DerekU

I notice that there was a similar 'spare-wheel size?' discussion here in 2020/2021 relating to Fabia Mk3 cars. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/488255-spare-steel-wheel-different-size/ (I particularly liked the comment "Anyone can do what ever they want, there is no one policing stupidity") As a rule of thumb, the size and specification of the tyre on the optional steel spare-wheel of a VW Group car will match the size and specification (though not necessarily the make) of the tyre fitted to the standard road wheels fitted to the lowest 'trim' specification for that particular model. Hence the optional steel spare-wheel for all Fabia Mk3 cars had a 185/60 R15 tyre and, for all Fabia Mk4 cars, the optional steel spare-wheel has a 185/65 R15 tyre.

Back in the late-1980s/early-1990s I owned four VW Golf GTi cars in succession. All of these had alloy wheels with a steel spare-wheel as standard, except the last one (a 1.8 16-valve) had the skinny space-saver type. During a short trip to France, staying in a privately-owned gite located down a very rural narrow country farm track, I noticed on the Sunday that one of that car's rear tyres was flat. I put on the skinny spare-wheel and immediately realised that its overall diameter was significantly smaller than the standard alloy wheels as the car was now visibly lower on that rear corner. I next found that I couldn't drive down the farm track that had a prominent ridge in its centre. The gite's owner saw me looking disconsolately at the car and, when I explained the problem, said "I'll phone my son". The son came over and said "I'll phone my mechanic/blacksmith pal". He then drove me and the wheel with the punctured tyre to his mate's workshop who removed the tyre (a large metal staple was found in the tread) and carried out a very professional repair. I said "What do I owe you both?" and the reply was "It's midday, so you can just buy us a drink." Off to the local bar and, when I returned to the gite much later, I was well drunk (and my wife was not well pleased!) To guard against a repeat episode, I bought a wheel and tyre that matched the Golf's standard alloy wheels size-wise, but, although this fitted OK in the Golf's spare-wheel well, its width prevented the boot floor from closing down properly. When driving in the UK, I carried the skinny spare-wheel and when going abroad I carried the full size spare wheel. Of course, after that, I never had another puncture with that car.

The four tyre sizes available for Fabia Mk4 cars and (using Continental's data) their rolling circumference in millimetres are 185/65 R15 (1894mm), 195/55 R16 (1891mm), 215/45 R17 (1909mm) and 215/40 R18 (1918mm). This means that, as the wheel with the 185/65 R15 tyre will definitely fit in the Fabia's spare-wheel well the other three wheels should too, though (as has been already mentioned) the wider tyres of the 16", 17" and 18" wheels might stop the boot floor shutting properly. The difference between the two Skoda spare-wheel options may simply be due to their labelling. If both spare-wheel options provide the same steel wheel and 185/65 R15 tyre, this will only exactly match the size and tyre specification of a Fabia that has 15" alloy wheels - so the steel wheel is then a 'genuine' spare-wheel, not an 'emergency' wheel, and need not carry speed-restriction labelling. For Fabias with 16", 17" or 18" wheels, the steel wheel and 185/65 R15 tyre will NOT exactly match the car's alloy wheels/tyres, so the steel wheel cannot be considered a 'genuine' spare-wheel and, as an 'emergency' wheel, needs to carry speed-restriction labelling. This is just theorising - but, if any forum member has a Fabia Mk4 with 15" alloy wheels and the steel spare-wheel option, it would be interesting to know whether or not the spare-wheel carries any emergency-use-only labelling.

