Gonzini

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

Hi all Just high jacking this thread as I've been having a nightmare with condensation this winter. Appears more than just normal condensation. Seems the VAG group cars all suffer with this problem having been trawling the web and threads on here. I notice the passenger footwell carpet seems pretty damp say a month ago. Been trying to dry it all out ever since, airing the cabin when ever possible. These drain holes in the plenum chamber, are they in the corners deep down in the wings? I noticed a whole load of leaves down there, not sure how I'm going to remove them yet. Might involve a vacuum cleaner and a flexible pipe gaffer taped on the end... How easy is it to lift up the plastic cover over the chamber, is it screwed down or anything? I tried to look earlier in the dark with a torch, i think i found the inlet hole for the air blower. I think mine had a mesh over the front of it so not an open hole. But I'll check again tomorrow in day light. I'll check the cabin filter and see what states that's in, if its soaking wet i guess that's a bit clue. I'm going to run a dehumidifier in there tomorrow, i just cant get it dried out! Had a problem for a while but seems much worse this year, its starting to smell damp in there. I don't think its a leak with the door seals / card or windscreen seal but need to have a good look now. I have a memory of reading somewhere about the windscreen washer reservoir leaking or something that could also cause a damp passenger footwell? But maybe i imagined that... Think I'll pick up some of those Pingi bags as well, seems like people have had good results with them. Cheers

I always turn off the start stop anyway, its really annoying. Can't see it really doing the engine any good over the long term. Depending on the situation mine will turn off and immediately start again, like it didn't leave enough time before activating. Sometimes i forget to turn it off and that's really annoying as well... Obviously if end up being parked up on the motorway or whatever in hardly moving traffic that makes sense than just idling there going nowhere.

I changed mine out a few years back as started to get a yellow warning on dash. It was to do with the start stop i later found out. VW stealers quoted me maybe up to £400 to replace. A local 3rd party place quoted me £150. I asked if they do the coding for that and they said they didn't bother on these cars, only the higher end ones. So i picked up a battery myself for £100 delivered and fitted it myself. Never bothered with updating the battery details with the ECU. Not had a single issue since (with the battery anyway...) One thing to note with these Fabias with the start stop and possible other makes. I found most of the time it's only actually charging the battery when on over run. So by that i mean for example, your driving along whatever speed, you lift of accelerator pedal and now the battery charging kicks in. Foot back on the accelerator, charging stops. I've changed my driving style now to incorporate more of these cycles. I'm sure the battery might well get charged outside of doing this depending on charge state and conditions, also the BMS doing whatever charge cycles it does. I thought my alternator was shot when i first discovered this, but monitoring the voltage on the cigarette lighter socket whilst driving revealed all. Occasional manual charging as others have suggested is good to do as well, usually end up doing that in the winter months when it takes a good kicking with sub zero cold starts and shorter journeys.

Cheers for the replies. It's had the annual dealer services like i mentioned. Spark plugs could probably do with being changed, I'm at 26600 miles now. Just to rule those out. Last service back in August was at 24000 odd. I couldn't see the point of spending an extra £155 on 3 spark plugs at that millage. Those links are quite concerning regarding the oil leak around the cam belt area due to loose / missing bolts. Seems to be affecting other engine variants as well. I can't remember which my one is. Guess its the EA211. Not noticed any oil leaks on mine but maybe i should have a closer look now... No problem with cold starts so far either so i would expect it to be the throttle body issue with the broken internal spring. Mine fires straight up, fairly newish battery as well so cranks over fast. It also helps now i know how the charging system works so can drive to help that.

Hi all Been noticing a bit of hesitant engine response lately when accelerating. Doesn't always do it but becoming more often than not. I have to very lightly put pressure on the accelerator pedal at times to smooth it out. This also happens with motorway driving where you might be on overrun with your foot off the pedal for a short period, then when reapplied you can feel it. I know this could be any number of things but is there a common problem that has come to light with these engines of late that might cause this? Other than this at present its behaving as normal, but i guess something's brewing... It gets the normal annual servicing schedule at the dealers. Cheers

I changed my pollen filter at last service back last Sept. Its was either £8 or £40 odd if the stealers done it! So £8 it was. It was a posh Bosh one. Pretty easy to fit, just getting the cover aligned again was a pain. Quite a lot of swearing if i recall 😆 Cleaned the glass twice as struggled to break the greasy crap down, was much better this morning and had the windows cracked open all afternoon at work. Its going to be like -4 C here in the morning so see how it goes getting moving...

