DerekU

This earlier forum discussion may be of interest I could happily lose many of my 2024 Fabia's electronic 'selling points' (and I'd prefer the simplified air-con system that I think your 2023 Colour model may have). However, those are personal preferences and other owners may think the opposite. Otherwise, I'm happy with my car and prefer it to the 2021 Hyundai i20 it replaced. It drives and corners well, stops well, is comfortable, well made, is economical fuel-wise and its automatic transmission generally operates seamlessly. Forum criticisms need to be treated with care - if a car's owner has had problems that have not been addressed to their satisfaction, they will complain loudly on-line, but few owners will bother to proactively post on a forum that they are pleased with their vehicle. You've test driven the car, liked it and (presumably) the price is OK. If you can cancel the deal and get your deposit back, that's an option, but, if you do, what would you get instead?

This argumentative 2024 forum discussion may be of interest. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/523080-fabia-le-comfort-grabbing-brakes/#comment-5847372 Since cars began to be fitted with ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) their braking has tended to be heavily servo-assisted at low speed rather than 'linear' across the complete speed range. VAG cars (eg. Audi, SEAT, Skoda Volkswagen,) have been particularly criticised for overly 'sharp' brakes (example here) https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1396732 but it's the norm, rather than the exception, for modern cars to decelerate abruptly from slow speed when the brake-pedal is only lightly depressed. My 2024-built Fabia Mk4's braking performance is definitely non-linear and 'sharp' at low speed, but my 2009 Skoda Roomster is the same (as was the 2021 Hyundai i20 that preceded the Fabia). However, at higher speeds, the braking of all three is/was fine, with deceleration proportional to brake-pedal pressure. If you've been accustomed to drive cars that had linear braking performance (eg. older cars without ABS) the sharpness of a modern ABS-equipped car's brakes at low speed can be a shock. The sharpness of your Fabia's brakes must be unusually high for a Skoda dealership to attempt to address this by filing the brake pads, rather than just advise you that it's a characteristic of the Fabia breed and you'll need to learn to live with it. It MIGHT be possible to 'tame' the sharpness by fitting different pads, but I can't see a Skoda dealership being prepared to experiment by doing that.

MURVAG82 So that's what the 'bracket-unit + arm' thing is for! Being an inveterate disbeliever, I removed the bracket-unit, moved the arm out of the way and closed the glove-box completely. When I opened the glove-box, sure enough it just dropped down fully with no damping or part-way retention. The damper itself (the small-cog thing) can be removed very easily from the bracket-unit (and quite easily fall out if one is not careful!) I don't think there is a less kind way of removing the damper arm from the bracket other than a slight downwards jerk of the glove-box when it is part-way open. The bracket-unit is symmetrical and can be inserted into its hole in the wall of the glove-box enclosure in one of two ways (and then twisted to secure it). The first time I inserted the bracket and attached the arm, the glove-box was not retained in its part-way open position. I removed the bracket, turned it through 180 degrees, reinserted it, connected the arm and, this time, the the glove-box was correctly retained in its part-way open position.

Although (as OccyVRS highlighted above) LED headlamps can be expected to have a long lifespan, they are not guaranteed to be immortal nor to be immune to accidental damage. On a just-in-case basis, it might be educational to ask your Skoda dealership what the cost of a replacement headlamp currently is for your car. (An online advert for a single LED matrix headlamp for a Skoda Octavia Mk 4 quotes a price of 1191€)

I notice I said "1968" above, but the 'exemption year' is "1986" (as nta16 advised). This means that, besides my Turner, my lethal Reliant Scimitar GTE and (possibly) my first Golf GTi could, nowadays , have their headlights legally converted to LED.

