DerekU

Do you mean like this?

Returning (once again!) to bass2004's original enquiry. Although there are no immediately visible markings on my 2024 Fabia SE L's battery to identify its make, type and capacity, on the label near its positive terminal is the code "692 515 RA". An internet search retrieves a German ebay advert for a new original VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda start/stop battery (€149) that carries that code . The advert includes the photo below (692 515 RA code green-arrowed) and the visible parts of my Fabia's battery match that photo. Consequently, I'm happy to accept that my car's battery is a Varta product and EFB+ type. The GOOGLE-search also retrieved larger size/capacity similar-appearance batteries (all EFB+ marked) said to be original-fit on VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda cars with start/stop. As I said in the past, my car's battery-tray has extra bolt-holes for its hold-down bracket indicating that longer batteries (two different lengths) could be accommodated. So it's possible that Fabias with the 1.5litre 4-cylinder motor and/or that are marketed in 'cold climate' countries have a larger capacity EFB+ battery. However, as bazz2004's 2023 Fabia Monte Carlo apparently has a "TSI 110 bhp" motor, it's likely that his car has exactly the same specification battery as my car's.

I'm well aware that the type of connection methodology used by CTEK is quite common. I'm a long-term (over 20 years) moderator on a motorhome forum. Motorhome owners are obsessive about batteries and their chargers of choice are generally CTEK or Victron. I've no personal experience of the Ring 4A charger, but I have purchased a couple of Ring tyre pumps that soon died. Dismantling revealed poor quality components and design. So, for me, Ring products fall into the "Buy cheap, buy twice" category. (My CTEK MXS 5.0 5Amp charger is 14 years old and is currently charging a 100Ah battery in my garage). Getting back on track... This image shows the starter-battery fitted to a Fabia Mk 4 with crocodile-clip charger cables connected to it. The plastic cover (arrowed in green) protects a 'bus bar' carrying a set of connections, but (in my car's case) unclipping the cover does not help identify the battery's make, type or capacity. Those data are not visually discernible on my car with the battery in situ. I can guess at the capacity (from the battery's dimensions) and my crystal-ball leads me to believe that it's EFB type and (possibly) a VARTA product. But I'm definitely not going to start disconnecting the stuff on the top of the battery just to confirm this.

Re-reading this posting I realise that you misunderstood what would be supplied with a CTEK CT5 charger. The charger itself has a charger-to-battery connection cable with a special CTEK-designed MALE connector on its end. Two connection options are provided - a crocodile-clip option or an 'eyelet' option. Each option comprises two wires (with a crocodile-clip or an eyelet on the end of each wire) and the wires join together in a special CTEK-designed FEMALE connector that accepts the MALE connector. So, you EITHER use the crocodile-clip option OR the eyelet option. With a Fabia Mk 4, you need to connect to the dedicated earth-point that is to the right of the battery and to the battery's positive terminal. Realistically (unless one felt like butchering CTEK's cables!) the way to do this with the CT5 charger is to use the crocodile-clip option. CTEK's advert for the CT5 charger is here https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/ct5-start-stop-uk?srsltid=AfmBOoqTIqPVC_ZFbjlEZQL1KPa5IEUkjkUKZgi0cs2Gb5iz-40eajy1 and includes several useful instructional videos.

The battery "Changing" advice in my 2024 Fabia's Owner's Manual reads as follows: Have the replacement carried out by a specialist garage. The new 12V battery must have the same specifications as the original battery. (My Manual defines a specialist garage as "a workshop that carries out specialist service operations for Skoda vehicles. A specialist garage can be both a Skoda Authorised workshop or Skoda Partner who is authorised to proved services as well as an independent workshop"). The image below is of the UK-nearside part of the engine compartment of a Fabia Mk 4 with 1.0litre motor. I've green-arrowed the earth-point and an (easily) removable protective cover over the battery's positive terminal is red-arrowed.

bazz2004 I use an elderly CTEK MXS 5.0 5Amp battery-charger. Both of my 2021 Hyundai i20's starter-battery's terminals were easily accessible and I 'permanently' attached the charger's eyelet cables to those terminals making subsequent charging very simple. My 2024 Fabias starter-battery terminals are less accessible. So, rather than using the 'permanent' eyelet connection method, I use the charger's crocodile-clip cables, connecting the positive crocodile-clip to the battery's positive terminal and the negative crocodile-clip to the dedicated earthing point to the right of the battery (as described in the Owner's Manual). This may be less convenient than using the eyelets, but it avoids having to mess about with the battery terminal-connectors to fit the eyelets (and I'm also not certain that the eyelets on the cables that come with the charger are the right size to fit on the Fabia's battery terminal-connectors). It's perhaps worth adding that attaching my CTEK charger's positive crocodile-clip to my Fabia battery's positive terminal needs a modicum of care to ensure that the clip is firmly connected.

