DerekU

This August 2023 BRISKODA thread discussed removal of the small drop-down storage-box so that the fuse-box behind it can be accessed. You'll see that I initially misunderstood what was being asked about and provided instructions on how to fully lower the glove-box (on the passenger side) so that the cabin air-filter can be replaced. And (like you) when I tried to remove the little storage-box, I was unable to do so. The advice in this May 2025 discussion goes into much more detail and, since then, I've removed the storage-box several times. I start by lowering the storage-box so that the plastic 'hooks' on the base of the storage-box unit align with their plastic 'hinges' on the bottom of the dashboard opening. I then grasp the right-hand side of the storage-box firmly and forcefully wrench the right-hand corner of the storage-box straight out. This detaches the right-hand hook from its hinge and the left-hand hook should then easily come free. (You do need to be brutal and abrupt, but however hard you pull the box it's unlike to cause damage.) To put the storage-box back, I line up the plastic 'hooks' and 'hinges' and give a a firm whack on each side of the storage-box to drive each hook into its hinge. This January 2026 thread may also be of interest as I included a photo of my car's dashboard fuse-box and commented 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.

My comment about the plastic 'sealing block' was just a casual caveat. I'm not going to fit bonnet-struts to my Fabia Mk4, but it seemed worth pointing out the potential strut-to-block contact issue to bertj who is considering doing so. (If the strut contacted the 'sealing block' so hard that shutting the bonnet properly/easily was inhibited, surgery on the block would obviously be necessary.) I was (and am) doubtful that anyone on the BRISKODA forum would have fitted bonnet-struts to a Fabia Mk4, which is why I suggested bertj use the Dark Ice Designs Facebook group to discuss installation and see if Fabia Mk4 owners who had fitted a strut-kit could comment. There are other strut-kit advertisers, but Dark Ice Designs should be the best bet for obtaining technical and Fabia owner advice. There are also Facebook groups for Skoda Fabia owners that bertj might consider joining to see if anyone there can comment on fitting bonnet-struts to Mk4 cars. https://www.facebook.com/groups/467331588909685/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/1548312822075985/?locale=en_GB (The image below is of a Fabia Mk3 with Dark Ice Designs bonnet-struts. It should be apparent that there are no plastic sealing-blocks and the (green indicated) spaces appear to be large enough to allow the struts to retract neatly when the bonnet is lowered.)

As bertJ has said, there are several on-line advertisers of bonnet-strut kits for Skoda Fabia Mk4 models and the asking-price can vary dramatically. Dark Ice Designs (advert in my 1st posting above) is a UK-registered company and their Fabia Mk4 strut-kit can be obtained through ebay. Their advert mentions that Stabilus gas-struts are used and these have an excellent reputation for high quality and longevity. The firm also has a Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/darkicedesigns/ that could be used to gain feedback from any Fabia Mk4 owners who have fitted the kit, or to obtain more information from the supplier about the kit. Although I occasionally buy directly from advertisers based in China (eg. AliExpress) accepting that an ultra-low price may well not be matched with ultra high quality, if I were considering fitting bonnet-struts to my Fabia, I'd be much more confident opting for the Dark Ice Designs kit, rather than risk 'going Chinese' at a bargain price and being disappointed. Based on advertising images of the Fabia Mk4 kit, one thing worth investigating would be the struts' position after the bonnet is closed. As will be seen from the photo below, there is a firm-ish plastic 'sealing block' each side of the engine-compartment and it looks like, when the bonnet is closed, the strut will contact the plastic block.

I wasn't aware of that capability, but it seems like a sensible idea even if someone doesn't have a problem simultaneously holding the bonnet up and engaging the very long bonnet-stay in the hole in the bonnet's underside. The advert on the link below shows the two struts in place and - for forum-members who don't own or are unfamiliar with the Fabia Mk4 - the position and length of the standard bonnet-stay (yellow-ended and stretching right across the front of the engine compartment) should be apparent. Dark Ice DesignsSkoda Fabia mk4 PJ 2021+ Bonnet Hood Gas Strut lifter kitThis is a bolt-on bonnet gas strut kit for the Skoda Fabia mk4 2021+ - no drilling or welding required. Replace your metal stay with the highest quality Stabilus gas struts - making it easier to w

There has been some past BRISKODA discussions about the "component protection active" message. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/search/?&q=%22component%20protection%20active%22&search_and_or=or This 2022 BRISKODA discussion was in the Kodiaq Mk 1 forum https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/504653-component-protection-active-in-infotainment-columbus-92/ and included this final comment Component protection is designed to prevent (deter) people from stealing head units. Each unit is coded to a particular vehicle and this message will come up if a head unit has been put in a different vehicle. But sometimes these highly computerised cars just like to do random things at random times for no apparent reason before reverting back to normal I notice that the 'disconnecting/reconnecting the battery' ploy was mentioned in the discussion as a way to get rid of the message, so you could try that to see if it works with your car (and, possibly, might also correct the 01.01.1970 problem). On the other hand, if you plan to involve a Skoda dealer with sorting out the problems you are having with your car's display-screen, it might be best to let them investigate/diagnose the faults, rather than trying to do it yourself.

