davesnr

Hi Guys, Had and possibly still got similar issues with my 2008 1.4 Tdi Sport, it has 85000 miles and I have owned it from new, I simply love the car - apart from the electrical issues. About a year ago the windows would open and the alarm would go off, having read various threads on here I checked the connections on the driver side motor - no corrosion or signs of moisture so then checked the door loom, there were a few wires with split insulation and one wire broken which was N/S wing mirror , I repaired the wires and insulated them, reset the window travel with the key and all seemed well until a couple of weeks ago. This time the car unlocks itself, the windows go down and the alarm goes off and you can here the locking relay clicking on and off as the doors repeatedly lock and unlock. Have yet to see if the repair has failed again as I have removed the window and alarm fuses. The central locking still works, I have no problems with interior lights etc. so fear that it may be something more serious - I have seen threads about the 'comfort ecu' ? I am reluctant to take it to a dealer due to various horror stories about ineffective and costly component swaps which don't cure the problem. Good luck with the repair Davesnr

My pride and joy is now just over 4 years old and done 60,000 miles- so whats the verdict? answer.....very happy with the car, still love the engine sound - sad I know, love how it rockets away, love its reliability, economy still between 55 & 60 mpg, & low running cost. Only problem to date has been a replacement windscreen washer pump which froze during the first winter due to me being tight with the windscreen wash fluid - too diluted - the end of the pump pushed off and I could not stop it leaking so bought a new one. I fitted Front discs & pads last time I serviced it & apart from tyres ( around 25,00 miles a set) the usual fuel, tax (£30) & insurance it has cost nothing more to run. I started servicing it when the 3 year warranty expired but still use the VW platinum oil & VAG filters, it uses no oil between services. Hope to run it to at least 100,000 miles as I have no reason to change it, the Candy white colour is still looking good, got a few stone chips, a couple of small dings which hardly notice, interior is wearing well - had fitted mats from new althought the carpets are a bit faded in places. If I had to replace it it would probably be for a Monte Carlo version but not sure which engine.

Thanks for the advice, I am not 100% convinced but have decided to leave things as they are, its just that the new oil was dirtier soon than on previous services - but the car is 10K older. Next service will be done by myself as the car will be over 3 years old and out of warranty. Regards to all davesnr

Thanks Teflon Tom, Was busy typing when your reply came in, I am now 100% sure the filter has not been changed, after 5 miles I would expect to see some yellow when scraping a finger nail across the filter, as contamination would not have got all the way through.

Thanks for replies so far, as tech1e says it is a paper filter in a bowl on top the engine, BUT WHAT COLOUR IS THE PAPER? I wish I had marked the housing lid but as I said I have had 3 other services with no problems, I am an engineer, been driving & servicing diesels for 20 years, but get my new cars serviced by main dealers whilst in waranty, so I do have a degree of knowledge. I said that the oil is blacker than new, I would expect some discolouration given the surface area of the engine inside - BUT I have been charged for Oil System Cleaner, so would not expect it to be this dirty after 5 miles, Previous services using the same oil have not been this dirty, the filter when I lifted it was filthy and stank of burnt oil, this service has not been done properly. Any more observations would be welcome - I will let you know how my complaint progresses.

Good evening guys, I hope very much someone can help me with this strange request. I have just had a 40K service on my 1.4 Tdi Sport at a Skoda dealer, I drove the car home approx 5 miles and checked the oil level,and although it had been changed it was not the colour of oil that has only done 5 miles - it was quite black, I know oils now tend to be a very dark grey - it was as though the oil filter had not been changed and the oil in the filter bowl had coloured the new oil. I know from experience that dealers do skip the filter change to save a few quid most punters don't know where the filter is & don't check, it happened to me on my previous car a 1.6 Tdci focus, despite initialy denying the alligation I made the dealer change it in front of me and was proved correct when a filthy black filter emerged, stinking of used oil. He appologised profusely and assured me it had been an oversight as they were very busy but since then I always check the colour of the oil. I have owned diesels for many years and know the oil goes black quickly, but not after 5 miles. So I then unscrewed the oil filter and it was very black and smelly, I ran my finger nail across the filter material but it is black, I would have thought a new filter would not have been so contaminated and the colour of the filter material would show. So I want to know what colour the filter paper/material is on a brand new filter for a 1.4 Tdi. is it orange, yellow or white, I don't for one moment think it would be black but want to check. I have checked the oil colour immediately after services from this Skoda dealer before and had no problems or doubts, but this time I have. I was also charged for a Z1 Oil System Flush so am 99% sure that I have been shafted as this should have cleaned the engine and prolonged the newness of the oil. I really need answers tonight as guess where I will be going tomorrow morning !! I love my car but this has pi**ed me off big time !

