DerekU

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

It's not just the VW Group that's returning to physical buttons/knobs. https://www.thedrive.com/news/heres-why-its-taking-automakers-ages-to-put-buttons-back-in-cars A 2023 AutoExprees comparison between a Skoda Fabia, Mk4 a Renault Clio and a Honda Jazz said (about the Fabia) it’s worth noting that, unlike on some of Skoda’s larger models, the Fabia’s air-con controls are adjusted via big, round knobs and large buttons. In 2024 the Fabia Mk4 evolved https://www.skoda.co.uk/news/details/skoda-updates-fabia-and-karoq-lineups and one of the minor changes was a revision of the climate control's operation, with the fan-speed now being 'button-operated' (as in the Clio and Jazz) rather than via the infotainment-unit's touchscreen. As a Fabia Mk4 owner/driver (and an ex programmer/ system analyst) I'd prefer to not have the fan-speed control on the touchscreen. I don't see originally choosing to put the fan-speed control there as a cardinal sin, but there's little doubt that moving the control to its revised location is a sensible ergonomic improvement. I can't find any online complaints about the Fabia's touchscreen fan-speed control presenting problems for Fabia Mk4 drivers, but, as moving the control could be done without modifying the Fabia's dashboard, I can easily imagine a designer suggesting the change be made as part of the 2024 Fabia evolution from Mk4 to Mk4.1 Skoda Superb and Envaq models now have 'Smart Dials' for their heating https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzkAwuPufas Whether these prove to be 'better' than the previous system remains to be seen, but, if even they were an obvious great leap forward, they could not be introduced on a Fabia Mk4 without major and expensive modifications to the dashboard.

nta16 So in conclusion the Fabia Mk4's Climatronic controls, at least, are (unnecessarily) over complicated. This 2022 CARWOW article details the difference between car air-conditioning and climate control. https://www.carwow.co.uk/blog/air-conditioning-vs-climate-control-0044#gref As part of the most recent Fabia Mk4 facelift https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/skoda/fabia/362932/skoda-fabia-goes-bigger-slice-supermini-sales-2024-updates the manual controls for the Climatronic system were revised (photos in my 20 November posting above). I also notice that, on the infotainment-unit, the format of the display for the Climatronic system has been altered beneficially to take advantage of the fan-speed adjustment having been migrated from a 'slider' on the display to an extra pair of press-buttons on the manual controls. Although the revisions should make life simpler for a new Fabia owner, even the earlier system can be used effectively for heating/demisting once an owner has become familiar with its operating principles/controls (and doesn't expect miracles). Multi-zone climate-control systems are now commonplace on modern cars and I suspect that the Skoda version of Climatronic is no worse complication-wise than equivalent systems on other makes of car. Climatronic is not an intuitive system, but neither is using a mobile phone and even little children and old codgers (like me) can manage that

No UK-specification Fabia Mk4 has a heated windscreen as standard. When ordering a new Fabia, one of the options is a Winter Premium package (current cost £560). This package comprises Heated windscreen Heated front seats Washer fluid level indicator Heated front seats can be chosen as a stand-alone option (currently £250) but, if a buyer were uninterested in having heated seats, it's not possible to specify a heated windscreen as a stand-alone option. If a buyer of a new UK Fabia wants a heated screen, the Winter Premium package must be opted for.