These are the H7 LED bulbs I chose to install in my Roomster Classic Car LEDs LtdPair of Compact Ultra H7 LED Headlight Conversion Bulbs M...This is a pair of our new, ultra compact, ultra bright direct replacement H7 LEDs. These LEDs have the same fitment and therefore will fit most vehicles that take an H7 lamp for dipped or main beam... The 1 April 1968 'compliance date' is clearly mentioned in the advert, as is the requirement that the LED bulb must still pass the MOT's beam pattern test. I did (crudely) compare the H7 halogen and LED beam patterns and, as far as I could see, they were the same. OSRAM markets a range of LED bulbs that can be used legally as halogen bulb replacements in quite a few countries. The UK is not on the OSRAM country list, though Ireland is. I've only owned one car (a 1962 Turner) that would have been eligible for the pre-April 1968 MOT derogation and I used (fragile) Lucas Le Mans headlamp units in that. I'm amused to see the current asking price of those units - as I was pretty skint in those days, the Le Mans lights must have been cheap back then.

It should be possible to identify visually from outside the car whether a Fabia Mk4 has the simpler LED non-adaptive headlamps or the more complex, more expensive, adaptive full-matrix LED type, but that assumes one knows what the two types look like! An alternative method might be to check the car's Travel Mode lighting setting on its infotainment display unit. My Fabia has the Amundsen display unit and non-adaptive LED headlamps. The dipped-beam pattern of adaptive full-matrix LED lights can be swapped between a 'left-hand traffic' pattern (eg. for driving in the UK) or a 'right-hand traffic' pattern (eg. for driving in Continental Europe). If the infotainment unit has the Travel Mode menu option shown below then the car should have adaptive full-matrix LED headlamps. However, if the Travel Mode option is 'greyed out' (as with my Fabia) the LED headlamps will be the less sophisticated type.

I think the headlamp units of your Israel-marketed Fabia Mk4 will be what Skoda calls "Bi-LED" type and similar to my UK-marketed Fabia's headlamps, except yours will have a dipped-beam pattern appropriate for driving on the right-hand side of the road, whereas my car's headlamps have a dipped-beam pattern appropriate for driving on the left-hand side of the road. Received wisdom seems to be that the expected lifespan of the LED headlamps factory-fitted to new cars is from 30,000 to 50,000 hours, but, if a LED headlamp starts to fail, it can be expensive to replace. I took a cursory look at my car's lights and I thought that it might be possible to replace the four LED modules individually (rather than the complete light unit) but I could not be sure. If a car has 'smart' full matrix LED headlamps (with a swappable dipped-beam pattern) dealing with failure (or damage) is likely to prove VERY expensive and I recall the replacement cost of a single matrix LED headlamp unit for a Hyundai being around £1400. My 2021 Hyundai i20 had an 'entry level' specification and (unusual) halogen headlamp bulbs that were far from easy to replace - but the bulbs themselves were only about £10. My helpful AI assistant says While most new cars feature LED headlights, halogen bulbs are still commonly found in entry-level and some budget-friendly models. LED headlights are increasingly standard on mid-range and premium vehicles. Halogen bulbs, the traditional type, are known for their lower cost and ease of replacement. LED Headlights: These are becoming the norm, offering benefits like longer lifespan, energy efficiency, and brighter light output. They are often integrated into the headlight unit and may not be easily replaceable as individual bulbs. (My 2009 Skoda Roomster has 'projector' headlamp units with a single H7 halogen bulb and the light output is very poor. I've replaced the halogen bulbs with LED equivalents and the improvement is very significant. Each time the Roomster is due for its annual Ministry of Transport safety test, I need to remember to put the H7 bulbs back in as 'converting' a halogen-bulb light unit to LED is forbidden in the UK. Fortunately, swapping the Roomster's headlamp bulbs fromLED to halogen and vice versa just takes a few minutes.)

