garyallen

I have just had fitted to my Fabia 2 VRS DSG a full set of Vredestein Ultrac Cento tyres. Size standard 205/40/17. These tyres are excellent giving a very well balanced compromise between ride comfort and noise - car is much quieter than before when it had two Kumhos' on the front and two Continentals' on the rear. Tyres bought on-line from Pneus at a very reasonable £82 each - the tyres also benefit from a rim protection ridge. Highly recommended.

I phoned Skoda UK Customer Care Dept today and spoke to a very helpful member of staff. He logged my complaint re heavy oil consumption (Fabia 2 VRS) and stated that the car would have to be tested by a Skoda dealer. I asked him if he was aware of this problem in the VRS but he was somewhat unconvincing in his reply, merely stating that Skoda had not issued any recalls to deal with such a problem!! I then contacted the nearest Skoda dealer who agreed that they could do the test but at a cost to me of £230. In brief I would leave the car with them on a Monday morning, the car would be driven 300 miles through the week by the Service Manager or a Master Technician and the oil weighed at the end of the test. I assume they drain the oil at the start so they can weigh the oil prior to commencing the test. If a fault with the engine is diagnosed I wonder is the £230 refunded? I am going to monitor the consumption for a further month before taking any decision on the test. Also I want to establish if the Auto Protect Warranty might cover the problem - doubtful? On a different matter I have ordered four Vredestein Ultrac Cento tyres to replace the current tyres; as soon as they are fitted I will report my early impressions.

UPDATE ON OIL ISSUE Mileage 37,293 today. Cold level just above A marker; 1 litre required to restore to the level reported at 36,638 miles on 14th January 2014. Therefore consumption recorded at 1 litre for 655 miles = 1 litre for 1054 kilometres. This exceeds the consumption expected and detailed in the handbook; I am still monitoring the levels. Driving is mostly rural at 50/60 mph- car is not driven hard. Comments would be welcome as to my next move- remember the car is outside warranty.

I have only done 298 miles since last post on 14th January 2014 when cold level was left just above "A" on dipstick. I have just taken a fresh reading and the cold level is exactly half way down the hatched area!! I fear the worst. I have only owned the car for six weeks and it is out of warranty - it was purchased from a Seat dealer who are also VW/Audi dealers so I would imagine they are at least aware of the oil problem. I will run the car for another week to monitor usage and then decide on the best course of action. The car is covered by an Auto Protect warranty for one year but I dont know if it would cover this particular issue. Comments would be very welcome.

UPDATE ON OIL TOPIC Mileage 36,638 today. Cold level marginally above A marker Jabazouma check level half way up hatched area Will report back on usage.

I have now used the"Zabozuma" test as employed by sk4gw. Oil cold and the level is exactly at the top of the hatched area. Switch on and off and check level at once- oil is exactly at the bottom of the hatched area. Therefore a reasonable asssumption would be that the hatched area is equivalent to approximately 0.5 litres. My wife thinks I have "lost the plot"; I have never checked the oil in my car as often; a real shame as it spoils a super wee car.

I have a 2010 Fabia 2 VRS with factory fit Amundsen radio. My problem is setting the sat nav correctly. No matter where the car is when I enter destination details the radio calculates the route from County Donegall in the Republic of Ireland !! I live in N Ireland. The radio may be faulty but I suspect the more likely explanation lies with my programming. Could someone please provide a simple rundown on entering a destination?

A further quarter litre Castrol Edge added and following revised readings observed: Cold level at top of hatched area. Hot level just slightly over half way on hatched area. Mileage logged. I think I will go with these levels and see how the car performs. Special thanks to sk4gw for his interest and prompt responses.

Revised oil level readings on my Fabia 2 VRS : On cold check oil level is just over half way up hatched area. On hot check (oil temp at 83 degrees car stopped for 5 minutes) oil level is slightly under half way up hatched area. Are these satisfactory levels?

Has anyone got a recommendation for replacement tyres on my Fabia 2 VRS DSG? Current tyres give quite a bit of road noise although the low profile (205/40/17) does not help. Toyo Proxes TR1 seem popular but they are not a tyre I have had experience with.

Oil level at cold is just over half way up hatched area. Is this ok? anyone got suggestions for quiet tyres?

Thanks George, very useful reply. Today I added 1/2 litre of Castrol Edge to car and reading is half way up hatched area when oil is warm. If I have read your reply correctly this will leave room for 1/2 litre further drainage whilst oil is fully cooling. Assuming car was at correct level (top of hatched area?) when I collected it this would mean it has used 1/2 litre of oil in 987 miles - is this reasonable? I have decided to keep a log of oil consumption for future reference.

I have recently purchased a VRS unaware of the "oil" issue. My car is 2010 with 35,000 miles. I have this evening checked my car after bringing the oil up to temperature and then left it to sit for ten minutes. Upper orange marker had oil showing, hatched area mostly dry and lower orange marker showing oil - how should I interpret this result? Why is the checking system different for the 1.2 TSI engine? Apart from my potential concern regarding the above the car is superb; DSG box excellent and also nicely judged ride despite low profile tyres.