bazz2004

The wife had nursed the car back home having suddenly lost most of the power from the engine. It was the third such occurrence in the less than 2.1/2 years we’ve had the car. It was bought new from a Johnson’s Skoda dealership late 2023. Having called for help from the car by pressing the button with the spanner icon located above the rear-view mirror, I requested that a silver service van rather than a standard AA van be sent. I was promised attendance the next morning and the silver van turned up on time. This call-out resulted in a breakthrough. Since mid-2024 Skoda have made available a software update for the Fabia Mk4. The purpose is to remedy a fault with the PO638 throttle actuator control – range/performance. It updates the engine control module. Without this, the car could lose nearly all power leaving the driver and passenger exposed to risk of a serious collision at roundabouts or junctions. That’s my assessment of the risk level not Skoda’s. It’s very scary. I’m baffled that this hasn’t merited a safety recall and that a main dealer service manager wasn’t aware of this issue. The Wolverhampton dealership has had three since we bought the Fabia. The technician did say that when a fault has been cleared, as was the case with our car, the service department won’t do any work on the car because they won’t get paid. However, the car had a full service a few months ago and one at the end of 2024. I asked the attending technician about why the software update hadn’t been applied and the answer was that it would count as chargeable work. It was never mentioned. If it had been we’d have willingly paid. The software update took about half an hour and was done by the technician on our drive. Such updates are not OTA (over the air). Volkswagen Group Roadside Assistance working in partnership with the AA provide an enhanced service with these silver vans specialising in VAG cars. It’s well worth knowing about this service. If you have a Fabia Mk4, and it may be relevant to other models, I recommend that you ensure that this software update is applied and that, if necessary, you pay for it to be done.

Well here's the promised update. Our local garage fitted an AGM battery two weeks ago and coded it to the car. The job took less than half an hour from first arriving to leaving. I was told that charging up the battery every week should not be necessary. Having an AGM battery fitted does require more expertise than many older workshops can provide but I suspect that somewhere like Kwikfit could do the work. I never heard anything from a vehicle battery supplier located in Aldridge that looked an obvious choice. The car behaved perfectly - until it didn't. In the second week the car started to show the crazy gear change recommendations I've complained about previously. Yesterday, there was a third episode of the breakdowns that have jinxed the car. We've been worried that this fault could easily get us killed. What I found out today is very important and I'll start a new thread soon to explain. I haven't seen this information anywhere else. Hopefully, all is now resolved but perhaps better not to take anything for granted.

There's a striking difference in replies from fellow Skoda sufferers and those who I suspect are forum moderators. I will start a new thread about the serious issue I've had with our Fabia 4 mc. We've had three alarming breakdowns in less than 2.1/2 years. The dealership has been very unhelpful.

I'm with the sentiments of PongoBongo. I bought outright a new Fabia 4 with service package expecting worry free motoring for a couple of years plus exemplary customer service. The reality has been anything but. It looks to me that buying a car without the backing of a finance package or one of those rolling pcp deals is a bad idea. Once the dealer has had your money they are unlikely to move in your favour. After the "free" servicing you've paid for is out of the way I suggest the use of a local garage/workshop. If they know you and understand how you are using the car then that's preferable to using a dealer. The latest cars are jammed with electronics though which makes the choice of a local garage more difficult. Our local Skoda dealership is sited in a truly awful location and they have trouble laying on a courtesy car. Standing at the bus stop or walking into the town are scary experiences and booking a taxi seems an insult considering the money I laid out. I wish that we had bought a ten year old car in pristine condition rather than experiencing the worries that came with our Fabia 4. Dealerships seem to be all sales and minimal customer support.

