SkoDave

Hi. My air ventilation/aircon system appears to have suddenly become stuck in recirculation mode. When I start the car (Fabia Mk1 vRS) the light for recirculation mode comes on, and if I push it nothing happens, and if I push it again the light goes off, but then comes straight back on. If I repeat the action, the same happens again. I am also quite sure the aircon is also stuck in the ON position, as the air it blows out is cooler than what is outside, even though I can switch between aircon ON/OFF and the light goes on and off, but I don't notice much of a difference in temperature. Has anyone encountered this before and know the likely cause/cost to repair? I had a service/MOT last month and no issues, and now suddenly this has happened. Any help much appreciated.

Ahhhh, so I guess I was looking on the wrong side! At least I now know how to remove the trim if it ever happens again. I guess the cable I saw could well have been the one operating the fuel lock/unlock mechanism. Thanks for correcting me on that one.

Just wanted to post my appreciation for Briskoda and its associated members. Have had my vRS since 2008 (an '06) and became a Freedom member at that time (when I used to regularly post) and the car is still going strong (touch wood) with very few issues apart from the usual wear and tear items. A couple of minor things stopped working recently (the rear washer and fuel filler lock) but after a search and following the information provided in the useful guides given I was able to sort both things out during the past glorious (weather-wise) weekend. What an easy fix that fuel filler lock issue is! I can't believe I was almost going to mention it during my next service, goodness knows what they might have charged me to repair it. And the rear washer, strangely enough, seemed to sort itself out, despite removing several bits of trim as suggested to find the 4 potential line joints. Oddly I couldn't locate the join in the position by the rear driver's side door (seemed like one solid cable) but after checking the engine bay and removing the boot trim (I was a little worried about doing this, and putting it back was as annoying as suggested) the washer seemed to start working again, despite finding no splits or join breaks. At my last service they mentioned noticing the rear washer didn't work, but they told me they didn't want to do anything about it then because it was supposedly over an hours work to get beneath the boot trim)! Oh well, I'm just happy it all works again. So after UNDER an hours work on the car (and very little effort) I was actually pretty pleased with myself at getting these minor issues sorted, and it was all down to the great advice given on here. So THANKS AGAIN Briskoda! I'll have to swing by more often.

Hankook Ventus V12 Evo's here. Been running on them for over a year and found they transformed my grip in the wet, and were also rated as a quiet tyre which was important to me as I found the previous ones (Eagle F1's) noisy, and the Fabia is renowned for cabin noise/poor sound deadening. Was a toss up between these and the Rainsports when I last bought tyres, but decided to give these a try as they had the best overall rating for grip/noise/price. Seem to be wearing OK from what I can tell.

And this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nCKr3nXNlM

Not true at all. My old lady has one. I was more curious to know if anyone can confirm whether a 2.0L petrol Fabia MarkI can blow the doors off of a Mustang? Easily? Just something I heard a while back.

News to me as well. I live in Worcs but work in Brum and I've never seen anyone under the age of 30(ish) driving one. I occasionally see 1 or 2 vRS's on my way into work but you're right, there doesn't seem to be a lot around (at least when I'm out and about in mine). I guess that's why I've never seen another Briskoda sticker. As for it becoming a "chav" car, I guess it's possible with the ever decreasing used prices, but I think you're right that the majority of chav "tuners" wouldn't likely go for a diesel, and I've not seen many (any?) UK cars with those tasteful body kits they seem to bolt on to Corsas over here. If that is going to start happening to the Fabia, then I look forward to the comedy that will ensue.

SkyNet?!? Are you mad?!? Haven't you seen Terminator?!?

Also in the rear window. Have been spotted by one local-ish member on here, but I've yet to see another one. I always look, but no dice.

I am interested in finding out how others who have installed an amp/sub box in the boots of their Mark I Fabias have routed the cables. If I understand correctly the RCA and power cables need to be kept separated to avoid interference/noise, so was just wondered where everyone has routed them. I remember reading someone had routed the power/ignition 'on' cables under the car, but I'd rather avoid this if possible. I had a look at the outer trim area (below the doors) and the space between the trim and the carpets is very tight, so don't think I could simply tuck them under. Is it better to remove the trim? I suppose it may be possible to go via the centre console but don't think the wires could remain unexposed all the way to the boot if routing there. I'm hoping to get some suggestions and info on what others have done and whether the trim needs to be removed. Thanks in advance!

