Hello, am new here and wondering if anyone can advise.

We own a Skoda Fabia Y reg. Recently the ABS light came up as well as the engine management and another light on the dashboard.

We took it to a mechanic to be repaired. It has cost us £215 so far. This was for a EGR valve (£108) and the rest for diagnostic (£30), (£45) for labour and the rest VAT.

Does this sound like a reasonable amount?

According to the mechanic we will also need to replace the computer as the diagnostic indicated that there was was a faulty relay that is part of the computer, causing the ABS system to fail. He quoted around £300 plus labour and VAT costs for a new computer and around £65 for reprogamming, so mimimum of £500 in total. He also gave an alternative of repairing our current computer for around £200 + labour and VAT mimimum. The second option would take the car out of commission for at least one week.

Are there any Skoda experts out there. Does this sounds like a reasonable quote? We are probably also going to get a quote from a Skoda garage.

Thanks.

I'm thinking that greasemonkey is trying to **** you over and get his hands in your pockets. Get a second opinion, definitely.

Sounds like a load of whatsit to me too.

What engine is in the car?

I was under the impression that the EGR valves rarely fail, they just get cacked up, particularly on the diesels (mine looks like someone poured creosote into it). As for replacing the ECU!!!

I should ask for a list of the fault codes and get a second opinion. Look to see if there is a member with VAG-COM near you who may read the codes for beer tokens - check the vag com and diagnostics forum on here.

Anyway I'm sure someone more technically qualified than me will be along shortly...

Sounds like a load of whatsit to me too.

What engine is in the car?

I was under the impression that the EGR valves rarely fail, they just get cacked up, particularly on the diesels (mine looks like someone poured creosote into it). As for replacing the ECU!!!

I should ask for a list of the fault codes and get a second opinion. Look to see if there is a member with VAG-COM near you who may read the codes for beer tokens - check the vag com and diagnostics forum on here.

Anyway I'm sure someone more technically qualified than me will be along shortly...

Thanks for your replies.

The model is a Skoda Fabia Comfort 1.41 16v 100bhp 5 door hatchback (petrol).

Oh dear, won't be going back there then

Those prices seem about right to me and much less than what a dealer would charge, however I do feel that his initial diagnostic on the EGR valve is out. The EGR was quite likely showing an excessive flow rate so it is reasonable to expect a garage that does not know specifically the Skoda/VW product to replace the valve as that was showing a fault. As stated above that error (to those who know the product) is usually down to a blockage in the pipe.

He does seem correct about the ABS. I expect that it was a return flow pump fault, the relay that controls that is built into the ABS valve block/control unit. The other light was the orange triangle ASR light which is controlled by the ABS unit. I priced up an ABS unit from Skoda recently and that was closer to £500 than £300.

So in my opinion (initial EGR error omitted) he is been straight with you.

Edited 29 August, 200817 yr by fordfan

I saw an older TSB a little while ago which mentioned a software flash for the ABS to fix some issues, have you heard of this John?

I stand corrected.

I'm afraid not Stu, the garage that I work at stopped been Skoda dealers 6 years ago. Coincidentally enough we had in recently an identical car with the same warning lights on, and I suspect the exact same error codes. This car belonged to an employee of another garage, so we just read the codes and offered advice as how to cure them. What I did notice was what appeared to be corrosion on the left hand side of the ABS ECU connector, we didn't unplug it (as it was not in our work instructions) for further investigation and we didn't fancy the possibility of corroded electrical pins breaking. The measuring blocks for the flow return did check out OK and it did cross my mind that if the solenoid was sticking it may respond to a gentle tap from a hammer and block of wood, if it was my car I probably would have done, but I wouldn't advise anybody to do so unless they are prepared to pay for new ABS unit.

Hi all,

Thank you for your replies.

We thought the valve problem had been fixed (the little engine sign on the dashboard had gone out) but after driving for about 5 minutes the little engine sign reappeared so we are going to have to take it back to the garage to see why that has happened.

We are going to ask them for the diagnostic codes.

It needs the throttle body removing and the EGR valve loosened so that the pipe under the throttle body and the throttle body can be cleaned. What is happening is that the EGR valve is been opened by the ECU, as the ECU does not detect a change in the mixture as the pipe is blocked the valve is opened further, until it is opened fully with still no change in mixture and it will then show an EGR excessive flow rate code and put the engine light on.

He does seem correct about the ABS. I expect that it was a return flow pump fault, the relay that controls that is built into the ABS valve block/control unit. The other light was the orange triangle ASR light which is controlled by the ABS unit. I priced up an ABS unit from Skoda recently and that was closer to £500 than £300.

Just got my car back from the local garage with exact same lights lit (ABS & orange triangle) and its been diagnosed from the codes as 'return pump fault' but would need a new ABS unit @ £450+ Ouch! One minute it was working, next minute it wasn't!!

Check the strip fuse in top of the battery for a hairline crack, I think its fuse 4 and 40 amp.

cheers, I'll do that

cheers, I'll do that

checked 4th fuse along in battery fuse box (position 11). Its a beige strip fuse and seems to 5amp. Is this the one? unfortunately it looks OK to me but its probably hard to see a hairline crack. Should I change it anyway?

Changed all the fuses in battery compartment but still no good. Worth a try but looks like its a new abs unit. Don't think this should fail at 37K miles!

There is a place that can repair/test ABS units. I had one done on my Passat, and it cost about £100.

VW Passat Bosch ABS Pump ECU Modulator / Module

Give them a call!