DerekU

I've referred back to the Owner's Manual of my Fiat Ducato=based motorhome (that I sold in 2021). The guidance about heating the vehicle's rear window and its exterior mirrors is comprehensive, saying that heating of the window AND mirrors involves pressing a single dashboard 'heating' button and that window/mirrors heating automatically stops after 20 minutes. The Owner's Manual of the 2021 Hyundai i20 car that preceded my current Fabia Mk4 explains how to turn on the rear-window heating (button on dashboard) adding that the heating automatically stops after 20 minutes. The fact that doing this simultaneously causes the exterior mirrors to be heated is not mentioned anywhere in the Manual (though it soon becomes apparent when driving in wet weather that it happens). Mirror-heating was regularly asked about on Hyundai forums by buyers of new i20 cars. The Fabia Mk4 Manual has a section on "Windows heating". Advice on rear-window heating (press the appropriate dashboard button) does not mention any 'time-out' period. Advice on front windscreen heating (press the appropriate dashboard button) says "Windscreen heating switches off automatically after a certain period. If the engine is switched off when the heating is on and turned back on again within about 10 minutes, heating resumes". This suggests (to me) that the 'time-out' period is roughly 10 minutes.

There has been some discussion about this on the BRISKODA forum relating to earlier Fabia models and plenty more discussion on VW-related forums. The Fabia Mk4 Owner's Manual explains how to use the exterior-mirrors' control-switch, with the switch's heating position just described as "Heating the mirrors with the engine running (to switch off the heating, select a different position of the control)". Similar guidance is in my 2009 Skoda Roomster's Owner's Manual, saying that mirror heating only takes place when the car's engine is running. No mention is made of a 'time-out' period. I've always assumed that the mirror heating has no finite time limit after which heating ceases and, when I've driven long duration journeys in persistent wet weather and turned on the mirror heating at the start of the trip, I've never seen any evidence of the mirror-heating stopping. (it's certainly the case that, if the exterior mirrors' control-switch is left in the heating position, every time the car's engine is started, mirror-heating will resume.) (My last motorhome (Fiat Ducato based) had a single dedicated On/Off switch for rear window/exterior mirrors heating. The switch had a tell-tale light and - when heating had been selected - after 10 minutes heating stopped and the light went out.)

I remember you mentioning that last month. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/533923-skoda-fabia-mk4-sharp-brakes/#comment-5988731 I thought the sub-£100 disc-rear-brakes option had been dropped prior to 2022, but clearly that was not the case. In that forum thread I said that all France-marketed Fabia Mk4 cars except the basic model had rear discs . I subsequently looked at the German Fabia catalogue and that seemed to match the UK one, with only Fabias with a 1.5litre motor having rear discs. So perhaps the French catalogue was wrong...

Although I've said that the standard LED headlights of my 2024 Fabia Mk4 are adequate for my usage of the car (and a huge improvement on my 2021 Hyundai i20's lousy halogen-bulb headlights), this late-2022 BRISKODA discussion was much more negative. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/508355-how-much-better-are-full-led-or-led-high/ For you it's a sort of 'Hobson's Choice' decision. If you decide not to choose the £830 "Light and View Plus" option and you find that the standard LED headlights are significantly inferior to your Ibiza's, you'll regret that money-saving decision for as long as you own the car. Conversely, If you decide to choose the "Light and View Plus" option and the Full LED headlights are at least as good as your Ibiza's 'fantastic' lights, you'll always be glad you forked out the extra £830.