The Fabia Mk4 options list for the 'entry level' SE Comfort model includes two spare-wheel choices as shown below This makes sense, as the SE Comfort model has 15" wheels as standard, with 16" wheels as an option. The Fabia SE L model (like mine) has 16" wheels as standard, with the option to choose 17" or 18" wheels, and the only factory-order spare-wheel option listed is the first one (Emergency space-saving spare wheel (for 16"-18" wheels)). My car was already in the UK at a Skoda dealership when I bought it and had the standard 'sealant' puncture-repair kit, so I asked the Skoda dealer to obtain a spare-wheel and tool-kit (£200). What was provided included the wheel-tyre combination shown in this advert https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354562159376 The steel wheel is 15" diameter with a 185/65 R15 88H tyre (NEXEN-branded in my car's case). The tyre is an 'ordinary' type (not the skinny space-saving variety) but - as it differs from the specification of my car's other four wheels/tyres - it is clearly marked for emergency use at a 50mph maximum speed. The implication of the two Skoda spare-wheel options seems to be that - if a Fabia has over-15" wheels - a space-saving (skinny?) spare-wheel should be chosen, but the 15" spare-wheel fits OK on my car's hubs and in the car's spare-wheel well. I can't confirm what you'd get if you ordered the 'space-saving' 16"-18" option as I've never seen it, but, if you take off one of your car's 17" wheels and see if it will fit in the spare-wheel well, you'll know whether a non-skinny wheel/tyre would go in. (It may be that Fabia's that come as standard with 17" wheels (eg. the Monte Carlo) have larger front discs and the 15" spare-wheel won't fit over the discs - but that's just a guess...)

For the record, the most powerful 3-cylinder motor available for the latest (2024 specification) Fabia is the TSI 116 (116ps/114bhp). The 2024 revised specification is summarised here https://www.skoda.co.uk/news/details/skoda-updates-fabia-and-karoq-lineups

A cursory search showed that the wiper-blades in the A 864 S set are suitable for the following cars (I'm sure there are others): Skoda Fabia Mk4, Kamiq (from 2019), Karoq (from 2017), Scala (from 2019), Volkswagen Golf 8 (from 2019) and Polo (from 2017). From that data, It seems that VW Group cars began to be fitted as original equipment (OE) with front wiper-blades with the narrower plastic mounting-point from 2017 onwards, presumably when revised models were introduced during that period. I've inspected the OE front blades of my Fabia Mk4 and their plastic mounting-points do not look any more robust than those on the Bosch Aerotwin A 864 S blades. As I said above, the mounting-points of the Fabia Mk4 blades are narrower and less 'bulky' than those of my 2009 Roomster, but, due to their modified design, also a helluva easier to remove and replace than the Roomster's blades - which may or may not be considered a plus! I can't find anything on-line about wiper-blade mounting-point failure relating to OE or Aerotwin blades of the cars I listed above (gripes about OE blade poor performance, but that's another matter) so I don't think you need be concerned about your Fabia's blades being unfit for purpose because their mounting-points might be potentially weak because they are narrower than those of your other cars.

A possible explanation... I compared one of the Aerotwin wiper blades from my Fabia Mk4's A 864 S set with a (good few years old) spare Aerotwin blade from my 2009 Roomster and it was immediately obvious that the plastic mounting-point of the Roomster's blade was visibly 'sturdier'. The image below shows this, with the upper mounting-point relating to a Fabia Mk4's wiper-blade (from the A 864 S set) and the lower mounting-point relating to one of the 2009 Roomster's elderly blades. The reason for this became clear when the outer ends of the Roomster's and Fabia's wiper-arms were closely studied. Although superficially the same, in fact the end of the Roomster's wiper-arm is wider than the Fabia's by a couple of millimetres. Consequently, the noticeably 'sturdier' (and wider) plastic mounting-point of my Roomster's wiper-blade will not fit on to the narrower end of my Fabia Mk4's wiper-arm (and, vice-versa, the narrower plastic mounting-point of my Fabia Mk4's wiper-blade would be a slack fit in the wider end of my Roomster's wiper-arm). If you compare the wiper-arm ends of your VW UP! and Corsa with your Fabia's, you may well find the same. (Just to satisfy my OCD, I also compared the packaging for my Bosch A 864 S set with the packaging of the Roomster's Aerotwin blades to see if there might be anything to suggest that the A 864 S blades might be fakes. Nothing showed up and the QR code on each cardboard carton linked to the correct Bosch webpage - so the chances are minimal that your A 864 S set is not a genuine Bosch-made product.)

