Former

That can be scratchy. My wife's car has swirls on it, by the look of it from someone cleaning with some grit filled 'chamois' at the local Skoda Dealership. Just remember whatever you use that removes any top layer that once it's gone it doesn't come back. My days of spending two days cleaning and 'detailing' a car are decades behind me what I do now is use Waterless Wash 'n' Wax which cleans and polishes in one go and like yesterday when I done my neighbour's car you can do half the car stop and go to the pub and do the other half later. I used to use many pounds worth of various Autoglym products at each clean and polish. Now I just mainly use Waterless Wash 'n' Wax. It's not truly waterless as you have to wash the microfibre cloth (but not use fabric conditioner). I've seen plenty of old cars that rarely get cleaned, if at all, but the paint looks alright and still very functional. My neighbour's car is 17 year old always sat outside I've been cleaning it for the x-number of years, every 6 months with Waterless Wash 'n' Wax, the paint looks fine, not show or concours but fine.

14 miles might be longer but it not a very long run. By coincidence my wife was just now working out fuel consumption (gallons into miles) and it was 44.88mpg, not that it means much to you and others. In my experience it is very common for garages and tyre places to overinflate tyres you want to check them as soon as you can on collection, they often overfill engine oil too in my experience (whatever method you use to check). That's just an engine oil and filter change, not even a full engine service let alone a full car service. Brakes, steering, suspension (all three include tyres) and safety electrics are more important. Check if brake fluid needs changing. And as has been put sparkplugs and air filter ... The two spring clips are the worse, IIRC then disconnect 90 degree small hose and the you heave the plastic airbox off the rubber locators, take it away turn it upside down to remove the screws, bit of a faff because of its size and shape, quality engineering!

According to the free pdf copy of the VWSkoda 2018/11 'Owner's Manual' (paper copy should be in the car) "The rear window is wiped once automatically if the windscreen wipers are on when reverse gear is selected. The function can be activated / deactivated in the Infotainment menu  →  → Mirrors and wipers." That's how it works on my wife's 2015 Fabia. If it's intermittent there might be a stalk or computer fault. The 'Owner's Manual' will give you lots of useful information the macho workshop and Haynes manuals don't, you probably know the phrase RtFM but it also has to be the appropriate manual. I'm with you I much prefer a paper book to some small phone screen that you can't see in the slightest bit of sunlight and the battery is low and packs up because they're designed to be so. Skoda Owner's Manuals - https://manual.skoda-auto.com/004/en-com/Models You'll probably have plenty to keep you occupied on the car, German engineering quality. 🤣 If others are driving the car surely you've taught them all basic driver responsibility maintenance and checks rather than you needing to always rush out with your underpants on the outside as Roadside-rescue-man for them to at least get the car to the nearest pub. The one thing you do want to watch with yourself and others using the car is the state of charge (and health) of the car battery as the computers systems can cause all sorts of unexpected issues if the battery is too low for them and that is often before any warning lights or messages. Tell them even if the car starts and the lights seem bright enough it still doesn't mean the battery might be too low in charge. You'll also obviously want a good level of scan tool that covers your particular model but sometimes fully recharging the battery with an appropriate battery charger and maintainer and just driving the car can get rid of some issues and error codes, or just delete them if the scan tool is handy. You won't find a the Fabia as forgiving as a Moggy, blimey you babied that, I completed a weekend tour before keeping to 50mph to get me home on the A14 and getting the work done later at my convenience and not the A-series. ☹️ 😄 I can't stand to see broken down old over-priced and over-valued old cars called "classic" as I've had enough of my own roadside stops, repairs and recoveries to last me three lifetimes, often makes the cars seem more unreliable than they actual are or could or should be. German cars and "classics" in one post and I thought I couldn't get any more miserable today, I'm wrong again. ☹️ 😄 Now, what did I come in this room to get . . .

@Alanhipperson25 a different model with different issue but much of the same basic advice was given to this thread originator with a car new to him and following up on the advice he's beginning to see why it was given. -

'Since refuel' is the only one to take any notice of as far as I'm concerned, check it against your maths from MPG refills to see how accurate it is and then in future if you want to you can rely on the adjusted (or ignore adjustment) 'Since refuel' figures. I don't know what device you view on but Gerrycan has a Fuelly fing in 'is signature(?), as below. -

I was joking, British humour. I've never been cool at any age and certainly not now, though I am cold a lot more often now. I know very little about cars and mechanicals but when young had to learn a little as the cars were very old and simple then and you had to do a little to keep them going. I only returned to doing a bit on cars when I ran out of money and patience with poor quality professional work and realised I could do the job as badly myself without paying myself money. What very little I did know I keep forgetting or mixing up. One thing you learn when older is how very little you do actually know or previously thought you knew and that even very clever people have very limited knowledge. Life is about learning, and relearning, facts change and the internet has sped up loosing and changing facts, all the time, AI will loose or change more facts faster. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 30k Km (18k-miles) seems too long to me to leave checking the rear brakes and cleaning them given your hill use, what is the factory service interval for the rear brakes, and I would check before that given hill use. Depends on the shoes you use as to how much they shed, if the rear brakes are reasonably clean and lubricated after the 30k km hill use then fair enough, you will know better than. I had to check/adjust the rear shoes on the Midget every 6 months (if adjustment was needed this would also improve pedal feel and take some slack off handbrake - but these were different drum set up to yours). I would inspect clean and lubricate the shoes and mechanisms and drums every 12 months as I knew the age and use of the drums and shoes. Shoes uprated in size to try to match the uprated front pads but it is more about friction material than size (similar to tyres).