January 1, 1970 (01.01.1970) is the UNIX Epoch, serving as a foundational "date zero" for UNIX-based computers and many programming languages, and acts as a default date-value when systems encounter errors or missing date inputs. The phenomenon is not confined to vehicles, but can also occur on smartphones and computers that use a UNIX-type operating system. Where cars are concerned, it isn't just Skoda or VW Group vehicles that can be affected. This link is to a Vauxhall "Mokka" forum discussion https://www.mokkaownersclub.co.uk/threads/time-and-date-change-overnight.4692/ and includes this posting. Now having this problem too. Mokka X, 2016, elite. When the engine is turned on the clock has reset its self to 0.00, and the date to 01/01/1970. This has happened everyday now for the last week. Using the touchscreen I reset the date and time for each trip, all is well for the journey, until the engine is turned off then it goes back to 1970 and 0.00, is anyone able to help please? My 2024 Fabia has an Amundsen infotainment unit, but (based on your photo) I think your car has a Bolero. When the sort of problem you have is discussed on-line, it's sometimes suggested that the car-owner sets the date and time manually (rather than choosing the GPS option) and that he/she ensures that a correct geographic region is selected. Conversely, it's sometimes suggested that GPS rather than setting the date/time manually is worth trying (!!!) or (as mentioned on the Vauxhall Mocca forum) that the car's battery be disconnected, left disconnected for a while and then reconnected, in the hope that this will 'reboot' the system and clear the problem. In your case you've said that the date-change only occurs "sometimes" when you start your car. As you are having other problems with your car's infotainment unit https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/534312-infotainment-fabia-22-plate/ if you cannot cure the 01.01.1970 fault by playing around with your Fabia's time/date settings (or by 'rebooting' the system by disconnecting/reconnecting its battery) you should add this fault to the other problems you'll need to tell your Skoda dealer about.

6 hours ago bazz2004 said Most contributors to the forum threads I've posted on don't even own a Fabia 4... That's indeed the case, but the specification of my 2024 Fabia Mk4 closely matches his car's - same 1.0litre motor, same battery - except mine has a DSG automatic transmission and (I think) his has a manual gearbox. The starter-battery in my car is EFB-type and manufactured by Varta for the VW Group. It is 063H size (Length=207mm, Width=175mm, Height =190mm) and has no insulating sleeve/cover around it. Nowadays the rule-of-thumb lifespan of a good quality wet-acid battery is expected to be 4-5 years, with 5-6 years for an EFB battery and 6-7 years for an AGM battery. The standard Varta 49Ah EFB battery should be adequate for a Skoda Fabia Mk4 with the 1.0litre motor, but I agree that, if the car is not regularly driven a reasonable distance, the battery will lose charge fairly quickly. bazz2004 regularly uses a CTEK battery-charger to keep his car's battery well charged: I do too and I wouldn't be confident that - if the car were locked/alarmed and unused for 2 weeks - that it would start. (My previous 2021 Hyundai i20 was similar, with Hyundai advising that, if it was anticipated that the car were to be out of use for a fortnight or longer, the battery should be disconnected.) I'm certainly not going to attempt to dissuade bazz2004 from swapping his car's EFB battery for an AGM battery. A Yuasa YBX9012 AGM would be a direct replacement and available for (say) £107-£140. https://www.yuasa.com/uk/ybx9012 Fitting should be straightforward and, personally (aged 82 and weighing 53.5kg) I'd have no difficulty removing/replacing a Fabia Mk4's 16kg battery. But then, of course, there would be a need to 'register' the new AGM battery and I do not have the equipment (or inclination) to attempt that task. bazz2004's Fabia has now broken down twice (once in early-2025, and again recently) and his car ran, seemingly without any issues between the 2025 and 2026 incidents and, after the latest breakdown, is apparently now running OK again. In both cases, the AA technician found fault codes and, having 'wiped' the codes the car apparently ran properly. The 2nd time the car broke down, the fault codes found were P060600, P0299900, P063800. Those codes do not directly point to a battery issue and it's interesting that, in both instances, the AA technician - simply by 'wiping' the codes - was immediately able to restore the car to full working order. It's POSSIBLE that replacing the present EFB battery (either with another EFB or an AGM type) might prevent another similar breakdown occurring. But as the car is now running fine, a Skoda dealer will be unable to investigate a non-existing fault. It's unrealistic to expect a dealer to place any credence on the fault codes the AA technician found, nor - if a Skoda dealer agrees to hook up the car to their diagnostic equipment, finds no fault codes or fault history data - to continue to investigate free of charge. If the present EFB battery is now found to below par for the car's age, Skoda might authorise a 'good will' replacement but only on a like-for-like basis. (That used to be the standard Hyundai dealer response when an owner's i20 had Start-Stop issues.) Fabia Mk4 system updates are OTA (Over the Air) and, although it should be practicable for a Skoda dealership to confirm that bazz2004's car is 'fully up-to-date', I'm uncertain whether that would help. My own view is that, if my Fabia Mk4's battery has enough charge in its battery to start the car and the starting process is 'normal' (ie. starting is quick with strong cranking) then the car should behave normally while it is being driven. It's to be expected that, until the battery reaches the appropriate state-of-charge threshold, Start-Stop won't function. But I don't believe that a battery able to start the car satisfactorily, but not 100% charged, will result in the vehicle's electrical system spontaneously 'glitching', nor, if the system is recognisably 'glitchy', that it's the battery's charge-state that's the culprit. (Some of my Fabia's equipment isn't wonderfully intuitive and sometimes gives the impression that it has a mind of its own, but that's not 'glitchy' in my book and I can always understand what's happened even though I may not like it!) In bazz2004's case it's Catch-22. If he goes it alone, has an AGM replacement battery installed and the car never breakdowns again, then going EFB-to-AGM may have provided a cure. If it does breakdown similarly again within the warranty period, it should be transported to a Skoda dealership while the fault is present (and without an AA technician playing with the car) for an 'official' investigation - but then there might be controversy about the replacement AGM battery. UK Fabia Mk4 owners may well be aware of this, but, besides the car's own 'In an Emergency' system, Skoda Assistance can be contacted on 0330 100 3243 And the following link provides some in-depth information on Start-Stop batteries and the possible need to 'register' replacement batteries. https://www.bannerbatterien.com/en/Battery-knowledge/7-HOW-TO-In-an-emergency-without-a-BEM-code

