DerekU

This 15-minutes video may be of general interest

Discussed (in some detail) in this 2023/2024 BRISKODA forum thread https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/515617-driving-a-dsg-auto/ The "Automatic Gearbox" section in every Fabia MK 4's Owner's Manual (print and online versions) includes the following guidance Obviously holding the car stationary with the footbrake depressed will result in the rear brake lights being illuminated and, at night, may irritate a driver stopped behind you. The UK Highway Code's Rule 114 advises In stationary queues of traffic, drivers should apply the parking brake and, once the following traffic has stopped, take their foot off the footbrake to deactivate the vehicle brake lights. This will minimise glare to road users behind until the traffic moves again. This is fine when the vehicle has a manual transmission and shifting to Neutral and applying the handbrake is what I do when I'm driving a car that has a manual gearbox. But, when I'm driving my Fabia Mk 4 DSG, I leave it in D unless I know I'm going to be stationary for quite some time.

The Skoda alloy wheels catalogue can be found here: https://www.skoda.co.uk/_doc/91603989-bb80-4c40-b3e9-a13932071c3f For the Fabia, 15", 16", 17" and 18" diameter wheels are shown and the ET (offset) and tyre size are provided for each wheel. These earlier forum discussions related to lowering a Fabia Mk 4 Monte Carlo model https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/525531-lightly-modified-fabia-iv/ https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/534680-does-the-car-sits-too-high-and-is-it-worth-getting-it-lowered/ and the photos may give some idea of the 'wheel arch' look. The Fabia Mk 4 130 model has no-other-choice 18" Libra black-painted diamond-cut alloy wheels (with smoke top coat) and a -15mm lowered suspension 'sport chassis'. This side-on image shows the effect and, for comparison purposes, a Fabia Mk 4 SE L with the standard 16"-diameter wheels.

The optional steel spare-wheel and foam-plastic tool-storage insert for a Skoda Fabia Mk 4 is as shown in the image below and includes a scissor jack. Although the type of jack shown in the (green) 1st photo of the two in the earlier posting has the potential to damage the reinforced metal jacking-seam of a Fabia Mk 4, in practice it won't be usable as a Mk 4's seam is a much further towards the centre of the vehicle than on earlier models. Whatever the type of jack, if it is positioned on the car's sill and not on the reinforced jacking-seam, the sill will be damaged when the car is lifted.

Online comments indicate that UK-specification Fabia Mk 1, 2 and 3 cars had a glove-box light as standard, but UK-specification Fabia Mk 4s do not. This omission was mentioned here in 2023 https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/513796-colour-edition-glove-box/ On my 2024-built UK-marketed Fabia Mk 4 SE L car there's an oblong hole above the glove-box's drop-down storage compartment that (presumably) is intended to take a light. It's reasonable to assume from this that Fabias marketed in some other countries do have a light, but - on my car - there's no preparatory wiring behind the 'light hole'. 'Officially' retrofitting a light would require a Skoda kit of parts. I can't find any evidence that such a kit is available, so it's understandable (to me) if Skoda Customer Services advised that retrofitting a glove-box light to my car would not be an option. As Evolution13 says, it should be possible to fit a light (that I assume an a Mk 4 owner would want to to switch itself on and off automatically when the glove-box was opened/closed) but - while a reasonably competent DIYer should be able to carry out that task - it's not something I'd expect a Skoda dealership's workshop being prepared to attempt.

When adverts for recent Fabia Monte Carlo cars show the Virtual Cockpit (VC) display illuminated, the display's 'look' always seems to be like your 2nd photo. All current-model Fabias now have the VC, but the Skoda Configurator suggests the Fabia Monte Carlo VC will have red-ring clocks, but other Fabia models will not. It would appear, then, that Skoda may have chosen to set the VC default theme to match the Monte Carlo model's 'boy racer' red accented interior trim. However much a buyer of a Fabia Monte Carlo might dislike the red accented interior trim and yearn for the more 'mature' restrained interior of other Fabia models, red interior trim appears to be the no-choice standard fit - and that may also be the case with the red-ring-clock VC default theme. As I suggested above, it might be possible to twiddle a Monte Carlo's VC fairly easily with the right equipment to change the default theme.

