JFrankMiller

Surely that's quite costly, to produce different ratioed versions of the gearbox? Or is it designed to have different cogs slotted into it during manufacturing?

Slightly tangential to running in, but along the same lines... Does anyone think that the way the DSG system is programmed is focused a little bit too much towards fuel economy at the sacrifice of keeping the engine in good condition? I was in a average speed zone on the motorway the other day and the speed signage changed from 50 mph average to 40 mph average and it took my gearbox a good couple of hundred meters to change down from 7th into 6th gear. At 40 mph! And I wasn't going downhill either. I've noticed in general driving, too, that the gearbox loves to stay in a higher gear than I ever would, if I was driving it with a manual gearbox. I just hope Skoda knows what they're doing by having the gearbox tuned to favour higher gears like this.

I'm using one of these for the front USB-C to my Android phone. https://amzn.eu/d/054qPFyj Quality is good. I also bought a half metre one but I prefer the full metre cos it gives me more flexibility to pick the phone up and use it. I've got the half metre one in the glovebox as a backup.

I work in a technology role and my job involves some programming among other bits of various system tinkering. I feel like programming can be (and should be) faultless if it's done well. The problem is, that deciding whether there's an immediate hazard in your path while driving is an immensely complex computation. It's something that we might not even be that good at when we first pass our driving tests at 17 but we are absolutely attuned to tiny nuances about our surroundings after we've been doing it a year or more. I think it's mildly arrogant of current automotive manufacturers to think that this can be reproduced by a computer with the current level of sophistication that they can build. My Fabia front assist sensor has went off once, so far, when I was approaching a left hand bend which also has a right turn slip road. There was a lorry waiting in the slip road, ready to turn off to the right when it was clear. My car decided I was potentially gonna plough into the lorry, despite me having a clear path round the left hand bend. It just beeped at me and didn't do any braking, thank God. It's also done the yellow warning triangle saying there's a malfunction a couple of times, too. It went away both times without me wiping the sensor. I wish it didn't exist.

I need to check my tyres more often than I need to scrape ice, so maybe Skoda should have done a bit better there.

I can't remember if I looked for a sticker first, but I didn't expect it to be in the rear door frame. My old car had it in the drivers door frame. It's possible that I checked the drivers door frame and went on my phone when I couldn't see a sticker. I could have went on my phone first, though. I can't remember.

I mentioned in an earlier post how the Kwik-Fit online tyre pressure website was offline. Well, they seem to have given the web server a digital nudge, and it's back online now: https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-pressure-search It recommended 30 psi front and back when I put my registration in, and I was running like that for a handful of weeks. I've put them up to 32 now and I might be imagining it, but it feels about right now. I haven't noticed much difference in fuel economy running around town since I bumped the pressures up, but I'm going for an hour's drive down the M1 and back today. So I should see very soon. I get great mpg on my 110 tsi DSG anyway, so I'm sure the numbers will be about 65 mpg if I'm going steady. 🙂

@bazz2004 I just connect my Android phone via USB cable and use a combination of Waze and Google Maps on the centre screen. It works lovely. I used Waze most of the time but it can send you on a bum-steer if you're heading somewhere obscure so I use Google Maps for times where I'm navigating to a very specific location. Waze's selling point is that it's much more adept at warning you of speed cameras, disruptions and random obstacles than Maps. Of course, both hoover up your privacy data but, such is life, with a smartphone.

Only two months in and I agree about the tech being a bit annoying. The apes who clearly develop the infotainment software should be replaced with computer programmers and the madman who thought it was a good idea to deliver the user manual over the internet but make it impossible to find your tyre pressures should be replaced by someone conscientious and sane. Mechanically it's been great though.

Thanks for your advice @DerekU. I searched the forum for tyre pressures tonight after looking in the rear offside door sill in my Fabia SE L and noticed an identical sticker to the one you posted which advises 2.5 bar for my 195/55/16 tyres. I've had the car a couple of months and I used the Kwik-Fit tyre pressure search on day one. It recommended 30psi front and back. Sadly, the Kwik-Fit site seems to be down at the moment but this one confirms 30psi if I put my registration in... https://www.national.co.uk/information/check-your-tyre-pressures I've been running on 30 front and back for two months. They do look a bit soft so I'm gonna change it up to 32 tomorrow. The recommendation of 2.5 seems too high to me. Why they can't include a pressure on the sticker for one to two persons is beyond me.

Thanks for all the replies here. I actually went to collect a spare wheel for my Fabia mk4 on Saturday morning and found out, when I got there, that the 16 inch steel wheel I'd ordered had the wrong stud displacement. I'd bought a one which was advertised as a 16“ spare for an Octavia on eBay. The guy was super-helpful and friendly when I turned up to collect it and informed me that the Octavia stud pattern is 5x112mm hexagonally arranged, whereas for the smaller Fabia/Polo/Ibiza models you needed a 5x100mm arrangement of stud holes. He offered me a full refund and I felt it was worth a wasted trip out just to gain a bit of wisdom about hub stud arrangements. After reading this thread, in hindsight, I will look for a 15 inch steel wheel for my Fabia rather than seeking a 16 because, as has been mentioned, it doesn't have to be an exact match if it's only for driving a handful of miles in an emergency. Thanks to all who contributed. 👍

That is interesting. I'm sorry to our European counterparts that I hadn't given a thought to LHD/RHD variations. Wilkommen and Bienvenue.

