DerekU

In the Good Old Days it was often relatively simple to switch off things like oil-change/servicing dashboard warnings and to program key-fobs using procedures that involved no supplementary equipment. (Example here) http://www.freefordradiocode.co.uk/key/content/skoda-key-fob-programming.php That's generally not the case with recent cars's remote key-fobs that will require specialised equipment for the programming task. This 2023 BRISKODA thread related to Superb Mk 3 models Contacting Timpsons was suggested and it was said that "they won't do KESSY but will supply older keys". My local Timpsons branch could not provide remote key-fobs and, although some Timpsons branches can do this, the original poster has now been told by Timpsons that, due to security coding, they cannot provide/recode remote key-fobs for newer VAG group vehicles. Regarding replacement keys for Skoda cars, there are plenty of businesses advertising that capability online. This firm https://www.autolocksltd.com/auto-locksmith/car-key-replacement/skoda/ advertises Whether they can actually do this for a Fabia Mk 4 would need to be checked.

I called into the local Timpsons branch this morning and asked about this. I was told that they could only provide non-remote keys, though certain larger Timpsons branches had the equipment and expertise to deal with remote keys (and the quoted prices would include programming the new key). I also said that, while I had been able to obtain from the Timpsons website key-related information for a 2021 Skoda Fabia (data shown in my previous posting) I had not been able to do this for a 2022 Fabia. As there had been a significant specification change around then - I thought it quite likely that Timpsons could not deal with the remote keys of current-model Fabias and Cookiedudeuk has now confirmed this is so.

Cookiedudeuk Timpsons can supply and code replacement remote key-fobs. https://www.timpson.co.uk/autokeysonline/autokeys/findkey For a 2021 Fabia, the details I found were as follows: You'd need to confirm whether the prices quoted for new remote keys include programming and (apparently) not all Timpsons branches can provide this service. If there's a Timpsons branch near you, I suggest you discuss this (preferably face-to-face) with them, asking what's involved and what the overall cost would be. Also ask a friendly Skoda deakership. While my local Timpsons branch changes my watch batteries and I know they can provide replacement remote key-fobs for some cars, I've never explored obtaining a replacement key-fob from them for my vehicles. I do recall - it was years ago - asking if they would cut a simple 'dead' metal key for a motorhome I owned. (I planned to hide that key on the vehicle so that I could get in if the remote key-fobs were somehow locked inside.) But, although they would sell me another complete key-fob, they would not (or could not) provide just the key.

You were quite right - I did work in IT in GCHQ, but had ceased programming in the 1980s. I've no real problem with Skoda's policy regarding Owner's Manuals. The company's approach for the Fabia Mk 4 involves a 'just the basics' printed Manual with a 'full' Manual available online and/or from within the car. It's an elegant solution and I'm sure most buyers of recent Skoda Fabia cars would find it acceptable/tolerable. Chris's complaint is that he was not provided with a 'just the basics' printed Manual and that's bound to be a real negative for a buyer of a new Skoda car. I can appreciate your preference for a 'full' printed Owner's Manual but - if the Manual is to also be available through the car's infotainment system - I can't see how that would be worthwhile or necessary. My 2021 Hyundai i20 had a 'quick start' printed Owner's Manual (just a few pages) and a 648-page 'full' printed Manual with a pitiful index. The car's infotainment system was not covered by the latter Manual and was only held online. In 2021 there was no official online copy of the 'full' printed Manual and, although Hyundai now provides an online 'full' copy, this is out of date and does not reflect specification changes made to more recent models. None of the data in the Manual(s) were accessible through the car's infotainment system. Dare I say this, but you don't own a recent Skoda car that uses this multi-level approach, so you don't know how well, or badly it works in practice. I'm comfortable with Skoda's approach (and I'm notoriously picky) but then I have a 'just the basics' printed Manual for my Fabia that Chris does not have for his Octavia. How many desktop computers, tablets or smartphones bought today are provided with a comprehensive printed manual explaining how to use the device and how to exploit its full capabilities? My newish iPad came with no documentation whatsoever and, if I wanted guidance, I'd need to find it online or buy an expensive bulky aftermarket book with a title like "iPads for mentally-challenged octogenarians". It seems to be assumed with modern cars that the buyer will be reasonably smartphone literate and at least Skoda does (or has been) providing basic printed user-guidance.

