hetty1

My handbook tells me how to set the time but not the date. its the left hand button, one of two, underneath the instrument panel. The right hand button resets the trip and the left hand does the clock. From memory, you press the button and hold it for a few seconds and the hour part starts flashing. If you want to alter it now is the time and its the same with the minutes. The time is easy to use. I didnt see a reference to the date in either the handbook or the infotainment manual. To be honest I never gave the date much thought at all until I happened by chance to notice it when I first got in the car yesterday before starting the engine. I gave my independent a call and he is going to sort it when it gets serviced. Thanks.

Thanks very much for that. Unfortunately page 68 of my car handbook does not give that information and my infotainment handbook only goes up to page 59. i went in via car and settings but couldnt find time and date. It seems weird but this morning when I tried to do the date it read today, April 20th. I came back to it this afternoon to try again and it read April 21st, ie tomorrow. Strange but as it only comes on when I first get in , before I even start the engine I will live with it until my independent services it and I will ask them to sort it then. I do appreciate you taking the time to post to try to help.

Hello, I hope this doesnt come across as a silly post but I an not at all sure how to correct the date that comes up when I first get in the car. On my SEL that is before I use the push button to start the engine. On mine it is a day ahead so its currently displaying 20th April. I cant find a reference to resetting the date, the time yet but not the date. It might have been the case for a while, I dont pay that much attention to that initial display,the date doesnt crop up again after all until you switch off and switch on again. I think the date is part of resetting the service indicator;is that correct? If so its likely that my independent put the wrong date in when they reset the indicator last year. or, it could maybe be related to 2020 being a leap year presumably? If there really is a true"idiot guide" to putting the correct date in that would be good, I am always happy to expand my car knowledge! Its not a huge problem of course, I can leave it as it is and get my independent to correct it when they service the car. Thanks for reading.

Hello, My tsi 110 sel estate had a service on its climatronic system some months before I bought it when it was serviced by a Skoda garage. This month the same garage contacted me to say the air conditioning needed servicing again at a cost of £140. I have obtained some alternative prices from other places in my area and the cheapest is a mobile organisation that will do the service for £90. Thats not exactly a fortune I know but I am more concerned whether service is really needed. I never had the air con serviced at all on my previous Fabia, a Mark 2 combi tsi. The Skoda garage did mention it once when it went in for an annual service and I declined. I came across a tip in the motoring press at that time that said to use the air con regularly including in winter and I have followed that advice ever since. I put the a/c on every time I drive the car, half an hour or more and I havent had any bad smells or hot air when the a/c is switched on or anything else that suggests a problem. I am very tempted to carry on just running the system every time I drive the car and not have the system serviced. I know a concern is that the system can leak gas but I also understand that regular use suspends the gas in situ. Are the garage trying their luck or do they have a point in saying a/c systems do need servicing at 2 year intervals? What do Briskodians think?

Hello, I have been thinking about buying the variable boot floor for my Fabia 3 estate sel 110. It would give me two separate boot areas and it would be definitely helpful if I put the seats down to put long loads in as the step between boot and front and front seats would disappear and I would have a flat floor. I do buy antiques but not normally tables or settees etc, something long, its usually smaller items but I never know what I might see on my travels of course. The problem is that I would have to be very careful what I put on the top floor owing to weight restrictions, 75 kg is in the handbook as the maximum. i really do not want to have to think how much an item or items weigh every time I use the top floor. I wouldnt think anyone would want that. It occurred to me that the 75 kg might be Skoda being ultra cautious and the floor could cope with heavier loads. If it could I would definitely think about buying one as it would give more versatility but if it is a rigid, not to be exceeded figure at any cost, I probably wouldnt. Could any Briskodians who have this feature on their Skoda 3 estates post to share their experiences with it please? Many thanks.