My understanding is that, when the Fabia Mk4 was first marketed in the UK, when ordering a new car there was the option (for about £200) to specify disc rear brakes for Fabia models that had drum rear brakes as part of their standard specification. This had been an inexpensive option for many Skoda models in the past, but it was soon dropped from the Fabia Mk4UK range. This long 2024 forum thread https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/523468-does-the-15-tsi-have-rear-disc-brakes/ discussed whether Fabia Mk4 cars that had the 1.5litre motor (which, at that time, was only the Monte Carlo model) had disc rear brakes as standard and it was eventually established that this was indeed the case. Nowadays most models (not just Monte Carlo and 130) in the UK Fabia Mk4 range can be specified with either a 1.5litre motor or a 1.0litre motor and the present position is that, if ANY UK-marketed Fabia Mk4 (irrespective of its model) has a 1.5litre motor, then it will have disc rear brakes as part of its standard specification. (As the Mk4 range is relatively new and fitting a drum-to-disc conversion kit would invalidate the Skoda warranty, I doubt anyone will have done this yet.)

TSI-Fifer My Skoda Fabia SE L DSG was maufactured on 1 October 2023 and I bought it new in April 2024, part-exchanging a 2021 Hyundai i20 for it. As the Fabia was already in the showroom of a local Skoda dealership, it was not possible to specify any factory-options that I might have selected if I had been ordering a new vehicle. The only difference between my car and the standard specification is its colour (silver) (though I chose to have a spare wheel/tyre added prior to taking delivery). This 22 April 2024 Skoda article lists changes made to the Fabia range for the 2025 model-year. https://www.skoda.co.uk/news/details/skoda-updates-fabia-and-karoq-lineups Based on the brochure link you provided, I'm unsure whether any of the items in the "Light and View Plus" package are standard unless the Fabia model is a Monte Carlo Edition or a 130. (So perhaps the £830 ain't so bad!) As you are very pleased with your SEAT Ibiza's lights, that must be an encouragement to choose the optional "Light and View Plus" package.

My 2024 Fabia SE L has the standard "BI-LED" headlights. These are much more powerful (and whiter) than halogen-bulb equivalents and perfectly OK for my usage of the car that involves very little nighttime driving and all of it in the UK. I've no practical experience of driving a Fabia with Full LED 'matrix' headlights that are available (in the UK) as part of a £830 "Light and view package plus" that includes a batch of other features. If I were planning to drive regularly outside the UK, I'd definitely choose the "Light and view package plus" option primarily because there's a switchable setting to swap the matrix lights' beam pattern between (UK) left-hand traffic and (abroad) right-hand traffic. There are also integrated cornering lights that do not involve the (halogen) fog lights in the car's front bumper.

I'm unsure why the shape of the dash panel's 'cut-away' seems to fascinate you so much - it's not as if you own a Fabia Mk4 or (based on your many negative comments about modern VAG cars) ever likely to. The cut-away's is completely invisible unless viewed upwards from the driver-side footwell using a phone or a mirror and, as is evident from my photo, on my 2024 Fabia the cut-away's shape does not exactly parallel the shape of the OBD socket. But, as the OBD socket is accessible and the cut-away's minor misalignment is unnoticeable, "Who cares? Yesterday I needed to check/replace one of my Fabia's dash-panel micro-blade fuses (Fuse 52 15A) so I was able to get up-close and personal with the 'cut-away'. It would be ridiculous to believe that the cut-away (that's obviously intended and necessary for the OBD socket to be accessed) might somehow be the result of 'breakage'. I suggested earlier that the cut-away might have been formed by a secondary procedure in the Skoda factory (though the LHD/RHD 'theory' was of course just a joke!) However, having closely inspected the bottom edge of the dashboard plastic panel visually and by feel, I'm now certain that my car's panel was made in one piece that included the cut-away. It seems likely (to me) that all RHD Fabia Mk4 cars would have the same 'non parallel shape' cut-away, but I'm not going to photo/fondle other Mk4s' dashboards to investigate that premise. My Fabia's Owner's Manual includes advice on fuse replacement, mentioning that a 'clamp' stored in the ENGINE-COMPARTMENT fuse-box should be used. The clamp is a small white plastic fuse-puller tool mounted on the underside of the engine-compartment's lid. https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/5q0941802-tool-bag-for-mounting-the-flat-fuse-skoda-31264.html The fuse-box on RHD Fabia Mk 4 cars (and possibly on LHD cars too) is set far back, many of the micro-blade fuses are close together and accessing the fuse-box is through a quite small hole in the dashboard panel. So, unless you have a tame octopus and have trained it to manipulate Skoda's fuse-puller tool, it's far simpler and easier to use needle-nose pliers instead.