My 2024 Fabia Mk4's battery, after being fully charged using my CTK MXS 5.0 charger, reads about 12.4V when a reading is taken with a multimeter at the battery terminals. This 'low' reading doesn't bother the car's starting, running, Stop/Start system, electronics, etc. and I'm unconvinced that bazz2004's Fabia's electronics/software 'glitches' are starter-battery-related. (Obviously, it's POSSIBLE that they are, but PROBABLY not.) Out of idle curiosity, I shut the my car's bonnet, got in the car, made sure all the doors and windows were shut, locked the car using its key-fob and then immediately took voltage readings at the 12V power-outlet beneath the front armrest. The initial reading was 12.1V, but this gradually climbed to 12.4V when it stabilised. This seems to confirm (as has been mentioned above) that, when the car is unlocked and 'ready-to-go', there is a substantial current drain to maintain the car's electrical/electronic systems and this will continue until the car is locked and has 'shut itself down'. My car's Owner's Manual includes the following advice Recommendations when the vehicle is stationary for more than three weeks Disconnect the negative terminal of the 12V battery This isn't that easy with a Mk4, but it does suggest that parasitic drain is recognised as being quite high and, consequently, it makes good sense to regularly charge a Mk4's battery if it is being driven infrequently.

For Skoda Fabia Mk4 owners who like videos... Although there is currently no online video describing replacement of the cabin (pollen) filter of a Fabia Mk4, the replacement procedure for a VW Golf Mk7 is similar as shown here (LHD car). The front cover of a Fabia Mk4's filter-box has two retaining 'tabs' (not the Golf's three) and these can be unclipped by hand fairly easily without prising them with a screwdriver (as iI've seen suggested on other videos). It's perhaps worth mentioning too that, when moving the glove-box upwards from fully-down to its normal position (2:30 time in the video) a degree of brute force is unavoidable. This comparison test of cabin filters may also be of interest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwaK4ilTos8

It would seem from previous comments in this thread that no owner (except me) of a Fabia Mk4 car has actually replaced the air-con filter. Once it is realised that (as is commonplace) the filter is behind the glove-box, replacing the filter should be no more than a 5-minute task start to finish even for Mr **** Diyer. It's like having sex while free-fall parachuting - it will be a lot easier after the first time but, if the procedure involved and any risks are not understood, it's something best avoided doing.

I notice that a similar enquiry was made here When referring earlier to the 'box' that encloses the air-con filter, I said "How to open that 'box' should be obvious" - but (having just done it) that may have been a mite simplistic. The front cover of the 'box' hinges at its bottom edge and the next photo shows it partially hinged down. To open the cover when it is shut, the two 'flaps' I have arrowed in green need to be pushed firmly downwards (this can be done one flap at a time and it should be plain when the flap has unclipped) Then the cover can easily be removed. This next photo shows the air-con filter partially pulled out and the directional arrow on the filter must point downwards. In my 2024 Fabia Mk4's case, the Skoda-factory-fitted filter is branded "VALEO", but, as it also carries VAG data, it may not show in a VALEO filter retail catalogue. The VAG/Skoda part number is 2Q0819669 and it's visually obvious that the VALEO filter in my car is the activated carbon type. A 'genuine' Skoda filter is advertised here https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/2q0819669-cabin-odour-filter-skoda-39407.html but GOOGLE-searching on 2Q0819669 should identify suitable (and less expensive) equivalent filters from Bosch, Mann, Mahle, etc.

The Fabia Mk4 has a single air-con (pollen) filter located to the rear of the glove-box. If you refer to this forum discussion and scroll down to my posting of 26 April 2024, you will find guidance on how to fully lower the glove-box so that the 'box' that contains the air-con filter can be accessed. How to open that 'box' should be obvious and make sure you follow the fitting instructions that should come with a replacement filter as to which way up the filter should go. (And make sure you get a good quality replacement filter!!)

The infotainment unit's size depends on how you measure it. You could post a photo, but, as your car's infotainment unit has knobs, then it is either a SWING or a BOLERO and neither of those has an inbuilt navigation capability. When you connect your phone to the car and use Android Auto, the maps/ routes/speed limits that display on the infotainment unit's screen will come from your phone and depend on whatever navigation app you have chosen to run on your phone. There are navigation apps (eg SYGIC) that have a traffic-sign recognition feature, but I've no idea how these react if the road being driven on does not appear in the app's mapping data and has no speed-limit signs.