i thought I should get a quote for replacing the cambelt at my usual independent. I specifically told them that I had read that expensive tools would be needed and they didnt comment on that. They are quoting £404 inc vat. Like many independents their labour charge increased when the first lockdown ended. In this case by 25% so that alone will have jacked up the price. i asked for genuine Skoda parts and that was accepted. Mention was made of buying a Gates(?) belt which they said was original equipment. I am still not completely convinced about them having the correct tools but they havent said otherwise. My car isnt 5 years old until June next year so I have got lots of time. Only one poster specifically mentioned an independent garage maybe having to spend thousands of pounds on equipment to do the job and my independent hasnt specifically confirmed or denied that. Skoda are currently charging £500 all inc to do the job so I would be £96 in pocket. Next year I would guess Skoda will be charging £520/525 and my independent will be charging about £420 so I would save about £100 . Thats a fair bit of money to me but I have to balance that against the catastrophe if the belt failed, one wrecked engine no less. My independent is normally brilliant, good prices for good work but I had one query a few years ago involving a clutch cable they bought for a Corsa that used up the spare on the cable really quickly. I took it to a Vauxhall dealer who discovered a restraining circlip wasnt present and they fitted one. Thats just one thing in 16 years but the fault could lie with the part not the independent of course. I am taking the car into my independent in the next few weeks to have it serviced and I will talk to them in person about the cambelt. They would give a 12 month guarantee on parts and labour and I am pretty sure the Skoda garage would give 2 years. So I would welcome advice from posters. Play it safe and have it done at the Skoda garage or save £100 and have it done at the independent?

Thanks, I will definitely remember that .

Thanks for that. Trouble is I must have version 1 and I cannot set the distance. I have a Fabia 3 sel 110 estate, ist reg 30/6/2017. I clearly dont know when Versions 1 and 2 operated but I went on the infotainment and found Front Assist. There was no provision for alerting the distance, just the 3 stages of Front Assist, all ticked as being active. I left all 3 as active for now but may untick one when I go on holiday later in the year on a very busy motorway. To have the brakes suddenly applied by the system on that motorway and getting backended by someone at 70mph or more is not a nice thought and, yes, I know, neither is having an accident if I untick the emergency braking box. I spoke to the service department at the Skoda dealership today and they were adamant that the sensitivities cannot be changed on my car, they have to stay as they are. I would much prefer it if I could alter the sensitivities but it was very clear when i went in the infotainment system to Front Assist and no provision for altering the sensitivities there were just the 3 stages listed. Perhaps Version 2 started after my car was built? I dont know but I cant do as you suggest much as I would like to. Thanks very much for posting, its appreciated.

Thanks to those who posted. I didnt realise the first warning , the two cars close together, was that at all. To me it looked like a sloping road surface and thought it was warning me that I was going too fast on a curve. Now I at least know what it is. I now realise that I`have had the "too close" warning several times and I wasnt in close proximity to any other vehicle in my opinion. So now I am wondering if my Front assist is playing up. I have been back through Briskoda and there were quite a few threads. Some said the brakes had been applied for no reason and that did bother me. Mention was made of plastic bags floating around in the wind that had triggered the brakes being applied; the system saw them as objects that were too close too close hence the triggering. To have that happen on the motorway doesnt bear thinking about. I have contacted my Skoda dealership with my concerns and have also asked them if the sensor can be adjusted/recalibrated in some way from the factory settings to only identify obJects further away than what it is set for now. I know I can switch it off temporarily but its going to be reactivated the next time I start the engine so that would have to be done each time which is a bit of a pain but its doable. I dont want to disable permanently unless I really have to (like the above where the brakes got triggered for no reason on a busy motorway) as there could be insurance implications if I do. I could end up paying more as its a safety measure and it could invalidate my insurance. Its meant to be operational so there could also be MOT implications similar to the TPMS not working at MOT time. I also feel reluctant to permanently disable a safety measure just in case it could really help me down the line and save me from injury or worse. So thats where I am now. Hoping to hear from you Briskodians out there as this is a different theme to what I started out with.

