Fella's this post is about the 1.4tdi being a flop, it should be renamed "fabia Brakes".

As far as I am concerned and I have the very same car, it's a great car, with great all round performance

so your complaining about the brakes? you've had a crash. get over it its metal. maybe put on some ceramic discs if your that bothered? haha. seems to me like your looking for an excuse to why you crashed. its ok for your ego to be dented once in a while you know

I agree with most of the above. Drive in a manner which suits the conditions. From your description of the crash site it seems to me you were driving too fast for the conditions and the situation. Alter your driving style, not the brakes would be my advice. Hope you weren't injured in the accident though!

Hmm...Octavia with localised brand.

but we also have a model that is called octavia

i forgot

so all the fabia owners out there

leaving the brakes aside since u all say that it was me fault

what about the A/C blower

what abt the rear windows squeaking

and the engine noise

engine noise is loud, youve got a diesel though lol. kinda comes with the territory. in the months i had mine never really noticed the a/c blower, so cant really comment. maybe some more sound proofing in the engine bay could fix the noise

Maybe VAG is cutting costs by selling crap to India?

Maybe VAG is cutting costs by selling crap to India?

this is wat the tech told me TBH

but i see a lot of people around the world in a FABIA have the same blower noise

they have replaced the A/C blower twice under warranty

on saturday i have been called to change it again

so by changing it so many time for free are they not putting a load on there expenses... i may me wrong... but i don't called this cost cutting

in india skoda has model called the LAURA, i don't know what is it's international name... and that model had something called EBD..Electronic Braking Distribution... i had asked the workshop to add that to the car if possible but then they told me that the LAURA comes with a whole different electronic chip set..

All new Skoda cars with at least ABS brakes have EBD..

I have driven lot's of New Fabias with all sorts of engines, and I can't fault the brakes! They are more than sufficient!

Skoda can't sell new cars with brakes that don't do the job.. There are things called type approvals, tests of all sorts that has to be OK before a new car can be sold...

Sounds like you are just in a bad mood after a crash, and put's the blame on the car.

I hear the Tata cars are great.. I'd buy one of those

All new Skoda cars with at least ABS brakes have EBD..

I have driven lot's of New Fabias with all sorts of engines, and I can't fault the brakes! They are more than sufficient!

Skoda can't sell new cars with brakes that don't do the job.. There are things called type approvals, tests of all sorts that has to be OK before a new car can be sold...

Sounds like you are just in a bad mood after a crash, and put's the blame on the car.

I hear the Tata cars are great.. I'd buy one of those

dont tata own landrover now?

The Fabia is an excellent car for the money. We've been driving Vauxhalls for nearly 18 years: Novas, Corsas, Astras and a Cavalier (which lasted 172,000 miles with original clutch, engine, gearbox and suspension). The brakes on the Fabia are excellent, even on the Fabia 1 I had as a courtesy car recently.

If you crashed, you were driving too fast for the road conditions and not leaving adequate safety margins. Fabias are European cars, designed for use on modern road systems. Skodas aren't a flop, they are highly rated and achieve very high rates of customer satisfaction and are up there with prestige brands.

i have seen a lot of people have similar problems...

to much noise

left side a/c blower motor making a lot of noise on bumps and even when shifting the gears

cannot drive over speeds of 55KMPH with rear view windows down( makes a lot of squeaking noise)

suspension too stiff.. does not ride the bumps well

there is also a braking issue. a lot of fabia owner haev complains taht the braking is on the weaker side

when brakes are applied on bumpy roads the ABS kicks in..( they don't have the best ABS in the marker

cost is abt $20,000( with taxes)

this is year 2008 and we still don't get a top quality hatch back car from skoda

i live in india and the fabia at the moment is the most expensive hatch back car in the country

when the car was launched in the country .. the ad said feel special... now i know that they meant by saying feel special

so whats your take on it people

I think Skoda actually builds cars in India now.I don't mean to be disrespectful to India but maybe the standards of build at the Indian plant are not as good as the Czech plant? I have driven a 1.4 TDI Skoda over in the U.K and many people think it is the engine to go for as it is brisk, low CO2, very economical and sounds nice. My experience of the Fabia 2 is that it is a nice car although not as well built, finished as the Fabia One IMHO. Can't comment on your car before the crash and it's a shame that you did .If your car has these faults before you could have rejected it as not sufficient quality and ask for your money back or another car. You could go to court buy your problem will be proving the faults existed now that the car has substantial crash damage.:(

Edited 7 November, 200817 yr by Matt Bodycombe

Is the OP trolling?

I know that I've been caught out by ABS on Fabia I.

On the Fabia I (and for all I know a Fabia II), once ABS triggers, it doesn't let go.

So if you're on a road with overall reasonable grip, but drive across a wet manhole cover, for instance, ABS triggers and the braking is reduced, but this reduced braking continues even when the grip returns almost immediately. The only way I've found around it seems to be to let go of the brakes and reapply them, but by doing this you're travelling several metres with no brakes at all...

