt dry to touch, a bit of pressure on it and its soaked up more water. Gutted... I just left the dehumidifier running overnight. Then around 8.20am this morning the car alarm got triggered. I had been turning off internal monitoring but it had got enabled again at some point. There's even more heavier rain coming in over the next few days. I do have a half cover that i could try and put on just to cover the windows just in case the windscreen is leaking. And maybe a tarp under that over the front of the car. Anything is worth a shot at the moment... On mine there is a grill on the front of the inlet, i was surprised to see it as like you say people say there isn't one. I'll try and get a pic. Mines the facelift 2019 model with the slightly different body contours. I wonder if its the same grill you mention. Its all dry in the cabin filter area anyway, so maybe the drains are working. I did pull half of the scuttle cover rubber seal away and tired to lift up a bit but couldn't get much out of it, seemed like it was clipped somewhere stopping much movement. Should it just lift away from the bottom of the windscreen? it seemed attached in someway and didn't want to overly force it. Also there's a load of leaves in the cavity behind the wing where the bonnet hinges sit into when closed. Will have to try and hoover that out, not going to be easy as deep down. Those look dry though. I'll try and have a look at the wheel arch liners tomorrow, not many tools here and hard to work on the car. My back usually gives out.. I might have some torx bits here but they might not be large enough. I have a bigger set a work but not back there until Wed. Do you know where the plenum chamber drains are and where they appear under the arch? Been hunting for pics but not found much so far. I'm probably going to have to give the car to someone to look at, can only go so far at home. And the weather is just so crap at the moment. I'll try not running the aircon too just in case the water drain is venting inside the cabin. I don't think its the heater matrix as engine coolant level is normal. It creates such a mess its a nightmare, its starting to smell damp in there so mould will soon appear Im sure. I'll try and leave the windows cracked open tomorrow as well in an attempt to get some air flow through there. Cheers

Hi guys Been searching everywhere for any info on how to release the scuttle cover. I realise the wiper arms would have to be remove to completely pull it away, but i might be able to do what i have to do without complete removal. I've got the wet footwell problem that seems to dog many vag group cars, it would explain the excessive condensation problem I've been having which appears to of got a lot worse. Think its been an issue for a while but didn't realise how bad its got. There's a thread on here talking about the scuttle cover but no pics or any useful info I need to check the drain holes where ever they are. Checked the pollen filter and its all dry so don't think it getting in there. I do see leaves on the inside edge of the wing where the large vertical foam insert is and there is stuff in the plenum chamber but really hard to see much. Could probably attempt to vacuum out the leaves in the wing part, will need a long big of hose on the end to get down in there being they left a gapping hole.... Also i can't see the aircon water drain to check that. Oh, I'd better try and lift the carpets up in the front as well, how do you remove the door threshold trim and the corner pieces (where the bonnet release handle is) I guess its clipped in but i can see me breaking stuff without knowing whats suppose to happen... Cheers