nta16

Yes you can remove the rear set bottoms and backrests. Whether you are upgrading from a 2014 Mk2 to a 2021/2 Mk3 is a different matter, up to you if and how much the newer car is better, less wear and tear on the 2021/2 car may well be a good improvement depending on the condition of the 2014 car to 2021/2. The extra "aids" and "assists" give both improvements (for some) and potential for more issue (or annoyance for some). Whether the 2021/2 Fabia at 11/12 years old will be in the same condition as the 2014 is again a different matter. Fabias are very popular but that doesn't mean they are the best, or the VW products and brands - but obviously plenty of owners like them and I'm an outlier here. My wife's 90PS, 1.2 TSI, 5-speed manual has plenty of power for certainly two people and some luggage and more, I did notice a difference when driving with three passengers (no luggage) but the direct injections turbos need at least occasion higher revs driving to stop them clogging up a bit over time. I realise you are just using o-60 mph as an example but 0-60 has always been a silly measurement in real life driving on the roads unless you're a boy or girl "racer" you need to, as you seem to suggest, compare power bands of the cars actually on the move, to see the spread and depth and cross over points. Ego figures can easily be achieved at the expense of more practical driving and component and parts overall longevity. Car electronic can also overcome some lack of driver skills and sense, particularly with launch controls for real 0-60 ego figures. As already put there's a modifying thread in this form but also more information in the 'Fabia Projects' and 'Performance & Tuning Upgrades'. HTH. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/205-fabia-projects/ https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/212-performance-tuning-upgrades/

Don't go by my poor memory and my last Škoda was a 1987 130 Rapid Estelle 2 saloon so I may have remembered wrong or things were changed later. I went on my ex-neighbour's car website to see if I could see your model but I didn't have the manufacturer's name. IIRC there was a Porsche Speedster replica kit made or going round Northampton decades back based on the Estelle 2, again I've no idea of the manufacturer's name. For the metal pressure cap it does off course have to be the correct pressure rating, I would guess at something like 15 lbs but could well be wrong. If you have Porsche or Golf GTI owning mates I hope you've seen the following from back in the day. 😄

A lot of servicing and maintenance and many repairs boil down to clean and lubricate. An engine oil and filter change is a form of clean and lubricate. An ECU reset by OBD or battery disconnection is a form of cleaning the electronic systems. Mechanics often make out they are doing more complicated stuff than this and many times they are - and many they are not and it boils down to clean and lubricate. Good luck.

If you lived up to your member name you'd not bother or if you're not keeping the car for a number of years more. The 6-7k-miles average per year would want timely engine oil and filter, air filter and possibly spark plug changes and some blow-out runs to stop the engine and turbo clogging up too soon in the future if you're keeping it more years on.. Ten years seems a reasonable time to allow this fluid to remain in the engine without change subject to engine use and perhaps fluid testing (personally I changed sooner, same for manual gearbox oil). ETA: coolant testing is usually just about the antifreeze side but coolants are about more than just stopping the fluid freezing. Remember VW don't want the engine to last too long after any warranty ends. IIRC VW's warranty in the UK is usually 3 years from new yet "cheaper" manufacturers offer 5 and 7 years !! I doubt if the Dealership will want to change, tell you it's "lifetime", whatever lifetime means, which, what's, life? If they do change it ask for cost first. You can change it yourself, I did on my wife's 2015 Fabia 1.2 TSI (as put well before 10 years as is my choice), you're supposed to use a vacuum on the change but you can do it without, as I did and I am not mechanical but doing the job yourself you can do a thorough and job rather than the as quick as possible from a dealership or perhaps garage or professional mechanic many of who in my decades of experience don't take sufficient care or pride in their work. Good luck.

Your 'Author's stats' show you having a 1990 Bugrat so I wrongly thought it was made from a 80s/90s Estelle 2 Rapid and they had a plastic cap. Modern made metal pressure caps aren't as long lasting as they used to be so need changing and more often, the choice is trying to get a decent old make one or whatever you can get and change it every x-years before it plays up or goes wrong. IIRC(?) the last good one I got was a Motorad one, made in USA(?).