You are right, nta16, a new battery shouldn't be necessary in a car less than three years old and still within warranty. Getting any concessions out of a main dealership (Johnson's Skoda) would be nothing but trouble and unlikely to succeed. In 2002 I tried to get some work done on our new and low mileage Peugeot 307 which was then "car of the year", at a dealership not in the Johnson's group. The short story is that most things aren't covered under warranty. Main dealers can shelter behind the fair wear and tear excuse while sympathetically pointing to the small print. Most contributors to the forum threads I've posted on don't even own a Fabia 4. The present offerings are not directly comparable to earlier models. Skoda have continually stuffed in more and more energy consuming drive assist and safety features which also add unwelcome high levels of complication. To the point: I have made progress on the AGM battery upgrade so will let you all know how it goes. It is not going to be cheap. I fully charged up the battery yesterday to reduce the likelihood of any extra glitches before the scheduled transplant takes place.

I appreciate that decent posts take up time so thank you everyone. I haven’t found the answer I wanted but picking through the info provided has given me some ideas about how to progress. For the moment I will charge the battery each week but that is not going to be the solution. I prefer emailing but many businesses don ‘t want to communicate like that. Instead, I’ve decided to drive to the service provider to ask them what they think would work best. One of the first steps will be visiting a local garage that serviced my Peugeot for many years. They have a youngish tech with an electric car who the managers sent on courses about electronics and electric cars. At least I can now converse on the topic sensibly. They are very relaxed and helpful which is what we all need with car issues. The weather situation is looking grim and it may take some time to settle on the best replacement battery and way to go with this. I will check back in and let you know what the result is but that will likely be after quite a few weeks. Thanks again.

Interesting video DerekU. Posted by someone also pretty unhappy with dealerships. I am 80 and the last battery I changed was a couple of years ago on my 22 year old car. How we miss it. The young man in the video said that it was heavy work fitting the battery. You should try it when you are my age. His Octavia has an ignition switch which my car lacks. Instead, it sports a super duper button which you press to start the engine and presumably the ignition all in one swift move. The OBDEleven device sounds interesting but what I'm asking for is recommendations of someone who can do the job for me and already has the skills, equipment and experience required. I have had enough tech challenges recently including making payments with my smartphone and mastering the Hive system for our central heating. I am looking for a pro to do the job for me and not a new tech challenge.

Thanks for your reply which clarifies things. There’s little chance that owners of the most recent models will have the expertise and equipment to do this for themselves. Cars ten years ago were in a different league. There’s good money to be made for auto electricians able to offer bespoke services so people will enter the field – better than vape supply, tattooing or Turkish barbers. Are you suggesting that I stick with EFB as a replacement battery with same/increased capacity? I do think your point about an independent workshop being concerned about work on a car under warranty is valid but was hoping that there might be a business out there, preferably in the West Midlands, that has already done such upgrades. Do you think that I should I wait until October when the warranty runs out and what would you do rum4mo?

This follows on from my thread “Fabia 4 mc first breakdown experience.” I thought that my time spent messing about under the bonnet with "bangers" was many years in the past. I was wrong and am having to do research in order to make some pressing decisions. The Fabia 4 has an EFB type battery which is the minimum necessary for start-stop cars. It seems that due to the high demand of all the electronic aids such a battery, if used for mainly short journeys, may need replacing after two years. I don’t want to discuss this with the dealership because it would be more trouble than it’s worth. If you have ploughed through the thread mentioned without glazing over you will understand why. Replacement of an EFB battery with a more powerful AGM is hopefully doable. Skoda offer an accessory pack on new Fabia cars that provides a heated front windscreen, heated steering wheel and heated seats. That suggests to me that the battery fitted for such a model is likely AGM and that I can have such a battery retro fitted to our car. I contacted an independent car service and repair business specialising in VW group models. The reply was impressively quick but they will only offer a like for like battery replacement. I’ve decided to concentrate on businesses saying they are experts in battery replacement. There’s BSM (Battery Solutions Midlands) in Aldridge. I sent them an email yesterday and am awaiting a response. Can anybody please recommend a business ready, willing and able to upgrade the battery? It needs to have a workshop with the right electronic equipment and fully trained staff. I am aware that the warranty may be invalidated by installing an AGM battery but that has been useless to date and it’s up in October. I have all but given up on Skoda dealerships which would no doubt be far more expensive and difficult to contact. Any suggestions welcomed but I'd prefer that they have a West Midlands location.

