Hi all,

I have a 51 plate Skoda Fabia 1.4 comfort that has performed fine for the past five years but has now developed an interesting quirk. If I go on a short journey, switch off the ignition and go to restart it again soon after, it really struggles to be re-started and I have to pump the gas pedal (sometimes pretty furiously) to get it going, after which it is fine. (I know this floods the engine but its the only way it seems to work)

Now, if the car is left for a long time between being started up again (anything around 2-3 hours or more it seems) there is no problem with the start-up. Therefore, I have no trouble starting the car in the morning, or going home from work, problems arise from short journies to the shops and re-fuelling the car has become fun.

I initially wondered if it was the battery draining but seeing as the car starts fine after long periods this would not make sense to me. I took it for a basic service last week so the sparks got changed and for a couple of days at least the problem went away so I figured the sparks were on their way out. However the problem has now come back and I need to see if there is a genuine (i.e. fixable) problem or if this is just a quirk of an older car that I will have to live with. Could the new set of sparks have been worn out so quickly?

Anyone who can help or share simialr exeriences would be great as I'm stumped!

Many thanks in advance,

Rob

I had exactly this problem, in the end I replaced the Plugs, Leads, Coilpack, Temperature sensor and the thing that finally fixed it was a new EGR valve.

Hi all,

I have a 51 plate Skoda Fabia 1.4 comfort that has performed fine for the past five years but has now developed an interesting quirk. If I go on a short journey, switch off the ignition and go to restart it again soon after, it really struggles to be re-started and I have to pump the gas pedal (sometimes pretty furiously) to get it going, after which it is fine. (I know this floods the engine but its the only way it seems to work)

Now, if the car is left for a long time between being started up again (anything around 2-3 hours or more it seems) there is no problem with the start-up. Therefore, I have no trouble starting the car in the morning, or going home from work, problems arise from short journies to the shops and re-fuelling the car has become fun.

I initially wondered if it was the battery draining but seeing as the car starts fine after long periods this would not make sense to me. I took it for a basic service last week so the sparks got changed and for a couple of days at least the problem went away so I figured the sparks were on their way out. However the problem has now come back and I need to see if there is a genuine (i.e. fixable) problem or if this is just a quirk of an older car that I will have to live with. Could the new set of sparks have been worn out so quickly?

Anyone who can help or share simialr exeriences would be great as I'm stumped!

Many thanks in advance,

Rob

Is this an MPI, or a 16V?

Is this an MPI, or a 16V?

At a guess I would say MPI as mine does the same although not quite as bad. I have had it cut out on me after restarting after fuelling but usually it just threatens to then sorts itself out. I just assumed it was because I need to clean the throttle body and the choke doesn't engage when the engine is already warm but I know nothing.

I'd start with the temp sensor. It's the cheapest of the lot and the most likely to help IMO. A code scan might help prevent speculatively replacing bits and bobs though.

Spark plugs generally take well over 20,000 miles to wear out, unless they are being fouled or (highly unlikely) incorrect reach plugs/foreign body in the combustion chamber.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, my oil temperature gauge does work only occassionally althouth this was never a problem affecting anything else (hasnt worked reliably for about 3 years now), would this have any bearing then, specifically in relation to the temperature sensor?

Thanks again

If your temp sensor isn't working correctly...

Then you REALLY need to get it sorted.

Non-working temp sensor can lead to much more serious problems such as engine overheating etc - not to mention screws up fuel mixture.

Though if you're changing the temp sensor... You may as well go the whole hog and replace the entire thermostat and housing along with it. Only about a tenner more, and rules out anything else as a cause.

Edited 16 September, 201114 yr by Chris Coates

It's common for the thermostat casing to break internally so agree with replacing the whole lot.

Yup, my old one looked like it was made out of chocolate...