The print version of the Skoda Fabia's Owner's Manual includes a good deal of information about the starter battery. However, it does not provide 'technical' details of the battery itself (eg. the battery type, capacity, etc.) However, this is far from unique and my 2021 Hyundai i20 car's 650-page Owmer's Manual was little different. Although the car had Stop/Start, the battery was a dinky little conventional wet-acid thing (not EFB or AGM). It was possible to see the top of the battery and the labelling on it, and replacement was easier than on a Fabia (or on my 2009 Roomster). But the assumption with a modern car is that owners won't (and shouldn't) be DIYing battery changing and the Fabia Manual makes that clear. As my Hyundai's original battery needed very regular charging (either by driving the car or using a battery-charger) to maintain its charge-state, I wanted to find out when it was made but this proved to be impossible. I got in touch with Hyundai UK, but they didn't know and then contacted Yigit Aku (the Turkish battery manufacturer) who refused to tell me as the battery in my car was not sold retail but provided direct to Hyundai. In the end I swapped the battery for a new Yuasa (build-date unknown!) and that discharged in exactly the same manner.

I asked this question last year on this forum about my 2024 Fabia SE L and was (reliably) informed that it was EFB type. (There's nothing about the battery type in the Owner's Manual.)

This is the forum thread you refer to Placing the windscreen wipers in the 'service position' (as described in the forum thread below) should make replacing the driver-side wiper blade easier. As you've advised, protecting the windscreen with a a cloth is a wise move to prevent the 'bare' outer end of the wiper-arm accidentally smacking down against the glass. I don't have much difficulty removing my 2024 Fabia's original Skoda wiper blades and replacing them with the Bosch equivalents. Conversely (as I mentioned in the first thread above) removing/replacing my 2009 Roomster's Bosch Aerotwin blades - that use the same design of 'press button' attachment fitting - is a real swine.

When my Fabia is 'coasting' (D showing on instrument-cluster) this is the symbol that appears above the "trip" distance figure. It simply indicates that the car is in fuel-saving mode and that its automatic transmission and motor are 'idling'. Other than your car's central digital mph speed readout being replaced by "ECO" (which I wouldn't like either) I really don't see why you should be concerned about this feature. All the Fabia's DSG transmission does is to reduce fuel consumption by disconnecting the transmission from the motor and to lower the motor's rpm to a fast tick-over. Touching the brake or accelerator pedal while D is showing should instantly reconnect the transmission and motor and the motor's rpm will speed up. If you dislike the feature so much and are uninterested in your car's fuel consumption, just put the transmission selector-lever in its "S" position when you start to drive and it won't 'coast'. I'm unconvinced this feature would "catch out the unwary". I've driven all sorts of vehicles for almost 65 years and, if I were approaching a tight corner at a unsuitably high speed, I'd use the brakes to slow down. And if my Fabia's transmission were in D (fuel-saving mode) when I braked, it would shift out of that mode. If I were in a real hurry and driving with my youthful disregard for speed limits and common sense, my Fabia would very seldom be in D as It would either be accelerating or braking. If you want to drive like that, you've purchased the wrong car: you should have bought a Hyundai i20N that has 4 'genuine' driving modes (Eco, Normal, Sport and Track) and 204PS. The Fabia Mk 4's instrument-cluster settings are many and I'm guessing that all those settings will originally be 'ticked' by default (or if the car's system is reset). The reason I suggested you check your Fabia's "Eco Tips" setting is that "ECO" does not replace the digital speed readout in the centre of my own Fabia instrument-cluster and my car has the "Eco Tips" setting unticked. There's nothing I can find online to confirm that ticking the "Eco Tips" setting will result in what's happening with your car, but I can't think of any other possibility and "ECO" and "Eco Tips" have an obvious family relationship. Try unticking the setting and - if it stops "ECO" obliterating the digital mph speed readout - please let the forum know.

