DerekU

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.

Within the START-STOP section of the Owner's Manual for my 2024 Fabia is this Basically (rather like the logic of the cranky software I used to write when I was programming at GCHQ) most of the time the Fabia's START-STOP system works as the driver expects it to (and the Owner's Manual suggests it should) except for the times it doesn't!

I notice that you had problems with your car's infotainment system (MFD) in June 2025 https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/533063-mfd-multifunction-display-not-displaying/#comment-5952323 Issues with the MFD were also mentioned in this September 2024 forum discussion https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/526546-infotainment-system/ and there's a lot of criticism of the system in this Fabia review. https://www.parkers.co.uk/skoda/fabia/review/long-term/ A GOOGLE-search on skoda infotainment system glitchy will confirm that the type of (usually transitory) problem you've mentioned is not confined to Fabia Mk4 cars. My 2024 SE L Fabia's MFD system occasionally 'glitches'. There's no point asking why - it's a complex unit and sometimes it gets its multi-function knickers in a twist. So far, turning my car's MFD off and on again has restored the system to normal operation.

If a Fabia Mk4's alloy wheels are (like my 2024 SE L model) fitted with the plastic 'Aero' wheel trims, the brake components (front and rear) are visually invisible from outside the vehicle. For me, my Fabia is just an unexciting mid-size 'family' car - it's comfortable and efficient and ogling its brakes does not concern me. (Having said that, I would have opted for rear disc brakes for £95 if I had had the choice, but not for aesthetic reasons.)

It's interesting (to me at least!) that, when the Fabia Mk4 was initially marketed, the 1.5litre motor was not offered and there were no "Monte Carlo" models. The available 'trims' were S, SE Comfort, SE L and Colour Edition, and ALL of these had drum rear brakes as standard with optional disc rear brakes (£95) for ALL four trims. Nowadays, in the UK, all new Fabia Mk4 cars have drum rear brakes, except for those that have the 1.5litre motor and have rear discs as standard.. There's no longer an option to choose rear disc brakes for Fabias that do not have the 1.5litre motor. New Fabia Mk4 cars marketed in France ALL have disc rear brakes as standard, except for the basic trim that has no-option drum rear brakes. Whether this is because the French motorways have a higher maximum speed-limit than the UK, or because France is more mountainous than the UK is anybody's guess. (It might be educational to establish whether the the UK is unique in having most Fabia Mk 4 cars with no-option drum rear brakes, but I ain't doing it!) The back axle of a small front-wheel-drive car is mainly there to keep the car's backside from dragging on the ground and the rear brakes only contribute around 20% to the car's deceleration capability. Although disc brakes are less prone to overheating, I'm very doubtful that a Fabia Mk4 with rear discs would - at slow speeds - decelerate even more violently than an equivalent Fabia with rear drums. Returning to fabia1960's original posting last July, it's plain from online comments about modern cars' brakes (and particularly about the brakes of VW Group cars) that their brakes generally at slow speed are sharp/sensitive/unprogressive, sometimes verging on the savage, and that this is a (much disliked/criticised) 'characteristic' rather than a correctable fault.

My wife's VW Formel-E was a 1983 model with the 'mini-estate' body and had no brake servo. http://polodriver.com/eco-polos/polo-formel-e-1983-1987/ There had been a magazine review of the model that mentioned its brakes being heavy despite being servo-assisted. I contacted the reviewer saying that the reason the brakes were heavy was because they were un-servoed and got a reply on the lines of "Oh dear - I could have sworn I saw a servo!". This Polo Mk 2 Buyers Guide article https://classicsworld.co.uk/guides/volkswagen-polo-mk2-buyers-guide/ includes the statement "Running gear remained conventional, with MacPherson struts front, torsion beam rear, unassisted steering, and front disc/rear drum brakes. LHD cars had a brake servo, but RHD models did not, meaning UK braking drew criticism." Fitting different disc pads helped - but not much! I had two successive (new) Golf GTi cars in the late-1970s/early-1980s and both had hopeless brakes as a result of the LHD-to-RHD conversion that had the brake-servo remaining on the left and connected to the driver's brake-pedal on the right with a mechanical linkage that visibly bent when the brake-pedal was pressed hard. It took until 1983 and the introduction of the 2nd generation Golf for VW to deign to fit a 'right hand' servo to RHD models.

