nta16

Thank you for the reply, I understand this but I think we're thinking of different things along different tracks.

It could think it's lean for other reasons - but checking and cleaning the sensor and other sensors is a very low cost first step rather than replacing then reset what can be with scan tool and test again, but just taking one reading at one point each time might not give the full picture. I'd check and clean (as required perhaps) all sensors before and after, cleaner in then better running and cleaner out hence timely servicing and replacement of things like filters. Much service, maintenance and repairs can often boil down to clean (and lubricate, changing oils helps both).

Bit I meant to copy and paste - do check the sensor is fitted fully and correctly, check that it's clean. Also check you have no air leaks, hoses cracked or not fully fitted off, that other sensors are clean. What are the other readings for the engine (relating to plugs/injectors/coils/etc..

Never take a raw code as the solution. "The O2 sensor produces a voltage based on oxygen content in the exhaust. The voltage varies between .1 and .9 Volts, .1 indicating lean and .9 indicating rich." "Usually the cause of P0130 is a bad oxygen sensor, however this isn't always the case. If your o2 sensors haven't been replaced and they are old, it's a good bet that the sensor is the problem. But, It could be caused by any of the following: Water or corrosion in the connector Loose terminals in the connector Wiring burnt on exhaust components Open or short in the wiring due to rubbing on engine components Holes in exhaust allowing unmetered oxygen into exhaust system Unmetered vacuum leak at the engine Bad o2 sensor Bad PCM." Read more at: https://www.obd-codes.com/p0130 Copyright OBD-Codes.com "Assuming that the engine is in excellent mechanical condition, and that all sensors implicated in metering both intake air and fuel, short-term fuel trim values should generally be between positive 10%, and negative 10% when the engine is running at a steady speed. Note though that since sudden changes in the engine speed can cause short-term fuel trim values to fluctuate wildly, all fuel trim values should be taken at a minimum of at least three steady engine speeds, these being at idle, at about 2500 RPM, and at about 3500 RPM. Note also that fuel trim values should only be taken when the engine had been running at the above speeds for at least 30 seconds." - https://www.mechanic.com.au/news/understanding-short-term-and-long-term-fuel-trims1 Sorry I didn't mean to quote myself in the lost post just copy for speed but I missed deleting it as I typed the same thing anyway (rush for tea/dinner

if you bought poor quality (regardless of price) then not only short life but also very expensive, cheap parts (regardless of their retail price) can work out very expensive as the short term fuel trim figures might suggest. The two sensors have different figures but I've no idea if that position or range, the deeper scan tools I think give acceptable range figures(?). I'm not sure if VW use the best sensor or not, if not Japanese products are often better than 'quality German engineering'.

That's great news and fantastic to find such good people, recommended them. If you don't want to do it yourself why not ask them to change the gearbox oil for you that way they will also see the condition of the oil, look for bits in it, perhaps analyse the oil, and you will have new fresh oil to go on with from this point.

Or just push the button every time needed, I know it's a pain but you can get into the habit, to paraphrase Danny, why trust one program and not the other.

Not necessarily, there was going to be a diesel refinery problem at one point, well before this year. I learnt at an earlier age, my mother must have been a major contributor to the potential sugar "shortage" of the 1970s, she had never less than 6 lbs in the living room sideboard (cupboard) for many years. There never was a shortage as I remember but rumour of one was enough. Soon, in not already, it'll be the shouts and screams of "I must have it for Xmas" and this for many things that could have been bought at anytime. "What will we do if we don't get if by Xmas, so-and-so will be heartbroken / Xmas will be ruined!" - I wonder how many have thought to put petrol on their Xmas list - or sugar!

I should have put depending on the approach to the climb, I was more meaning that some people think you can't change gear other than to the very next gear - but the displays give instructions in the modern Fabia I notice, never shown 2nd to 5th though.

This area wasn't so bad as there was fuel around to be had, I'm not saying there wasn't "panic" buying but I never saw it, not that I was about much anyway, local Tesco was shut one night but other stations were still open and if anything less queues than usual. By coincidence my wife didn't have her Fabia for a couple of days and mine was away for a week having rectification work "fitted in with other work". In there, only a (literally) back street body/spray shop, I saw an axle for an electric conversion vehicle for the Silverstone lot (forget the name), it was big but I don't think it was for the rumoured £1.5m restoration/conversion vehicle they were talking about.

