DerekU

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

Only two Fabia models are currently marketed in Australia, both with 7-speed DSG. Their specification is listed here: A significant difference to the UK is the Skoda (Australia) 7-year warranty.

There is a Skoda website relating to the current UK range of Fabia cars and each model has the WLTP combined fuel-consumption stated. All models, from the 'basic' SE Edition to the 130, have a WLTP datum of at least 50mpg. It should be obvious that, if an owner of a Fabia SE Edition drives their car gently to consciously minimise fuel consumption and an owner of a Fabia 130 thrashes their car mercilessly, the amount of fuel used in each case will vary substantially. However, to the best of my knowledge, there are no alternative-to-WLTP recognised data available to provide 'more realistic' fuel-usage information.

ALL Skoda Fabia Mk4 Owner's Manuals carry this information on the air-conditioning's operating conditions The rear page of my car's EC Certificate of Conformity carries WLTP fuel-consumption data (litres/100km). The combined figure given is 5.7 equating to 49.56 British MPG. The fuel-consumption of one of my 1970s cars (a turbo-enhanced Reliant Scimitar GTE) could drop below 20mpg at the least provocation, so - if my Fabia can produce a genuine average consumption approaching 50mpg - I'll be delighted.

For what it's worth... I notice that the design of the Amundsen infotainment touchscreen on my Fabia SE L (built on 16 January 2024) was revised for later models. Images of the two screens are shown below (oldest first) and it will be seen that the 'look' of the virtual buttons and their position differs with the more recent (lower "Welcome Ben") screen. Perhaps more significant for a Fabia Mk4 driver are the modifications made to the controls for the Climatronic air-conditioning system. The controls on my car are as shown in this image and it will be seen from the image below of the later controls that the MENU and OFF buttons have been relocated upwards and their original positions now have manual buttons to decrease or increase the fan speed, rather than (infuriatingly) having to do this through the infotainment touchscreen. I don't know exactly when the changes were made, but the online Owner's Manuals show the 'old' controls in the 19/6/2023 document (that applies to my car) and the 'new' controls in the 15/1/2024 version.

I've checked the 'logic' of my car's Amundsen unit's navigation system and (as I said above) there's no basic quick-or-short route-setting capability. As shown on the image attached below, a fastest route is offered, together with alternatives that the system calculates will be slower. The image shows that parameters can be set for route calculation, but these are things like "Avoid toll roads" or "Avoid ferries".

My 2024 Fabia SE L Climatronic air-con system is controlled through a mixture of physical buttons and the car's Amundsen infotainment full-touchscreen display . Having looked at several online 2023 Fabia Monte Carlo online adverts, it appears that this model's A/C system was controlled similarly, except the standard infotainment display was the "Bolero" unit that had no 'navigation' and (having a couple of physical buttons) was not 'full touchscreen'. This image (taken from a 2023 Fabia Monte Carlo advert) is of the Bolero unit and this image is of the car's air-con controls with the air-recirculation button green-arrowed. Last December there was a long forum discussion about Fabia Mk 4 windscreen condensation. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/528895-condensation-on-inside-of-windows-takes-ages-to-clear-even-with-aircon/

My 2024 Fabia SE L Climatronic air-con system is controlled through a mixture of physical buttons and the car's Amundsen infotainment full-touchscreen display . Having looked at several online Fabia 2023 online adverts, it appears that this model's A/C system was controlled similarly, except the standard infotainment display was the "Bolero" unit that had no 'navigation' and (having a couple of physical buttons) was not 'full touchscreen'. This image (taken from a 2023 Fabia Monte Carlo advert) is of the Bolero unit Uploading Attachment...

My Fabia's Owner'Manual indicates that two types of air-conditioning system are possible - manual or 'automatic' ("Climatronic"). Both have an air-recirculation button (marked with the usual symbol) The button for the manual A/C is between the left and central rotating switches and the button for the Climatronic system is in the head of the right rotating switch. This link may be of interest Škoda Storyboard10 Tips on How to Use Air-conditioning Properly - Škoda S...You recently had the chance to discover the challenges that go into developing the ventilation system of any new ŠKODA. This time, we want to share some practical tips and correct common mistakes.

I have a 2024 Fabia SE L model with Amundsen infotainment system that includes 'navigation'. I'm accustomed (and habituated) to using a stand-alone Garmin sat-nav that allows a quickest-or-shortest-route basic setting to be specified. To the best of my knowledge, the Amundsen navigation system does not include that basic quick-or-short setting capability - it just offers a 'best' route and allows the driver to choose up to two alternatives that will be slower/longer.

nta16 I believe Gav3rdfabia was well aware that the image appearing on his car's display related to the Lane Assist feature - his problem was getting rid of it. If you owned a Fabia Mk4 with the non-Virtual Cockpit instrument-cluster, you'd know that there's an uncomfortable ménage à trois between the infotainment display-unit, the small central display screen between the speedometer and tachometer dials and the buttons on the steering wheel. As Gav eventually discovered, it's actually a simple matter to use the buttons to move between the various things that can appear on the central display once one knows and can remember how to do it. (Shortly after buying my Mk4, while messing about with the car's settings menus I accidentally triggered a factory reset. Recovering from this can take some effort and - as Gav said - reconnecting to Skoda Connect can be a challenge.)