Hi welcome, you might be better asking in the 'Škoda Scala Includes all aspects of the Skoda Scala from 2018' section. -https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/384-škoda-scala/ Sorry I've no idea about phone leads.

Appears to be four catch type things on the underside, why they make things difficult, because they can! Personally I'd give the edges a sparing spray of GT85 (releasing/ penetrating lubricant with PTFE) and ease up one side of the four then the opposite, then third and fourth. Or break the other side to where you've broken the first and take it out as two parts and glue back together as one before refitting. Usual cosmetic job for sales of engine bay looking clean but mucky and unkept out of sight, compare new filter with old. I'd also have a look at the cabin filter and drainage channels in engine bay side and elsewhere just in case the leaves are there too.

(Warrior193 posted whilst I was still one-finger typing) Fair enough, but I'd have thought you'd also want to know how they achieve their mpg figures and why you don't. There will be plenty of threads on here about MPG and hypermiling but not sure if they cover the models you're concerned with. Some on here show Fuelly stuff on their signitures(?). There have been recent threads about the 1.0L 3 cylinder against the 1.2l 4 cylinder engine not sure if they included mpg. I've seen posts where people don't understand how to work out mpg and don't understand the variations to why mpg varies so much (plus perhaps some willy-waving figures). Quite recently some poster on here (forget which model) was getting 20mpg and he followed simple advice and was up to 40mpg within a few posts.

Alan, if you're coming from a Skoda you should know better than to fully trust VW computer figures (though some say they're not far out). Coming from a diesel to petrol you might need to adjust your driving style, you probably don't notice or realise you're driving the petrol quick (not necessarily faster) but as you know you won't see the same MPG regardless. The only way to get a reasonable average MPG for one fill to the next is to fill the tank to the first click of the petrol pump, zero your trip and at the refill fill to first click of the pump, note the mileage and litres put in, divide litres by 4.546 to get gallons and divide the gallons into mileage for MPG (average on that fill). 34/36mpg (even allowing for lying German computers) sounds low but there are so many variables that comparing one car and driver to others gives wide variations, my wife would always get better mpg than me unless I was on a mpg/car performance check journey. Not in a Fabia but I once did 50mph for about 100 miles up the M6 my wife begged me to speed up, I did for the second half of the journey and literally halved the mpg whilst doing so, keeping up with a mate's Honda S2000 that had joined us. Printed figures for other drivers in other situations must be taken as a rough guide only, you don't know the accuracy of the submissions or if more hypermilers have submitted than average or lead-footed drivers, you and your car are what matter how you and the car can increase your mpg. A 2016 car with only 34k-miles on the clock is low annual average mileage, this isn't always as advantageous as many think so time dependant, rather than mileage, servicing and maintenance is even more important. You will want to know , or get done, full car servicing (not just engine oil & filter changes). Simple things like engine air filter and spark plug changes can make a big difference to performance. Do you know if the car sat around for a time before you bought it (probably the battery has been changed recently) if so after servicing the car properly then fill up with a couple of tank fulls of Shell V-Power, Tesco Momentum, Esso Synergy Supreme+, Jet Ultra, Texaco Supreme, BP Ultimate, all for their additive page of additional cleaners and give the car a few good blowout runs (higher revs over some distance not fuel-saving runs). - petrol.pdf Do a tank to tank refill and see how your maths compares with the car's computer and check what actual servicing and maintenance work has been done on your car and if there are any faults with it.

Personally if it's local I'd just go and see whoever will be doing the MoT and ask them about it, always pays for that person to regard you favourably. But you might well find the answer in the link you've ben given (I'm only familiar with recent MoT requirements for a 1973 car). As always there could be insurance implications too should you be unlucky so best to get it sorted ASAP.

Or buy from somewhere different to the CarZoo type places. Have you actually driven a 2018 Fabia Mk3 to see how very different it might be to your 2005 Fabia, or driven a few years older Toyota or Honda to reduce the purchasing gamble. 2017 and beyond is a different Fabia car to even 2016 and personally I'd avoid anything during the time of the pandemic and the ongoing computer chip shortage in the car industry. Things have moved on a lot since 2005 but not all are improvements.

I too wondered about that, hence putting up the power band figures (from the 'Owner's Manual') but the 3k might just have been a number given rather than spot on and the lack of other information (plus OBD11 scan yet to be done). Also I put up the link to the 'Owner's Manual' for regen light/notice and perhaps any other lights/messages.