I drove one on Friday, was having some tyres fitted to my 1.4 Tdi sport and the sales man asked if I wanted drive - silly question, think he just wanted an excuse to take it out again. Got to say I was really impressed, road holding & ride are excellent, also road noise quieter,still a bit of wind noise though, I drove the same route in mine after ( quite twisty in places) and the Vrs certainly was much much better planted on the road. It seemed very quick - no it was very quick, the power is instant & just kept coming up to 7000 rpm, hugely impressed with the gear change even in auto mode, and the paddle shift is brilliant. Looked at the mpg when the salesman was giving it some beans - 18mpg !, however when he was just driving it was already in 7th gear and poodling along at 50mph so seemed to be a very well sorted system, This car is going to make a lot of Skoda sceptics sit up and notice. Build quality seems to still be very good, liked the pedals and door sills but not different enough from the normal interior - wants more than just the seats. I would say its a bargain at the price especially with 0% finance. Would not buy one though - all that performance would be wasted on an old diesel head like me but would consider the 1.6 diesel with that g/box - its a dream!

Had exactly the same on my 1.4 Tdi Sport, pipe inside pump had come adrift draining the washer bottle, ( think it may have partialy frozen in the severe weather last year and expanded water unseating it) after partialy dismantling the pump I pushed the pipe back on but it still leaked slightly so in the end I fitted a new pump. Had to remove the inner wheel arch liner to get to it, as the pump & bottle are buried below & behind N/S headlight. I always make sure the windscreen wash solution is strong enough not to freeze now.

Just filled up and brim to brim it achieved 62.8 mpg, which suprised me because I did a couple of longer higher speed runs - there was'nt much traffic and normaly over 60 mph I thought it gets thirstier. I run it on the cheapest diesel I can find usualy Mr Tesco's but having seen the reports on BP ultra I may give it a try and see if its a cost effective option

Sorry for not posting a reply sooner, I have been driving it fairly steadily, I tend to change into 2nd as soon as possible as per the handbook, then in to 3rd at 2000rpm then if its flat go straight into 5th at about 3000rpm. Again if flat I hold 5th down to about 1200 rpm. Hardly ever do motorway work, my normal commute is A / B roads with a couple of long hills, and is 19 miles each way. However over the weekend I did a couple of long A / B road trips about 250miles in total and looks like might hit 60 mpg when I refill. Although the display MPG is reasonably accurate I always check consumption brim to brim.

Welcome to an exclusive White Fabia Club - I have had mine just 1 year:- White 1.4TDi Sport and am very pleased with it. Hope you have as much fun in it as I have in mine - white is definately the best colour! Davesnr:thumbup:

yep - 1.4 TDi Sport - just checked & you can still get them. Only ever seen one other white Fabia 2 on the road so pretty pleased with the exclusivity, previously had a Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi Mk2 in Jeans Blue and there were hundreds around. Got rid of it because it was too big and suffered a lot from road noise, however the ride was excellent as was the engine but am well pleased with the Fabia.

You don't say the age of the car - I don't know but it may have a dual mass fly wheel which would give the sympoms you describe when they go wrong - as they do! Would check with a dealer if your daughters car has this fly wheel.