As I've put before I'm no expert or mechanic but if it was the chain? (chain?) it'd be more constant and regular I'd have thought even with computers constantly making adjustments for it. If you lived nearer I'd say bring it round and compare it to how my wife's Fabia sounds and I could borrow my neighbour's scan tool looking for deeper stuff.

You might want to ask them about memory tests too, just in case. My wife told me we get an extra 300 points (of what and with who I don't know) if we call in there tomorrow but thinking about it now I don't need to as tomorrow is the last day and I don't need a full tank as my wife will be back in her Fabia.

I might be missing something (i often am, and do) but as someone who's been driving carb engined cars since the 1970s and has been driving carb'd cars off and on for the last 30 years as daily drivers including a twin carb car for the last 13 you've lost me. Admittedly I've not been over concerned about efficiency otherwise I'd never had such cars but there have ben occasions when it has been needed or wanted. I'm certainly not saying I know that much and don't need to learn and relearn what I've forgot or ignore. Good general driving skills (and I'm not saying I have them) will help with a carb'd vehicle. Driver training helps with efficiency - and after keeping the vehicle well serviced, maintained and repaired is the best tuning you can get for the vehicle and is transferable to other vehicles of the same type.

There are lots of basics on and about the vehicle when considering efficiency like have the whole car well serviced, maintained and repaired, having tyres with less rolling resistance with tyre pressures to suit. The fashion for wide wheels with wide low profile tyres often adds to the rolling resistance of the car. The weight of modern vehicles means more weight has to be pulled up the hill so you do not want additional unnecessary weight in the car, unused objects in the cabin or boot or deck (tools boxes, etc.). Also you don't want items fitted that will increase the resistance to the vehicle getting through the air, bars, roof lights, luggage/tool box racks. The most effective way to climb a hill is where possible take as much moment into the climb as possible and /or anticipant and select the correct gear for each stage appropriate to the vehicle, its load, road and weather conditions. Anticipate and use the gears to maintain momentum and control of the vehicle. If required you can miss a gear in the sequence, smooth gear changes always. For carburettor, as generally, do not accelerate or brake harshly, lift off acceleration instead of or before braking.

I forgot to check that petrol price tonight I'll try and remember tomorrow.

Although you only have 30k-miles on the clock it is 6 years old so if it's a manual gearbox I'd suggest a warm/hot long drain of the existing gearbox oil to get as much of it out and any contaminants/muck/crud as possible as so that the fresh new oil is less diluted in its effects by residue left in the gearbox from draining. A poor quality quick and cold drain will leave more residue and dilution of fresh oil. Replace with a good quality oil with extended parameters of protection. This will not solve any mechanical wear but will help with its lubrication - and give the opportunity to inspect the oil that comes out for its colour and consistency and for any bits in it. You could also help by not lugging, high revving or turbo against 3rd gear. If the whine is from third gear good quality fresh oil may reduce the whine. Thing is once you take notice of the whine you will hear it more just because you're concentrating on it. Have you driven another Fabia of the same type and age to know if the whine is just in yours or varies, has another driver of the same type and age of Fabia driven your car to give comment. My car is well know for rear axle whine, driving back along the motorway with the roof up I could hear it but not this morning in the opposite direction as it was raining and colder so different tyre noise and vibrations and other noises and concentrating more on the drive I didn't notice the rear axle whine - but it would have been there , probably been there nearly 50 years might be worse now but I don't know and I can't remember it being worse that others of the type in my limited experience.

I think I paid £1.629(?) a litre tonight, I don't normally notice, for BP Ultimate petrol but I think it's always an expensive petrol station, M&S Shop now too I noticed. If we come back the same way tomorrow I'll refill there again and take more notice.