I agree that the dashboard moulding 'cut-away' permitting connection to the OBD socket is not aesthetically pleasing when viewed from below, but the shape of the cut-away's profile is not otherwise visible. (Obviously, if there were no cut-away, the lower edge of the dashboard moulding would prevent the OBD socket being used.) As the Fabia Mk4 will have primarily been designed for left-hand-drive, It's quite possible that the moulding is initially produced with a straight base-line and - for RHD cars - the cut-away section is chopped out in the Skoda factory as a secondary procedure. If that were the case, it may be that my car's cut-way removal was poorly executed. Alternatively, it may be that all RHD Fabia Mk4 cut-aways are similarly asymmetrical. (Perhaps other Mk4 owners could comment and satisfy your curiosity?) This video describes removal of a RHD Fabia Mk4's dashboard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_TiufV57dI The base of the lower plastic moulding to the right of the steering-wheel is not apparent, but (about 8 minutes in) the fuse-box is visible and it will be seen that there's no loose wiring.

A non-technical explanation... When the driver's door is opened, the car thinks it likely that it will be driven and runs a 'boot up and check' routine that causes the USB ports to become briefly live despite the car's ignition not being switched on. If the ignition is then switched on, the USB ports become continuously live. When the ignition is switched off, the car begins to shut down non-essential items like the USB ports but the shut isn't instant. The driver's door is 'important' to a Fabia Mk4 - for instance, if the car has a starter-button, the Owner's Manual advises that, when replacing a fuse, the car's ignition must be switched off and the driver's door open. (Of course the behaviour could be down to the tiny malicious demon that Skoda has imprisoned in the electronics of all cars built since 2020.)

I've just removed my 2024 Fabia Mk4 SE L DSG car's small dashboard storage-box that's in front of the fusebox and the above photo was taken through the resulting 'hole'. The fusebox is some distance back, but the photo shows very clearly that there are no 'loose' wiring/connectors or reversing-sounder obscuring the fuse-box's front.

The location of the OBD socket is shown in the 1st photo in my posting. I took the 2nd photo myself using a phone in selfie-mode pointing upwards from the depths of the driver-side footwell and that's why it looks peculiar. The photos originated here. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/523363-obd2-socket-in-fabia-mk4/#comment-5850034 My iMac desktop is 2010-vintage and its operating system and applications software are well out-date and cannot to updated further. The machine is slow and can be 'techy' but, most of the time, adequate for what I need and, of the several forums I participate on, only posting images to the BRISKODA forum presents difficulties. If I wanted to I could side-step this by using my current-model iPad instead, but it's harder work (and my wife hogs it!) As a Moderator on a forum that runs on the same platform as the BRISKODA forum, I've got many more privileges and I can play about with and delete my own postings without leaving a trace. I'm reluctant to experiment on the BRISKODA forum to find a work-around for my photos/images issue as it would inevitably leave 'dirty footprints'.

(My ancient Apple Mac desktop compute and the BRISKODA forum have an unhappy relationship where loading photos are concerned, so I'm not sure whether my last posting will display properly.) Anyway, when I last examined the fuse-box (some time ago) of my 2024 Fabia SE L DSG it was very neat in there, with nothing like the mess of wiring shown in your two photos - no hanging reversing-sounder and no cabling sprawled across the front of the fuse-box. As your car is brand-new, I strongly suggest you do not attempt to tidy up the cabling yourself. I definitely would not expect a new Fabia Mk4 to have left the Skoda factory in this condition. As you've said, it's possible that the Skoda dealership needed to do something to the car between receiving it from the factory and you taking delivery, but It's still not right and you should tell the dealership about it and insist they sort it out.

