Hi guys and girls.

I've just bought a Fabia VRS in Red on an 04 plate. Drove the car home and seem to be getting a droning type noise from the front of the car, I'm thinking/hoping it's just a wheel bearing. Are there any other things it could possibly be?

Also, the passenger side rear door will unlock using the central locking but won't lock. I've heard this is a common problem, garage I bought it from aren't really that interested so was wondering if I could fix this myself?

Any answers/advice would be much appreciated by all.

tyres / wheel bearing for droaning noise? if its constant id go for tyres if pitch / noise alters with turning the wheel id go for wheel bearing ....

not encountered door lock probs as of yet but dont often use back doors so cant help .... im sure some one will be along shortly lol

Ok. Thanks for that.

My front tyres droned. V tread maragoni! Never again!

Go crazy with some wd40 as your first port of call (could be microswitch 'dry'). Finish up with some lithium barrier grease if you have some success

I would say tyres too, I put some budgets on mine as I got them cheap and they drone well bad!!

Tyres on front on V grooved Uniroyal Rainsports and Michelins on the back, neither of which i've had before. Also been given a cruise control stalk by my old man to fit as he bought it for a previous model Fabia he had but he now has a Fabia VRS with it already fitted from the factory. Anyone know how much it costs to fit this device?

v grooved tyres may be your prob then ....

fit the cc stalk your self lots of guides on here and its pretty easy to do

Do you just have the stalk or do you have the wiring loom too?

£160 to supply and fit the Skoda kit from me.

Ok guys thanks, any more suggestions still welcome, gonna check the tyre pressures for over/under inflation today, ideal tyre pressures for Fabia VRS standard alloys? I also have the wiring loom with the stalk Tech1e :-)

Left front bearing, tyres, (45 profile bound to make some noise) or in my case I had knackered bearings and I still have a diff/gearbox noise. Try dipping the clutch while driving along to filter out that one. If its a bearing noise it will change in tone and volume when you put that wheel under different loads.

Quick update on the door lock situation, the door lock itself is stiff as anything and not releasing itself like it should and you can see that when i try to lock the door the pin,button is trying to move but looks stuck, any ideas? I've put shed loads of WD40 which is easing it a bit but still not functioning properly.

Door won't unlock at all now. Have to open it from the inside now.

it may be worth just replacing the lock with a second hand one / new one

Is it a difficult job?

no idea tbh .... it could be simple like a siezed cable or be the actual lock ?

Tech stuff linked from here...

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/180063-rear-driver-side-door-locked-mechanism-broken/#entry2232121

J.

I've go the door panel off and quite squirting WD40 in and around the lock mechanism, still no joy, just had a look underneath the bonnet as u do, and because my old man has a fabia vrs on an 04 plate which i've driven and his seems to pull a bit better (albeit mine has done 30,000) more, i checked the air filter and it's not a skoda filter and i noticed the filter doesn't fit flush, u can see the filter, and some air seems to be escaping, i'm wondering if this is contributing to the car seemly not pulling quite as well?

If you are unsure of the make of filter bin it and buy either a genuine filter or at least a reputable non-genuine product. A poor fitting filter shouldn't be noticeable on performance

Ok, thanks for that. Thought about getting the EGR cleaned out, is it a difficult job and if I start removing bits and putting them back on will this cause any dash/ warning lights to come on? Seen Wynns EGR cleaner in halfords but not sure if it will do any good? Car has done nearly 120,000. Gonna get it serviced soon so will get all the filters changed then.

Bump

Try swapping front and rear tyres to see if the sound moves - probably the cheapest bit of diagnosis you could do...

That's what i was thinking travs