hi there am a new owner of an old fabia ( 2000 model 1.4 8v fabia ) and new to these forums

so i am looking for a bit of help

i got it yesterday and on the drive back picked out a few faults in it. have it booked in for a service on wednesday just wanted to see if any of you guys can give me an insight to the problems before i hand it over to the garage.

every so often 3 beeps go off, seems irregular pattern of going off, and no warning lights appeared, checked the coolant level and it may need to be topped up, but unsure if there would be any other reason for this.

also should any lights on the dashboard be visable while driving, certain lights like battery ect come up when starting the car then go off a few seconds later.

when accelerating intially there is a bit of a clunk, does this each time you start to press on the accelerator but once your foot is on the pedal it seems fine, have been advised that might be a loose engine mount.

Lastly

The speedo seems to be wrongly calibrated, was doing what appeared to be about 28mph and it read 40mph, just wondered if thats a big job to do.

any help or guidance would be great. or if there are specific things i should get the garage to check while they service it that are particular to my my was be great

My Fabia 1.4 16v spedo over reads about the same. It's a quirk. Still got my a ticket for 93 on the m.way!

cheers for that, dont know if is a quirk that will make me go faster or slower lol. i can live with the problem if it is an expensive thing to fix.

Shouldn't over read by that much. I have a 52 reg 1.4 mpi (8v) and with the speedo saying 60, the satnav says 57. At about 80mph, it is 4mph out, at 30mph it is only around 1 or 2mph out.

I'm sorry but i can't help you with the beeping or the clunking. Have you checked your owners handbook to see if it mentions the beep? I'll have a ganders at my Haynes tomorrow and see if it mentions anything, don't think it will though.

If you mention the clunk when they service it, they could have a look for you. (they shouldn't do anything without ringing you first, so you shouldn't be lumped with any unexpected hefty repair bills).

Also, did you buy it privately or from a forecourt? Most forecourts/dealers give you a 1 month warranty, some even 3 like mine did. If so then get it back to them and get them to sort it. The place i got mine from sorted out the engine management light (was saying oxygen sensor, turned out it was a tiny airleak somewhere). No quibles at all.

hi thanks for the response, got the car privately so cant return it if a major fault, lets hope its not to bad,

yes didnt think the speedo should be that much over does anyone know if its a big job to reajust it.

as for the 3 beeps every so often, looking through the mannual, the only one saying 3 beeps seems to be the coolant, but no light comes on, ill top it up tomorrow and see what happens.

If you are getting beeps with no warning lights, don't rule out the lights having been disconnected by the seller, it's a common trick to hide faults. Check all warnings lights come on when you 1st turn the ignition on. Some people blank the lights off with insulating tape which you can spot if you look closely. Some actually unsolder or cut the LEDS off the dash panel.

Speedo that far out will probably be either speed signal sensor, or, if previous owner had the dash out to disconnect lights, may have knackered the speedo in the process.

Clunks likely to be engine/gearbox mounts.

thanks for that, wil have a check. which lights should come on when i first start the engine ?

hi also noticed the the rear footwell behind the drivers seat is wet, and from memory driving back the rear wiper squirter was not working so wondered if these two were linked. ?

got most problems sorted at the garage. as for the speddo it seems to sit on 5 mph instead of resting at 0 so thats what i think is causing the over read. the problem the garage could not sort is the 3 beeps that go off fairly often, dont think he had a vag-com if thats needed to check the fault registered.

so wondered if anyone had any idea what the 3 beeps mean

Leaky doors is a common fault on Fabia's from what i have read, check for water stains on your door cards, if they have signs of being wet in the past (the water will leave a stain) then you will be best off sealing your doors (not the actual door, but the door panel behind the door card). There is a good tutorial somewhere.

If i remember correctly, ALL my lights come on when i turn the ingition on, some stay on (Engine management, battery, EPC and a few others) until i actually start the engine, then they all go out.

