JesmondJester

Hello all, A couple of retaining clips on my skid plate (or at least that's what I am calling it, the big plastic thing that covers the bottom of the car) have come off and it is flapping about in the wind and over bumps. Creates quite the annoying sound. At least I hope that's all it is but nothing else moves when I lie under the car and poke around nor when I bounce the car if it is stationary. Anyone know the part or where I can get them? The 'bolt' part that sticks through the plate is still there so I think I just need the plastic clip. 22 plate Fabie Combi. Thanks in advance!

Hi guys, Final update. Collected the replacement car two weeks ago and it works perfectly. I had the original one which they had "fixed". IT certainly worked much, much better than it did but still not on a par with any of my old vehicles, the courtesy car or the replacement they found. They filled the tank on the new car and a restaurant voucher for £50. In hindsight, I am really happy with the dealership (Pullman Cramlington) although I was pretty stressed and frustrated at the time. Thanks for all the advice on here - it definitely helped keep me right - and sorry for the delay on the final update. Now, how do I complain about the crap tyres that have been fitted.... 🙂 kidding!

Thank you.

The left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing: the new one is now at the dealership. They’re effectively saying, the new car is compensation enough but they will also fill it with fuel. Are they being reasonable?

Got a call today to say the new vehicle would be available at the end of the month but they had fixed the fault in my original car: they had to replace the compressor. So, I bought the car on 1st June, had it to them for one afternoon where they told me there was nothing wrong with it and to monitor it. Then they reluctantly agreed to look at it again - four weeks later. So I complained and they got it in on 21st June. I may be able to collect tomorrow. I told them I wouldn't collect it until someone called me to confirm they could give me a £200 fuel card as some form of compensation given I had a broken car for three weeks and then a courtesy car for three weeks. Am I being unreasonable? I expect them to push back but never having had to go through this process before - I wonder whether this is the thing dealerships to tend to to demonstrate their "customer service excellence"? Advice or examples of similar appreciated.

Well, after the “technical centre” told them to do something, the dealer thought they’d fixed it but wanted to keep it for the weekend to be sure. Today they said it hadn’t worked. So, I said I wanted a new vehicle. Turns out they are looking into changing it over like for like (colour might be different) at no extra cost to me. I’ll let you know if they pull it off or not. I suspect not.

Thanks! When I spoke to the dealership yesterday they said they sent the request over on Monday and should here back within 48 hours. So we'll see!

A little update. The dealership have had the car for a week and whilst they replaced the relay and then a switch to ensure the fan near the condenser ran properly - they still can’t get the a/c to work consistently. Apparently there is a UK Skoda technical centre to which they have sent all the details and technical data. Those guys are able to review it and make suggestions. They’re also able to contact the factory in the Czech Republic in order to try and solve the issue. And if they can’t then I guess it is time to replace the whole unit or maybe the car!

Tried all manner of things this morning and whilst the air was at least cold within a moment of starting - the performance is just awful. It doesn't cool the cabin down at all well in the same way the old one used too. I used to have the vents pointed away from me it was so cold and now even right at me I have to wonder if it works. Fan still changes speed and the temperature still fluctuates. Not that I should expect any different, nothing mechanically has changed. What's becoming increasingly concerning is that this is normal. The demist on the last Fabia was horrendous. If their aircon on this is bad then the demist will be non-existent. I did change to not circulation for a little while but then the air coming out was warmer than was in the car so back to circulation and it cooled somewhat. The dealership have managed to move things so its getting dropped off on Tuesday morning and picked up Wednesday night. If they say it is fine, be prepared to see news reports of an explosion the size of a small nuclear warhead just north of Newcastle as I become apoplectic.

Thanks for the advice! I’ll try it!

Normally I just have it blasting at my face, never on windscreen demist or mix of that and feet. 3 is definitely too noisy in my opinion. It’s just so frustrating that the old cars performed so well and this just blows. Pun intended.

Well it has the manual blue for cold, red for warm air con rather than actual temperatures. I don't expect it to cool the entire cabin down instantly but I do expect consistently cold air to blow through the vents within a couple of minutes of turning the key. Have companies realistically compromised the air con to pass WLTP/RDE2? I appreciate they probably have but does that mean I need to turn the fan to 3 to get enough cool air in the cabin? Doesn't this just bypass the test if I am asking it to do the same work? These are probably hypothetical questions.

What an idiot - good plan - thanks!

Long time listener, first time caller. I am on my 4th Fabia but my 1st Estate. Purchased the vehicle (brand new) on 1st June and travelled from Newcastle to Norfolk to see my family the next day. Unfortunately, no cold air came out of the air conditioning unit until Doncaster and then it kept warming and cooling. Since then, I haven't been able to get cold air out of it reliably. Sometimes it takes five minutes, sometimes I can drive for 15 minutes until it is reliably cold. I have had it back to dealership who have tested it and said there is nothing wrong and asked me to monitor it. Given I have done 900 miles they have agreed this has already happened. It takes 15 minutes to get to the dealership so by this point it is usually working so they are now asking for it over night so can test it when the car is properly rested and experience what I do. They can't do this until 2nd July. I probably do 6000 a year and whilst I do some long trips, the majority of journeys I make are under 15 minutes and as such it is important to me the a/c works properly. By properly, I mean that I can get cold air very quickly as has been the case with every single Skoda I have ever owned. I can't believe a brand new vehicle can perform worse than one 3 y ears old - never mind the older Fabias I had. As an aside, when the a/c does come on it feels like only half the air coming out of the vent is cold, some of it is blowing warm but maybe this is just me. Also, the fan seems to speed up and slow down randomly (ie, nothing to do with vehicle speed, engine speed or the stop/start mechanism) even though it stays on '2'. Has anyone had this experience? Am I imagining the air coming out of the vent being different temperatures? Does your fan change speed? Any help/advice greatly appreciated - even if that is my expectations are too high! I suspect they'll test it and say it falls within their acceptable parameters but I'll let you know the outcome regardless. Cheers.