Well, either you have or you haven't - the difference between the analogue and Virtual Cockpit instrument-clusters is very obvious. When I drove my Fabia this morning I kept a very close eye on how its DSG transmission was behaving. When in D7, with my foot NOT depressing either the brake or the accelerator pedal, the transmission was shifting immediately from D7 to D, when the car started to 'coast'. Lightly brushing the brake or the accelerator pedal with my size 7 fairy foot caused D to become D7 or D6 (and possibly an even lower ratio might have been selected in certain circumstances - though I never noticed this happen during my journey). Occasionally, when in D6, the transmission would also shift to D. I was wrong about "Eco" not appearing on my Fabia's analogue instrument-cluster. When the car's transmission shifted to D a small insignificant symbol (ECO in a circle) appeared just above the "trip" distance figure in the bottom-right corner of the instrument-cluster's central section. And, when the car ceased coasting and D became D7 or D6, the symbol disappeared. As I've had no difficulty identifying when the car began to coast (D7/D6 changing to D and the rpm dropping to around 1000) I've never noticed the ECO symbol before. I also have my Fabia's analogue instrument-cluster set to display a digital speed readout in its centre (as shown below) but that readout was not affected when the ECO-in-a -circle symbol appeared above the trip distance figure. Over-riding the digital speed readout with "ECO" seems an odd thing to happen. Have you, perhaps, got the "Eco Tips" option enabled in your car's instrument-cluster settings?

This Australian review of a 2025 Fabia withe 1.0litre 3-cylinder motor and DSG transmission may be of interest. https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-reviews/2025-skoda-fabia-review That car does have a MODE button and its use is described in the review. (It's stating the obvious, but, if a Fabia does not have a MODE button, then there will be no means to select different driving modes as suggested in the Owner's Manual.) The Fabia's Virtual Cockpit is described here The analogue instrument cluster (as fitted to my Fabia) has a pair of 'fixed' circular dials for rpm and speed, as shown here. I can disable Lane Assist and obtain a central digital mph readout using the steering-wheel controls exactly as you do, but I cannot choose between different 'looks' for the instrument-cluster as is possible with the Viirtual Cockpit. (And I do not get "ECO" showing anywhere when my car is coasting.)

Diermot So, does your Fabia have the "Virtual Cockpit" instrument-cluster or not?

Diermot The data on my Skoda Fabia’s EC Certificate of Conformity indicate that its build-date was 16 January 2024, that it has a 3-cylinder in-line motor with a 999cc capacity with a power output of 81kW (110PS) at 5500rpm, and that its transmission is “automatic”. It’s an SE L model with an ANALOGUE instrument-cluster and an Amundsen touchscreen infotainment display. My car’s Owner’s Manual has a June 2023 publication date and covers all Fabia Mk 4 models irrespective of their specification. The Manual’s “Driving modes” section does not apply to my car that has no 'Mode' button. My car’s DSG automatic transmission has 7 forwards ratios and 4 ‘states’. Using the gear-selection lever I can choose the ‘drive’ state that will cycle automatically between D1-D7 (as shown on the instrument-cluster ). Or the ‘sport’ state that will cycle automatically between S1-S7 (as shown on the instrument-cluster) and result in gear changes occurring at higher speeds than in the ‘drive’ state. Or the ‘manual’ state that will show as M1-M7 on the instrument-cluster depending on which ratio I have chosen. The 4th ‘state’ is under the transmission’s control. For this 'state' to occur, my car must be in D7 with neither the accelerator-pedal nor the brake-pedal being depressed and must be travelling in the 12mph-80mph speed-range. The transmission will disengage from the motor, the motor’s rpm will drop to around 1000 and the car will ‘coast’ with D showing on the instrument cluster instead of D7. Accelerating or braking the car while it is ‘coasting’ will cause the motor and transmission to re-engage and a D1-D7 ratio to be selected by the car according to circumstances (or the car’s whim!) Now, it needs emphasising that my car does NOT have the ‘Virtual Cockpit’ instrument display. So, if your Fabia has the Virtual Cockpit, it may well be that “ECO” (instead of a digital mph reading) will appear on the display when your car starts to coast. What I’ve described above is how my 2024 Fabia SE L’s DSG functions.

Diermot I own a Fabia Mk 4 SE L (build-date 16 January 2024) with DSG transmission. As you are aware, there is no MODE button. Nor is there an Eco/Normal/Sport selection capability accessible through the car's infotainment system. With the DSG transmission, 'sport' is selected by moving the gear-lever to its 'sport' position. There's also a manual gear-changing capability using the gear-lever. And that's it.... I've not driven a Fabia Mk 4 with manual transmission, but my manual transmission 2021 Hyundai i20 had a Eco/Normal/Sport selection capability and I'm guessing manual transmission Fabia Mk 4 cars are the same.