I aren't sure how hard/easy it is to take out the speedo assembly, it will tell you how to do it in the Hayne's manual (i couldn't live without mine). It was about £20 from Halfords but it was £20 very well spent. I'm sure you could get one cheaper off ebay or something.

The three beeps could be a faulty handbrake switch (the one that turns the light on when you pull it up).

If it thinks the handbrake is on above a certain speed, then the car beeps as a warning.

3 beeps sounds like handbreak still on, check is properly disengaged. As for speedo never had that problem on my fabia (same age and engine spec) I'd get it checked out.

The light coming on then going off are normal.

HTH

Do they beep when they are low on fuel? Mine did this at the garage when I tested it and that was their answer as they kept them all just about empty. He let me try a couple of others and one of them did it too, immediately on starting. The only time it has done it since has been when the handbrake was caught on the last click before off and that happened a couple of yards up the road.

the bleeps do sound like handbrake.

does it happen at a certain speed or time? like instantly, or only when you move of?

(sorry if you've answered that already - sleepy man here)

hope you get your glitches sorted and begin to enjoy the mpi

hi there thanks for the reply. ill look into the handbrake problem and see if its fully down, it seems to be beeping less often now seems to be about 1 min into the journey after was advised to unconnect the battery for a few mins then reconnect as could reset the fault.

i cant seem to notice a certain regularity in the beeps when they come on.

they speedo things is a funny thing cant work out why it sits on 5mph, but yes agress a hayes mannual will be something ill look into.

as for the leak, have been told it could be one of the seals in the footwell that appear loose, ill have alook for any stains on the door and if someone could point me to the tutorial if this is the problem that would be great.

gave it a good 80 mile test run the other day and was nice to drive, just need to get the niggles sorted.

another thing the car has a slight hole in the rear bumper about 2cm across, looks like a reverse into something.

Wondered if anyone had advice of ways to fill it if possible, im not after a delux garage job, as with my work and social activities this car will get bumps and scratches,so just looking for something to do the job.

thanks for your help

ive had the same with the 3 beeps and it is the coolant light that should flash, check the engine oil to make sure it isnt milky because if it is then it could be a sign that the head gasket could be on the way out. only a suggestion

hi there. found that i have a light leak fron the bottom of the radiator and the coolant level is dropping, so that maybe the problem the oil looks quite clean and has just been changed, dont know if there is any other sign of a head gasket failure

If the coolant level is dropping noticably, and there's an HGF leak behind it, you might find the oil level actively rising.

hi there what do you mean by a HGF leak behind it ? .

people are saying it could be a sensor leak on the radiator, i didnt notice the problem before i took it to the garage

I meant that, if you have an HGF failure causing coolant loss, the coolant sometimes finishes up in the sump, causing the oil level on the dipstick to rise.

Of course, if the radiator is leaking, get that sorted first. With a modern aluminium and plastic radiator, I think that means a new or exchange unit. Try looking for Serck Services (note spelling) in the phone book.

hi also noticed the the rear footwell behind the drivers seat is wet, and from memory driving back the rear wiper squirter was not working so wondered if these two were linked. ?

I'd reckon they could be, use the search function as the leaking/detached pipe has been posted to death - you should find where it tends to come off if you do that, and if the "break" is near the rear then it will/could have been causing some fluid to get into the rear of the car.

thanks for the info taking it to garage today so will se what they say, also getting it on a vag-com at the weekend so hopefully be able to see what the beeping means

thanks for the info taking it to garage today so will se what they say, also getting it on a vag-com at the weekend so hopefully be able to see what the beeping means

Other reasons for beeping are if the fuel level is low, and if the outside temperature drops to 4 degrees. Also, if you leave the indicator switch on (either left or right side) when you remove the ignition key, then the front and rear side and tail lights will stay on as parking lights on that side of the car and there will be a warning beep.

hi there. the beeps are not low fuel or tempreture. its a bizzare one, seems to like to beep more when i have any passengers. hopefully get it on the vag-com this weekend and see what the fauly is coming up as