This 2025 YouTube video relates to replacing a Skoda Octavia VRS's standard EFB+ starter-battery with an AGM equivalent. (A similar EFB-to-AGM procedure would apply for a Fabia Mk4.)

The starter-battery factory-fitted to my 2024 Fabia SE L DSG (1.0litre motor) is the Varta EFB+ (Enhanced Flooded Battery) shown in this advert. https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/000915089aa-car-battery-efb-12v-49ah-skoda-48154.html This is a relatively compact 012-size battery with dimensions of Length=207mm, Width=175mm, Height=190mm, but my car's battery-tray has two extra threaded holes and it's evident that a longer 027-battery (Length=242mm) or an even longer 096-battery (Length=278mm) could be installed instead. It wouldn't in the least surprise me if Fabia Mk4 cars with the 1.5litre motor and/or marketed in 'cold-weather' countries have longer batteries than my car's, but I've no reason to think Skoda would switch from EFB to AGM as well. This 2020 BRISKODA thread discussed replacing an Octavia Mk3's battery https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/486589-octavia-mkiii-startstop-battery-replaced-without-any-coding/ In 'The Good Old Days', if a 12V starter-battery could be shoehorned in, then its size or type was irrelevant - but Start/Stop and complex electronics have complicated matters. Regarding battery replacement, the my Fabia's Manual just says "The new 12V battery must have the same specifications as the original battery". So I'd expect replacing the Varta EFB+ 49Ah battery shown in the advert on an exact like-for-like basis to not require any subsequent 'recoding'. And (maybe) replacing the Varta EFB+ battery with another make of EFB battery with the same dimensions but slightly different capacity might also not make recoding necessary. But if the Varta battery were replaced with a physically larger battery EFB battery with a substantially greater capacity, I'd expect recoding to be needed and, if the Varta EFB battery were replaced with a an AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) battery, recoding should definitely be carried out.

There is evidence that it is possible on certain Skoda models to use VCDS or OBDeleven to alter the length of time that rear-window heating or exterior-mirrors heating continues. For example, these links relate to earlier Fabia vehicles. https://obdeleven.com/customizations/skoda/fabia/2007-2010/mirror-heating-time?srsltid=AfmBOoo148qAbmFUv7cdKyLN-ucGlFGCCI8idkyzllpvR09mmpBHYsFf https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/78661-timer-for-heated-mirrors/ My 2024 Fabia's Owner's Manual warns "Risk of getting burned! Do not touch the heated exterior mirror glass." So, logically, if the glass can get that hot, it's best not to have mirror-heating turned on unless it's actually needed. When I turn on my Fabia's or Roomster's rear-window heating, the button that does this is (reasonably) visible and this 'encourages' me to turn off the heating when it's no longer required. That's not the case with exterior-mirrors heating: the control can easily be left in its heating position and there's no 'encouragement' to move it. As has been observed many times, if it were more apparent when the control was in its heating position (eg. a little LED on the control) the chances of leaving the heating on unnecessarily would be minimised.

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/