About 2 years ago I bought my Fabia after my Fiat succumbed to rust and electrical issues (as older Italian cars tend to do). At the time it was meant as a temporary fix until I found something better, but I quite like the car. It handles alright, performance is reasonable, it's pretty comfortable and cheap to run and insure.. The car had developed some issues however, so now I need to figure out if it's worth sorting it out properly, or if I'm better off trading it for another vehicle. I have a 1.4 16v model which has done about 196,000km. Here are the issues as far as I know:

 

- The car consumes some oil, and I don't know why or where. There is no visible leakage on the block, the oil sump looks intact. It's always passed emissions testing, so I don't think it's burning it anywhere. Yet I need to fill up almost a liter every few months. 

 

- The 'check engine' light has been on for a while now. Car runs just fine - I haven't noticed any drop in performance, nor are there any weird noises or other alarming signs. I'm suspecting a faulty sensor or other relatively minor issue. To be sure, I've ordered an OBD2 reader. 

 

- Occasionally the EPC light or the ABS light come on for no apparent reason. Restarting the car typically makes this go away. Sometimes I don't even need to restart and the light goes out by itself.

 

- The remote locking is not working with either keyfob (2-button model). It worked when I bought the car. I replaced the batteries in both fobs, but that wasn;t the problem. I've tried some of the remedies mentioned on the forum, but no luck so far. Could the problem be in the receiver/electronics in the car? Where do I begin troubleshooting? 

 

- The electric windows sometimes fail. Probably a bad connection in the wires or the switches themselves. Sometimes it they need a moment before they work, or a couple presses on the button, accompanied by some swearing. Eventually they'll roll down all the way though. 

 

- The lights don't seem to last very long. Headlights burn out within a year. I normally buy Phillips or Osram lights, so that shouldn't be the problem.

 

These are the main issues the car has at the moment. It seems that other than the oil consumption, I have some electrical issues to sort out. I wonder if all those problems could somehow be related to eachother? Other than that, it needs a proper service; change all the fluids and filters and spark plugs. I really should change the timing belt  as well, I am not sure when it was last replaced.  

 

Any thoughts or advice on these issues would be greatly appreciated! 

Oil consumption will be the valve guides.

 

Electric window problems will be the switches.

 

Check engine light will be EGR related.

 

Change your HT leads at the same time as the spark plugs.

Thanks for the reply! 

 

Today I fixed my fuel flap. Pretty easy (temporary) fix with some metal wire. I'll fix it properly with a jubilee clip soon. I also fitted some new headlights. 

 

It looks like the windows willl be a pretty easy fix. I'll open up the switches this weekend, see if I can salvage the switches, or if I need new ones. 

 

You have me a bit worried about the valve guides though.. I assume that you need to replace the damaged guides as well as the valves? Do you need to do all 16 of them at once, or just the worn out bits? I'm looking at the prices for components, and it looks like it could get expensive pretty quickly, even if I could do al the work myself. 

 

 

 

if the lights are burning out you must have a faulty earth or live on the circuit, VCDS would show it up in a full scan...............or use a multimeter on the bulb connector.............

 

They consume oil after that mileage & more ifthey have been continually run on normal unleaded as it affects the engine. They NEED Super unleaded like shell nitro....................

 

defo swap the HT leads as the engine cover traps loads of heat & the HT leads are between the cover & the engine so get cooked...............

Very common issue with these engines causing oil burning is with the oil breather

 

1) Follow the oil breather pipe (back of engine/OS ) up to the air filter and check the plastic pipe contained within the air filter with a rubber mushroom valve at the end - they block with oil mayo

 

2) The oil breather pipe connects with the oil breather "module" on the back of the engine - this can block. Remove the oil filler cap and blow back through the pipe. If air flows OK then this could be OK - if blocked flow will be none/poor

 

3) Check the oil breather pipe for splits (won't cause oil to be burn't but will cause fumes)

 

Basically if the engine becomes pressurised  it will blow oil down the valve guides

 

 

Happend to my 2001 Skoda Octavia 1.4 16v (same engine) causing oil to be burnt. On my car it was the pipe within the air filter.  Clearing the mayo gunk cleared the problem.

 

 

 

 

The other common issue on these engines is the EGR valve that puts an EML on (excessive flow) but doesn't affect the engine running.  At that age I've left mine broke to avoid crud coating the throttle housing

 

 

 

As previously mentioned these engine like higher octane fuel. From new you could just detect mine pinking on 95ron (most people wouldn't notice) - this will eventually damage the very shallow pistons etc 

 

 

 

Cam belts (there are 2) /tensioners/pulleys/waterpump should be changed at 40k miles / 4 years as the pulleys/tensioners are made out of putty

Edited 20 January, 201610 yr by bigjohn