I couldn't find a Bosch one to fit in Halfords, after getting an Aerotwin A 864 S for the front, which fits perfectly. I ended up buying a rear blade from eBay which claimed to be Bosch. I picked it up today and it is, indeed, a proper Bosch one. The A 303 H fits perfectly for the rear, and I now have Bosch all round, which gives a much more silent, clean wipe than the ones that were previously fitted. I've included a picture of the box of the A 303 H because the diagram of the blade is different to what you get. I think I noticed someone say in a Kodiaq thread that the A 303 H has been redesigned for 2024 and it doesn't contain the big blob of plastic on the end, as seen in my picture of the box. Well, they are correct and if you buy a current version of this blade, not an old pack, then it will fit the back of your mk4 perfectly. Mine snapped right in place in a second. I just thought it was worth mentioning, because I spent at least an hour googling before I took the plunge on eBay.

That's actually pretty interesting and I would consider doing it if my car was a few years old. It's a bit pricey at €78 but it would be really nice to start the car and not have to press the button. I've got a bit of experience with fitting vehicle electrics so it's something I will bear in mind. Maybe when the Fabia is 5 years old.

It's not a 2-cyl mode on mine, because I have the 1L engine. I still see "eco" between my dials when I'm coasting down a dual carriageway, for example. Thanks for putting it on YouTube. I hear it now. It sounds like it could be the tyre speed warning system, but I only played with tht once on mine and then turned it off again, so I don't have a really good memory of what noise it makes. Also, you would know if it was that because you would also get a visual warning between your dials when the tyre speed warning is triggered. Perhaps someone who's been driving their Fabia longer than me will be able to help. I'm sure the YT video will help. Good luck. 🍀

My 2022 Fabia displays an eco symbol on the dash when I'm driving carefully. But I understand what you're saying: it's not something that the driver can deliberately turn on. I watched the video you posted on VLC on my phone and there was no audio, unfortunately.

I've been out for a long drive tonight. About 3 hours. Now that I've found a way to disable the stop/start I'm even more confident that I picked the right car 😎

Lads (and possibly ladies). I know it's only the 2nd June but I must qualify for some sort of buffoon of the month award. After reading the replies on here I went to check, and I do indeed have a S/S button, just to the left of my gearstick. I was going to end with a facepalm emoji but I don't think there's one big enough.

I should have added in the opening post that I'm the owner of a DSG model, so no S/S button for me.

I got a pincer with my ones from eBay... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254908894463 But it's only made of plastic and I was worried that if I ever need to remove a wheel quickly (when I get round to replacing the puncture repair kit with an actual spare wheel!), then a single plastic removal tool may not be up to the job. The nut covers in that eBay link are quite snug and required a decent push to seat them in place. The pack of 20 includes 16 standard nut-shaped ones and 4 special ones for the locking wheel nuts, which are only different if you look at them from the inside and they all look identical once they are fitted, by the way. Anyway, I've got one of these on the way, in case I need a backup removal tool in a hurry... https://amzn.eu/d/6pzvaXT

Thanks for that. I'll have a quick read tomorrow. I'm really finding next to no difference in mpg with Aero's removed and the wheels look a lot cooler, in my eye. I don't think any evidence of 3% better efficiency is gonna make me put them back on. I also appreciate that the brake dust has somewhere to go now, instead of accumulate behind the front trims.

There are a few minor things that I've found undesirable on my Fabia, one month in. Most of them relate to operation of the infotainment system. General quirks and clunkiness, especially updates and logging in. But apart from that I'm getting on fine using Waze or Maps with Android Auto and I like the audio quality. It's a great car and it gets me from A to B with panache. As long as A and B are connected by major A-roads or motorways. I find myself getting frustrated on trips to the shops and urban driving by the start/stop system and I'd like to disable it. Is there a way?

@Tintowellfan I'm sorry you're not too enamoured with the vehicle. I'm not going to argue, apart from the bit where you said the stereo was poor. I like mine on my SE L. I use Apple Music on my phone, through a USB-C cable and it plays banging beats and is lovely and clear. If I put something with crazy bass lines on and whack the volume up it can struggle a bit, but otherwise I'm finding the sound quality really nice.

I also removed mine last weekend. The front ones took a real pulling to get off. I think it's the first time they'd ever been off by the state of the brake dust behind them. I've given them a good wash and stored them away while I wait for some hub covers coming from Amazon. They're due tomorrow. The car looks much better. I drove round Wales at the weekend and I was hitting 60mpg so I haven't noticed any downside to fuel consumption. (Also got black wheel nut covers coming from eBay 👍)

Yep. That's exactly the same on my MK4 @DerekU I'm still undecided about turning it back on, because it was such an awful jolt for something as innocuous as a sprig of plant life touching my back bumper which would have just retreated underneath the car. But I do see the value in having it on. Hmm. Maybe I will turn it back on and be more mindful if I'm driving through shrubbery in future! 🤣 The main thing that's come out of this is that I was relieved it wasn't a feature and something bad hadn't happened. I guess it was worth finding out in a relatively quiet car park and not somewhere busy.