My 2024 Fabia Mk 4 SE L has an analogue instrument-cluster. The information on the alternative Virtual Cockpit provided in the Owner's Manual (hard-copy and soft-copy versions) for my car shows five display variants but there's no advice on how an owner might change the overall 'colour look' of each display. This link mentions setting a Skoda's Virtual Cockpit default display 'theme' to the vRS version (ie. with red rings around the clocks). https://obdeleven.com/customizations/skoda/dashboard-vrs-theme?srsltid=AfmBOooyVS8F0Y0K3ASqQeZ-bppHTLp9RUHkcNPvILGzzlS_lr4LrOJP Your 2025 Fabia Monte Carlo already seems to have the vRS theme as the default, but whether this is deliberate (ie. all 2025 Fabia Monte-Carlo models now have this theme as default) or it's just your car, is anybody's guess. Suggest you ask the Skoda dealer you got the car from about this - if OBDeleven can be used to change the default theme, a Skoda dealer's equipment should be able to do this too.

This Wikipedia entry relates to Time in Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_Europe It will be apparent from the Wikipedia map that travelling from the UK to another European country will normally involve a 'clock change' and, if a vehicle has a dashboard clock, that will need to be adjusted accordingly. A Fabia Mk 4's clock is adjusted through its infotainment system (an "Amundsen" system in my car's case). This can be done manually (there's a simple 'toggle' between UK summer or winter times) or - as my SE L car has navigation - the GPS can be allowed to automatically select the appropriate time for where and when the vehicle is being driven. (I remember ferry-crossing from the UK to France in a motorhome about 25 years ago. The crossing was in late March and I switched the vehicle's clock (and our watches) to French summer time just before we disembarked. The roads in France were surprisingly empty and all the shops in the villages we were passing through were closed. "Is this a French bank holiday?" I asked my wife, but the reality was that I'd got the clock change date wrong and it was two hours earlier in France than I anticipated.)

Miles ŠkodaHow to Change the Clock in a ŠKODA – Miles ŠkodaA quick video to show you how to change the clock in a ŠKODA. Taken in a ŠKODA Superb but the process is similar for many ŠKODA vehicles.A few of the 'clocks' in my house automatically switch between GMT (UK winter time) and GMT+1 (UK summer time) but many do not. My 2009 Skoda Roomster's clock needs manual adjustment as do some of our kitchen applances' digital displays and all of our analogue watches' time-settings require altering when 'the clocks change'. The Fabia Mk 4 does indeed have some mystifying non-intuitive features, but setting the date and time is not one of them. The procedure is touched on briefly in the Fabia Owner's Manual (paper and online versions) in the Infotainment sections, but = because it's easy to do - blow-by-blow instructions are not provided.

It might be useful if you can provide details of the mount you have. As I said above, I bought a Yesido C242 mount as shown in this image: The problem with this mount (as far as I'm concerned) is that the length of the part (arrowed in red on image) is slightly longer than the depth of my Fabia Mk4's central air-vent unit. Shortening that part is a possibility, but as the Yesido C242 fits well on my Skoda Roomster's deeper central air-vents and I have a 'bean-bag' mount for my Garmin sat-nav that I can use with the Fabia, I probably won't bother unless the Fabia's inbuilt sat-nav drives me to distraction.

I have a Sealey 'memory protector' that plugs into a car's OBD port and is intended to save transitory settings (time/date etc.) when a starter-battery is disconnected. I used this when I replaced my 2021 Hyundai i20's battery, but this wasn't really necessary and I my primary interest was whether or not the Sealey product worked as I anticipated.. In the "12V vehicle battery" section of the Fabia Mk 4 Owner's Manual is the following advice: Recommendations when the vehicle is stationary for more than three weeks Disconnect the negative terminal of the 12V battery. So - as you are only going to clean your Fabia's battery terminals (and if you are prepared to reset the time and window settings afterwards) - disconnecting and reconnecting the battery should be problem-free.