My A 864 S set of Bosch wiper blades seems OK to me (images of mounting-point below) The Bosch packaging looks genuine and indicates that the blades were made in Belgium. "MADE IN BELGIUM" is also on the underside of the mounting-point. The mounting-points' plastic material and construction don't seem any less robust or much different to the Aerotwin blades I fitted to my Roomster some years ago. (There are on-line comments about fake Bosch wiper-blades (never substantiated) and - for all I know - the blades in my A 864 S set may not be genuine Bosch products. But, if my blades are fakes, they are damn good ones!!)

For what it's worth.. I have several brand-new Bosch wiper blades and where they were made varies. The A 864 S blades were made in Belgium, an Aerotwin Modular blade was made in Serbia and two rear-wiper blades (similar in design to the A 303 H) were both made in China. I've fitted Bosch Aerotwin blades as replacements for 20+ years and been satisfied with their price, performance and longevity. Independent tests rate them highly (example here) https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-product-tests/best-wiper-blades-2024 though it's evident from eBay and Amazon reviews that some vehicle owners have reported problems with them.

A brief follow-up to my last posting in which I said "UK prices for Aerotwin blades vary significantly. I paid £17.15 for an A 864 S set bought from an on-line vendor in Northern Ireland". Checking my records I see that, when I ordered the Aerotwin A 864 S set of blades at £17.15, I also bought a 'universal' rubber boot-liner from the same vendor at £8.99. This came to £26.14, but the overall cost was £29.13 when an additional £2.99 delivery charge had been added. The vendor currently advertises the A 864 S set of blades on ebay at £18.70 including free delivery.

As BRISKODA forum participants may own/drive right-hand-drive (RHD) or left-hand-drive (LHD) Skoda cars, it might be worth highlighting that Bosch Aerotwin 'front' wiper blades come in two different flavours. This link is to the Bosch website's wiper-blades entry for Aerotwin blades suitable for a Skoda Fabia Mk4 marketed in the United Kingdom https://www.boschwiperblades.com/xc/en-gb/basic-page.html/-/en-gb/478dafb54dab9771f6adabf9705fe54dd0d454ee/period_5046_2949_06_2021_12_9999/SKODA_Fabia_2021 Two types of 'front' blade are shown - Aerotwin Original and Aerotwin Modular. The Original type is marketed as a set of two blades with lengths of 650mm (driver side) and 450mm (passenger side), while the Modular-type is marketed as individual blades (650mm or 450mm). Original blades are an immediate fit to the car, whereas a Modular blade requires an adapter to be attached to it beforehand. A critical difference between Modular and Original Aerotwin blades is that the AP 26 U and AP 18 U Modular blades are suitable for a Skoda Fabia Mk4 irrespective of whether the car is RHD or LHD, whereas the Original A 864 S set of blades is only suitable for a Fabia Mk4 with RHD. The reason for this is that the cross-section of the aerodynamic upper surface of Modular blades is symmetrical but the cross-section of the aerodynamic upper surface of Original blades is asymmetrical. This means that, if the A 864 S blades were fitted to a LHD Fabia Mk4, the blades would be upside-down and aerodynamically inefficient. Consequently - for Aerotwin Original front wiper-blades for a LHD Fabia Mk4 car - the A 863 S set would be required, not the A 864 S set. UK prices for Aerotwin blades vary significantly. I paid £17.15 for an A 864 S set bought from an on-line vendor in Northern Ireland. (The A 303 H rear wiper blade for a Fabia Mk4 is bisexual and fits RHD or LHD models.)

Octohere My mistake regarding the diameter of my 2009 Skoda Roomster's front discs. I've measured them a bit more carefully and, although they are certainly NOT 288mm, they are definitely larger than my Fabia's. To get an exact measurement I'd need to remove a wheel, but the Roomster's front discs are around 270mm, so may be the 276mm-diameter you've mentioned for Fabia Mk4s that have the 1.5litre motor.