Thanks so much for replying anewman, I really appreciate it. I'm a bit clueless when it comes to automotive electrics, so wasn't sure if I'd simply be able to splice the wire and power both the booster and the amp from the same stereo connection or whether I'd have to sacrifice one for the other. I guess I would have been better off having the two wires your Pioneer head unit has, but alas it's likely my stereo is a "lower" model. I still remember what a tight fit the stereo was without the RCA's, so not looking forward to pulling it back out and trying to add those into the mix. I'd heard of people cutting away the plastic bar behind the stereo to get everything in, but thankfully avoided this the last time. I guess it's unlikely this will still be possible with the addition of even more cables. Thanks again!

Are you seriously telling me no one has installed an amp in their Skoda and managed to keep the aerial booster functioning? I find that incredible!!!

Don't have an Octy but I do know it is normal for the unit to only work with the ignition switched on. I believe this is meant to protect the battery from being drained if you accidentally leave it on. If it worked without having the key in the ignition before, I can only assume it was wired incorrectly, but again, I've got a Fabia and not an Octavia, so can't be 100% sure about this. Hope that helps.

Hi everyone. I've decided to add an active sub box to my current setup, but have a question. I swapped out the Symphony head unit for a Pioneer unit a few years ago, and remember using the remote wire to power the aerial booster (I think that's right, but please correct me if I'm wrong) as without it I was unable to pick up any radio reception whatsoever. From what I've read on the net, I will need this wire to power the amp so it is not "always on" to avoid draining my battery, so how do I power both? I'm great at following instructions, but not very knowledgeable when it comes to electrics, so I'm hoping someone can help me here with what I need to do. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Heartbreak Ridge Star Wars

For your uploaded CDs you can convert directly in iTunes. Can do the same for your purchased music I would assume, but it would likely remain protected. Not sure if there's an easy way around this, but a long way I use (cuz I don't buy much from iTunes) is to burn the music to CD and then reupload it and the protection will be removed.

The wife and I have bought a few wetsuits from Decathlon in the past that were pretty decent and affordable. I also recently sold an unworn suit on ebay, so that might be a decent place to check as well.

Don't you mean WALKING will become obsolete?

Awesome that you believe something has been "confirmed" because it has appeared in both The Mirror and Telegraph. Personally I'd want to wait until The Sun has printed it as well.

If the cambelt needs doing then definitely find an independent VAG specialist in your area. Just had mine done yesterday and with water pump replacement and labour was £270. You definitely need to shop around for the best price and get service recommendations from people in your area on this forum. Bit worrying though if a Skoda dealer sold you a car with that mileage and no cambelt replacement done. I would call them out on it for sure.

Not sure anything extreme is required. I've been using a standard Sandisk USB key in my Pioneer during the recent freezes and is left in the car at all times with no issues. I guess it might depend on how hot/cold it will get and the length of time taken between both extremes. Unsure what extremes they can actually withstand.

What is it with people leaving their keys in an area where they can easily be taken? My boss had his car nicked when someone grabbed his keys through his front door letterbox. I imagine it must be fun playing with your insurance company after a thief has easily managed to acquire your keys.

Agreed. The multi-coloured paintwork (sticker-work) actually helps detract from the hideous curves/lines/shape of the new Fabia, so not such a bad idea really. But I'd still never buy one.

Wife has one of these and agree it's pretty underwhelming. Personally I can't get on with the turbo lag (it's the 2.0D sport) as it seems SOOOOO much slower in accelerating compared to my Fabia vRS mk1. It's comfortable enough, and as has been said is a decent motorway cruiser, but I would never have bought one with the other possibilities at a similar (or cheaper) price. The boot size is decent enough, but depends on what you want to carry around. It's not THAT big for an estate (as you'll read in various reviews is a chief complaint) but I can also say ours has been problem free apart from the usual wear and tear items. And I haven't noticed any problems with night visibility with the dipped headlights as loskie posted, or any issues with ventilation as ours has never misted up and in fact is one of the better cars I've known that has no misting issues. And I'd avoid the sport model as I don't think it makes that much of a difference to the handling, and the ride is pretty harsh with the larger alloys and stiffer suspension (which seem kind of pointless in this car and makes for expensive replacement tyres). Ours also seems to go through headlight bulbs quite frequently, but then that might be due to the fact they are "always on" in typical Volvo style. So yeah, a decent enough car, but if you're after a decent sized estate then I think there are better examples.