Fabia 1.4 classic - Any issues to watch for, fuel economy etc?

[ash x]

I just bought a 2002 1.4V classic for my first car. Are there any known issues with this model? It has a full service history, 2 previous owners who pretty much replaced most of the bits recommended on the MOT certificates (of which I have every one since it was made). Low mileage at 57,000, so hopefully I shouldn't need to do perform much maintenance.

Is the car going to drink fuel like no tomorrow? Is it fairly nippy speed-wise? Any comments or advise is appreciated.

[Brun747]

Depends entirely where you will be driving it and how you use the loud pedal.

You have the car right??? So can you not answer the nippy question yourself?

[ash x]

Depends entirely where you will be driving it and how you use the loud pedal.

You have the car right??? So can you not answer the nippy question yourself?

Insurance starts at the end of the month, save around £250 that way! So, my brother drove it home and said it was "alright", bear in mind he used to drive a redtop Astra GSI 16v 2.0, so his expectations may be slightly high. I will mainly use it at weekends, and the weekly shopping trip, so no long drives into work thankfully. So is it quick (relatively), and will most of my wages go into the petrol tank?

[Brun747]

Only ever driven the 1.4 loan cars which have to be worked to go any where but my opinion is clouded as i have a VRS. They seem perfectly fine for a daily driver and would hope to see towards 40mpg if i had one.

[Brun747]

Can't comment on the % of your wages which will go into the tank as you haven't divulged your take home

[ash x]

Can't spill all my beans yet mate, just met you! Only thing I'm worried about is it was a choice between this and 1.4 Lupo 16V. Looks like I got the slower car, but usable boot space. We'll see, just hate to put my foot down, and feel like the car is hardly moving.

[moley]

1.4 mpi 8v should give you high 30's mpg if you drive 'normally'. The engine is pretty reliable, but not fast. It's a timing chain so no expensive cam belt changes to worry about.

The Wife had a 52 plate Silverline for four years and the only real expense was both window regulators broke within four months of each other. Leaking door carriers is another issue, but there are threads relating to this and it's a fairly easy fix.

[anewman]

On the 8v thermostats are prone to breaking internally, causing delays in getting up to half way on the temp gauge. Headgaskets are also a known issue. Those without temac headgaskets are most prone to failure, and many with temac headgaskets were originally not torqued tight enough. A temac headgasket can be identified by a T or Temac on the visible part of the headgasket at the front right corner (will probably be covered in grime so give it a clean up).

AFAIK pretty much all the other issues are common across all models regardless of engine, such as battery, power steering issues, leaking door carriers etc.

Edited 5 June, 2012 by anewman

[Avalon]

It's not quick so forget that, it's a 68bhp OHV engine, it'll (allegedly) do in excess of 115mph and happily cruise all day at 70mph and i've got 41mpg average over the last 8k so not that bad, it currently costs me circa 15p/mile in fuel. Insurance is cheap (gorup 3ish), road tax is slightly more expensive (depending on when it was registered). It isn't known for oil passing the seals like the 16v, it doesn't have the injector issues of the 16v and it's chain driven so no belt to worry about. Reliability wise if the HG is the revised version and it's been torqued up correctly then you shouldn't have any more HG problems than other cars in the range. Therostat's and temps sensors are known to go but are cheap/easy to replace.

The whole mk1 range suffers from the following though: Console bushes tearing (replace with Powerfelx), drop links (replace with uprated or get used to doing them regularly), aux belt (probably cracked with age), drive shaft seals will weep with age, needs transmission fluid afterwards and G50 isn't cheap, the PAS fluid res is in a stupid location that needs the battery and battery box out to check it and fill it up so is often neglected, rear door seals fail, the PAS angle sensor will more than likely need replacing (pulsing headlights and dash), arb had a revised part issues and the bushes on that may need doing, window regulators are weak.

[kevinm79]

And not forgetting engine mount.. My Fabia thanked me today after doing the rest of the work that needed doing..

[ash x]

And not forgetting engine mount.. My Fabia thanked me today after doing the rest of the work that needed doing..

Oh crap... I noticed the engine "shakes" a bit while idling. Nothing major, but a definite judder now & again. Hope it's not the engine mount...

[anewman]

Oh crap... I noticed the engine "shakes" a bit while idling. Nothing major, but a definite judder now & again. Hope it's not the engine mount...

This is normal for the 1.4mpi. It has a bit of a jittery idle as it is kept low to meet the emissions regulations of the time.

[ash x]

Thanks anewman, bit of peace of mind, at least.

Is the boot meant to unlock via the key fob? All doors unlock, but the boot remains shut, I have to press the boot release on the drivers side in order to unlock it, small issue but annoying to notice it after you've bought the car.

Edited 6 June, 2012 by ash x

[anewman]

Is the boot meant to unlock via the key fob? All doors unlock, but the boot remains shut, I have to press the boot release on the drivers side in order to unlock it, small issue but annoying to notice it after you've bought the car.

On Classic trim or variants such as Blackline, Silverline, boot only opens by the release lever at the driver's seat. Bit inconvenient I fully agree. I am half way through making mine remotely release. I have installed an alarm, and a boot pop motor to the release catch (like this one). What's left to do is to wire up a relay to the wire controlled by the alarm remote, and my bodged boot switch so the alarm knows when the boot is open.

Edited 6 June, 2012 by anewman

[ash x]

ABS warning light came on (third time I've driven the car), and 3 beeps sounding. The beeps stopped after a while but the light stays on. Major fault or can I get away with replacing the warning light fuse?

[anewman]

It no doubt means that there is a fault somewhere. Without seeing what the fault code is I couldn't guess what it might be.

I believe the fuse for the ABS system is one of the ones on top of the battery.

[ash x]

It no doubt means that there is a fault somewhere. Without seeing what the fault code is I couldn't guess what it might be.

I believe the fuse for the ABS system is one of the ones on top of the battery.

It no doubt means that there is a fault somewhere. Without seeing what the fault code is I couldn't guess what it might be.

I believe the fuse for the ABS system is one of the ones on top of the battery.

Okay how would I find the error code? Would a VAG-COM cable from ebay and VCDS lite be sufficient? Or can I find it without these tools?

[ash x]

False alarm, I can't say this without being embarrassed, so here goes: That warning light was actually the handbrake not being completely down while driving ... I'm such a moron