The location of a Fabia Mk4's OBD socket was discussed here in 2024 https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/523363-obd2-socket-in-fabia-mk4/ and theres photos show its position Uploading Attachment...

What you said was "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." and I simply asked if you were referring to the Front Assist warning symbol and cross-referenced to the Owner's Manual. I'm sorry to hear that your Fabia has more problems as I remember the time the AA was involved last February. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/530210-first-breakdown-experience-fabia-4-mc/

Do you mean this symbol? If so, see this 2017 forum thread relating to Octavia Mk3 cars. The printed version of the Fabia Mk4 Owner's Manual has a "Warning lights overview" section near its beginning and a more detailed explanation of the "Warning of collision risk" symbol in the "Front Assist:" section further on.

The above images are of the VC of UK-marketed 2025 Octavia cars, with the lower image relating to an Octavia vRS. The instrument-cluster of the 2021 Hyundai i20 I owned for a while could show a pair of simple clock-face dials with three colour themes that could - if the driver so chose - be linked to the car's drive-mode (Eco, Normal or Sport). An alternative version of the display presented the information 'digitally' and that was what I always chose.

The Fabia Owner's Manuals suggest that there's no difference between the original Mk4's Virtual Cockpit (VC) and the VC fitted to the very latest Mk4s. There's a Skoda video relating to the VC fitted to current Octavia models and it's evident that the Octavia's VC is more sophisticated and versatile than the Fabia's. (Not sure it's any prettier, though!) https://www.skoda-auto.com/services/octavia-videos#virtual-cockpit

For what it's worth... Comments in OBDeleven and VCDS discussions suggest that the 10.25" Virtual Cockpit now standardised on new UK-marketed Skoda Fabias can have two 'colour-looks' - a Monte-Carlo look that has the flashy red highlighting shown in your 2nd photo, or a standard look that does not have the red highlighting. So - if you really really loathe the red highlighting - it might be possible to suppress it using one of those diagnostic tools. (Changing the colour-look of a Fabias's 10.25" display would not alter its functionality - it would just be the 'highlighting' that changed.)

Something like this perhaps? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj2a1MaVat8 I'm very doubtful that Skoda would opt for a mild-hybrid 48V MHEV system for the Fabia. The Hyundai 3rd-generation i20/Bayon ranges introduced in 2020 were 48V MHEVs but the 48V system was dropped in 2024. The 48V system provided little genuine benefits on UK roads (I owned a 2021 i20 for a year) and its complexity and questionable reliability resulted in many owner complaints. The lack of 'hybridisation' was one of the Fabia's attractions for me. I did read recent speculation in the UK motoring press that Skoda might offer a 'genuine' Fabia VRS equivalent in power/performance to the VW Polo GTi, but that also seems unlikely to me. In 2020 Hyundai introduced the i20N with a 1.6litre motor, over 200PS and a host of exciting 'track driving' features. It was well-priced and popular, but delivery times were very long and Hyundai ceased i20N production in 2024 to concentrate on EVs. (Whatever 'improvements' Skoda might make to the Fabia in future, it's certain some buyers will moan about some of them...)

Translation from Polish Can anyone share the Bolero bin file? Who can run SmartLink on this radio? wegorz-pwo has made a few previous forum enquiries, when it has been pointed out that BRISKODA expects members to use English. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/profile/233267-wegorz-pwo/ (wegorz-pwo's forum Profile suggests that his present car is a 2020 Fabia Mk 3.) A GOOGLE-search on MEN2_EU_SKGPX_P0080L retrieves a number of references, but - as I don't understand the questions - I've no idea if any of them will help.