It's going to depend on the dash-cam... Nextbase's guidance is here https://support.nextbase.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360006862138-Will-my-Dash-Cam-drain-my-car-battery

You might want to ask about this on the OBDeleven forum. This 2023 forum thread related to a Fabia Mk 4 Monte Carlo https://forum.obdeleven.com/thread/18003/skoda-fabia-4-coding-tested and this link shows the OBDeleven 'One-Click' applications available for a 2021-2023 Skoda Fabia https://obdeleven.com/customizations/skoda/fabia/2021-2023

I've taken another look at the fuel-fillers of my 2009 Roomster and 2024 Fabia. In the UK the 'spout' of a standard petrol-pump's nozzle has a diameter of 22mm, whereas the spout of a (non-truck) diesel-pump's nozzle is said to have a diameter of 24mm or 25mm. The 'restrictor' in my Roomster's fuel-filler pipe is shaped like an inverted cone and made of smooth hard plastic with inclined sides designed to lead the pump-nozzle steeply downwards towards the hole in the restrictor's centre. I found a length of hard plastic tube that happened to have an outside diameter of 22mm and inserted this into the Roomster's fuel-filler pipe. When the plastic tube was about 80mm into the pipe, it reached the hole in the restrictor and slid through the hole easily with no effort on my part. There was a tiny 'air gap' between the inside of the hole and the outside of my 22mm-diameter plastic tube, so it might be possible to push a 22.5mm-diameter pump nozzle through the Roomster's fuel-filler's restrictor, but impossible to push through a nozzle with a diameter larger than that. I could insert a nozzle with (say) a diameter of 24mm into the Roomster's fuel-filler pipe, but it would only go in about 80mm and then be stopped by the restrictor. So I COULD put diesel into the Roomster, but to do this would mean that most of the diesel-pump's nozzle would be outside the fuel-filler pipe and this should definitely alert a person refilling the car and guard against accidental misfuelling. I repeated the exercise with my Fabia. The 22mm-diameter plastic tube went into the (much less downwards angled) fuel-filler pipe about 80mm and then met resistance. I pushed the tube a little more firmly and it continued to go in, but, unlike the Roomster, there seemed to be no 'air gap' between the 'restrictor' and the tube, with the tube being gripped by the restrictor. I gained the impression that the Fabia has a sort of 'soft' restrictor (possibly to prevent fuel fumes being released to the outside air) and, consequently, it MIGHT be possible to push a good bit larger-diameter nozzle through it. If that's the case, as there was a need to actually push the 22mm-diameter plastic pipe through the restrictor, the chances of misfuelling my Fabia with diesel are higher than for my Roomster.

This 2014 BRISKODA thread mentioned accidentally putting diesel into a 2007 petrol-fuelled Octavia. but online comments indicate that this type of misfuelling is definitely not limited to Volkswagen Group vehicles. This 2014 discussion https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1439463 related to a Nissan "Note" and - as I said above - it would not be practicable to insert a diesel-pump nozzle through the 'restrictor' in my 2009 Skoda Roomster's fuel-filler.

Out of interest I compared the fuel-fillers of my 2009 Skoda Roomster and 2024 Skoda Fabia SE L (both petrol engined). Not far down the Roomster's filler pipe is a sturdy plastic 'constrictor' with a circular hole in it. This hole has a narrow diameter and only a narrow diameter petrol-pump nozzle would pass through it. As it would be impossible to push a diesel-pump's larger-diameter nozzle through the constrictor, the chances of anyone (be they ever so mentally challenged or stressed!) accidentally putting diesel into my Roomster's fuel tank are minimal. HOWEVER, although not far down my Fabia SE L's filler pipe there is also a plastic 'constrictor' with a hole in it, that hole is SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER than the Roomster's and it wouldn't surprise me in the least (and as gumdrop found to his cost) that a diesel-pump's nozzle could be pushed through the Fabia's constrictor. So "Cave Fabiam cum reficies" as my Latin schoolmaster would not have said.

In the UK the nozzle of a filling-station's diesel pump nozzle has (or should have!) a larger diameter than that of a petrol pump nozzle and, consequently, it should not be practicable to insert a diesel pump nozzle FULLY into the fuel-filler of a petrol fuelled car The difference in nozzle-diameter will be visibly apparent in this YouTube video. 'Misfueling' is much more common the other way round - petrol in diesel-fuelled car - as the narrower-diameter petrol nozzle can be fully inserted in the diesel-car's fuel-filler. Although the video claims that it is 'impossible' to insert a diesel pump's nozzle fully into a petrol-fuelled car's fuel-filler that's not always the case (as StevesTruck has advised). (I know that the nozzle of my local Morrisons filling-station's diesel pump won't go into my wife's petrol-fuelled 2009 Skoda Roomster's fuel-filler. Having become habituated to years of ownership of diesel-fuelled vehicles, I unthinkingly attempted to refuel her Roomster from the Morrison's diesel pump. "That's ****** odd", I thought, when the pump's nozzle refused to go fully into the Roomster's fuel-filler and then I noticed that I was using the wrong pump. Since then I've been VERY careful to double-check that the pump I'm using matches the vehicle's fuel type.)