This link is to the results of a SEARCH on "user profile" across all the BRISKODA forums. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/search/?&q=%22user%20profile%22&quick=1&start_after=any&updated_after=any My 2024-built Fabia Mk4 also has the Amundsen infotainment unit that's fitted to your 2023 Fabia and I'm my car's sole driver. The Welcome/loading user profile... screen always appears at start-up and, when I press OK, that 'command' is normally accepted with minimal delay. My understanding is that having the Welcome/loading user profile... screen-display on the infotainment unit at start-up is unavoidable. In your case, if loading the user profile takes a maximum of 30 seconds but only sometimes, and if, once the user profile has loaded, your car's Amundsen unit works satisfactorily, I suggest you take an "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" view (or "Grin and bear it") If your 2023 Fabia is still under warranty, you could seek advice from a Skoda dealership to see if there's a software/firmware update that might speed up the Welcome procedure, but I'd be VERY wary of attempting a DIY 'fix'. Shortly after buying my new Fabia Mk4, when I was playing about with the car's display-screen menus, I accidentally triggered a factory reset. There is advice in the Fabia Owner's Manual about the Amundsen unit and 'User management" and (eventually) I was able to recover the system and reset my user preferences, but I wouldn't want to have to do that again without a very good reason.

I lost heart researching cornering-lights, eventually deciding that - although my car's lighting settings could probably be 'tweaked' to enable the function (or allow its fog-light bulbs to be swapped from halogen to LED) - I really couldn't be bothered! This link seems to summarise the UK position pretty well. Willand Service CentreCornering Lights: A UK Driver's Guide | Willand Service C...Demystifying cornering lights in the UK. Do they have legal standing? Explore their function, benefits, drawbacks, and whether they're a costly gimmick or a genuine safety feature for British motoristOut of curiosity I looked at Skoda's current French Fabia catalogue to see if that mentioned cornering lights. The French Fabia range has 5 'trims' - Active/Selection/Clever Edition/Monte Carlo/130. All 5 trims have front fog-lights as standard, with the cornering-lights function as part of the front fog-lights of the Selection and Clever Edition trims. The Monte Carlo and 130 trims have (as standard) 'full LED' headlamps that integrate a cornering-lights function, but I don't know if that means their front fog-lights are just fog-lights or also act as additional cornering-lights. The French Skoda Fabia standard specification differs noticeably from the UK's (eg. the Active trim is the only one with drum rear brakes). There are specific standard interior 'looks' for the Monte Carlo and 130 trims, plus an optional version available for the Selection and Clever Editions trims called "Interieur Dynamique" that has black seats with integrated headrests and this can be chosen too (at no extra cost) for the Monte Carlo trim and (presumably) also removes all the glitzy red bits.

Earlier in this thread Evolution13 referred to "Brake Assist". This feature is not mentioned in Fabia Mk4 Owner's Manuals, but Fabia Mk3 Manuals explain it as follows: I assume a Fabia Mk 4 has HBA, but I don't think this feature would have any negative effect on a bought-new 2024 car's braking characteristics when it is being driven 'normally' and slowly. (If I 'stab' my bought-new 2024 Mk 4's brake pedal while manoeuvring slowly, my car will stop dead and stand on its nose, but I'd expect that to happen.) People don't all drive in the same way and there's no doubt that a Fabia Mk 4's brakes need a gentle touch when the car is moving slowly (particularly when it is lightly loaded). So it might be worth you (diplomatically!) asking your mum to demonstrate to you the problem she is having with her Fabia's brakes and to test-drive the car yourself.

Congratulations on fitting the subwoofer without removing your car's rear seats. Fabia Mk4 rear-seat removal was asked about here in 2023,, but the procedure was not identified. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/513914-remove-rear-seats/ This December 2019 video describes how to remove the one-piece rear-seat base of a 6th-generation VW Polo, but I'm pretty sure a similar method will apply to Fabia Mk3 and Mk4 cars that have Isofix connectors. It used to be possible for Skoda vehicle 'private' owners to access workshop manuals through the skoda-erwin website, but that is no longer the case. https://www.reddit.com/r/skoda/comments/1p09cl6/end_of_private_erwin_support_18_dec_2025/