A GOOGLE-Advanced search of the complete BRISKODA forum group, using "stop" "start" "random" as the search criteria retrieves (as one might expect) a shed-load of results. Top of the results-list was this one https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/514550-stop-start-rarely-works/ Arthur C Clarke's 3rd law is "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic", so maybe a Skoda Fabia Mk4 owner should consider the START-STOP system as magic when it works OK and inexplicable when it does not. (Try hanging a black tourmaline crystal from the rear-view mirror as that stone is claimed to be one of the most powerful for shielding against negative energy, electromagnetic fields (EMFs), and psychic attacks. And much classier than furry dice...)

Perhaps you should swap your Fabia for a Tesla https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WGT7d2PMryU

The norm nowadays is for the Stop/Start feature to automatically default to ON every time the vehicle's ignition is turned on, and (usually) the driver can then turn the feature OFF using a button or through a touch-screen. As far as I'm aware Stop/Start (or START-STOP as Skoda calls it) is not a mandatory feature: its purpose is to reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions and there's no doubt that it can potentially do this. That some drivers would prefer to have the feature operate vice-versa (defaulting to OFF and then enabled by the driver if he/she so chooses) is academic - no car manufacturer (to the best of my knowledge) markets vehicles with that capability. OBDeleven offers "One-Click Apps" for Skoda Fabias and there are many of these for Fabia Mk3 cars, including one that permanently disables STOP-START (for Mk3s up to Model-Year 2020). https://obdeleven.com/customizations/skoda/fabia/2018-2021/start-stop-system-deactivation However, fewer One-Click Apps are offered for 2021-2023 Fabia Mk4s, even fewer for 2024+ Mk4s, and none of the Mk4 Apps include disabling STOP-START. It's may be that, using OBDEleven, VCDS or Carista, it might be possible to alter a Fabia Mk4's software coding to permanently disable STOP-START, or that ODIS can be used by a Skoda dealer/specialist to do this, but I don't think such an approach could vice-versa the way a Fabia Mk4's START-STOP button is designed to operate. A possible alternative would be the type of inexpensive adapter shown in this Aliexpress advert below, but it would be wise to read through the reviews! https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007849850443.html More expensive/versatile 'memory modules' are also advertised (examples below) but I don't know if there are any that would be suitable, reliable (and 'bomb-proof') for Fabia Mk4 cars. https://www.carelectronic-webshop.de/en/car-memory-modules/deactivation-engine-stop-start-system/skoda-engine-stop-start-system-deactivation-memory-module_23_26 https://burteq.com/products/octavia-4-memory-module?srsltid=AfmBOoqTN-0S-Hrlc0CQvt4t286tpLeDYuJc50Hrb2pSC57abBOpVa8O

I once owned a BMW R69 600cc motorbike that had a twin-leading-shoe front drum brake. This brake (for its day) was very powerful and, when fitting new brake-shoes, owners were advised to chamfer the shoes' leading edge to prevent the brake grabbing. But that was with a drum brake... This video suggests filing the BACKING PLATE of disc-brake pads so that the calliper's piston will retract properly but I've never come across any suggestion that filing the edges/corners of a disc-brake pad (or of the pad's backing plate) might be a known ploy to reduce the sharpness of a vehicle's brakes. And, from fabia1960's postings, whatever the Skoda mechanics did filing-wise, made no improvement. I hesitate to say this, but it should be plain from the comments above that Fabia Mk4 braking at slow speeds is sharp (my 2024 Mk4's certainly is) and that this is a characteristic of the Mk4 breed and won't be considered a fault by Skoda unless the 'sharpness' is much worse than that of other Mk4s. Low-speed braking 'sharpness' is not confined to Fabia Mk4s, or to Skodas, or to other VW Group models. It's a widespread (and disliked) commonplace feature as this 2018 Ford discussion shows. https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/102221-really-sharp-brakes/ It really needs several owners of similar Fabia Mk4s to fabia1960's to test-drive fabia1960's car and comment on whether its braking is fundamentally different to that of their Fabias. If it is, then there's something wrong with fabia1960's car and, if it is not, then there isn't.