...My conclusion is that not getting heat onto the windscreen quickly enough is a complete failure by car manufacturers fixated with electronic gizmos. This is the sort of basic weakness Skoda should be eliminating rather than offering Winter packs at eye watering prices... All Fabia Mk4 Monte Carlo cars have a "Climatronic" dual-zone air-conditioning system (as does my own SE L model). It's stating the bleeding obvious, but in cold weather, if a car's windscreen is misted/iced up, it will need warm air blown over the screen's inner surface to de-mist/de-ice it. Catch 22 is that the quickest way to obtain warm air from a car's heating system is to drive the vehicle, but if the driver can't see through the windscreen, he/she will have to run the car's motor at tick-over until hot engine-coolant is passing through the heater's matrix allowing warmed air to be directed at the screen and, at tick-over, it will take some time for the car's engine to get hot. My 2009 Skoda Roomster has a smaller-area windscreen than my Fabia Mk4's and the Roomster's heater/air-con controls are much simpler, with the 3-rotating-switches type found on 'basic' Fabia Mk4s. With the Roomster, it's easy and quick to set its air-con to provide maximum warm air aimed at the windscreen and, once the screen has de-misted/de-iced, to reset the controls to provide a comfortable cabin temperature. This is not the case with my car's Climatronic air-con that is controlled through a mixture of buttons and the infotainment display-screen. Experimentation has shown that my Fabia's motor at tick-over is no slower than the Roomster's to warm up and that the volume of air that can be directed towards the windscreen is no less. The snag is that, although it's possible to set the Fabia's Climatronic system to maximise its de-misting/de-icing capability, doing this is more complicated than with the Roomster, plus, when de-misting/de-icing has taken place, Climatronic is more complicated to reset to provide 'cabin heating'. The Fabia Owner's Manual includes a reasonable amount of advice on the Climatronic system, but - to get the best out of it (or even use it effectively) - gaining familiarity with the system will be required.

As the BRISKODA forum has a 'worldwide' audience, it's perhaps worth mentioning that right-hand-drive (RHD) and left-hand-drive (LHD) vehicles need different Bosch AEROTWIN windscreen wiper blades. The 2-pack set for RHD Fabia Mk4 cars is referenced A864S, but for LHD Fabia Mk4 cars it is A863S. If a GOOGLE-search is carried out using "xxxxxx poor wiper blades" as the search-term and a vehicle-make is substituted for xxxxxx, it's likely that, whatever vehicle-make is chosen, there will be complaints about the performance of the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) wiper blades.

A couple of earlier Fabia Mk4 forum threads relating to wiper blades https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/527024-wiper-blades/#comment-5887211 https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/532876-fabia-4-mc-front-wipers/#comment-5946955 The Bosch AEROTWIN twin-pack (2 blades) appropriate for a Fabia Mk4 is the the A864S (currently £20.95 on Amazon)

That's probably the case, but why would the owner of a Fabia Mk4 deliberately choose to ignore the advice on their car's oil sticker and in their car's Owner's Manual? The 2021 Hyundai i20 I owned before my Fabia had a similar 1.0litre turbocharged motor and performance and Hyundai advised that 0W-20 oil should be used. A table was provided indicating that alternative grades of engine oil could be used according to the temperature conditions of a country and those grades varied from 0/5W-20 to 20W-50, but this was for i20 cars that had a 1.4litre normally-aspirated motor. For my i20, Hyundai advised that 0W-20 oil should be used across a -30°C to +50°C 'weather' range. I can fully understand Fabia Mk4 owners deciding not to use the recommended tyre pressures if they find the car's ride too firm for their liking, but not choosing to use 5W-30 oil instead of 0W-20 based on what they've read online.

There have been reports on online forums that using a modern 'thin' oil in older vehicles not designed for it can result in oil-leaks, and there are plenty of videos/discussions/arguments about choosing 5W-30 oil instead of 0W-20. These earlier Fabia Mk4 forum threads discussed engine oil https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/534071-skoda-mk4-engine-oil/#comment-5959049 https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/527841-fabia-iv-first-service/#comment-5895592 Your marketed/used-in-Greece Fabia MK4's oil-sticker advises that a 0W-20 oil be used and no alternative grade is recommended. Unless you are 100% confident that your research is valid, I suggest you use 0W-20 (and beware of the internet!!)

Hmmm, that didn't go too well - though the reference works OK when I tried it on another forum I'm a moderator on that also runs on the Invision Community platform. Anyway, these are the fuel-consumption data for the two Australian Fabia models This 2025 Australian review might be of interest https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-reviews/2025-skoda-fabia-review