No - 1.6 petrol.

I believe the diameter of the current Fabia's front brake discs is 256mm. This may seem large, but my 2009 Roomster's front discs have a 288mm diameter (and rear discs not drums).

My Fabia has a version of the on-line Owner's Manual that's accessible through the car's Amundsen infotainment system. I haven't experimented with it (other than to check it's there and in English) and I assume that it would be in Swedish for Fia's car. But it might be worth checking if it's possible to select a different language (eg. English instead of Swedish).

Besides deactivation of a Skoda car's Start/Stop system being practicable via the vehicle's OBD port and suitable equipment/software, a 'cabling' approach may be an alternative method. There are several on-line videos about this using an inexpensive 'insert cable' and the following webpage advertises a more sophisticated product. https://www.carelectronic-webshop.de/en/car-memory-modules/deactivation-engine-stop-start-system/skoda-engine-stop-start-system-deactivation-memory-module_23_26

There's a huge database of car manuals on this website https://carmanuals2.com/ Skoda Fabia manuals (in many languages) are provided beginning in 2004 and ending in 2021. This link is to a downloadable .pdf file containing an English-language Fabia Owner's Manual with a November 2020 publication date. https://carmanuals2.com/skoda/fabia-2021-owner-s-manual-116475 A 2021-model Fabia won't be an exact match for your 2023 car, but your husband may still find the information in the earlier manual helpful. The back page of my Skoda's Owner's Manual carries the warning "Printing, reproduction, translation or other use of this work or any part thereof is not permitted without the written consent of Skoda Auto a.s. All proprietary rights in this work arising from copyright regulations shall be exercised exclusively by Skoda a.s." I don't know how carmanuals2.com acquires its data, but I'm doubtful it's with Skoda's authorisation. Anyway, the carmanuals2.com website exists and, if you keep an eye on it, you might well find that a more up-to-date Fabia Owner's Manual is posted there soon.

There are several on-line enquiries about obtaining a .pdf Owner's Manual file for recent Skoda models. While there's little doubt that Skoda has files (possibly .pdf type) from which hardcopy booklets are produced in various languages for recent models, these appear to be unavailable outside Skoda itself. It's been suggested that Skoda owners that do not have a hardcopy manual contact a Skoda dealership to see if they have spare copies or can obtain one from Skoda, but (as you've found) it's questionable that a Skoda dealership would be able to have or obtain a manual in a language than differs from that used in the country where the dealership is located. You could try contacting Skoda (UK) yourself about this or, if this hasn't already been tried, ask Skoda(Sweden) to do it on your behalf.

Apparently it should be practicable to disable Stop/Start via OBDELEVEN https://obdeleven.com/one-click-apps I have liberally stuck kitchen-drawer adhesive domed 'bumpers' (examples here) https://www.fruugo.co.uk/cabinet-door-bumpers-160-pcs-self-adhesive-clear-cupboard-door-drawer-bumpers-for-kitchen-cabinets-cutting-boards-picture-frames52mm/p-89840194-187464161?language=en on certain buttons of my Fabia that I want to operate more easily by feel. (My Fabia has DSG and a Stop/Start button to the left of the 'gear lever'.)

The 'pincer/tweezer' provided as standard with my 2009 Roomster is plastic...

