Hi

I have a 1.4 16v Fabia which has just had the cam belt changed and now the tickover is all over the place. it sometimes varied a little before but nothing like it is now. Its stalling and the engine is shaking.

The engine light had been on for about a week before this but i was hoping the belt change might sort it out.

The timing is spot on and when i drive it, its fine and seems much quicker & responsive.

The guy says there were fault codes for the EGR and that either this or a problem with the injectors 'dribbling' at idle could be causing it. He has reset the fault codes and is going to have a look at it later this week but before i accuse him of not doing the belt properly, does anyone know what could be causing this?

the engine light came back on within about 2 miles of drving it after the belt was done

Thanks

Edited 1 April, 201214 yr by ians1386

As you mention it was this way before you had the belt done and the fault codes identify the EGR as being the source i'm not sure what sort of advice you're after. If it was me i'd have read the fault codes before getting the belt done and stripped/cleaned the EGR/Throttle body and pipework. Injectors do seem to crop up as being problematic (I think Tech1e posted in another thread recently about them being revised as a result). Either way cleaning the EGR is cheap/free, new EGR valve/injectors aren't. You could also run a tank of premium through or some injector cleaner (Redex or Forte etc.) through and see if that helps.

thanks

I have put redex in it but no difference.

Is there a guide on how to clean the EGR valve? I know how to clean the throttle body and the EGR pipe which goes into it but not the valve itself.

ta

I have had it scanned now and a compression test done.

2 cylinders are low on compression and it has been diagnosed as exhaust valves knackered. Apparently this a common problem on these engines so i think it might be time to get a Nissan. I've never had a single problem with the 3 Nissans I have owned so I think it might be time to sack Skoda off.

Not Happy

This pile of rubbish is now dead.  Skoda have a lot to answer for.  Reading these forums, this is a common problem with the 16v 1.4.  It just needs to last me till the end of the week then i get my Nissan.

I love the car but the reliability of it is rubbish.  I have various little niggling problems with this car such as using loads of oil, throttle body going wrong, EGR valve getting choked up and the brake discs wearing out at 40000 miles.  I wont be buying another one.  

Get ready for problems if you have a 16v 1.4 engine.

Never again.

not to mention the leaking rear door seals.

Edited 9 April, 201214 yr by ians1386

I can barely get this car to the end of my street now.

VAG Group crap

Edited 9 April, 201214 yr by ians1386

True, a lot of these cars "features" or weaknesses are due to Skoda input - so remember not to be tempted by a similar period Polo or Ibiza, next generation but one should be okay as it looks like VAG is reigning in Skoda and flowing all new platforms down from the premium brands. One thing, that series of engines seems to have come directly from VW.

It is a VW engine. It has VW stamps all over it. Absolute rubbish. If you look on the VW Polo forums, they have all the same problems with this engine. VW should be sued as I am quite sure they know about it.

I love the car but the reliability of it is rubbish. I have various little niggling problems with this car such as using loads of oil, throttle body going wrong, EGR valve getting choked up and the brake discs wearing out at 40000 miles. I wont be buying another one.

Get ready for problems if you have a 16v 1.4 engine.

Never again.

I hate to say this but 'using loads of oil' should have been investigated as soon as it was noticed - certainly before you spent the money on getting the timing belt done! It'd be a few hundred to strip the head and replace the valves assuming no other damage has been done but surely you'd get more for the car than the cost of having the work done? A throttle body is hardly a massive fault and the EGR system is the same on almost anything you buy by it's very nature. Disc's in 40k ? Sounds quite good to me compared to what I had before the Fabia, either way £40 a set for non oe or 0.001 pence per mile isn't anything to get excited about.

I know you're not happy about your car but a lot of what you've posted is pretty minimal, I just don't understand why if it was burning as much oil as you suggest that you didn't investigate that first.

All these things might be minimal to you but having only done 19000 miles in it and having stuff go wrong nearly every month has finally put me off the so called reliability of the car. Maybe its just a bad car and the rest are good but having been a member of this site since i got the car, i'm not going to be convinced.

All the things which have gone wrong with it are on here and seem fairly common. Looking at the Nissan forums, there aren't a quarter of these problems and my other car, a Qashqai has had no problems in the 4 years we've had it.

In my opinion, VW group cars are over rated and not half as reliable as they have you believe.

I have now got rid of the Fabia for a Nissan.

I have enjoyed the advice and stories on this forum but its time for me to go to the other side now.

Bye all

My 1.4 16v has had most of the problems you've listed but I love it and can't see anything to change it to :')