MattHirst

I was quoted £195 for an 80k service on my mpi, that was by a Skoda dealer ( DM Keith in Huddersfield), that includes a courtesy car for the day aswell :-) I was going to get it done (just for peace of mind) but couldn't afford it when i had planned on. Going to do a mini service myself before i go to ireland in august. I am in a 1.4 mpi aswell (i presume its the same as yours judging by your profile). The MPI has a camchain aswell so no need for a costly cambelt change :-)

I get around 280ish until my light comes on if i am doing between 80 and 90 on the (private) motorway, and going to work and general town driving...That includes being very heavy footed. If i am on a very steady run (70-80) on the motorway then i will get pushing on 330-340. Thats in a 52 reg 1.4 mpi.

I am in a similar boat to you, i have a strange squeek but it seems to be coming from the wheel/hub area rather than the engine. I made a thread and someone said it was the brake pads, but when i brake the squeek goes away. Also have the random wiper problem, although it hasn't done it for quite a while. Again it seems to be at night with the lights on. I had to get some new wiper blades because it totally knackered them, especially the drivers side. I am in a 2002 1.4 mpi aswell.

Heyup chaps, got another niggling problem that hopefully you lot can help me with. Over the past few days i have noticed a high pitched squeek (not constant, intermittent but quick) when going at slow speeds. I have narrowed it down to when the wheel is turned to the left (whether it be 1 degree or full lock). I thought it may be the bushes but then i thought how could they possibley squeek. Can anyone shed any light on this? Thanks Matt

When sending parcels i always use Interparcel : Discount UK & International Parcel Delivery & Courier Services (try .com if it doesn't work, i can never remember). The DHL woman told me that DHL actually own/run it, so i can't understand why they quote you a price for DHL that is cheaper than what DHL charge direct through their site.

As all the pipework is getting really really hot, but the radiator is staying warm/cold then it sounds like you have a blockage before the rad. You could just try taking the inlet pipe to the rad off and see if anything flows out. If it does then you know that the blockage is in the rad, rather than the pipework.

Got overtaken by several lorries doing my PassPlus. There was a 50 limit on the m1 for quite a few miles so obviously i was doing 50, nobody else seemed to

Well it didn't do it at all today. Although i have noticed it didn't rain at all today either, where as it did a little bit yesterday (drizzle going to work and also rained for quite a while at work while it was parked up) Maybe a seal is gone near a sensor/electrical gubbins and is letting it short circuit. I'm going to give my car a wash tomorrow (or if i'm feeling lazy like usual, i'll go through one of them drive through hand wash thingies ), so if it is happening when water gets into/onto something i will know then. Will keep you posted just incase someone else has the same problem. Thanks for the posts guys Matt:)

As it is now Toe-ing in (so your front wheels both point ever so slightly inwards) it will make it more stable in a straight line, it will also turn in a bit smoother (should feel a little bit sharper on corner exit though)*. I'm guessing the reason it feels like it is following the 'lorry ruts' is because it is tracking perfectly straight now, i guess you just got used to it being a bit sloppy and off ever so slightly. *I am going by the setup adjustments we use in model car racing, they should apply to real cars aswell as it is exactly the same principle, just scaled up.

Hi folks, got yet another problem :( Going to work earlier my wipers randomly did 1 sweep of the windscreen, obviously checked that i hadn't caught the stalk and i hadn't. Thought fair enough and carried on, didn't do it again. Then coming home from work tonight it seemed to do it every 5 minutes (only a 20 min drive when on lates ), obviously checked i hadn't caught the stalk again and i hadn't. I know wiping a dry screen will destroy your wipers so i squirted my windscreen a lot with washer fluid just to try and keep them wet so it didn't eat my wiper blades. I'm guessing it is a switch or something that is sticking, but it isn't as though its stuck on the slowest intermittent but even that isn't 5 minutes between sweeps (i'm only guessing at 5 minutes, it just seemed around that) Anyone got any clues on where to start looking? I'm going to be booking it in for a service soon anyway so i could mention it then if i haven't sorted it, but obviously i would prefer to get it sorted as soon as possible. Any help would be appreciated Thanks Matt

I fitted remote central locking myself, the kit was less than £40 posted from ebay. Once you have figured out how to get all the trim off then it is a fairly easy job, the instructions that came with mine were perfectly adequete (its just plug and play really, just need to mound the actuators correctly). If your going to do the rear doors aswell then you will be better off buying some of them rubber hose things that go in between the door and main body for the cables to run through (you will know what i mean, your front doors already have them). It cost me about £4.80 inc VAT for 2. I was looking at fitting electric windows, i thought of getting 2 window motors from a fabia at a breakers, getting the switches for the doors and fitting them (rather than retro-fitting an aftermarket kit). But i don't know how hard the wiring would be (whether its just a case of wiring it into an existing plug on the ECU or not). Maybe someone could shed some light on this. Thanks Matt

Leaky doors is a common fault on Fabia's from what i have read, check for water stains on your door cards, if they have signs of being wet in the past (the water will leave a stain) then you will be best off sealing your doors (not the actual door, but the door panel behind the door card). There is a good tutorial somewhere. If i remember correctly, ALL my lights come on when i turn the ingition on, some stay on (Engine management, battery, EPC and a few others) until i actually start the engine, then they all go out. I aren't sure how hard/easy it is to take out the speedo assembly, it will tell you how to do it in the Hayne's manual (i couldn't live without mine). It was about £20 from Halfords but it was £20 very well spent. I'm sure you could get one cheaper off ebay or something.

Thanks for the reply, a droaning noise probably describes it better. Grating was the best word i could think of at the time I can't hear it when going foward (accelerating/cruising/breaking), or when going right a right hand bend. It seems it is only doing it when the front offside suspension is loaded up. The brakes squeel like a piggy when they warm up, maybe this could be related somehow. I will get the old man to give me a hand at the weekend and check things out that people have mentioned. Will let you know how i get on. Thanks Matt

Thanks for the help guys. It is sort of prolongued, it does it for the whole period that i am turning left, so from the moment i turn the wheel to the left and the right hand side of the car loads up....it then stops as soon as i straighten my wheel and the suspension is then evenly weighted. I just noticed that i have said 'right hand bend' in my original post, i meant left hand bend, sorry

Well my furby (i love that name ) is a sept 52 reg and it definatley doesn't have one. Although it is tiny things like this that do come in handy. Maybe my vRS next year will have one