This late-2024 forum discussion mentioned the screen going blank on a 2023 Fabia Mk 4 Monte Carlo model (I believe you have a 2022 version) A Fabia Mk 4 can have three different infotainment units (Swing, Bolero or Amundsen). I don't know if the unit used in your Fabia model has proven to be particularly problematical, but complaints about the infotainmemt unit's 'glitchiness' have been commonplace since the MK 4 was first marketed. If your car's screen always goes blank whenever you listen to a flash drive or attach a phone for GOOGLE maps, it might be possible to diagnose exactly where the problem lies. But if the screen blanks out only occasionally when you do those things and your local Skoda dealership has investigated and (presumably) applied software updates to try to correct the issue and this hasn't improved matters, I'm doubtful much more can realistically be done. While your car is still under warranty, you could insist your dealer have another go, but Skoda may well be unwilling to authorise significant hardware replacement (eg. fitting a new infotainment unit) if the screen blanking is sporadic and cannot easily be demonstrated.

Did you contact the Cheltenham-based firm I suggested earlier? This other firm advertises cruise-control retrofitting services for "most Skoda models" using a genuine steering-column stalk, steering wheel control module, wiring to ECU, coding, (etc.) so that it all works as per the factory fit. Professional Retrofits LimitedCruise Control - Professional Retrofits LimitedCruise Control Professional Retrofits Limited can install cruise control to most modern vehicles, including cars, light commercial vehicles and motorhomes. We are able to retrofit OEM cruise contro...

Thanks for the advice and the photos. This was asked about here in 2023/2024 and you'll see that I had difficulty removing the small storage-unit that masks the fuse-box. I finally decided that, as there was a fair chance I'd need to access those fuses, I'd better make sure I could remove the storage-unit if the need arose. Although I was really reluctant to use excessive force, having referred to the instructions in the online Owner's Manual, I firmly grasped the sides of the storage-unit and, having aligned the 'hooks' on the unit with the 'hinges' on the dashboard opening, brutally wrenched the unit towards me. This immediately freed the right-hand hook and it was even simpler then to free the left-hand hook. Before replacing the storage-unit I smeared some wax polish on the inside of each hook, so removal should be easier in future. Although I was able to remove the storage-unit, I never managed to remove the front-seat headrests however much I tried. This was discussed here in 2024 but I couldn't find in the back of the seat any sign of the magic 'button' that had to be depressed to release the headrest. Unlike needing to remove the storage-unit masking the fuse-box, I couldn't see me ever wanting to remove the front-seat headrests, so I didn't much care...

The Fabia Mk 4 Owner's Manual describes three different types of turn-signalling steering-column stalk. 1: A turn-signalling stalk that has no speed-limiter or cruise-control functions. 2: A turn-signalling stalk that also provides a speed-limiter function. 3: A turn-signalling stalk that also provides speed-limiter AND cruise-control functions. If the car has ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) there is a second stalk below the turn-signalling stalk. This separate stalk is dedicated to providing ACC functionality using the car's front radar. My 2024 Fabia SE L car has the 3rd design of turn-signalling stalk as part of its advertised standard specification. It also has the usual (loathsome!) Lane Assist feature, but it does NOT have Travel Assist/Lane Assist that is designed to 'centre' the car between lane boundaries and, coupled with ACC, allows semi-autonomous driving. 'Basic' Lane Assist operates independently of speed-limiter/cruise-control, whereas (as far as I'm aware) for the Travel Assist/Lane Assist 'lane centring' function to be possible, the Fabia would require ACC and the separate second steering-column stalk. This 2019 BRISKODA thread related to retro-fitting cruise-control to a 2015 Fabia Mk 3 advertised as having cruise-control but only having the speed-limiter function. The discussion did not say whether the retro-fitting exercise was carried out, but should give an idea of the potential issues involved. Realistically, if the Skoda dealership from which Oliver bought his 2024 Fabia Colour Edition advises that it's not possible for them to retro-fit 'original' Skoda cruise-control, then it probably isn't possible.