Another update and no progress. I arrived at 8:30am prompt and the service manager said that as no faults were being shown and the car was behaving there was nothing they could do. I offered to pay for the replacement of the throttle body assembly which the AA engineers said was the most likely culprit. That wasn’t well received and the situation escalated with me using a few choice words. I was aware of a burly staff member standing close by. The manager said that my behaviour was unacceptable and the witness said that swearing wasn’t allowed. I was told that my car and my business were not wanted there and to leave. I suspect that this was a set up to get rid of a demanding customer. On the way out I looked at a couple of cars and a salesman seated nearby asked if he could help. Briefly, I explained the situation and he had a word with the service manager. That didn’t get a result but I found out that a senior manager was visiting and asked if he would come and see me. Surprisingly, he found the time to discuss my issues and read the print out of the email and AA readout from the breakdown. He did admit that the service desk could have handled the matter better and then I was stunned to be offered a cup of coffee. So where did we get to after this? It’s difficult to see the best way forward. I can’t trade the Fabia in for a new one at Johnsons Skoda because we have lost confidence in Skoda and the dealership. There have been three service managers since I bought the car and none of them struck me as being up to what is a very demanding position. The senior manager overseas two branches and said that they’d have a look at the battery in the car. He gave me a copy of the readout. It showed 45% whereas the target is over 85%. I’d fully charged it less than two weeks before. The manager didn’t offer me his contact details but asked for my email address, said that he’d follow up the history of the car and that he’d be in touch. I’m now going to open a new thread about the Fabia 4 battery and would appreciate any recommendations for specialist battery providers in the West Midlands that are not Skoda dealerships.

It's about a year later and much the same situation occured when the wife was driving to the supermarket. The AA attended but were reluctant to touch the car. There is a silver van which provides backup for VAG Group vehicles but that would require a wait of a couple of days. After explaining the previous situation I asked the engineer to get it going which he did and I was asked to photograph the display on his computerised system in the van and send it to Johnson's Skoda. Unfortunately that's not something that can be done from Johnson's Contacts page. The car is presently running great but the AA engineer thinks a change over is needed for the throttle assembly. The dealership have booked the car in for a fortnight's time but didn't want to receive an email from me. I ended up reading my email out over the phone. I have been assured that Johnson's Skoda have made big changes including a new workshop and a full complement of Skoda certified engineers. I'll post back with an update but the Fabia has had so many niggles that I'm not hopeful of a full resolution. When it behaves the car is great to drive but we are constantly worrying about it letting us down.

The issue is that right now that the car is on the drive awaiting the AA. The wife returned from a shopping trip having experienced the same situation as myself a few months ago. Warnings are coming up for an epc fault and Start-Stop error. It is hunting on ticking over and has no power. The engine was extremely hot under the bonnet after only travelling a couple of miles. Our Fabia 4 mc is becoming an embarrassment. Constant references to the manual, which most drivers don't want to be studying, are unhelpful and rather annoying, DerekU.

You are fortunate because our Fabia 4 mc randomly decides to change the layout of the digital display. On a couple of recent outings a large red stop icon showing the outline of a car has appeared momentarily for no obvious reason. It's there long enough to draw the eye from the road, which is a bad idea, then it's gone.

Who will share the bin file from bolero? 🙂 Google Translate works - the post is in Polish.

In case battery issues were behind all the glitches with our manual mc I bought a ctek charger. It hasn't made any difference. Start-stop works when it wants to and generally not for very long. It's stopped a few times and not wanted to restart in very difficult situations in traffic. Not completely sure if that's stop or stall if you follow. I asked the dealer to look the battery over at the last service. They say that it's fine. It looks to me that the car is equipped with inadequate electronics and software. Maybe some duff chips entered the supply chain when there was a prolonged shortage a few years back.