At great extremes but probably more to do with the oil itself - but you're not a great extremes. Perhaps it was a tank of rough petrol but more likely is the computers messing with whatever on the car to have it running the way the computers want at that time. Or the noise was from something else that is no longer in play or has stopped for the while or yes you're paranoid and should stop worrying unduly. Once you start hearing noise you starting listening for them and can probably hear some you've previously took no notice of. 5w-30, if suitable for your car and is of a good quality, is a better choice for this time of year, the number 5w and 30 are bands rather than strict numbers so can vary within the bands and some oils are better than others and work better and last longer giving greater parameters of protection that some might need and want and others don't need or want. Keep the whole car (the engine is behind a few other components and systems in importance) well serviced, maintained and repaired using good quality parts and materials and that will help to keep the whole car including the engine running well (and often quieter).

Is the ignition key being recognised?

My previous old neighbour bought me the Bradex BX4, it exactly the same as the one he bought from Halfords and eventually ended up frying his battery by charging it too much too regularly. I might have forgotten but I don't think I've ever used it on our cars but for neighbours and others, I'm not sure that its more than 25 years old, but time does fly and I forgot a decade once when working out how long I'd had an item. I use the Bradex along with my Carcoon (Accumate) maintenance charger that I must have had 20+ years both have always done a fine job.

Usually an excellent idea but perhaps not if you have a serious knocking of unknown origin - but if it's not a serious noise and you have the correct oil filled to near or at Max. (measured as per book of course) then after warming the engine correctly and checking everything is fine on the car for doing so and with the correct driving conditions then get out there and do this very necessary servicing and maintenance work. Don't forget to collect your Shell points, double for V-Power.

Yeah I put all the time that all databases have errors and omissions and it hasn't exactly gotten better with computers and internet but if too little oil is put in it's easy for anyone to check and to add more and anyone will know to add more as the new oil level will be too low on the dipstick - better than overfilling as emptying out is more effort. Most garages do quick cold drains rather than warm/hot oil drains left to drain for as long as possible. With a quick cold drain less of the old oil and its contaminants/muck/crud is drain leaving a great quantity of residue oil and contaminants/muck/crud in the engine (gearbox, axle) meaning less new fresh oil is added with means the effectiveness of the oil change has been dilute So less out less new fresh oil is need to be added to get to level. If the oil filter wasn't change that would hold an amount of oil (sometimes specified but I can't remember for moderns). You'd know if the oil was too low as you'd see it on the dipstick and probably the oil cooling would be less to the engine perhaps showing a higher oil temperature than previously. I don't know on these engine but often a litre was the difference between Min and Max. Unless the oil level was very low for a time I can't see it causing a knocking in itself (but I'm not mechanic). My wife's car is lump on cold starts, it usually idles high and then settles as I wait for it to, I doubt my wife bothers and just drives straight off despite my advice not to. She put's in whatever supermarket or other fuel has the best offers and it will always be E10 and it makes no odds. I manged to fill the car with Esso 99 octane 0% (yes zero) 'f'n'ol petrol but neither of us were able to take it for a blast or Italian Tune-up and I don't think she noticed the benefit from just one tankful. I do think the engine bay has lots of noises but it's little engine put under pressure by the turbo being used to power a heavy modern car with wide wheels and tyres (and that's without driver, passengers, luggage, shopping, etc.) so I expect to hear some grumbles and moans.

Pre-cat means something different to us oldies. Talking of catalytic converters my neighbour's son-in-law got his stolen from his old car, I knew this was going on in USA but not heard of it here for a long time until now.

Below is a photo of a Bradex BX4 4-amp charger virtually the same as the one I have that's still going strong rescuing neighbours' batteries - despite a neighbour trying to kill it by locking it in her black car with all the windows closed on the hottest days of this year. As the battery was still connected to the car (lost radio code) opening the door was the last straw and the charger stopped working, it was a picture to see the neighbour's face when this happened, I just looked, disconnected the charger and secretly blew on it and reconnected it moments later for it to spring back to life but I took it back as the car was also being driven (running around for a son in his 40s!) so the concept of a long slow and low charge had been lost. I can tell within 5-10 minutes by the needle position and how it moves, or not, moves how low the battery is and whether it might be a very long time for full recharge (well as much as the battery can take).

Not so, the Driver's Handbook should tell you. You may also need to resynchronise your keyfob(s) to the car, again the Driver's Handbook should tell you. But have you tried using the other keyfob (if you have one and its battery is good). You may also want to check you haven't run the car battery down too as that can cause the computers to get their panties in a twist which could include all sorts of issues including alarm, if not now later.