This is covered in the Fabia Mk 4 Owner's Manual (printed and online versions) and this guidance is copied from the"12V vehicle battery" section of the 20.6.2022 Manual. If the online Manual is used, clicking on the "Clock setting" and "Window operation" green text will link to the procedure to be followed: if the printed Manual is consulted, the relevant page numbers for those procedures will be provided.

I eventually bought a Yesido C242 from an online advertiser called SUNSKY for the princely sum of £5.04 (£2.60 + £2.44 postage). Ordered on 03/10/25 and delivered 10 days later. The C242 is well made, sturdy, and is multi-adjustable. My primary interest was to see if it could carry a quite heavy 6"-screen Garmin sat-nav on my Fabia Mk 4 as an alternative to the car's onboard navigation system (that I'm no fan of) or using a bean-bag mount. The answer is Yes, but with reservations, as - although the C242 can be attached to my Fabia's shallow-height central air-vents - without some DIY modifications, tightening up the mount would result in depressions in the softish material that surrounds the vents. So, for the Fabia, when I want to use the Garmin, I'll stick with the bean-bag. Not a waste of a fiver though, as the C242 attaches securely to the larger central air-vents of our Skoda Roomster and will not cause damage to the vents nor to their surround.

This phone-mount is also marketed as the Yesido C242. A GOOGLE-search on Yesido C242 will identify a number of suppliers. Cheapest (unsurprisingly) seems to be via AliExpress at £9.19 including VAT and shipping - though delivery should be quicker from a UK-based advertiser.

Based on YT541's description, this is likely to be the phone mount that he bought from Amazon. https://tinyurl.com/mrwbnskp My 2024 Fabia SE L has 'navigation' but, as I'm addicted to Garmin sat-navs logic and usage, I don't much care for the Skoda's system and, like you, I use a bean-bag mount for my Garmin device. YT541 wanted a phone-holder for his passenger to use (and not to make phone calls) so a vent-attached mounting on the passenger side would avoid the bulky bean-bag approach and be most convenient.

Assuming that you want the phone visible (and accessible) to you when driving the car, Skoda do not appear to offer a mount specifically for the Fabia Mk4. The holder in this advert is claimed to be suitable for a Fabia Mk 4, but the instructions indicate that "adhesive tape" is involved in the fitting process. https://www.brodit.co.uk/brodit/vehicles/skoda/fabia/proclip-for-skoda-fabia-2226-rhd/23636 (I would have thought your requirement is very common and that a Skoda dealership should be able to recommend sone sort of 'clip on' mount that's secure but removable without leaving marks.)

It might be worth asking PSC (in Cheltenham) about this. https://www.pscautocentre.co.uk/pages/contact-us They are independent specialists and have ODIS.

I notice that - 7 years ago - you asked about disabling the cornering-lights feature on a 2019 Skoda Superb. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/459669-can-these-changes-be-made-with-vcds-on-my19/#comment-5354799 Did you ever manage to do that? (if it's possible for the owner of a 2025 Fabia Monte Carlo to easily disable the cornering-lights function, logically it's going to be via the Lights menu.)

Fabia1960 I recall you asking about your Fabia's 'sharp brakes' in July.

Earlier discussion about the problem, https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/534312-infotainment-fabia-22-plate/#comment-5961210

OK, but (as I suggested above) I don't see the diameter of the front brake discs of a Fabia Mk4 with 94bhp motor being smaller than the diameter of a 109bhp-motor Mk4's front discs having any perceptible impact on the fuel consumption. Buying-wise, it may be more important for skoda998 to be aware that the 116PS (114bhp) 3-cylinder EVO2 motor only became available for the Fabia range in the 2nd-half of 2024, together with significant specification/equipment 'enhancements' to all Fabia models. https://www.skoda.co.uk/news/details/skoda-updates-fabia-and-karoq-lineups

