Hi all, first time I have posted on these forums so please bear with me if this has been answered before (I did look!)

I have an Octavia VRS and decided to get the wife a Fabia which we collected on Saturday its an 02 with only 56k on the clock just had a service etc.. and appears to have been very well looked after, however I noticed last night when driving it for the first time that it was a little sluggish in the lower gears once above 40 it goes quite well (mind you a drive a VRS so maybe not used to the reduction in power!) anyway we had been driving for 20 minutes and the temperature gauge had only just moved, we did sit idling outside for a while and the temperature did increase to just below halfway but again when I carried on the journey the temp went back down again!

Does anyone have any ideas? and would whats causing it make the car sluggish at low speed?

Thanks in advance

Thermostat stuck open, and or temp sensor faulty. Both common faults.

Thermostat stuck open, and or temp sensor faulty. Both common faults.

Thanks

Had this prob before its the bakerlight thermostat housing which has collapsed you need a new unit complete with thermostat there not expensive and are easy to fit .

always replace anti freeze use genuine stuff G12 (pink)

Had this prob before its the bakerlight thermostat housing which has collapsed you need a new unit complete with thermostat there not expensive and are easy to fit .

always replace anti freeze use genuine stuff G12 (pink)

From reading forums - so not from experience, as above take note that changing the complete housing is usually the quickest and cheapest route - unless you want to end up with a spare thermostat! When changing the engine coolant temperature sensor, its wise to buy a new sealing washer and retaining clip - they cost pennies but can save you a lot of trouble when the clip disappears or breaks - oh and remember to remove the old sealing washer. There is a Haynes book out for this car by the way.

I did this guide for the sensor only, but if the car's still on its original thermostat housing, then that will need replacing before too long if it's not failed yet! So, as has been suggested already, it's best to do both the sensor and the thermostat at the same time. There are two options, really. You can get the standard housing and the sensor as a pack from a dealer or factor, and this is the cheapest way of doing it. There is, however, an uprated thermostat pack that has a thermostat and the half of the housing it clips into, but the thermostat is held in by a metal circlip rather than plastic lugs (which are the 'weak link') Doing it this way, you have to buy the sensor separately, but IME it's far easier to split the two sections of the thermostat housing than it is to take the entire housing off the block.

Hopefully I can use this picture from the guide to explain better:

The sensor (marked by the yellow oval) sits on one half of the thermostat housing, and the thermostat sits in the other. You can get a pack that includes the whole lot, or an uprated version of the 'right-hand' half of the housing (with a thermostat in it) and get the sensor separately...

HTH

Thanks all, will get sorted as soon as my car comes out of the garage!

I GOT THE UPRATED THERMOSTAT HOUSING AND TEMP SENSOR FROM EBAY JORILY SHOP FOR AROUND £25 AND FITTED IN 10MIN OR SO