Yorkshiremidge

No point fitting a second hand selector I'm afraid. The blurb suggests the contacts of the microswitch go hi-resistance over time - so it was obviously a duff component out the factory and they will all fail eventually. Our Fabia has done less than 40K miles so even a low miles part is no quarantee. Not sure what part number ours is yet other than it being a black top from getting the gaiter off - but what I have found from a company called AKS Tuning's website is there are four different kits to fix the issue. It's also clear from this forum that some people with Fabias have had a fix done at a relatively sensible price which I assume didn't involve stripping the selector down to dig the problem microswitch out or the labour charge would have been much higher. Also, if Skoda were getting hit with warranty claims all over the place, that's an incentive for VAG to come up with an easy fit solution for all the affected selectors in all the affected VAG ranges. AKS tuning list the following: 5Q0713128A black selector top 5Q0713128B black selector top 3Q0713128A white selector top 3Q0713128B white selector top I was planning on digging the gaiter off again in the next few days and sending AKS Tuning a photo and see what they say about mine.

Thanks anyway. The gearlever gaiter was the one thing I did find on Youtube - but on the Fabia Mk3, that just gives access to the top of the selector and not to the electrical socket on the front of it. With most other VAG cars, the whole trim around the gearlever comes off - but again, the Fabia Mk3 doesn't look/feel as if it does, and I haven't seen anyone selling that area of trim separate from the centre console. That did surprise me as you would expect where a particular bit of trim is available in different colours to match the interior, it would clip on to keep production costs down. Anyway, I'll see how I get on and report back with photos or videos.

Thanks - I had a search around before I posted + on YouTube. Most of the examples of fitting the kit seem to be on Octavias, Golfs etc. where access seems to be pretty straightforward. I've yet to find any photos/videos of it being done on a Fabia Mk3. I'll have another dig about....... I have found a post on here about removing the arm rest so I might end up doing that and seeing if I can work out how the console secures.

No, but I have used LLL Parts several times in the past - most recently this month to order a part for my Audi TT (our Fabia is my other half's car). Nothing obscure - just a new alarm sounder. They are OK - apart from one thing, and that is their dispatch/delivery timings which are "optomistic" to put it mildly - and I would NEVER trust them to supply anything I need urgently. My alarm sounder had been knackered for months so I didn't really care how long they took - which was a good thing because I bought it on the 2nd, and they didn't dispatch it until the 13th. i.e. 7 full business days later on something that they were supposed to ship in 3-5. So, a calendar fortnight from order to delivery, and this is pretty typical across all my previous orders with them too. Take a look at their Trustpilot reviews and you will see this is by far the most frequent criticism of them - even by people who give them a good rating (!)

We are seeing this for a second or so on our Mk3 from time to time (three times in one short trip today), but it has actually registered a B116229 error code earlier this month too. I can see that some of you have had this fixed with an external switch kit by a garage, but has anyone done it themselves? In my case, I think the kit will be 5Q0 713 128 A as the top of our gear selector unit is black. It's clear there isn't enough access to fit a kit with just the gaiter removed but I'm not sure if the (in our case creme) plastic around the gearlever area comes away from the centre console, or whether the whole console has to come out. I can see a couple of TORX screws on each side of the console towards the front, and two screws under the rubber mat in the drinks holder, but I'm not sure what else is involved in getting the arm rest off, and getting the rest of the centre console released - if that is what is required. Any help appreciated. Thanks!