You could try contacting this company based in Pevensey near Eastbourne https://vasstechnik.co.uk/skoda/ If you'd prefer a Skoda agency to carry out the tasks, the following website can be used to identify Skoda dealerships in East Sussex. https://www.skoda.co.uk/apps/retailers/

As Skoda's quoted top speed and acceleration times for 94bhp and 109bhp Fabia Mk4s are very similar, the chances are minimal that their braking system's specification will be different. When I said "It's possible that' low-powered' Fabia Mk4 cars have smaller-diameter front-discs than more powerful models...", I meant models with 3-cylinder MPI (non-turbo) motors with power outputs of 64bhp or 80bhp and (respectively) inferior quoted top speed/acceleration figures of 106mph/16 seconds and 110mph/15.6 seconds. However, the original enquiry was I'm considering a Fabia for my wife, up to 2 years old. Is it worth seeking out the more powerful 115 bhp engine? Does economy suffer with the higher output engine at all? and I don't see a Fabia Mk4's brake dimensions having any real-world effect on fuel economy. For a while I owned a 2021 Hyundai i20 that had a 100bhp turbo 3-cylinder 1.0litre motor with 6-speed manual transmission. When driving on rural roads I was forever shifting backwards and forwards between 5th and 6th, eventually concluding that it would have been better (for me) if the car had a 5-speed gearbox with revised ratios. So it's POSSIBLE that, if skoda998's wife had a 109bhp Fabia with 6-speed manual transmission but did not optimise the use of those 6 ratios for fuel economy, she could obtain a lower fuel consumption if she owned a 94bhp Fabia with 5-speed gearbox instead. With a history of driving quick motorbikes and cars, overall fuel economy has never really concerned me. Nowadays I let my Fabia's SE L's DCT automatic transmission decide what ratios to select and I'm confident that, fuel economy-wise, it does a better job than if I were selecting gears myself using a manual gearbox. It's to be expected that (everything else being equal) the higher the specification of a secondhand Fabia Mk4, the higher its asking-price will be, and that factor (not just fuel consumption data) would need to be taken into account when considering the vehicle's overall 'economy' across the period of ownership.

This long 2024 forum thread discussed the brakes of UK-marketed Fabia Mk4 models. It was eventually established that the rear brakes of UK-marketed Monte Carlo models (that were the only Mk4s at that time available in the UK with the 1.5litre 4-cylinder motor) had disc rear brakes, whereas all the rest had drum rear brakes. All current UK-marketed Fabia cars have (as standard) a minimum road-wheel diameter of 15" and - to the best of my knowledge - that has always been the case since the Mk4 range was introduced in 2021. My 2024-built Fabia SE L has a front-disc/rear-drum braking system and the SE L model's standard 16"-diameter alloy road wheels. It also has the (optional) 15"-diameter steel emergency wheel + tool kit/jack that Skoda offers for Fabia Mk4s that have 16", 17" or 18"-diameter wheels. As one might reasonably expect (!!!) the 15"-diameter steel emergency wheel fits to my car without any clearance problems on its front-discs or rear-drums (Confirming this was at the top of my check-list when I obtained the car.) It's possible that' low-powered' Fabia Mk4 cars have smaller-diameter front-discs than more powerful models, but that should not impact on skoda998's 94bhp or 115bhp choices.

Regarding performance, the Owner's Manual for a 2023/2024 Fabia provides data on 6 possible motors. The two 999cc 3-cylinder turbocharged motors are said to have a power output of 94bhp (5000-5500rpm) or 109bhp (5500rpm). The 94bhp version has a maximum torque of 175Nm at 2000-3500rpm and (manual transmission) a maximum speed (in 5th) of 118mph with a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 10.7 seconds. The 109bhp version has a maximum torque of 200Nm at 1500-3000rpm and (manual transmission, a maximum speed (in 5th) of 126mph with a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 9.9 seconds. The variant with 7-speed DCT automatic transmission has a maximum speed (in 6th) of 125mph and a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 9.8 seconds.