tony1951

Yes. I make a twice weekly drive of about forty miles down an A road, about half single and half dual carriageway in my new Skoda Fabia MPI 1000 cc, and unless I am going into a strong headwind, I am always at between 62 and 66 mpg. I do drive gently, partly because I am still running it in, but I aim to keep it at around 56 - 60 mph unless I am stuck behind a truck. The other day, I managed over 70mpg on one leg of this journey. The average speed shown on the screen is low at 40mph, but about three miles of the trip involves urban roads and this obviously reduces it to that level through waiting at traffic lights and 20 mph limits.

Computerised fuel injection and associated electronics has been the driving force in improving fuel consumption. It is a truism to say so because it is so obvious, but there we are. When your ECU can precisely inject micro litres of fuel per stroke, and also control the spark timing, all with precision feedback from sensors in the exhaust, the story only goes one way in comparison to the mechanical ignition advance and the gulping carburetors of old. My old Lancia Beta in the seventies, had a big fat twin choke Weber carb and it just hosed the petrol down into the inlet manifold. Mind you - that car, for its time, had startling performance. I once drove it at 90 all the way through France. I think we stopped quite often to fill it up again mind.

It's amazing how much more economical cars have become. My first car in 1973, an 859cc Morris 1000 used to average about 35 mpg! Later, 1600cc Fords used to do about 24mpg. I had a Lancia Beta in the 1970s that used to do 20 - 24 mpg. I won't go into the 2.5 litre petrol landrover series 2..... I saw 12mpg quite often on that bugger.

I just bought the 2024 MPI (non turbo) Fabia. Expected MPG obviously depends on driving style and how much extra urban and at what speed you drive it, but my driving is almost entirely on the A69 from Brampton area to Newcastle a couple of times a week. I am driving it at 55-60 miles an hour, partly because it is very new (750 miles now) and I am running it in, and also because on the mostly single carriageway A road you can't overtake the trucks unless you want to risk a head on crash. Going west to east on this 40 mile run, I am seeing about 64 mpg and the other way 58 mpg. I've done the trip about 8 times now and that's what I am getting. Quite pleased with that. The old 1400TDI I got rid of after 14 years, used to get about 63 mpg in the winter and about 68 in summer on the west to east trip and about 60 on the east to west trip. The difference is down to the prevailing westerly wind I think.

Yes - i knew that when I got it, but you are right for sure. I just went out and checked the car's control systems. There are no settings for driving mode as far as I can see on the car. Maybe that feature is for a more expensive version. Anyway - no way am I going to take notice of those gear change recommendations. I am interested in economy, but I am more interested in NOT labouring a small petrol engine. If it feels like it won't pull if asked to, it needs a lower gear. I've done that since my first car in 1973 - a 35hp, 1960, Morris 1000 with an 850cc engine. If I need advice on when to change gear, I should send my license to the DVLA and tell them I am not fit to drive. Driven the same way as the old TDI I just got rid of, this car achieves similar fuel economy - a tad less miles to the gallon, but very little different. For a petrol engine, that's a surprise to me. Forty miles down a busy A road with lots of trucks and no chance to overtake mostly, it really sips the fuel.

Re driving mode settings: I need to explore that. I wonder if mine is set to eco or something. I just bought a Fabia 1000 MPI new on 7th February. I notice a lot less torque than my old 1400 tdi for sure, but the car is ok as long as you rev it in third and fourth if you want to accelerate along a slip road or whatever to rapidly get to motorway speed. The gear change advisor data is absolutely crazy low. It is often telling me to change up when the engine revs are below 2000 rpm - which after fifty years of car driving seems mad for a tiny petrol engine like this - especially without a turbo. After the old TDI the quiet near silence of the new petrol engine is a delight, but this MPI car is no dragster. I do get 58 to 64 mpg on my twice weekly forty mile commute to a nearby town though, which is a surprise to me after twenty some years of diesel driving. My last petrol car was a 1300 cc Felicia and I was lucky to get 40 mpg ever.