The title of this forum thread ("Correct Tyre Pressure?") begun in April 2024, suggests that the data on the Fabia Mk 4's tyre-pressure sticker may be incorrect, but there's absolutely no proof that this is the case. The recommended pressures are indeed high, but that does not mean they are somehow wrong and, if Fabia Mk 4 owners choose to use lower pressures, there is nothing to prevent them doing so. If driving on UK's poorly maintained roads at UK legal speeds, reducing the sticker pressures by 0.2/0.3 bar should be fine, but, if I were regularly cruising a Fabia Monte Carlo at 200kmh on a German unrestricted autobahn, I'd definitely choose to use the sticker pressures. (During my 60+years of driving I've only come across one instance - with a motorhome - where I KNEW the recommended tyre pressures were wrong, plus one instance (with another motorhome) where the recommended pressures were questionable. Otherwise, I've used the recommended pressures as a guideline, not as an 11th commandment.)

As you mentioned on Page 1 of this forum thread, Fabia Mk 3 cars' tyre-pressure sticker had three columns (as shown below) The 3-people values in the 1st column are sometimes referred to (in VW Group-speak) as 'comfort' pressures, with the 3-people ECO pressures in the 2nd column providing potentially better fuel economy at the expense of a slightly firmer ride. For the Fabia Mk 4, Skoda has reverted to a 2-column sticker and - having come across online requests for an explanation of how the 3-column sticker should be interpreted - I believe this is for simplicity's sake. And, for a 2-column sticker, it's understandable that ECO pressures will be provided for the 3-people loading. I wondered, briefly, if the 3.4bar rear-tyres pressure specified on the Fabia Mk 4 sticker's 5-people column might be to counter oversteer in the event of a high-speed swerve being necessary, but concluded that it's merely close to the pressure needed when the tyres are subjected to their maximum design-load. Manufacturers of commercial-vehicle tyres can provide tables showing the inflation pressure needed to safely support a defined load. So it's possible to weigh a loaded commercial vehicle and establish a suitable tyre pressure for each axle. To the best of my knowledge pressure-to-load tables are not available for car tyres, meaning that car manufacturers may assume a worst-case scenario, which seems to be what Skoda has done with their 5-people pressure recommendations. For every 10°C change in temperature, tyre pressure changes by about 0.1bar (or 1 to 2 PSI) and the tyre industry reference temperature for providing tyre-pressure recommendations is 20°C. If a Fabia Mk 4's tyres are inflated to 2.5bar at 0°C, this will equate to around 2.7bar at 30°C. I once asked a Continental tyre technician about the quite common suggestion that car drivers should adjust tyre pressures to allow for summer/winter temperature differences, but he said "Just use the car manufacturer's recommended pressures irrespective of the weather".

This January 2024 enquiry on the VW T-Cross forum mentions what sounds (to me) like the issue you have. Unfortunately, there was only one response and that was unspecific... https://www.tcrossforums.co.uk/threads/main-display-has-disappeared.1242/ You could try disconnecting your car's starter-battery at its negative terminal, leaving the battery disconnected for (say) an hour and then reconnecting it. A couple of years ago the central display on my 2009 Skoda Roomster suddenly went blank. The battery disconnect/reconnect ploy brought the display back to life and its been working normally ever since.

fabiamk4man If you read through the firt page of this thread, you'll see I mentioned that, for my 2009 Skoda Roomster, a 'car-fully-loaded' pressure of 3.2bar was advised for the rear tyres. I can't see why you should find it surprising that, when a lot of weight is put on a car's rear axle, the pressure in the rear tyres must, for safety reasons, be increased accordingly. In normal 'lightly-loaded' use I use 2.2bar for the Roomster's front and rear tyres, but - if, behind the car's front seats, I have loaded 500kg of builder's rubble to take to the local recycling centre - it should be obvious that the 2.2bar will be too low to safely handle the load now being put on the rear tyres. (It was also suggested earlier in this discussion that inflating to 3.4bar the standard tyres Skoda fits to Fabia Mk 4 cars might exceed the maximum pressure advised by the tyres' manufacturer, but it takes minimal research to confirm that this not so.)

The psi difference between 2.5bar and 2.3bar is roughly 3psi. I inflate my 2009 Skoda Roomster's tyres to 2.2bar (front and rear) and, if its front tyres' pressure has reduced to 2.0bar, I can recognise a 'softening' in the car's ride-quality shortly after setting out on the badly maintained roads around where I live. So, if you rate ride-quality over fuel economy, use 2.3bar instead of 2.5bar.