I believe Chris has little difficulty accessing the appropriate online digital Owner's Manual for his Octavia. Even I can do this when Skoda's system deigns to allow me.. It's the lack of a printed Owner's Manual for his Octavia that he was complaining about earlier (he said "...it really is a pain that there's no physical copy of the manual available"). My Fabia came with a printed Manual and Chris's Octavia did not. (Incidentally, you said about me "you deal with computers". I retired in 1996 when the organisation I worked for was using IBM mainframe computers the size of an office block and the internet was in its infancy. For the last 29 years I've been a drone (not the flying kind) on society, never earned a wage and spent far too much time on forums.)

Since Skoda changed to having a 'short' printed Owner's Manual with a 'comprehensive' digital Owner's Manual online (and/or accessible through the car's infotainment system) no 'comprehensive' Owner's Manual is available as a printed version and the digital Owner's Manual is not a .pdf file and is unsuitable for downloading. As far as I can make out, any buyer of a new Fabia Mk 4 OUGHT to be provided with the 'short' printed Owner's Manual free of charge and in the language of the country in which the car is being marketed. That booklet covers the basics and Skoda says (at the start of my Fabia Mk 4's printed Manual) Printed version of the Owner's Manual With the environment in mind, the printed Owner's Manual only contains the most important information regarding vehicle operation and maintenance, and only some technical parameters. (It's perhaps worth adding that my Fabia's 'short' Owner's Manual printed booklet still has 164 pages in a compact typeface.) Crisclip has said that he does not have a printed Owner's Manual for his Octavia, though it's evident that such a Manual exists. He plans to explore this with a Skoda dealership.

Thats somewhat academic, as all the indications are that new Skoda Fabia Mk 4 cars have been provided as standard with a printed 'short' Owner's Manual. This June 2024 thread related to a new 2023 Skoda Fabia Mk 4 purchased in Sweden. The lady owner said that the car had been provided with a printed 'short' Owner's Manual., but (as one would expect) that Manual was in Swedish. The owner wanted an English-language version of the 'short' Manual, but (perhaps again not surprisingly) this could not be obtained in Sweden. The ebay link you gave indicates that the seller of the Fabia Mk 4 Manual is a vehicle dismantler, and it's likely this will also be so when hardcopy Owner's Manuals for other recent Skoda models are occasionally advertised online. The Skoda Owner's Manuals downloadable from this website https://carmanuals2.com/ stop at 2021, which appears to be when Skoda adopted the approach of having a printed 'short' Owner's Manual with a comprehensive digital version held online and/or accessible via the car's infotainment system. Interestingly (perhaps!) this approach may be unique to Skoda within the VAG Group, as much later Manuals in .pdf format for Audi, SEAT and VW are downloadable from the carmanuals2.com website. (Obviously it is not practicable to download the comprehensive digital version of the Manual.) (Just had a go at accessing the 2023/6 version of the Fabia Mk 4 digital Owner's Manual that is appropriate to my car. Sometimes successful: sometimes not. I'm beginning to think this is not an Apple-related thing, and that the Skoda system is access or 'load' sensitive and won't allow connection if too many attempts to connect are being made. The printed 'short' Manual is generally adequate and, as long as I can reach the digital version one way or another, that's OK as far as I'm concerned.)

Interesting... Evidently the hardcopy Owner's Manual for 2019-2024 Octavia models exists as a copy is advertised on ebay, and the advert's photo of the Octavia Manual's index suggests that the booklet's 'scope' is similar to my Fabia Mk 4 Manual eBayGENUINE SKODA OCTAVIA 2019-2025 OWNERS MANUAL HANDBOOK QU...SKODA OCTAVIA. MAIN DRIVERS HANDBOOK / OWNERS MANUAL. +QUICK GUIDE. +GENUINE WALLET. TO OPERATE YOUR CAR SAFELY AND PROPERLY. INCLUDES DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT OIL LEVELS, TYRE PRESSURE, CENTER...I believe I recall once reading that hardcopy Owner's Manuals could be purchased through a Skoda dealership, but I don't know if that's still the case (or what the cost might be). It makes some sense providing a hardcopy 'short' version of the Owner's Manual to the buyer of a new car, with a softcopy comprehensive version available online (and/or through the car's electronics) but not providing a hardcopy version at all can't be a great idea.

I don't know if this will be relevant to Fabia Mk 4 cars, but there is a LONG (July 2022 to March 2025) BRISKODA forum thread about updating Fabia Mk 3 "Swing" infotainment systems.