Glad it appears to be sorted. If the expansion tank is plastic and cap is plastic (I forget the colour, yellow/ blue? screw on then they needed replacing back in the day when many might think it was head gasket failure and all that was needed was a new cap. With the quality of modern replacement parts I would possibly get a spare replacement too or if there's a rubber seal involved just get a suitable er, rubber seal too or instead. What is a Bugrat BTW, a kitcar or custom/mod or other special? I'm thinking like VW Dune bug sort of thing or ratrod. There used to be a place round here that made Poker speedster replicas based on Estelle's IIRC.

2,000 miles a year, she gets around compared to some of my neighbour's, a 9 year old neighbour's car I sometime use still only has 9k-miles on it, another neighbour ended up only doing a few miles with his a year, his son borrowed it for a couple of weekends and towards the end of his ownership of it would drive it about every 6 weeks or so on a 15-mile round trip just to keep it move it moving and still not much over 300 miles between MoTs. 17 years old and 28k-miles from new when I last saw it and I saw it when it was branded new (bought for him by his son) so I knew its history. Another neighbour has a car that hasn't moved a wheel in 15 months other than perhaps being taken for an mot and annual service if and how that might have been done I missed. Old folk won't admit to not being able to drive their cars again and they rust and seize on the drives or garages instead of someone else getting good use out of them. A Mini Metro, far too modern a model for my knowledge. I almost got a 3-year old Mini Metro in the mid-80s (which would probably needed work at that age) but instead got a two-month old importers car with 6k on the clock and 22 months warranty by a company called Škoda (before VW marched in and took them over). Good to hear it's still on the road, useful for when the Fabia has issues. I owned various "classics" (over-priced and over-valued old cars as everyday use cars (and commuting, holiday, shows, events in UK and Europe) for 30+ years. 1983 is no cost "road tax" and MoT not required if you don't want to (has to be roadworthy obviously) and unless things have changed if you get your car insurance with Peter Best it will be a very low premium (unlimited milage if you want no extra charge, modified is fine, no garage and night use is fine all no extra) and includes (a very good) UK and Europe Breakdown recovery to home cover in with the low premium, a lot less cost than just the AA breakdown and recovery. Many years ago I worked out it was financially less expensive to get taxis and hire cars than to buy a new car and do less than 3,000 miles a year - not that I learnt as I've spent many ten's of thousands of pounds on "classics" let alone the new and brand new cars I've wasted our money on. as I always point out the 2015 Fabia Mk3 is my wife's car (10k-miles on it when bought at 15 months old and currently at IIRC 77k-miles, it's her car and I don't drive it very often so very. very few chances to give blow out runs in nearly 11 years of her ownership, the engine insides must like like a coalminer's underpants. 😄 I'll leave you with that image. 😁

People have forgotten or never taught how to run their cars for longer ownership than a year or three of lease/hire or 'poor' pensioner having a brand new car every year (when back from their holidays abroad in their second homes). 😁 My rules are not to turn the ignition to first setting to check the dash warning lights and put my seatbelt on listening for any noises and/or smells all electrics other than perhaps safety items switched off, including the to some essentials of , phone, radio, TwatNav, etc.. After that start the engine, listen, look and smell if required after about 20 seconds of that check to pull away. Next rule, turn off ALL electrics bar any safety items, a quick look, listen, perhaps smell before turning the engine off. As you put if turbo has been worked a measured 20-30 seconds before turning engine off after pulling up / parking. The Fabia never has been but if the turbo has been worked very hard and/or engine is hot(ter) (by engine oil temperature not coolant gauge) then I would leave it 30-60 seconds. That might not be fully necessary for the turbo but it won't hurt. cooling the engine a very little too possibly. I was a regular user of the higher octane (lower ethanol, or none) petrols with their additional cleaners additive packages and now my wife has seen the benefit of at least occasional use but that is still good but limited effects on these direct injection engines. However as you confirmed when used with regular 70 mph longer runs (particularly if not in top one or two gear(s)) it will help the injectors and engine. 21,500 miles in 4 to 5 years, say average annual mileage of 4-5k miles without some blow-out runs would be pretty clogging to the engine. Milton Keynes itself doesn't have very long stretches of dual-carriageways so an occasional blow-out run from junction 13 or 14 to 15 of the M1 and back might be better and further still better still - and its not like the M1 isn't often traffic free there. 😄 Just earlier this afternoon my wife and I were discussing the need for driving at higher revs with modern cars as she likes to be in 5th (or 6th) at about 35 mph forgetting the car's not a 4l V8 automatic, when she had other cars she always said they drove better if I'd been driving them any distance, that was because I did keep the rev counter needle at tick over position most of the drive like her. Modern cars you can drive quick but not fast as their performance is well above national speed limits, well with just driver or one passenger at least for "smaller" engines - we're used to 700cc or below cars and being asked if they could be used on the motorways. 😆