You mean old folk. 🤣 I don't know much about cars and mechanics but do have lots of experience of running them, if I can remember, and suffering from the (English) motor trade I always used to put to other MG and "classic" owners that it was a lot less expensive for them to learn from my many, many, mistakes. 🙃

Think of the engine as a giant air pump on wheels, run by fuel. Then the computer term GIGO, garbage in garbage out, but for diesel particularly SISO, so you want sufficient clean air (and fuel) going into, through and out of the engine and exhaust then the engine (and sensors) and car's computer are happy and engine more likely to perform well. Bunged up with muck and taking shallow breathes the engine is more wheezing along and and the engine, sensor and computer are less happy less able to perform well. Now there could be many other reasons why your engine and car might not be performing as well as it could or should but the basic starting points are as detailed before. Doesn't matter about verbal or paper details "a full service history" (I personally have yet to see a true full service on a modern car) or recent "service" or MoT pass, it's about the car's actual condition now.

If you're in 6th gear do I take it you have a two-wheel drive with manual gearbox? As above. See book for DPF info. Manufacturer' s claimed figures for new car under test conditions - 2.0 l/135 kW TDI engine - Octavia Combi MG6, DSG6 - Max. torque (Nm per rpm) - 380 at 1,750-3,000. (output (kW per rpm) 135 at 3,500-4,000 - manufacturer' s claimed figures for new car under test conditions)

The joys of owning such a modern car, you may possibly need to get several quotes from accident repair specialist or wherever they send the work to as it may all be about alignment. When you get quotes you might see why Capitol Newport didn't want to do or quote for the work. Or perhaps if you're lucky if you take it to someone with the correct level of scan tool it might just be a reset, it depends on how actually "soft" or hard your partner 'bumped' the car. There's a price for all these safety devices . . .

This is the bit that's more awkward to see and photo so angle of photo is important.

The clutch went again just after I had bought a new hood and booked in with an upholster to fit it (not cheap), I had just serviced it and had the next year's engine oil too, I had also booked a rolling road session as I had decided to run it on E5 or E0 higher octane petrol and was preparing to keep the car for at least another couple of years and drive it more - such is life. I expect you have seen the video my neighbour done of the Midget for his YT channel. I spent several small fortunes on "classic" and newer and new British (English) cars and sportscars and contributed a load to tax and the economies of this country and bits around the world, I could have run a small fleet of old MX-5s on what I spent on the Midget alone, I think I had done more than my bit. The Midgets were not even particularly good cars when new but it is the way they feel so tiny and light compared to later cars and the overweight monsters of today and you could have fun driving below the legal speed limits whereas today most cars are very boring below legal speed limits. At least I had the opportunity of having such cars. You could also vacuum the air out of the bags and seal them if you want. - https://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/b2c/tyre-knowledge/storing-tyres.html

Is that a typo at 4% as most show change at 3%. Also just going on moisture percentage is only taking one thing into consideration same as only considering changing coolant based on a hydrometer.

How things feel and how they actually are is often two different things hence Gerrycan's suggested test.

Yes but don't do it yourself have someone else do it with whatever timer. You'd want the engine and car fully warmed (oil temp, not coolant temp) 90C and be on a level straight road. You can do it in whatever gears are comfortable to go from 50 to 70 and you can get figures to compare with. The rest of the car has to be in reasonable condition too, road and weather colds could also make a difference - don't be too fused about getting a too near match to any figures just use as a guide.

Hi, welcome Emilie, you put you have a 2011 Fabia but more info is required even after I ask a Moderator to move your thread to the 'Skoda Fabia Mk II Discussion for the Mk2 Skoda Fabia from 2007-2015' forum'. - https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/113-skoda-fabia-mk-ii/ As Ken has put a suitable level scan tool will need to be plugged it to help with (not necessarily exactly pinpoint) the diagnostics because these car's computer systems are so complicated if old-fashioned diagnostics can't get to the answer. The turbo change may be relevant, or it may not. The type and size of your engine (better still engine code, on the car or in your V5C) and model of your Fabia along with other information will help, more details here. -

Rubber brake flexi-hoses should be good if made by a good and reputable company and bought from a good reliable source. If you are unsure about the present ones fitted to the car, or they have cracks, then replacing them is a good idea. Fitting Aeroquip type flexi-hoses is not necessary on a road car unless you do not trust the supply of rubber made ones and/or you want the hoses on the car for many years with less concern about them but you still need to check them. I fitted them to my (road only, the photo was from a closed track charity day) MG Midget as soon as I got it because of the ****-poor rubbish rubber that was around at the time in other parts, they're still on the car 15 years later. Check your discs and pads (shoes) for wear and if they will be too worn before the next intended service then replace them now. One of the reason's I sold the Midget was because the wrong type of rubber O-rings were supplied to the manufacturer of the expensive sports clutch concentric slave cylinder so it failed within a couple of years which meant removing the engine to get it out - and hard though it is to believe unless you have my luck with cars the replacement O-rings were also wrong so the unit failed again 18 months later. Up to the first failure 20,000 units had been sold in 20 years without issue then mine was the second they had heard of when I drove over to their offices and manufacturing site. I hope you have been able to store the summer tyres correctly as they still age regardless of if they are actually used, stored correctly should be a problem though. Good luck.