According to your Profile you own a 2024 Octavia IV FL SEL 1.4 Eco 1.5DSG. When I wrote "hardcopy manual", I was referring to the PRINTED Owner's Manual that (in my case) was one of the documents given me when I bought my new Fabia. In my 2024 Fabia's case, the hardcopy Manual has 164 pages. It is not comprehensive and its front cover looks like this: The information in my hardcopy Manual is repeated in the (softcopy) digital version of the Manual that includes complete information regarding vehicle operation. It's POSSIBLE (though I'd be surprised) that a printed Manual is not being provided to all buyers of all Skoda models. This December 2023 BRISKODA forum thread refers:

I've looked at how other 'brands' in the VAG Group provide online Owner's Manuals for current models. VW and Audi request a VIN number - so I don't know what those Manuals look like. SEAT's approach is superficially similar to Skoda's https://www.seat.co.uk/owners/your-seat/manuals-offline but the Manual is provided as a .pdf file (Ibiza example here) https://www.seat.co.uk/datamanual-manual/manuals/seat/en-gb/SEAT_Ibiza_11_24_GB.pdf Whether this is thought to be superior to Skoda's approach comprising a short hardcopy manual and a comprehensive online digital Manual depends on the car owner's preference. For non-owners of Fabia Mk 4 cars, it's perhaps worth mentioning that (at least with my car's Amundsen infotainment system) a digital Owner's Manual can be accessed through the infotainment system.

Not sure what you mean by that, but the issues occur on ALL my Apple devices (Mac, iPad and iPhone). OK on my library's Windows/Chrome PC. I tried several Skoda models (not just the Fabia Mk 4 ones) and had no difficulty getting quick access. (I couldn't reach the earliest Fabia Manual (2021/11) but that problem might be at the Skoda website end.) Anyway, I can't say this worries me much as I seem able to eventually access the Manual I need if I work at it. (Just got into the Fabia 2023/6 Manual appropriate to my car using my Mac - quickly the first time, but I had to 'encourage' connection subsequently.)

For the "SWING" infotainment unit, in the digital on-line Owner's Manual this is the English-language system updating advice.

I had no difficulties until quite recently and, even after the problems occurred, I could usually get round them by going into hand-to-hand combat with the Skoda Owner's Manual site. Come this morning, everything was 100% back to normal for a while, but similar issues are now occurring again. I'll see what happens on the library system....

Online Owner's Manuals for Fabia Mk 4 models are not available in downloadable .pdf format. Using any of the Skoda websites that offer Owner's Manuals (including the link you've given) and selecting the current-model Fabia should result in this image Selecting the appropriate Production period from the list and the Language (I chose 2024/1 and English language) and then clicking on the resulting green "Show" button should produce a 'car' image that looks like this and clicking on that image should open the interactive digital Owner's manual (example of the format below) The initial 'selection' step (that produces the green "Show" button) always works OK, but the trouble starts after that. Either the 2nd 'car' image does not appear and an error message occurs, or - if the 2nd image does appear and is clicked - usually either a blank screen appears with or without an accompanying buffering Spinning Wheel of Doom. However, on rare occasions, the full procedure works and the interactive Manual appears and is usable. All my devices are Apple products (I've never forgiven Bill Gates for Windows!) and they all react similarly irrespective of the browser or search-engine employed. I'm pretty sure the problem is at my end and tomorrow I'll see what happens if I use our local library's system that runs a MS OS.

Your forum profile just indicates that you own a 2022 Fabia, but not which model it is, nor the model of infotainment system (eg. Bolero, Amundsen) it has. It could also be useful to know in which country your car was sold, as the Fabia specification varies between national marketplaces. What are the Android Auto-related problems you are experiencing?

For some time I have been unable to access the Skoda digital owner's manuals (not just the Fabia manuals, but all of them). I either get error messages or the procedure 'stalls'. Anybody else having similar problems, please?