Car is now 1 year old, and I am still really please with it. Build quality is IMHO very good, it has covered 13905 miles to date and currently averages 56.4mpg brim to brim. Problems to date have been very few - I needed a new screen washer pump because the original froze solid in all the bad weather and popped seal which leaked when reassembled, and a small piece of rubber trim around the A post trim / wing joint started to come adrift but has been succesfuly fixed with super glue. It did'nt help when the supplying dealer went bust (Streets of Bristol) not long after I got the car, but 1st oil change was carried out by Turners of Erlestoke (£101) who seem very proficient and helpful. Oh and yes my rear drums are a bit rusty but will get sanded down & painted black very soon ! Would I buy the same car again - yes without doubt - but might go for the 1.9 as I feel the fuel consumption is better over 50mph but having said that the 1.4 is a real hoot around town and I can't grumble at 56.4mpg.

Dealer fitted mudflaps front & rear flaps on my 1.4TDi Sport when new, looks easy to fit as DIY

I would have a real good look around and consider buying a pre registered or demonstrator, the initial depreciation is still bad on a new car. I bought my 1.4 TDi Sport while they had the 0 % deal on 8 months ago, was best for me at the time - no pre registered 1.4 TDi sports available - not regretted it, or buying the Skoda, but they will replace it with another special offer to keep the sales up quite soon. You pays your money......................

My Fabia 1.4 TDi 'Sport' will soon need its first oil change / check over as its approaching 10,000 miles ( approx 3 weeks time). The supplying dealer (Streets of Bristol) ceased trading not long after I got the car, although there are several dealers within a 20 mile radius, I happen to work next door to a main VW dealer in Wiltshire, is there any reason why they cannot do this service? Might be a few quid dearer but would be very convenient, by the way what is the going rate for this 'oil change' ? :confused:

Do I take it this only applies to factory fitted sensors? I have dealer fitted ones ( cos the dealer 'forgot to order them' - don't ask!) and they work very well - a bit loud may be but I have been impressed by their accuracy ....... so far!

Photo of offending pump, the black end pointed by orange brush was hanging out, All ok now.

Problem sorted, Took off wheel & 17 screws holding on wheel arch liner and found that one end of the pump diverter that sends water to either the back or front screens had partialy come adrift. Pushed it back in and wrapped a cable tie around it to hopefully stop it coming out again and all seems ok. Both front & rear jets worked & no leaking water. Quite a quick job as it turned out about 1.5 hours - just as well cos it was a bit cold. Have taken a photo which I may post later of problem. Don't know if it was not assembled correctly but went together with a click when reassembled.

Fabia 1.4 Tdi Sport, Investigating lack of screen wash and noticed that as quick as I poured water in it was flooding out under the front N/S. Always use screenwash fluid and increased the strength over the colder period, the washers always worked - after the nozzles has unfrozen - but today the washers did'nt work although the motor was whirring away. Removal of bottle looks a bit of a problem - wheel arch protector off, headlight off, probably battery off. Dealer - Streets of Bristol - went pop not long after I got the car, suspect not a lot of dealers want cast off warranty work, but think this is not covered. Will probably have a go myself over the weekend but will need a new bottle - anyone had similar experience ?

My Fabia 80 TDI Sport had the same problem on 3 occasions, always been when radio is on, it just fades out, CD works ok though if I change, but go back to radio and nothing. As others have said, get back in the car a few hours later and bingo every things fine. Only fault 4 months.

Fabia Sport 1.4 80HP TDi (white) with 2000 miles on the clock. Been driving with a very light right foot, as per the manual not accelerating hard, changing from first gear within 1 cars length, & changing up at 2000 rpm. Result:- Brimming the tank from the same pump as I intilialy filled up from - 55.2 MPG. This time I am reverting to my slightly more 'Brisk' style and will see what happens - however I feel the 1.4TDi gets thirsty at anything over 60MPH. Overall I am still delighted with the car.

Had std flaps fitted alround on my white sport, they fit very snug to the body work, (unlike the ford ones I had on my previous Focus) certainly seem to keep the sides clean, but you will never keep the back of the car clean! its a hatchback problem.

Yep looks good in red - still very pleased with my white 1.4 TDi sport which has 1500 miles on it. Also agree std dance radio is very good as is the ride. Davesnr