Hello, i have a 20i7 Skoda Fabia tsi estate 110 in SEL trim. i have never thought much about front assist, I knew I had it but it had never come into operation. I was talking with a friend today and he said the system had saved him from a really nasty accident and that got me thinking. Is the system always operative like say the parking sensors are or do I have to activate it in some way, through the maxidot possibly? I bought the car second hand so I dont know what, if anything, the first own I have looked at the handbook and it is helpful but I m still not sure if I have to do anything. The system sounds like a really good safety backup system so any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks for the post. I am sure you are right about using the cancel button, practice makes perfect and all that. I have analysed how often i use the limiter and how often I use the cruise and its something like fifteen to one in favour of the cruise. I might use the limiter more if it was a straightforward switch or button on the dashboard but, for whatever reason, Skoda havent done it that way. This is to digress but the TPMS is also fiddly to input. I have to go through the infotainment system while lower spec models have a simple button on the dash to input. Back to the limiter, I will only use it when in a really urban area with lots of zealous constabulary looking for infringements of the speed limit. I live and drive in a part rural part urban area so feel OK without setting the limiter but do keep a beady eye on the speedometer, just in case.

You probably could but you would have to be really certain that you were cancelling rather than moving the enabler right across. It isnt easy at all seeing the various controls on the stalk when you are driving, they are not intuitive. you have to consciously look away from driving albeit not for long. It would have been better and easier to have had the speed limiter switch on the dash as that would have been easier to see and to work. I find the cruise control really useful and easy to operate too. I cant see a great deal of use for the speed limiter to be honest and I am going to pretty much forget about it and use the cruise control only. Thanks for posting.

This is merely to update. I told my Skoda garage and asked for their verdict, whether it was operating correctly or not. They checked it out on one of their cars with the same joint cruise and limiter and said when the enabler was switched off any speed values were lost. You could move between cruise and limiter and the values remained but switching off the enabler meant loss of values. So my system on my car is working correctly . I

Hello. I have a 17 plate Fabia estate tsi in SEL spec. The standard cruise control and speed limiter work fine, I have normally just used the cruise function. I have a query about the speed limiter. It can only be brought into operation via the cruise control enabler of course and pressing the "mode" button. Very recently I set a speed manually for the limiter and then switched back to cruise and back to speed limiter for the particular journey I was undertaking, keeping the enabler switched on of course to do this. As I got nearer to home I thought neither the cruise or the limiter were needed any longer so I switched off the enabler completely. However there was a traffic diversion ( accident) and I needed the enabler on again to operate the speed limiter because the constabulary are very zealous indeed about speed around here. There was no stored figure when I did this, just a blank next to the mph. I set it again manually and that really brought about this post. I wouldnt have been surprised if my figure hadnt been retained once I had arrived home and switched off and parked up. That would have been on a par with disabling the stop/start, that has to be disabled before each time you switch on and the "values" like time travelled" are only retained for 2 hours. This wasnt like that of course, i hadnt switched off the engine, I had only switched off the cc/limiter enabler and it got switched on again just a few minutes later because of the unexpected traffic conditions and the figure hadnt been retained. I could just forget about the speed limiter altogether and just use the cruise control. The latter is much more use to me than the former, the llmiter can be useful in dense traffic but thats about all. I look forward to your posts on this.

This is an update. The car went in yesterday and I got a phone call from the service manager this afternoon. They couldnt find anything wrong at all which is disappointing. Both my wife and saw and felt the wet carpet and the wet on the underneath of the mat so it definitely exists, its not just me. The manager says they have done a really thorough check with the carpets out. They have had the scuttle off and it isnt leaves nor is it the pollen filter. They have hosed it for ages and nothing was found. I am going to get in touch to ask them to keep it for a bit longer and take the dash out to see if that sorts it. It doesnt help that my Skoda used warranty ran out three days ago, I reported it while the warranty was still valid but will they carry on now its outside its term? I will let you know when I get a response.