Yes, when the resolve is at the cost of the manufacturer an inexpensive resolve is but if at customers' then expensive parts and labour are the order of the day.

The resolve of replacing the actuator failed as it couldn't be 'coded' in, a programming issue which has the suggested resolve of replacing the turbo charger (which I assume must be easier to 'code in) because when the turbo arm was out of the car it works fine but when it was n the car yet when in the car the computer shows a fault. Whose right, whose wrong, garages, computer, working the scan tools, . . . ???

You might have to search the threads here for posts about parts and parts suppliers and see if they're still going or look for a suitable alternative. I assume (so could be wrong) want what I'd call an expansion tank but if you mean anything to do with the actual radiator there are those that can service and repair them (or there used to be just a few years back). Good luck.

Good idea, or drawing and/or notes but photos at different angles that you can zoom in on for detail is a good modern way - but this still assumes that the installation was correct, always check and cross reference any information including how things are now on the car. Seat of trousers dusted with your toe cap. 😄 Young macho brain usually assumes it's correct, I blame the parents. 😉

If the arm is stuck could it perhaps be loosen out to work or replaced - I can't remember the details now but there are threads in this section where members replaced the actuator arm for some reason, of course if your issue is more than the actuator arm then that is a different matter. At £1,200 I would get a second opinion and quote from an independent garage, perhaps even a VW specialist independent or a motorsport garage as they can often know more and be still reasonably priced. Good luck.

Yes similar to many, many companies and car companies but it's still a German company run in and with German ways, the CEO could be from Mars and he'd still not change it, at least mot overnight. I'm not against German cars per se they used to be quite decent cars many years back, not my cup of Darjeeling but many wanted the BMW badge, other than removing some numbers and letters off the boot to try to make out it was a better variant than it was actually was. 😄 Not to be left out many Beastie Boys fans wanted the VW badge. 😄 Marque loyalty is often blind, particularly when wanting to get shot of the car. 😄

Provided the 6k-miles isn't over say two years that's a a better policy than leaving things too long especially if the oil change is just a quick suck out affair. The mix of driving is a good thing. As for the teenage leaner that depends on them and how well they've been taught. 10 years old if I was keeping the car I'd changed the "lifetime" coolant and if a manual gearbox the oil in that too (the DSG would be part of regular servicing or need before now I'd guess, I forget). Actually I changed the coolant and g/box oil well before 10 years on my wife's 2015 Fabia 5-speed manual. Škoda being VW is basically German, BMW (and Merc) are German and the quality days finished say around 2005 (earlier for Merc) so they're all about the same I doubt BMW would be much better and as my wife's previous car was a (GM) Vauxhall I know they're not always that good from personal experience. Toyota and Honda aren't as good as they were a few years back, and Nissan, well say no more, Mazda holding up but generally, I've never understood the German marques being rated so well other than badge snobbery, good marketing and out of date reputations. Consumers are slowly catching on and this will greatly accelerate with the newer models and their reliabilities being experienced and known about. But perhaps I'll be proven wrong.