A basic 'rule' for the speedometer of cars marketed in Europe is that the speedometer must be able to display the vehicle's speed in kilometres-per-hour KM/H). For European countries that use a different 'distance' system (ie. the UK's use of imperial units) it is permissible for the speedometer to display speed using those units, but the KM/H rule still applies. That's why traditional UK non-digital speedometers have a MPH scale and a KM/H scale, normally with the MPH scale predominating. Regarding a UK speedometer's 'markings', the requirement is that it must be marked up to the maximum speed of the vehicle, with graduations at 1, 2, 5, or 10mph, and with values at intervals not exceeding 20mph and my Fabia Mk4's non-digital speedometer happens to have the same 20-MPH interval markings as my 2009 Skoda Roomster's. There's no doubt that my Fabia's and Roomster's speedometers are fully legal UK-markings-wise (though the Roomster's speedometer is virtually unreadable in daylight). Fortunately, the Fabia's speedometer is properly illuminated and - as offthewall has advised - speed can also be displayed as a digital value centrally between the rev-counter and speedometer dials using the controls on the right-hand spoke of the steering-wheel. (This is just an example, not a current-model Fabia Mk 4's speedometer.)

Guidance for removing/replacing the Aero wheel-trims can be found in the "Wheels" sections of the hardcopy and on-line Fabia Owner's Manual and the advice is as shown below The wording is a mite strange in places - "1. Put the clip for removing the wheel trim behind the trim close to the centre" would be better, and I couldn't find anything on my car's Aero trims that would be relevant to the standard anti-theft wheel bolt. As I've mentioned before, I DIYed a couple of 'pullers' from fencing wire to use instead of the little wire bracket/clip. These make removal of the Aero trims very easy, but I found it a lot harder to put the trims back on than to take them off. This advert is for a Fabia Aero trim https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354940197566 and this image of the trim's rear should give you a fair idea of how it attaches to the wheel. The challenge is to get all 5 'spokes' of the trim properly on to the wheel without using brute force (that might damage the wheel's surface where the spokes contact it) before banging the centre of the trim so that its rear enters the hole in the wheel's centre. The spokes of the Aero trim will bend slightly, but the fitting task would be easier if humans had an extra arm! If you are careful, there should be no need to use grease on the spokes' grip points, though a smear of wax polish would do no harm. The Aero trim must match the wheel - so a trim appropriate for a 16"-diameter wheel will be unsuitable for a 17"-diameter wheel, etc. As the Aero trim does not protrude beyond the outer edge of the alloy wheel's rim ad spokes it's unlikely to provide extra protection against kerbing damage. (Idle curiosity, but when people decide to remove the Aero trims and obtain plastic caps to go over the now-exposed wheel-bolt heads, do the caps come with a removal 'pincer'? My Roomster had caps as standard and, without the 'pincer' that came with the car, it would be hard to get the caps off.)

This link is to a 'fuel efficiency' test of the Tesla Model 3 with or without its aero wheel covers. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a30169467/tesla-model-3s-aero-wheel-covers-efficiency-test/ So, even if the Skoda expensive plastic aero inserts could add (say) 3% to your Fabia's fuel efficiency, you'd be most unlikely to notice that improvement just by driving the vehicle. There's a 2020 research paper here for combatting insomnia https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/211225703.pdf

Regarding the BLIND SPOT DETECTION WITH REAR TRAFFIC ALERT system, this forum thread may be of interest (and perhaps entertain!) https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/518083-rear-traffic-alert-blind-spot-monitor-currently-unavail/ This 2022 Parkers review of blind-spot mirrors may also be useful https://www.parkers.co.uk/car-advice/product-reviews/best-blind-spot-mirrors/ and this product gets generally good Amazon reviews https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blind-Spot-Mirrors-Cars-360°Rotatable/dp/B0777FXZY2#customerReviews One thing to beware of is that, if the adhesive retaining 'pad' is a genuine 3M product, it may be a helluva job removing the blind-spot mirror from the original mirror's glass.

I agree. There's a fair amount of BRISKODA discussion about this feature where other Skoda models are concerned. Unless there's a persuasive reason why the feature is a regular nuisance (say reversing into a narrow garage) the 'autonomous reversing braking' feature might save an accident. On my Fabia Mk4 the feature is accessed through the infotainment screen through the VEHICLE settings, then choosing "Parking and manoeuvring", followed by "Manoeuvre braking" and selecting "Active" or not. (Images below)