I think there are no VW Group cars with that type of system, but I understand current model Ford Transits and Fiat Ducato commercial vehicles have an ISLA (Intelligent Speed Limit Assist) feature where a windscreen-mounted camera identifies speed-limit traffic signs and, when no signs are available, uses GPS and an onboard mapping database to indicate the speed limit. But neither vehicle has 'navigation' as standard. My 2021 Hyundai i20 had a camera-only ISLA, but no navigation. My 2024 Skoda Fabia has navigation, with (optional) acoustic speed warnings based on the navigation system's mapping data, but the car has no traffic sign recognition and no automatic ISLA as such. The English-language Owner's Manual for the latest Fabia suggests that there are now just two infotainment-display options (called 8" or 9") with the 8" having two rotary knobs and no integrated navigation, and the 9" having no knobs and integrated navigation. The mandated ISLA 'rule' is that, when there's a conflict between a recognised traffic speed-limit sign and GPS mapping data, the former must take precedence, but I don't know how that translates to what is shown on the latest Fabia's infotainment display. My Fabia also has 'Gesture Control' (!!) and 'Voice Control'. Unfortunately the latter does not respond to being sworn at.

On the top of a Fabia Mk4's starter-battery the protective plastic cover over the terminal 'bus-bar' is clipped to a sub-frame beneath. This photo of the cover shows two lever-type plastic clips (A and B) and, if you look closely at the sides of the cover, you will see three small holes where I have arrowed. Short plastic stubs on the sub-frame fit into those holes when the cover is correctly attached to the battery. After taking off the small plastic clip-on cover that protects the battery's positive terminal, the removal method I use is as follows: Move Clip A sideways so that it frees up from the sub-frame (it will only move in one direction) and simultaneously pull the top-left corner of the cover firmly upwards. This should result in the two holes in the left side of the cover coming free from their stubs, leaving the cover loose. Now move Clip B sideways so that it frees up from the sub-frame and the cover is now completely off. When replacing the cover, I begin by hooking the hole in the cover's right-hand side over its little stub. I then press the cover carefully downwards all around so that the two holes on the cover's left-hand side slide over their matching stubs on the sub-frame, and make sure that clips A and B lock properly in place. (I've not attempted to remove the battery, so it's no good asking whether I know how to do that 🙂) For the UK (and presumably everywhere else) there are three possible infotainment units that a Fabia Mk 4 may have. These are named "SWING", "BOLERO" or "AMUNDSEN", with Swing having the lowest specification, Bolero having a higher specification and Amundsen having the highest specification. Swing and Bolero (photo below) both have a two genuine rotary knobs whereas Amundsen (photo below) is a pure 'touchscreen' unit and has no knobs. For a Fabia Mk4 to have an inbuilt sat-nav navigation capability, it must have the Amundsen unit and this feature is visually apparent from the Amundsen unit having a specific NAV 'button' on its right-hand side (above the CAR button). Of course this does not prevent a Fabia Mk4 owner from employing Android Auto (or Apple CarPlay) to pair their smartphone with the car and then using a navigation app (GOOGLE Maps, Waze, etc) as your garage guy has explained.

The "CS ONE" is CTEK's premier battery charger. It's not cheap https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/cs-one-uk?srsltid=AfmBOoqQJQbWNuc7LPVM-Po7DH9GT4cl2Ne_53606fmtiVV7cSoOOwp- but it should be fairly foolproof and (as logiclee has said) its WAKE UP option is designed to revive shut-down lithium batteries or seemingly dead lead-acid batteries. (Obviously it won't revive genuinely dead batteries, but - unlike less sophisticated chargers - there's no minimum voltage threshold.) This video mentions the WAKE UP feature, but does not explain how it works (I expect it's magic!) and there's also this long in-depth 2022 review. Bennetts BikeSocial MembershipCTEK CS One review | Motorcycle & car battery chargerAt £219, this is the most expensive motorcycle and car battery chargers we’ve tested, but do its high current and connected features makes it worth it?

