So I gave up on my old Passat and just sold it, one of the main problems was central locking which I tried to fix (unsuccessfully!). I don't need another large car and would like to be an all-Skoda household so I'm looking to get a cheap (sub £1000) Fabia as a second runabout for me.

 

Have found a couple that look promising, and one seems great (haven't seen yet) with the exception of central locking! The seller helpfully told me on the phone that it's not working for any doors and car can only be locked from inside. What I wanted to check was whether it's the same root cause as my Passat, I know that a lot of VAG vehicles of about 10-15 years old have bother with microswitches failing in the lock assembly, thereby confusing the CL system.

 

I don't expect a forum diagnosis on a car I haven't seen yet let alone driven, but wanted to know if it's if it's common on the older Fabias, and if so, what it's like to fix (was a swine on the B5). Thanks.

The fix would be to use a diagnostic type software.

- check positions of doors, whether reading as open / closed when the door is closed.

If a door is showing as open when it is closed, you'll want to check common faults.

- first would be check for corrosion on a-pillar connections .

Fault with door control unit, the diagnosis for that would be swap over control units - n/s to o/s or vise versa and seeing if the fault changes to the other side.

Or a fault with the micro switch in the doors.

- if the car is seeing a door as being open, then it will never lock from the outside.

Thanks Phil. I do have a OBD cable (though never got VAG-COM working!) and occasionally can get a loan of a dedicated diag unit so if I go see this one will check those if I can. Cheers.

Edited 3 December, 201312 yr by seaweasel

OK, false alarm maybe as I've just found a couple of Fabias closer by and hopefully with working locks! Sorry if this is getting into new thread territory, but any recommendations between the 1.2 HTP 64 Blueline and the 2.0 MPI? Both 2003, assuming the MPI has the better spec (foglights, so Elegance? - 1.2 doesn't mention aircon but both have alloys).

 

MPI about 83k, HTP about 91k, £100 between them. I know there's also £100 quid between the road tax - to be honest the priority is getting a cheap reliable commuter (both have a year MOT, one's a small dealer), but I've wanted a VRS since they came out and the MPI sounds more fun!  I take it the 1.2's probably more solid?

 

Will see if they're still about tomorrow and try and have a look.

Edited 3 December, 201312 yr by seaweasel