TooManyToys

The top half section of the Maxidot display, the part that has radio / cd info is now blank. This is the second time it has done this, the first time I got it back for about three weeks by temporarily removing some of the fuses. As I am due a 20K mile service soon I thought I'd get it looked at then but is this a known problem? Other than that the car is running great. TIA TooManyToys Fabia level3 1.4TDi

I have found that there is another effect of the heater on fuel consumption especially in very cold weather. If the heater is turned off, the engine is able to warm up more quickly. Especially true if the first part of your journey is at low throttle openings e.g. 30mph limit. The oil then becomes hotter and thinner sooner. This results in less drag and consequent better economy in earlier in the journey. The fuelling is richer at lower coolant temperatures as well. The quicker the engine warms up to optimum temperature, the more distance you will cover at best economy. BTW the oil takes longer to warm up than the water. Put on a warm coat and try it on your journey - you will be surprised! I do a 22 mile commute on rural A / B roads in my 1.4TDi and it consistently makes 5 MPG difference if I leave the heater completely off for the first five miles. i.e. varies between 55 to 60 MPG with heater on all the time and 60 to 65MPG if I don't use it for the first five miles or if I don't use it at all. I mean actually turning the heat control to LO and the fan to OFF on the climate control. If you don't do this warm air still comes in to the car delaying the warm up. I feel like a right sad cheapskate writing this but squeezing the MPG (without holding anyone up though) has become a bit of a game on the boring run to work!

The throttle pedal position sensor on my Fabia II Estate failed after one week.There would be an audible warning followed by no power available from the engine until I turned it off and re-started it. Happened every 10 miles or so. The car was built in March 2008 and there were others with the same problem at the time. Dealer swapped the assembly for one from another car to get me going quickly. I would have it done soonest if your car is one of the suspect ones. It could be very dangerous to lose all power whilst in the outside lane. :thumbdwn: TMT

I had forgotten I even had one until I saw this post. I don't use it because it makes the handbrake irritatingly difficult to apply.:thumbdwn: TMT

I think you just turn up the volume on the radio (to what you want) whilst it is bleeping and it then remembers the new setting. TMT

You don't seem to distinguish between petrol & diesel engines in your poll??

The warm up time to normal temperature is longer? The air is more dense so gives more air resistance? Lights are used more so the alternator load is increased? Anti waxing additives are added to the fuel for winter which weakens the fuel? Tyres are not as flexible? Oils and greases are thicker and draggier? That's me lot :rubchin: TMT

Fabia Estate level 3 with the 1.4 TDi 80BHP. 3500 miles since new and it has given a measured 57MPG average over the last three tank fulls. TMT

More data points.......... My 1.4 80BHP TDi Fabia Estate now has 2500 miles. Last two tank fulls worked out when calculated by both 'Brimming' and as displayed by overall average on the MFM maxidot display as follows............ 1) Brimming method = 56.7 and the Maxidot showed 55.7 2) Brimming method = 55.0 and the Maxidot showed 57.6 The overall average in 2508 miles calculated by 'brimming' has been 54.5 mpg. Best maxidot average on a single run from Salisbury to Wareham has been 66mpg. I can often get around 60mpg on an average journey. I can also often get around 50 on other journeys if traffic is more stop/start. That gives me 55 mpg overall. The maxidot seems very close to actual over a tankful. I use the vent button and fill until the fuel is within about 6 inches of the filler cap. I really like the 1.4TDI and agree that it likes to be run in the 2000 to 3000 rpm range. Just use the appropriate gear to keep it around 2200 rpm when cruising and you will enjoy economy. In that range it will give you quick response to the accelerator and economy. It suits the way I drive and my 22 mile commutes just fine. It is far, far, better than my previous cars 1.6 16V petrol engines such as the Ford Focus and Escort in acceleration and fuel economy. The car itself is overall so good I can't keep out of it! TMT

I think you will find that the bore and stroke are the same for both engines. If you multiply 1.9 by 3/4 you get 1.4 which isn't just a coincidence. :confused: TMT

IIRC there is red button roughly in the center of the drivers door panel that has something to do with it. Could be wrong though. TMT

Are these the bars that go the length of the vehicle or the additional load carrying arms that go across? I have the longways bars fitted as standard on my Fabia estate and have never heard a noise from them :confused: TMT

I can't fault my dealer for service, they were good. They didn't indicate that they had seen this fault before though. My worry is that the one they took off the other car is from the same faulty batch and I'll be stuck in another few hundred miles who knows where. :confused: As I was on leave this week I could get it over to them but it would normally have caused me a big problem. TMT

Only two weeks old and just over 600 miles from new, my Fabia Estate 1.4TDi has let me down. The engine just died to a tickover and the maxidot beeped and came up "ENGINE FAULT - WORKSHOP". I pulled over coasting, turned engine off and started it again and it was OK with no fault lights so I carried on. It did it again four times in 20 miles so I took it to my dealer. It could have been hazardous losing all power like that.:thumbdwn: They diagnosed a faulty throttle pedal assembly and replaced it there and then with one from another car. I am back on the road again and it has behaved OK for the 100 miles I covered today. I seem to remember reading of others having the same problem. Is this a weak component and can I expect it to go again? I didn't ask the dealer at the time. What fails on it I wonder? A faulty batch of components? :confused: TMT

TPM doesn't measure tyre air pressure directly, it measures and compares the rolling radius of the tyres by using pulses from the ABS sensors. How flat a tyre would need to be for it to be detected as flat I don't know. I suspect it would need to be very flat. There is information about the system in the owners handbook supplied with the car even if the car isn't equipped with the option. TMT