I cleaned mine earlier as driving me mad every morning. Proper glass cleaner then Autoglym glass polish. It's probably a mess as it was dark by the time i was trying to buff the polish off, guess I'll find out in the morning.... Might try some IPA next time to break the greasy crap down. Looks like it might be 'sunny' tomorrow so think I'll leave the windows cracked open all day and give it a good airing.

I was just looking for suggestions for my mk3 2019 Fabia. Its ****ing terrible for misting up. I don't think there any leaks, not that I'm aware of. I try and leave the windows cracked open when i can and crank the heater up with the windows down a bit in an attempt to evaporate any moisture in the air system. Was looking at that anti fogging stuff you can get but read more negative reviews than positive so held off buying some. Anyone tried it?

Hi all Something I've noticed for ages but never bothered to ask other people experience with these Skoda factory fitted infotainment systems. With mine i use a USB thumb drive with a mixture of FLAC's or mp3 with playlists for each album or custom. Everything is in directories no deeper than 2 deep. Everything is tagged up in a consistent manner with artwork. Sometimes it forgets what playlist it was using and defaults to the root of the USB thumb drive when first turning on. It doesn't seem to always pick up the tagging data or cover art will be missing or unknown artist is the best it can do. Is there a file limit I'm not aware off? I'm at 2595 files as of today on a 64Mb thumb drive. Tried all sorts of ways of turning it off and on, leaving it on but doesn't seem to make any difference. Even if its been in use for a while it doesn't seem to update in the background. I've not found any software updates for it either. Is there a way to factory reset the infotainment system? I see there's some resets in one of the menus but never attempted to do that. The model i have looks like the pic below, i guess an Amundsen variant.

I did cheers. Ebay, damaged box. I took a gamble on one. There's Bosh ones on there for £11 I found a few YT vids earlier, looks really easy.

It seems i can get a replacement pollen filter, a Mann FP26010 which is the Biofunctional version for £10. Much better than £44 at the dealers...

Yep, thats cool. I always get the oil temp up on the dash display

I remember it being mentioned when i asked it a few services back. But i guess policy changes weekly... Notice there's a few different filter types mentioned to choose from. Particulate, Activated carbon, Biofunctional With the oil temp i do check that on the dash, its usually up around 70 / 80 after about 7 miles on the morning work run. It will be at 90 by the time I've got to work. I don't rag it anyway, but i do get the rev's up a few times to clear the tubes out.

That's what i figured! Bit like the extended warranty / service plan i got hit with this morning. Never had that mentioned in the past. The last car i did an oil flush on was an Vauxhall Chevette about 35 years ago, which was probably a complete was of time anyway being a £160 jalopy 😆

Actually one other thing i didn't mention was when i first booked it in i was also offered an oil flush for £30. Said it was recommended by Skoda. I said just the normal oil change would be fine, thanks. So is this Skoda thinking they might have an oil sludging problem brewing they're not admitting too?

I think they used to plug the scan tool in to check on the codes. I guess that way if they found anything amiss they could try and get more money out of you.

I remember those prices. Been getting dealer servicing done for a while, with a VW Bora and then a Fabia mk2 which is what i had before this one. Always wondered if everything they said they would change did get changed.

Cars back now, i did ask about doing the plugs but it was too late. No worries, i can shop about and if there's not much in it they can do it which will keep the service history up together. I really don't think they need doing at the moment. Maybe at 30K would be more realistic time, but what do i know! I would be interested to see what condition they're in. I guess the other thing is getting them out easily. Might get a bit harder once they've been in there 5 plus years which is where mine are at. My mileage is around 5.6K a year it seems. I think I'll need to find a video on how to change the pollen filter. I think its up under the passenger foot well, but maybe that was another car.