Hello, I run a 2017 Fabia SEL 110 estate. i have had the car for 12 months now and it has generally run well. However, when I took the front textile mats out today to vacuum them I discovered the carpet on the passenger side was wet and the underneath of the textile mat was also wet. I dried the carpet and the underneath of the mat with a hairdryer and put the mat back. I checked again a few hours later, the car had not been driven and both were wet again so there is a problem, I think its recent because i took the mats out a few weeks ago and there was no sign of water. i know it could be one of several things. It could be the pipe for the rear window washer that passes under the front passenger carpet that is leaking. I will use this washer tomorrow when I go out as I believe if it is leaking very little water will get onto the rear screen and that is an easy check to make. It might be the pollen filter that is choked by leaves and I tried looking for the drain hole underneath the wipers but there is a security mesh covering both wipers and I couldnt see any drain hole to poke around in to clear leaves and let water out. I cant see it being the drain holes in the door as i poked around in all 3 and no debris came out. It did rain between my drying out and rechecking but not for that long but I couldnt see a trail when I looked either time today. As it wasnt driven I cant see it being water being picked up from the road surface and getting in somehow. It could be something else altogether of course and any suggestions are welcome. I still have a couple of weeks warranty left so I have contacted my usual Skoda garage to request it gets looked at under warranty. I expect that will be January 2021 now. it seems silly not to even try that route. I really do not fancy trying to take up the carpet and the underlay to look underneath , I have done it years ago in other makes and I found it a nightmare job then and I damaged the carpet and I dont want to go down that road again if I can help it. I am hoping it is an easy fix for the garage but some posters have said that the Skoda dealerships have not always found the source or rectified them so I am not really sure which way to jump on this. Thanks and Merry Xmas.

Hello, i have a 17 plate Fabia 3 tsi SEL 110 estate. The other day i went to wipe rain off the headlamps and saw something inside one of the headlamps, It was dark so I wasnt sure so I looked the next morning. Sure enough, there was something inside, it looked like condensation or, maybe, scratching. I put the automatic lights onto manual to see what the lights looked like and they looked OK but it was daytime so not ideal for checking. The car has daytime running lights as standard and I have read that these run cooler than other bulbs and do not dispel the condensation. The headlamps are not sealed either apparently. I have my MOT coming up next month so dont really want any problems with the lights with money being a bit tight. I thought about finding the gaps where they are not sealed and putting WD40 or similiar in to dispel the water but am not sure if that would do the trick or even if it might cause harm. I was also thinking of trying to claim on my warranty that runs out very early in January next year but the Skoda garage is out of the area and the Slockdown regs say I cannot leave the area and drive there. The police have, apparently, run roadchecks and turned motorists back otherwise I would happily give it a try. The Skoda garage have suspended their collect and return service so I seem well and truly stymied. Or, I could do nothing at all and wait and see what happens at MOT time. The worst that could happen is a new headlight cowl and I think they come in at about £50 so not a fortune but I would rather try to get it sorted if I can if its easy to do. I havent got a garage or access to a friends so any remedy has got to be quick and easy because its freezing here on the Wirral and any more than 10 or 15 minutes outside is a "no no". What do my fellow Briskodians think? Is this common on the Fabia 3 range? With Skoda out of the game is it worth spending a few minutes on it or should I just forget it and live with it? Thanks for reading.

This is from the original poster to update. My independent gave it a clean bill of health when they looked at it on the hoist. I was naturally pleased but also surprised as it really was a big pothole but I guess my routine of regular tyre pressure checking helped here? I am going to use a different route in the future after this. I stand 100% behing my earlier comments that the A41 is more likely to have these problems because of the high numbers of "heavies".

