I did not know that....

[Naths vRS]

Post below of little tips and tricks of what you've accidently found out that your Fabia can do.

 

 

Pressing the buttons on the side of the Wiper stalk goes through the stations and FM1/FM2 etc.

[OzFabia]

If you move the gear-shifter to the left (as you would for tiptronic-style operation), the gearbox will not revert back to "D" when purely using the paddle-shifters.

[aholloway21]

If you turn the stereo up enough you can't hear the glove box rattles

[TomR88]

if you forget that the car is an automatic and after driving a manual for 2 weeks and thinking the brake is the clutch whilst driving gives you a bit of a shock and a headache as you are jolted forward.

 

!!FAIL!!

[Ally_bassman]

If you are using the paddles to over-ride changes in D, holding the gear up paddle will knock it back into D.

[Gumby]

If you are using the paddles to over-ride changes in D, holding the gear up paddle will knock it back into D.

also if your press a paddle just after it's changed back to D, it will return to override mode in the same gear.

 

 

If you are in manual mode and forget to change down to 1 or 2 at a roundabout for example, it will still change down for you.

 

you can move between R and D without pressing the brake or using the release button. handy if you need to do a j-turn at a roadblock

[Woland]

If you are using the paddles to over-ride changes in D, holding the gear up paddle will knock it back into D.

 

I was very interested by this function,but it works ONLY shifting UP (at least in my car). Unfortunately I mostly use the paddles to shift down ... :/

[Furbytom]

I was very interested by this function,but it works ONLY shifting UP (at least in my car). Unfortunately I mostly use the paddles to shift down ... :/

But why would you want to shift DOWN into D from manual mode?

[Ally_bassman]

Putting it into Sport mode is good for engine braking without having to shift down yourself.

 

TBH it was the only time I ever used S mode as generally it's 5hite!

[dazz600]

Pressing the brake pedal after driving a citroen van for 2 weeks will nearly throw you through the windscreen

[Woland]

But why would you want to shift DOWN into D from manual mode?

 

I usually drive in D, but the automatic down shifting is calibrated at a too low rpm value when slowing down (not braking to stop), for example when driving from 70kph to 50kph, the D mode keeps the 6th gear at 50kph instead of shifting down to 5th.

 

IMHO the engine should never drop bellow 1600-1700rpm while cruising, otherwise when you give just a little throttle, the engine rumbles, and the DSG does not shift down on its own.

 

That's when I use the paddles to shift down. And then I have to move the stick to manual and back to D ...

Edited 24 February, 2015 by Woland

[Furbytom]

 

. And then I have to move the stick to manual and back to D ...

But that's the point... You Don't have to do that. No need to move the stick to manual and back to re-enter D. Just press and hold the up shift paddle....

[newbie69]

 

I usually drive in D, but the automatic down shifting is calibrated at a too low rpm value when slowing down (not braking to stop), for example when driving from 70kph to 50kph, the D mode keeps the 6th gear at 50kph instead of shifting down to 5th.

 

IMHO the engine should never drop bellow 1600-1700rpm while cruising, otherwise when you give just a little throttle, the engine rumbles, and the DSG does not shift down on its own.

 

That's when I use the paddles to shift down. And then I have to move the stick to manual and back to D ...

 

 

Erm... that's exactly what Furbytom said:

 

 

But that's the point... You Don't have to do that. No need to move the stick to manual and back to re-enter D. Just press and hold the up shift paddle....

 

 

It will return to D/Auto without needing you to move your hand away from the wheel and on to the stick, just pull the right paddle for 2 sec and behold...

Edited 24 February, 2015 by newbie69

[Ally_bassman]

About RPMs... I found the DSG was clever enough to not let the engine labour, the only time I found I had to hold it's hand and intervene was with steep hills.

 

It would either not change down enough or not change up. Going up a steep hill with a cold engine was fun....NO I DO NOT WANT YOU TO REV TO 5K RPM IN 2ND GEAR 30 SECONDS AFTER BEING SWITCHED ON.

[Woland]

It will return to D/Auto without needing you to move your hand away from the wheel and on to the stick, just pull the right paddle for 2 sec and behold...

 

If I pull (and keep pressing) the right paddle (+ for me), it will shift UP and go back to D/Auto, yes.

 

I would like to press the paddle [ - ], keeping it pressed for shifting down and back to D/Auto. This does not happen, it stays in manual mode.

Edited 24 February, 2015 by Woland

[newbie69]

But for this you can just do a manual down-shift as you say you do, and then when it's time to shift up again, do another manual gear change shifting up but this time keep the paddle pulled for 2", it will go back to Auto, really simple.

 

Or... just push the accelerator pedal a bit deeper and it will most surely drop an extra gear for you, if you do this regularly you will learn exactly how much to push for a, say 2 gear auto drop. Again rather simple. 

[Furbytom]

If I pull (and keep pressing) the right paddle (+ for me), it will shift UP and go back to D/Auto, yes.