This change is a result of the recent forum software upgrade. If you think it's a retrograde move (and I wouldn't disagree) you need to talk to the forum Administrator. However, as long as forum-members are aware that the Profle is where a member's car ownership and location details are held (and how to access those data) I don't see this as a great problem. And, of course, there's no mandatory obligation for a forum-member to provide car or location details if they choose not to. I'm a moderator on a forum that (like BRISKODA) runs on the Invision Community platform. That forum has no capability to define vehicle-related details despite such data often being essential to answering an enquiry. Despite 'pinned' prompts to provide such information before making a vehicle-related technical enquiry, these are regularly ignored and, even when the information is provided, it is often inadequate or ambiguous. I sometimes wonder if people go to their GP and say "I have a pain in an appendage, what's wrong?" As far as lowering the height of the brake-pedal of a Fabia Mk 4 with DSG transmission is concerned, although there is no obvious built-in height adjustment, a DIY modification to extend the bottom of the pedal downwards should not be too hard. Even simpler (as I touched on above) would be raise the height of the foot-well's floor by adding an extra layer of firmly-fixed-down thick carpeting. (The 'pad' of the brake-pedal of my 2024 Fabia DSG has a 90-degree downwards extension on each side that limits the opportunity for a driver's foot moving sideways off the accelerator-pedal (or foot-rest) and catching under the pedal. And the accelerator and brake pedals are also quite some distance apart.)

At the top-left of each of my postings is this and clicking on my user-name (DerekU) allows my forum Profile to be viewed. This includes a Car Info section that - in my case - includes details of the two Skoda cars I currently own Model 2024 Fabia SE L DSG, 2009 Roomster 1.6 Manual and I don't think there can be any confusion over the model, build-year or transmission-type. The Car Info section on your Profile includes the following Model Yeti Elegance Outdoor 2WD 110ps EU6, Fabia Combi 1.0L 110 Kamiq 1.5 DSG Monte Carlo and seems to relate to three Skoda models (age unspecified) - a Yeti, a Fabia and a Kamiq. However, although "DSG" is stated, I'm not sure how one can know whether this transmission-type relates to the Fabia, the Kamiq or to both.

My 2024 Fabia Mk 4 has an Amundsen MIB3 touchscreen infotainment unit and there is no SD card 'slot'. This BRISKODA thread discussed 'free' updating of the mapping of a Karoq MIB3 unit and may be of interest.

The problem with foot-pedal positions on a car with manual transmission is that the first thing a driver must be able to do is fully depress the clutch-pedal and this often results in the brake and/or accelerator pedals then being too close to the driver than he/she would like, or be comfortable with, but there's little that can be done about this by the driver. This conflict does not occur when the car has no clutch-pedal and, although the brake-pedal of my manual-transmission 2009 Skoda Roomster is too high for my liking, that is not the case with my automatic-transmission 2024 Skoda Fabia. I've seen it said that major alterations to car foot-pedal positions can be carried out by firms specialising in providing services to disabled drivers, so it would be interesting to know what a Skoda dealership would be prepared (or able) to do to lower the height of your car's brake-pedal.

A bit more on this... There is plenty of online discussion about cars' foot-pedal height and the pedal catching on shoes (example here) https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1781198 The last car I owned that had adjustable foot-pedals was a 1970's Reliant Scimitar GTE, but the adjustment then was horizontal not vertical. I have dinky little feet (UK size 7) and I don't wear shoes with significant 'welts' (nor wellingtons or work boots) when driving. If a car has manual transmission (and its technology won't throw a fit) I will choose to 'heel-and-toe' when downshifting if I can, but for me to do this requires the brake and accelerator pedals to be quite close together and positioned at roughly the same horizontal level and height. In the past I've fitted a wider/deeper plate to the top of the accelerator or brake pedal, but heel-and-toeing is realistically a non-starter with most modern cars as the accelerator and brake pedals are at very different heights and - equally important - braking performance is non-linear. When I bought a manual-gearbox Skoda Roomster in 2009 I immediately realised that heel-and-toeing was out and I've now come to terms with this. As car's pedals tend to be too high for my liking, I just add some thick extra car mats to bring the floor level up rather than attempt to adapt the pedals themselves to try to lower them. Obviously doing this has potential safety risks, so I glue/tape the extra mats down so they cannot move about in the foot-well.

This photo shows what the Fabia Mk 4 rear mud-flaps 6VE075101 'kit' is said to consist of. It's possible (as gumdrop mentioned earlier) that the existing wheel-arch screws may not be long enough when mud-flaps are to be fitted and that's why the kit contains the 4 extra screws I've marked. The two clips & screws are also shown and I believe these go on the flaps' 'extensions' (green arrowed) and attach the flap to the wheel-arch liner. It's regularly stated that fitting the mud-flaps is a 15-minutes task, so (presumably) the installation instructions are adequate... 😉

No.

Your enquiry would be best posted here https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/28-skoda-octavia-mk2-2004-2013/