Hello, I found several big potholes in the A41 going towards Whitchurch services last Friday and was unlucky enough to hit one. This is being posted as a warning to all Briskodians who either do travel on this road or might do in the future. I know they are nothing new, of course I do but the car really shook like blazes, it felt like I was dropping off a cliff, I am not exaggerating and I am now hoping ther big damage underneath. The steering wheel is still central and the wheels dont appear to have been dented and I havent lost any pressure from the tyres and the exhaust doesnt seem to have been damaged. These are all good pointers of course but I am getting it checked out underneath at my normal independent this week and I have to wait until this coming Thursday. I have laid down on the ground to look underneath and cant see anything bent etc but I havent got any car ramps so its getting looked at properly this week. I only had the wheel alignment done a few weeks ( £30) and the tyres are 75% tread or better so those alone would come to £200 if they are shot because of this completely unnecessary and avoidable happening. For those of you who do not know the area the A41 has "heavies" on it 24/7. Its one of the main thoroughfares from the North West to Wolverhampton and further south nose to tail e and processions of "heavies" are common. Naturally, this plays havoc with the road surface in a big way. Thats not new but the potholes have definitely got much worse these last few years and the road simply isnt being maintained properly. The c virus hasnt helped but this predates the virus in a big way. I have reported it to Shropshire County Council, the highway authority for the area. A motorcyclist would have been thrown off, no doubt at that at all and with the "heavies" they wouldnt have stood a chance. I used to run a small motorbike myself 5o odd years ago and I came off more than once but never because of a pothole. If its bad, its bad. I would think the alignment and the wheel balance are both knocked out and maybe springs and shocks if I am really unlucky. I will most certainly be claiming off Shropshire CC and if they cut up rough I have always got the small claims court. I know I could claim on my car insurance but that will affect next years premium for sure even though I have got protected NCD. Its a "no claim bonus rather than a no blame bonus" as we all know. The "heavies" are going to continue to use this road for sure. Although I may not be able to prove it definitively in a court of law I am 100% convinced that roads are simply not being maintained properly. I really am so glad that I wasnt on a motorbike on Friday, any of the several potholes on that stretch of road would have killed me; period. As my post title says, beware on this road, it really is in a very poor condition Thanks, hope this helps some people.

Hello, This is an update to my earlier post about my screenwash level dropping when system wasnt being used. I got it investigated under warranty when the Skoda garages returned to work at the beginning of June.. It was was emptied and refilled and pressure tested internally and externally and no leak was found. I was asked to monitor the drop and I am doing that. It seems to drop 50 ml in seven days. The garage spoke to Technical Sevices and they think it might be evaporation as there is no leak. It might well be that but my take on it is that the positioning of the system causes it rather than warmer weather. It must be close to heat sources like the exhaust pipe or a manifold etc for the system to work in cold weather and I think this proximity causes the small drop in level. The screenwash probably contains alcohol and that also has a bearing on it. If I am correct its probably an unsolvable issue as they are not very likely to reposition due to the cost of doing so. Its a very small thing in the current scheme of things , I acknowledge that. The investigations are ongoing and I have no beef at all with the garage or with Technical Services. Just for interest, have other Fabia 3 owners had this issue? Stay safe as they say.

I run a 2017 Fabia tsi SEL 110. I was reading something today that referred to this generation of Fabias having rear disc brakes. Fabias have had them at the front for a long time but I didnt realise they were at the rear too. This is mainly good news for me. The braking power should be very good indeed to cope with the extra power and weight of the car and the brakes certainly seem to stop the car on a sixpence. I havent had disc brakes all round for many years since I had a Fiat 124 S and they were very powerful. They should be maintenance free from memory, rather like the brakes on a push bike. My only possible concern is the handbrake. Unless this is fitted with inbuilt drums the handbrake can give trouble and can fail to hold the car on inclines if it works off the discs. I would imagine though that this has been catered for as it was a known problem years ago, I cannot say I have had any such problems though so it probably does operate off drums. Any comments will be much appreciated.