Miko

Hi all, I know this is an old topic but I've had my fabia II 1.2 htp for just over a year which I'm really chuffed with and I'm looking at fitting a Columbus unit for the sat nav and music storage. I'm off to central France for a few months in the summer and don't want to rely on my phone for the sat nav or music. The Columbus I'm looking at has full western Europe maps in the latest 2017 version. Does the Columbus unit straight swap with the swing unit I already have? I know I have to fit a GPS aerial but what about coding / vcds issues? I have the basic non maxidot computer and rear parking sensors that show up on the swing display when reversing but nothing else. The Columbus unit is cheap enough but I don't want to buy something that I then need to spend another couple of hundred quid on to make work. Thanks, Mike.

Ok deal is done and I am now the owner of a tidy 1.2 htp fabia 2 SE in brilliant white. It also came with the leather pack and rear parking sensors with the display screen on the radio plus a set of roof bars for the rails. First drive back home of 35 miles was a pleasure and it was reading 47mpg on the obc. Not the quickest car but very smooth and very light compared to my old 1.4 16v. Well chuffed and thanks for the info and advice. Mike

Just to throw a spanner in the works, does anyone have any thoughts on the 1.4 tdi PD 80 engine? I am looking at mpg and reliability given that this is a non dpf engine. I have found a pre face lift fabia 3, nice spec, in budget with 70k on the clock, FSH Inc cambelt at a local dealer.

Thanks for the info, I'm leaning towards the 1.2 htp at the mo as I'm a bit concerned about the egr valve and dpf problems with the tdi that I'm reading about. A good 70% of my commute is in stop start traffic and if it's bad, like tonight, I can spend an hour sitting in traffic hardly moving. It took me 2hrs 40 to do 30 miles tonight. My only concern with the 1.2 htp I'm looking at is the mileage at 82k. What sort of mileage should this engine reach without any major problems? It appears to be well looked after with full main dealer history and mots without advisories except for a tyre here and there. My current 1.4 16v 100hp engine is running sweet as a nut with 121k on the clock and the only mechanicals I've had are a couple of coil packs and a coolant sensor in 60k of driving. I hope to keep the new car for at least 3 years and hopefully 5 so I'll be adding another 45-75k to it. Any thoughts on this sort of mileage on this small engine?

Fabiamk2SE, What do you drive? have you got experience of the HTP engine and if so what sort of mpg doyou get? My first Skoda was a mk1 fabia 1.4 MPi which was solid but a bit dull but ultimately 100% reliable and only died (105k on the clock) after being written off by an idiot driver not watching where he was going. Is the 1.2 HTP a developed version of the old MPi engine? Cheers, Mike.

M8t The MOT checking service is brilliant. Mileage seems to tally on those but on another I was looking at it looks like it had the whole front end rebuilt (badly) probably after a smash. Failed twice before they got it right! Mike

M8t, The tdi had the cambelt and water pump done at the service before last at 42k so only has a year and 12k on it. I'll get a longer test drive on Saturday and run it hard as suggested. The htp is chain driven so not an issue. Don't really know much about this engine apart from very conflicting views from owners, some love it and some hate it. It was very spritely about town but boomy on fast roads. It felt much lighter too. Mike

Hi all, Its been a while since I've posted as my trusty 2003 Fabia 16v 1.4 estate has been trouble free for the last few years. The car is due an MOT in January and has a long list of small issues that need fixing so its about time for it to go. I purchased the car nearly 3 years ago for £600 and have put almost 60,000 miles on her. Mileage now is 121,000. I have my eye on a couple of newer Fabia II estates, both are 2010 SE models and have almost identical trim levels. One is a 1.6 tdi CR 90 for a touch over £5k with 50k miles and one is a 1.2 htp 70 for around £3k with 82k miles. I travel 30 miles each way to and from work 5 days a week. Most of this is urban driving with a short 10 mile stretch of dual carriageway / motorway. I never go above 75mph and average around 45mph on the whole journey. My 1.4 16v returns around 42mpg for the trip. 2 or 3 times a year I have to haul my family and light luggage on a 200 mile trip but hat is about the maximum I will have to do in a single day. Maximum mileage will now be around 16k for the year. I plan to keep the car for 3-5 years if it is as reliable as my current fabia. Any thoughts on which one to go for? I've driven both and like the diesel punch but also like the character of the 1.2 petrol. Cheers, Mike.

Thanks for the replies. I cleared the codes last night and have done my daily commute clocking up 75 trouble free miles with no engine management light. The car runs perfectly and so far no trouble starting up. I'll be changing the ECT this weekend once I've checked which one it is, 2 pin / 4 pin etc and hopefully that will solve the warm start issues. Ill let you know how it goes

Hi all, I am on my second mk1 Fabia which I have had for 18 months and approximately 30k miles. The mileage has just turned 90k. Its a 1.4 16v 100bhp estate version in Comfort trim. All is good except after about 6 months the engine management light came on, off, on, off and then stayed on until now although it very occasionally goes off for about 20 miles then comes back on. The car has been serviced regularly and I have had the engine management light reset a couple of times then just gave up. It still runs great and I'm getting between 40 and 48 to the gallon in my daily commute. However.... About 2 months ago I got in and the engine turned but would not fire. After about 5 or 6 goes it caught but was lumpy on idle for about 5 seconds then righted itself and drove great again. This has now happened about 6 times, it can take between 1 and 10 goes to get it going but it always goes ok after that. I looked at the forum and found threads on warn start problems being quite common and linked to temperature sensors and / or lambda sensors. I then borrowed a VAG code reader and up popped the following codes - 532, 16804 and 17584. The first one seems to be related to a low voltage supply (B+) so I guess a new battery is required??? The other two are both related to bank 1 cat converter - efficiency below threshold and intake leak / lambda converter after the catalyst. Does this mean I need a new cat or just some leak issues??? Any help would be greatly appreciated. in one mind I'm happy just to live with it as the car was only £600 (well spent) or if its doing serious damage. I plan to keep the car until it dies as its a great workhorse and very cheap to run / insure and I can get three bikes in the back with the seats down! Im a reasonable DIY mechanic so if its not too difficult to sort either the warm start issue or the fault codes then I'll have a go. Cheers, Mike.

Had a look at drop link threads on here and i dont think thats it, no clonking noises but a definite whine at speed and turning right. Just taken it up the road again and it pulls slightly to the left when I take my hands off the wheel, not much but enough to have to correct it. I guess this means a visit to a garage but was hoping to do it myself as my son is a sponging student and I have to pay for everything......

Hi all, Forgive me for being a bit green but this is my first skoda (my son's first car) although I have owned and worked on / repaired several seat leons and a mark 4 golf so know the VW group quite well. My son noticed a whine / grinding noise coming from the front o/s when he reached 50-60 and turned the wheel to the right. Turning the wheel left stopped it, I drove it and noticed it too. I have checked for play in the front wheels, and back for good measure, but can't find any. The front o/s side does grind a bit when turned so I reckon thats the problem. I have looked online and can get a complete wheel bearing kit which looks like it just bolts onto the drive shaft without having to press out / press in any bearings. Is this correct or am I being a bit stupid? I am sure it will need a little muscle and a few choice swear words but I am hoping its straight forward. I think the n/s has been done before as the large nut holding the hub on is different / cleaner than the o/s. If it is a simple as I hope it is do I need any special skoda / VAG tools? Thanks in advance.... MikeForgot to add - 02 reg 1.4mpi Classic 60 bhp 85k on the clock