So previously turning the headlights on brought up all sorts of warnings. Depends on the lengths and quality of the diagnostics - they may be correct or parts cannon firing off. A good conscientious diagnostics auto-electrician may find differently or more or he may not. Your local Dealership might be different but I'd not trust our local Dealership to be too thorough with diagnostics. A place that deals with motorsport cars can sometimes be better with sorting things. Cluster repair, cloning, is possibly dealt with more in the 'Fabia Projects' and 'Performance & Tuning Upgrades' forums, you could have a look, how much relates to NI I've no idea. Good luck.

ETA: Checked as many hours as possible after the engine has been run and/or battery charged. Plus has a scan tool been used to confirm there are no error codes? Have there been any other issues?

Have you checked the battery state of charge at the battery terminals?

Cars like Fabia Mk3 (and many others) aren't (really) built for the use that many owners give them, frequent very short journeys (less than say 15-20 miles), driving very gently often in a way to get high mpg (but not necessarily overall fuel efficiency) which puts more wear on some components, parts and systems. Low and very low mileage isn't as good for some things on the car that many think it would be. Then there's lack of full and proper servicing of the whole car which needs to match the use of the car rather than the very general VWŠkoda advertised schedules that are designed for marketing purposes rather than car, components and parts longevity. Engine oil choice and changing it when required is important especially with turbos added to engines. Following on from what thamestrader has put the Italian tune-up blowout runs and use of fuels with higher cleaner additive packages is often required with the use of some cars to help prevent issues. Also yes cars and their parts and components are designed and built to often not last as long as they used to - and the quality of some VW parts isn't as high as it might have been say 20 years ago.

Wow, I expect that'll be "it was fine when it left here"! After paying to have a bad leak sorted out this would concern me - could it be a leak(?) We all make mistakes and have accidents but to just not mention these and ignore them just shows a lack of pride or acceptance of lower standards, it's not like you weren't going to see them when you got the car back. Perhaps they contracted the job out, to some ex-delivery drivers! This was unexpected to me but unfortunately not a surprise. I feel for you as I've had similar poor quality work before, more than once but that doesn't help you.

Will SVM apply to 6V0 035 871J and 6V0 035 869H / component protection?

That might not be enough for your mum's use of the car even if left connected all the time the car isn't used. How about using a fag lighter 12v socket for charger maintainer. Or fitting connector leads to the battery terminal camps that has the tails and small connector outside the rear seat. Decades back I had a car with, the to me unwanted, alarm and the 12v battery in the front passenger's footwell (as well as the engine ECU and fuse board further back than the battery) so if the car was left for two weeks the battery would be low or flat. The lead connector on battery terminals worked very well and was quick and easy to connect. Yes. 🙂 Good luck.

I didn't mean it was, I looked up what what SVM might be or is and I'm not rush typing on a phone (just as always badly one-finger typing on a full size PC keyboard). Would SVM apply to these radios? Thinking of 2020 covid lack of chips downgrading(?) of radios (and VW's introduction(?) of SFD).

(Apart from the need to look up what SVM might be or is) would it apply to these radios, thinking of 2020 covid and VW's SFD? ETA: VW's SFD - https://support.obdeleven.com/en/articles/5685742-what-is-sfd

Yes the 'Owner's Manuals' seem to leave out more and more information and put in more warnings as the years go on. The paper printed book(s) for my wife's 2015 model have some errors and quicky VW/German(?) omissions but are still very useful and if read (against the law for some macho men) and referred to when required then unnecessary visits to Dealerships, garages, mechanics and auto-electricians can sometimes be avoided. The workshop manuals seem to be more reminders than instructions to me but I'm not a mechanic. Can't the 12v battery be charged using an appropriate charger maintainer as prevention and maintenance. Modern cars are no good for many owners that buy and use them, GDI, turbo, GPF, DPF, 12v battery drains equipment, hybrids. We're facing the same issue with the Fabia replacement, personally I'd prefer a much more basic car for reliability and longevity so not a car from this century but I no longer want the maintenance of an aged car without he housing or use of a garage (car house). Good luck to both of us. 😄