Oh dear - I just googled the terms that led me here and it is pretty much what has happened to my 2010 Fabia 2, only my shocker has not yet detached from the rear axle. Picture isn't great but one side of the mounting to the axle is parted most of the way up. I'm going to buy a new skoda tomorrow if I can get one that quickly. The car has a lot to do - two broken springs, two rear wheel bearings, front strut and top plate and now this. The other side is almost as bad, but without he actual missing metal. It's rather tired for only 76,000 miles, but it is the age (14 years) and road salt that has done for it rather than mileage. I wouldn't care, I have babied that TDI engine for the whole of its life. FSH, Motor is like new - does over 65 mpg on a run at 60 miles an hour. Bugger is done for though. On its way as soon as I can find a new one. I should have waxoiled it, or lanoguard... Would have been worth it. Garage said it would be nearer two grand to repair it rather than one. Not worth that at all.

Thanks for that. I will be leaving the job to my garage, but it was interesting to see how it is done. Many thanks.

Thanks for the replies. I had hoped the bearing might be like my old Morris Thousand one, which had a dust cap over the bearing that was easy to tap off with a screwdriver and hammer. This gave you access to the grease and you could just pack some in. Incidentally, you could pull a split pin and tighten up the castellated nut and take up a bit of slack if the bearing was slightly worn. I expect they were taper bearings - can't remember. I think my minis had the same kind of serviceable bearing. Seems not so on the VAG version, so, I will wait a while for the problem to develop a bit, and get the pair done on the front. Thanks again for all responses. Cheers.

Lately, I have noticed an increasing drone from my front wheel bearings. Last week, I jacked up the front end and tested for bearing play and I could not detect any at all, but the drone is certainly a bearing type noise and I thought was more noticeable from the offside wheel. IT is entirely related to road speed - not engine related. I tried steering right and left to see if it improved or got worse - no different. Yesterday, I took it to my highly trusted garage. I've used them for thirty years and they are really good. He had one of his mechanics drive it and test for play on a lift, then he took the car out himself. He said it is just a but noisy and is early in the development of the failure so advised that I keep driving it for a bit and then bring it back if there is any change. He also said that these kind of bearing failures at this mileage are always about water ingress to the hub, and corrosion. Given that the bearing has not failed, I was wondering of I could tap out the bearing seal and re-grease it. Maybe packing it with more grease would prevent any further deterioration or even solve the noise altogether. Does the oil seal cap come off like my old cars used to do, so you can tap them out with a chisel and hammer?

Hi Alex, Well, the answer is yes and no to whether I have any issues. Certainly cured the limp mode thing. I can't get it to go back into limp mode no matter how hard I hammer it, but I did have an issue with one of those speed camera vans while I was doing my hard throttle on, hard throttle off working of the vanes about a month ago. I was caught for a speed awareness course doing 68 on a single carriage way road. Cost me ninety quid! The mechanical problem is certainly cured though. I'm not claiming my approach will solve every case, but it certainly saved mine and it was a bad case, because if I ever floored the pedal for more than about two seconds, it would go right into limp mode even at 55/60 miles an hour and it was happening every time. Not now. Once I got that vane moving a bit, I just floored it and then off, floored it and off, floored it and off, and it got better and better until I have no issues at all, apart from spotting that sly fellow in the camera van parked in lay byes and on verges.

I had my very over coddled Skoda Fabia TDI with a VNT turbo for ten years and drive it like my great, great granny. It does forty miles four times a week down a 60 mph max A road and nothing else. 2000 revs all the way, mostly behind big trucks and rarely more than 2500. So come sixty thousand miles, I get the over boost problem and limp mode overtaking a truck on a hill at sixty miles an hour. Found my way to this excellent thread and looked at what is involved. At seventy, I am less inclined to crawl under the car and burrow into the exhaust manifold than I used to be, so instead, I read the experiences of the contributors and thought about whether I could free the vanes up by the Italian Tune Up Method. So, I drove it to the red line and held it just under, in second and third on the said A road for about twenty miles. I did this a couple of times and it gradually started to improve. I could still get it into limp mode, but it was happening under more sustained hammering. Then I hit on the idea of blasting it from a roundabout up a long hill in third and pumping the throttle on and off at about 70 up hill. Full throttle and off, full throttle and off. The reasoning here is I was trying to work that vane actuator mechanism and to make the vanes change back and forth to clear the carbon obstruction. The hill is a couple of miles long. After a bit of this treatment, I am pleased to say that I can't get it to go into limp mode anymore. I am giving it the beans up that hill every trip these days and will keep doing it. You have to be cruel to be kind sometimes.