seaweasel

Good to know about the hitting the pillar, will try some cheap eBay flats first and see how they are. Cheers.

The eagle eyed would have noticed that I registered a while back when we got our Octavia and haven't been around much until now. Apart from a surprise clutch replacement after a few weeks and a little suspension work under warranty during first service, it's been delightfully reliable so haven't had many questions! Well my old Passat was being a nuisance so I ditched it and found myself a 2003 Fabia Elegance 2.0 MPI (I was swithering between it and a 1.4 MPI or 1.2 HTP but glad I got the 2.0). Looks pretty good for the age I think, will stick a photo up once I get it washed/waxed. There are a few niggles, none of which make it undriveable and a few of them I'm happy enough I know I can sort or have found some good guides on here for. Others will probably need a pro or I'll at least need a hand with. Maybe I could get a bit of help with these problems and fault codes? Temp gauge has failed suddenly, had a look at fault codes and found this: P0116 Engine Coolant Temperature Circuit Range/Performance Problem (Pending) From what I've read in the thread in Technical Guides, assume it's the coolant temp sensor so will see about replacing that and maybe the thermostat. I know the 2.0 8V isn't a common engine though, is the sensor/thermostat located somewhere obvious? Any coolant draining needed? Fuel gauge/range doesn't work, found this fault code related to fuel/evaporative control system: P0445 Evaporative Emission Control System Purge Control Valve Circuit Shorted Jammed/bad solenoid in the valve? Bit beyond my ken this, but can get a mechanic in the family to help if that's the cause (or stick it in to the auto spark if I have to), but where is this located roughly and how is it to replace? Also idle can be a little bouncy (sits around 900 but moves a bit more than I'd expect) and have had a couple of difficult starts from warm. Don't know if that's related to the above or not. Other bits and pieces like new aerial (another great guide), swapping in my head unit etc I'm confident enough doing. Great to drive though, good fun!

If you haven't done it before, it's not a technically difficult repair, but they can be fiddly. If it's had a fall and the rear case is dented (corners especially), then you'll need to 'panel beat' it back into shape a little. With it being so thin and held together with glue essentially, the tolerances are quite small for getting the new display to fit well if there's been impact damage. You may well know of it but if not, there are very good repair guides at iFixit.com. Also, make sure the flex cable for the display is tucked in properly before you stick it back together (and test before sticking!). I tend to leave them for a good few hours (or overnight) to make sure the adhesive sticks well, wrap it in a jaycloth or something similar and either leave something relatively weighty on it, or some little plastic clamps from the pound shop can work well. Good luck!

This may be a silly question, but what about the £5 Tesco flat blades, any good?

I got the 3M kit for my Passat headlights and was quite pleased with the results. Didn't get round to MOTing with the one I'd polished, but certainly looked better and think I noticed a bit of a difference on the road too. I had tried it first with a spare headlight I bought off a forum for a few quid and used a cordless drill with the assembly out the car. Think this turned out better than the one already installed with a corded drill. Still have a little of the polish left and some spare discs so think I'll give it a go on my new Fabia as it's looking a bit frosty. Photo of polished passat headlight:

Scrub that, will get the 1DIN surround from local dealer and have ordered the other bits. Have some miscellaneous bits of trim to find at a breakers so will pick up an OEM tray at some point. Cheers.

I know the whole radio conversion topic seems to have come up a million times on here, and from what I've read I think I can get it done. The 2003 Fabia I'm hopefully picking up tomorrow though has a missing coin tray (just the depths of rear of dash at the back), so I was wondering if I could kill two birds with one stone. There seem to be two types of 2003 kits about on eBay - one single DIN for the oversized 1DIN OEM units and double DIN kits with a coin tray built in. Would this kit do my Fabia that currently has a plus-size 1DIN Skoda radio/cassette, or would I need the standard £3 1DIN Skoda one, plus source a replacement tray? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Skoda-Fabia-Double-Din-CD-Stereo-Radio-Fitting-Kit-Wiring-ISO-Aerial-2003-2006-/151045292583?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item232b004227 Hope that makes sense. Thanks for any advice.

Also, remembered my satnav will think it's connected to a PC when used with a plain USB cable, could maybe use something like this with a mini to usbA adapter though? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Garmin-nuvi-200w-205w-250w-255w-hardwire-car-charger-/190444415932?pt=US_GPS_Chargers_Batteries&hash=item2c575f2bbc Not hundred percent sure the adapter would be an issue, but I think a resistor in the power supply lets the unit know that it's not a PC, so could work. Or I could get a new smarter satnav, but old Nuvi works fine and cables are pretty cheap.

Great idea, I noticed that the lighter socket on the Fabia is pretty far away so was wondering about satnav power. Would something like this China-goodness do the job spliced in from the lighter cable in the centre console and shoehorned in to a blank switch? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-12V-to-5V-3A-15W-Step-down-Converter-Regulator-to-2-Female-USB-Output-for-Car-/321125580536?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item4ac4937ef8 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-12V-to-5V-3A-15W-Step-down-Converter-Regulator-female-Panel-mount-USB-for-car-/271266538422?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item3f28bee3b6

Cheers. Got some Mer hybrid wax and alloy stuff a while back but this is such a good deal I thought I'd pick one up - reserved. I should really wax the cars more so should need it eventually anyway! Also, an extra 50p or so through TopCashback!