The realistic answer to your question is "No". A GOOGLE-search using the search-term "brake" "insane" "sensitive" will retrieve plenty of online discussions about hyper-sensitive brakes on modern-ish cars generally, not just on VW Group vehicles (eg. Skoda cars). It's sometimes suggested that the sensitivity (at low speed) results from the 'profile' of the ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) and that the coding of the ABS control module might be modifiable to lessen the brakes' initial bite. However (as far as I can make out) when ABS coding is carried out, the task always relates to matching a replacement ABS control module to a car and not to altering an existing control module's settings to change the manner in which the car brakes. (I've also come across more radical ideas like grafting some sort of smart pressure bleed-valve into the brake-servo, but nobody has said they've actually done this!) Just in case there were an easy non-invasive 'fix' that would help your mum with her Fabia (and that a Skoda dealership might be prepared to apply) I contacted a local independent garage that specialises in servicing/modifying German-built cars and has the VW Group's ODIS diagnostic tool. They said they were quite often asked about 'sharp' low-speed braking on VW/Seat/Skoda vehicles and had to tell the owners that this characteristic could not be altered 'electronically'.

My 2024 Skoda Fabia SE L has drum rear brakes, but my 2009 Skoda Roomster has rear disc brakes. At low speed (walking pace) both cars will decelerate savagely if the brake pedal is depressed abruptly, but at higher speed the braking effect is reasonably linear and progressive. This seems perfectly reasonable to me and, as I'm picky about getting a comfortable and efficient driving position when I drive a vehicle (and don't drive wearing wellingtons or hob-nail boots) I have no difficulty braking gently in either car at low speeds. It's to be expected that the low speed braking abruptness will be accentuated if the car has stood for a while and surface rust has formed on the discs. As mentioned above, this should improve when the car has been driven for a while and the rust rubbed off. I'm very doubtful that replacing a Fabia mk4's front discs and/or brake pads on a like-for-like basis would tame down the abrupt low-speed braking. 'Track day' braking parts are available, but these are intended to cope with heavy braking from high speed, rather than alter low speed braking behaviour. I owned two VW Golf GTi Mk 1 cars that had appalling brakes. I replaced the pads and front brake discs (the rear brakes were drum-type) with 'competition' parts but to no avail. The lousy brakes were universally criticised by UK owners and were a consequence of VW's LHD to RHD conversion. The 'cure' came when a UK Golf specialist offered a conversion that moved the brake-servo from the car's left to the right. My wife's VW Polo Formel E also had brakes that required a very heavy brake-pedal pressure to stop the car quickly. This was because, when VW marketed RHD polos, they just dispensed with the brake servo!

It's the difference between being a believer and a pessimist. You've said (about the glove-box light) "The bulb is constantly lit but extinguishes when the car is locked using the fob", but my pessimistic view is "The bulb is constantly lit but SHOULD extinguish when the car is locked using the fob". I considered the Roomster's glove-box light to have no value to me, so I removed its bulb to ensure it could not stay continuously illuminated. I find a boot-light useful and it's easy enough to confirm that it goes off when the hatchback 'lid' is closed (So far it has!) (In fact, as it was easy enough to do, I replaced all the Hyundai i20's original interior light bulbs with LED equivalents.)

I'm surprised that your last 4 cars had no boot-light. My 2009 Skoda Roomster, my (previous) 2021 Hyundai i20 and my 2024 Skoda Fabia Mk4 all have a boot-light, and the Roomster also has a glove-box light (that I have disabled by removing its bulb). The Hyundai's boot-light got very hot. I replaced its bulb with a LED equivalent and I might do the same with the Fabia.

Every one of the online Owner's Manuals for Fabia Mk4 models includes a short section on the "Corner function" that involves the car's fog-lights automatically illuminating when the following conditions are met. This recent forum thread asked about turning the function OFF https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/535012-disable-corneringreversing-fogs/#comment-5968119 but - as my this function evidently does not operate on 2024 Fabia - I'm more interested in turning it ON. This video describes the function https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcJw3Kdqr7I and states that it is deactivated as standard (which seems a mite odd to me!) and will need activating (presumably by a Skoda dealership). Is this correct, or is it just my car?

This earlier forum thread may be of interest https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/514511-fitting-netbase-322gw/ And this video explains the general principles