 

I would like to press the paddle [ - ], keeping it pressed for shifting down and back to D/Auto. This does not happen, it stays in manual mode.

But f you press the "-" paddle to change down and then move the stick left/right to go back to D it will change back up again when D engages anyhow....because it's back in drive and the car is then back to automatically shifting into the highest appropriate gear? Or am I missing something here?

[Woland]

Or... just push the accelerator pedal a bit deeper and it will most surely drop an extra gear for you, if you do this regularly you will learn exactly how much to push for a, say 2 gear auto drop. Again rather simple. 

 

That's what I already do

 

It just find a bit awkward that this "back to manual" feature works only with the [ + ] paddle ...

[Woland]

But f you press the "-" paddle to change down and then move the stick left/right to go back to D it will change back up again when D engages anyhow....because it's back in drive and the car is then back to automatically shifting into the highest appropriate gear? Or am I missing something here?

 

The thing is the "appropirate gear" for the DSG is not the same depending if you were accelerating or decelerating ...

 

For example when I accelerate in normal driving in automatic mode :

2nd -> 3rd shifting at 30kph

3rd -> 4th  shifting at 40 kph

4th -> 5th  shifting at 50kph

5th -> 6th  shifting at 60kph

and that's OK for me.

 

But when I decelerate :

6th -> 5th  shifting at 45kph

5th -> 4th  shifting at 40kph

4th -> 3rd  shifting at 30 kph

 

That means the engine speed goes too low (IMO) before shifting down ... 

When I'm decelerating from 60kph to 50kph, the 6th gear stays engaged cruising at 50. But if I shift down to 5th gear, it will stay there. 

 

See what I mean

[Furbytom]

The thing is the "appropirate gear" for the DSG is not the same depending if you were accelerating or decelerating ...

 

For example when I accelerate in normal driving in automatic mode :

2nd -> 3rd shifting at 30kph

3rd -> 4th  shifting at 40 kph

4th -> 5th  shifting at 50kph

5th -> 6th  shifting at 60kph

and that's OK for me.

 

But when I decelerate :

6th -> 5th  shifting at 45kph

5th -> 4th  shifting at 40kph

4th -> 3rd  shifting at 30 kph

 

That means the engine speed goes too low (IMO) before shifting down ... 

When I'm decelerating from 60kph to 50kph, the 6th gear stays engaged cruising at 50. But if I shift down to 5th gear, it will stay there. 

 

See what I mean

I think what you are saying is that the pre-programmed shift patterns aren't entirely to your liking, but that's what manual mode is for. So you can override he computers choice and pick your own ratio, appropriate to your wishes. Reverting back to Drive however you get there isn't going to change that :-)

[newbie69]

That's why I drive in manual under all conditions except heavy city traffic, or at an area with traffic lights every 50m. In which case, even though the box may act as you say (one gear higher than I would feel is appropriate) it doesn't make sense (road-wise) to go any faster as I will stop again pretty soon, so no need to bother with that extra gear. But as soon as the road opens up a bit I will switch to manual, as I don't want to be in 7th gear when doing 50 kph, it feels horrible.

[Richf]

About RPMs... I found the DSG was clever enough to not let the engine labour, the only time I found I had to hold it's hand and intervene was with steep hills.

 

It would either not change down enough or not change up. Going up a steep hill with a cold engine was fun....NO I DO NOT WANT YOU TO REV TO 5K RPM IN 2ND GEAR 30 SECONDS AFTER BEING SWITCHED ON.

Yeah they do that when they are cold , many auto's hold the gears a bit longer to help the engine warm up quicker, bit worrying when the do it though. Rpm's wont hurt a cold engine its load that i try and avoid and keep below about 1/2 throttle till she is warmed up

[fabiamk2SE]

About RPMs... I found the DSG was clever enough to not let the engine labour, the only time I found I had to hold it's hand and intervene was with steep hills.

It would either not change down enough or not change up. Going up a steep hill with a cold engine was fun....NO I DO NOT WANT YOU TO REV TO 5K RPM IN 2ND GEAR 30 SECONDS AFTER BEING SWITCHED ON.

Yeah! Dads golf always did that

Would change down alot with engine braking too. Whipping the revs round to 4k or more just for abit of engine braking. Not nice with a cold engine!

[homesqueeze]

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the fabia has the same party trick as my old Golf. If you hold down the unlock button on the keyfob the windows will go down. Hold the lock button down and they will go up again. Thought I had lost that feature, but luckily not! Happy days   :clap:

[fabiamk2SE]

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the fabia has the same party trick as my old Golf. If you hold down the unlock button on the keyfob the windows will go down. Hold the lock button down and they will go up again. Thought I had lost that feature, but luckily not! Happy days :clap:

Does the same if you put the key in the lock too.

A lot of cars do it thh. My mates 51 plate vectra does it