Best educational discounts are higher/university, further/college and schools in descending order, as mentioned AppleCare especially is heavily discounted. Best way in fact is to order through your university as you essentially get free AppleCare which also covers the battery on notebooks (this doesn't include phone support however). If buying from an Apple Store with higher education discount AppleCare is extremely cheap but does include support (some exclusions on battery though). And if you're wondering, although AppleCare is basically an externded warranty, it's something I would reccommend - service from Apple is generally very good and it can come in very handy if something big fails like a logic board. Also, some Apple machines are becoming more spacialised to repair, so even something like a battery or SSD can be a hassle to do a DIY replacement on MB Air or Retina MBP. Apple UK are now also doing AppleCare+ for iPhones/iPads where it also covers a few instances of accidental damage (kind of a hybrid warranty insurance policy).

Just need to fit the bugger now!

Bought our Octavia nearly new from Howard Abraham about 2 years ago from a chap called Wilson. Was very helpful, no pressure, and everything went smoothly. Have been pleased with after service too - clutch unexpectedly went a few weeks later, I had Skoda Assistance/RAC out and we dumped it on the forecourt that night. Had a call from them the next morning saying that it was covered under warranty, parts were ordered and courtesy car would be ready to pick up at lunchtime. Guy who seems to run service desk is friendly enough. First service also included a warranty suspension fix when I asked them to check a noise. Can't say regarding the other sales guys, but everyone I've dealt with has been good so far.

OK, false alarm maybe as I've just found a couple of Fabias closer by and hopefully with working locks! Sorry if this is getting into new thread territory, but any recommendations between the 1.2 HTP 64 Blueline and the 2.0 MPI? Both 2003, assuming the MPI has the better spec (foglights, so Elegance? - 1.2 doesn't mention aircon but both have alloys). MPI about 83k, HTP about 91k, £100 between them. I know there's also £100 quid between the road tax - to be honest the priority is getting a cheap reliable commuter (both have a year MOT, one's a small dealer), but I've wanted a VRS since they came out and the MPI sounds more fun! I take it the 1.2's probably more solid? Will see if they're still about tomorrow and try and have a look.

Thanks Phil. I do have a OBD cable (though never got VAG-COM working!) and occasionally can get a loan of a dedicated diag unit so if I go see this one will check those if I can. Cheers.

So I gave up on my old Passat and just sold it, one of the main problems was central locking which I tried to fix (unsuccessfully!). I don't need another large car and would like to be an all-Skoda household so I'm looking to get a cheap (sub £1000) Fabia as a second runabout for me. Have found a couple that look promising, and one seems great (haven't seen yet) with the exception of central locking! The seller helpfully told me on the phone that it's not working for any doors and car can only be locked from inside. What I wanted to check was whether it's the same root cause as my Passat, I know that a lot of VAG vehicles of about 10-15 years old have bother with microswitches failing in the lock assembly, thereby confusing the CL system. I don't expect a forum diagnosis on a car I haven't seen yet let alone driven, but wanted to know if it's if it's common on the older Fabias, and if so, what it's like to fix (was a swine on the B5). Thanks.

Ah right. Thanks for the quick reply.

Quick, hopefully easy question - are the tail lights (lens) on the Facelift MKII estate the same as the 2004-09 model? Have a 2011 and need to replace the left one, wanted to check. Cheers.

Saw a Felicia pickup on the way back from buying poultry feed this morning, think there's probably even less chance of a Fabia pickup than a convertible! Makes such a difference having the Octavia Estate for the monthly feed run by the way, quarter of a ton in the back no problem!

Yup, any iPod or iPhone will output the audio through the dock connector, I thought the HU could read AAC, OGG etc over MDI from flash storage or a HDD though? Don't have any plans to get the upgrade however, the SD card is working fine with MP3s so will just have to do the odd bit of transcoding!

Ah well, mustn't have read that page in the manual properly! It's odd that it will read more formats over MDI than from the SD card. Thanks Chris.

My nice big SD card arrived today and I've been trying it out with the Amundsen in my Octavia. I was under the impression that it will read AAC files but it only seems to find the MP3s. I could be wrong but from digging on Google I found some references to other VAG units playing AAC but I wasn't sure if this was with a newer firmware version or over MDI. So my questions are, will the Amundsend see AAC files with the right firmware, and how do I find my FW version? Also, if this is the case, will it work with SD cards or only over MDI (which I don't have unfortunately). Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks AMI-Burnside, will look into that.

This will work with any iOS device (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad) but it will erase all data. Also useful if an update to your device fails or it won't start up past the Apple logo (you can always sync again or restore from backup). Connect your device to your computer with iTunes open Hold down the sleep/wake and home buttons for eight seconds then release the sleep/wake button (continue holding down the home button) The screen should normally remain black and after a few seconds iTunes will tell you that your device is in recovery mode and has to be restored Click OK and then Restore This should restore it as a new device.

Thanks alkip.