'Thermo covers' are dual-purpose - they shield a car's starter-battery from high temperatures in the engine compartment and also provide (limited) protection against extreme cold weather. This image is of the starter-battery fitted to a 2024 Israel-marketed Fabia Mk4 and shows the insulated cover surrounding the battery's sides. My own 2024 UK-marketed Fabia Mk4's starter-battery does not this cover (though my 2009 Skoda Roomster's battery has a cover) but specifications can vary significantly from country to country. (I don't know what the red thing in your photo is. It doesn't look like it is part of your car, but you might want to check whether the rat has also had a go at the sound-deadening pad fitted to the underside of the bonnet. You may need to have the engine compartment professionally valeted to get rid of the rat crap.) My Fabia has integrated sat-nav (GPS) navigation operating through its Amundsen touchscreen infotainment display-unit, but (obviously) I don't know what your car has. Some vehicles have built-in sat-nav that uses GPS and some vehicles have traffic-sign navigation as well. Other vehicles may just have traffic-sign recognition but no GPS-based navigation, while others may have traffic-sign recognition coupled to a GPS database but no navigation. Your Skoda dealership SHOULD be able to advise you on the GPS issues you are having.

I read documentation...

My CTEK charger is similar - 2.0V minimum battery voltage.

This long YouTube video on the Ultimate Speed ULG3.8 B1 charge may be of interest. My previous car was a 2021 Hyundai i20 that proved to have a starter-battery high parasitic drain. Assuming that the car's original Yigit Aku (Turkish) dinky little starter-battery was on the way out, I replaced it with a higher-spec Yuasa equivalent. Assuming (again!) that this would address the SOC loss, I left the car standing for a couple of weeks and, when I came to unlock it using its central-locking key-fob, it wouldn't and, having manually unlocked the car, the starter-battery's voltage was found to be about 10V. I put the battery on charge using my elderly CTEK MXS 5.0 that happily brought the Yuasa battery back to full charge. (So no problems with the CTEK charger dealing with a heavily discharged, but otherwise healthy, battery.) I keep the Yigit Aku battery in my garage and use it to power my 12V tyre pump. The battery retains its SOC very well and an occasional short blast via the CTEK (when I feel in the mood) brings it up to full charge very quickly.

I've no personal experience of either product, but there are Trustpilot reviews of both that would be worth you reading, particularly as you envisage needing to replace your Fabia's tyres annually. https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/alloygator.com?stars=1 https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/rimblades.com?stars=1

If by "gap" you mean what I've marked in green on the image below, that is perfectly normal for the design of front disc-brake caliper commonly fitted to VW Group cars (my 2009 Skoda Roomster has a similar front-brake caliper design) and what you can see through the 'gap' (arrowed in red) is the back of a disk pad and (I believe) an anti-rattle spring. This photo is of a complete front-brake caliper removed from a Skoda Fabia Mk 4 and I've marked the 'gap' in yellow.

Yesterday I lowered my 2024-built Fabia's glove-box fully down (as I described in the August 2023 thread). No fixing screws were evident, but - although I looked very closely and used a torch - I still couldn't decide exactly how the bottom rear edge of the glove-box 'hinges'. The glove-box has a 'damper' controlling its descent and (based on generic VW/Skoda YouTube videos) the small trim panel on the left end of the dashboard will first need to be (carefully) prised off to allow the damper to be disconnected. There are several current ebay adverts for Mk 4 glove-boxes that have been removed by car salvage companies, so it must be possible to remove the glove-box without damaging it. If you study the advert photos, you may be able to decide if detaching the glove-box from the dashboard is just a matter of using judicious brute force or something more subtle. If you eventually decide to replace the glove-box, I suggest you ask a friendly Skoda workshop manager how to do it.

On 26 April In this 2024 forum thread I described how to fully lower a Fabia Mk 4's glove-box. I didn't explore removing the glovebox completely from the dashboard, but - if the same retention method is used as for the small storage box in front of the fuse-box - there may be no screws, just moulded plastic 'hooks'.