In this particular circumstance you'd have been considerably better off with no ABS - but obviously ABS does come into its own in other conditions.

I know that I've been caught out by ABS on Fabia I.

On the Fabia I (and for all I know a Fabia II), once ABS triggers, it doesn't let go.

So if you're on a road with overall reasonable grip, but drive across a wet manhole cover, for instance, ABS triggers and the braking is reduced, but this reduced braking continues even when the grip returns almost immediately. The only way I've found around it seems to be to let go of the brakes and reapply them, but by doing this you're travelling several metres with no brakes at all...

In this particular circumstance you'd have been considerably better off with no ABS - but obviously ABS does come into its own in other conditions.

this is exactly was i was trying to say.........

u just put it in better words ...thanks

Chase, one point to remember...your ABS did it's job! It prevented your wheels from locking and thus, allowed you to steer the car to the side of the road and into the shop. At least you didn't injure the occupants of the car in front by slamming into that vehicle. Remember, if your wheels are locked...eg: skidding...you cannot steer the car. It just goes in a straight line or follows the camber of the road. Also, ABS will give you the shortest stopping distance if you just jump on the pedal as most people do when in an emergency! You clearly just ran out of road eg: not enough space between you and the car in front. I think there is a lesson there...lol!

my honda city has ABS.........

anyways all of u ppl think it was my fault # i got only slight scrape on my right hand and nothing major......if u all think it was my fault then i wont say any more

wat abt the oda 3 faults ... and all the 3 things were before my accident the workshop ppl know abt it to... they have told me all fabia's r reporting the same problems

I think Skoda actually builds cars in India now.(

That's a cost cutting solution, when not answering the phone in the Skoda call center they assemble cars..............Brilliant

i had sent a mail to the HQ and they replied back stating

Dear Mr. Ferro,

We have received your email where you describe your difficulties with the Skoda vehicle and our representative in your country as well.

To be able to objectively assess your email we have immediately contacted the importer organisation Skoda Auto India Pvt. Ltd., which is the independent manufacturer of Skoda vehicles on the territory of India. You will be contacted by this organisation as soon as possible as well as informed about the way of further resolution of your matter

so it is true that the cars in india are manufactured in INDIA

I do not think the car is a flop it is very much like lots of other cars in its class, no doubt fitted with many parts also shared with many other cars. I did ask a few weeks ago but no one came back as to 'How many Fabias have been sold 'as I believe they are now about 18 months old so there should be 1st year figures. Against it as well as you all most know is the huge numbers of similar cars at similar prices. Were I looking now then I would have to look at a Ceed. Finally no one is buying many cars anyway and this will have a knock on effect on all aspects, yet to manifest themselves.

Also, ABS will give you the shortest stopping distance if you just jump on the pedal as most people do when in an emergency!

Don't agree with that (not for all situations, anyway). As I said above, ABS (in a Fabia I, anyway) lengthens stopping distances in a "wet manhole cover"-type situation because it doesn't seem to be able to work out that there's grip again.

Recently watching yet another repeat on 'DAVE' of TG or Fifth Gear one of the three, they did some emergency braking exercises with various cars and drivers. The outcome of which was that the majority of drivers experienced or otherwise do not know how to use ABS to maximise the effect. Might this be the case with some of the comments hereon?

i had sent a mail to the HQ and they replied back stating

so it is true that the cars in india are manufactured in INDIA

Yes it's true but only for the Indian market I think. Sounds like the factory is having quality problems, shouldn't though as VW very strict.

the cars manufactured in in the indian market is only for the indian market

i also have a LAURA thats wat it is named in india and it does not have any problem... but that is driven by my bro

i do get to drive it sometime when he does not use it but thats very rare

but that car is in a class of it's own

Think the Laura is the Octavia (Octavia II to us UK'ers according to Wiki)

How did you get the airbags to deploy and bend the bonnet braking in anger?

What did you hit? And whats this op that was in the road?

I have heard some stories about the road conditions in India but they can't all be bad?

We've all had scrapes of one sort or another.

My 10 year old Felicia doesn't have any braking aids like ABS and I've only locked the wheels once in heavy braking.

My sisters Micra I have locked a few times but the tyres were going to be changed anyway

I have had a car with ABS and modern aids feel slippery. In Spain I drove a Leon TDI.

This should be a blast to drive on twisty roads, but on roads which you don't know especially foreign ones? Nono As at times the tyres would struggle to grip because of the sandy roads.

Now if the tyres don't grip, what chances do your brakes have?

Yes it's true but only for the Indian market I think. Sounds like the factory is having quality problems, shouldn't though as VW very strict.

VW may be strict here but it's only as strict as the people enforcing the quality.

Even here in Britain we get some duff and problematic new cars.