Hello

 

I am hoping you excellent minds can help me out with this.  I have a 2014 (March) Skoda Fabia 1.6 TDI 105.  It appears to be on a flexible service schedule.  The first service came at 14159 with an oil change just before i got the car in November 2014.  We then had a major service done in September 2016 when the spanner light came on.  This included an oil change and pollen filter and a lot of checks but no brake fluid change (advised this wasn't really necessary) and nothing else.  Had an MOT for the first time in March 17 and obviously have one coming up in March this year too.  My question is, am i well overdue a service or am i in fact supposed to wait for the spanner to come on and do the variable servicing, which will likley come on around September/20k more, whichever is sooner?

 

I am confused as a lot on here seem to suggest the variable servicing is not suitable for the Fabia but others saying that you wait for the car to tell you.  Surely there are parts that might need replacing soon with it coming up to 4 years and with 45k on the clock ?

 

I will continue to look online for the answer or even buy a haynes but why is it so hard to find a definitive guide to Skoda Fabia TDI servicing and why would they load it with variable if it isn't suitable?

 

Appreciate any help you might be able to lend.

 

Kind regards

 

Manufacturers Service Guidelines are Brake Fluid change at 3 years, a tech saying not required should be checking the H2o content before saying that.

 

Up to you if you want Fixed Servicing at 9,400 miles / 372 days or Variable 18,500 / 24 months or so.,

How you use the car and what you want to pay.

What checks you do, monthly, by the seasons, each year.

http://volkswagen.co.uk/owners/servicing/regimes 

 

Get a Service Desk person to get a Trained Technician to talk with you on what servicing and maintenance suits you and not what their Computer says, or what they set the car services to.

 

Air Filter needs checked maybe replaced, Pollen Filter, Fuel Filter, all depends on how and where the car is used, 

what is done already.

Brake Fluid 3 years and each 2 years by Manufacturers recommendation.

Edited 8 January, 20188 yr by AwaoffSki

If you plan to keep the car a long time I highly recommended an oil/filter change every 10k/1 year max. Doesn't have to be done at a dealer. You can change it yourself, the most difficult bit will be removing the engine undertray, if it has one.

 

I have a jaundiced view of dealer minor/major services. What I prefer to call waving a can of oil and filter over the engine. Major = minor + pollen filter + air filter (if you're lucky) + upsell inspection

 

Oh, and I forgot (as will your dealer) strip your wheels off and clean your brakes every year, and strip/rebuild them every second year and they will last twice as long and not drag, costing you wear and fuel. No, I didn't think your dealer would do that, did you?

 

Ok, yours is a diesel, we'll throw in a fuel filter at the "major" (so why is a petrol service the same cost as a diesel service given that changing the fuel filter takes as long as all the other filters combined and is the most expensive item on the parts list?)

Edited 8 January, 20188 yr by xman

& no need to remove the Undertray if you Suck out the Oil as many dealerships do at operating temperature.

You are supposed to remove & replace the sump plug draining the last of the oil though if doing it the VW way.

Drain off or suction off engine oil.doc

Edited 8 January, 20188 yr by AwaoffSki

2 hours ago, AwaoffSki said:

Manufacturers Service Guidelines are Brake Fluid change at 3 years, a tech saying not required should be checking the H2o content before saying that.

 

Up to you if you want Fixed Servicing at 9,400 miles / 372 days or Variable 18,500 / 24 months or so.,

How you use the car and what you want to pay.

What checks you do, monthly, by the seasons, each year.

http://volkswagen.co.uk/owners/servicing/regimes 

 

Get a Service Desk person to get a Trained Technician to talk with you on what servicing and maintenance suits you and not what their Computer says, or what they set the car services to.

 

Air Filter needs checked maybe replaced, Pollen Filter, Fuel Filter, all depends on how and where the car is used, 

what is done already.

Brake Fluid 3 years and each 2 years by Manufacturers recommendation.

 

Thanks Freedom really appreciate this.  From looking at the VW guidelines i'd say we're probably somewhere in between.  We use the car about only for leisure and probably about 10k a year.  We use it almost exclusively at the weekends and almost always at least 50m round trip if not more (we live in Devon and like to drive all over the county and into Cornwall for walking/surfing etc.).  I am a very economical (cheap) driver and don't like to thrash the car so would say we fall mostly into the second category.  The tech who said about the brake fluid was an independent whose opinion was that Skoda were being a little over zealous with their brake fluid change recommendations, i don't know any better so didn't question it, especially as it cost me less.

 

We intend to hold on to the car until it becomes economically in-viable, which hopefully is some time to come yet so maybe we should be a little more generous toward it with regards to servicing.  I do think it has a very easy life with us mostly dirving 60-70 mph down the A30 or A38.

 

Thanks again, that was useful.

2 hours ago, xman said:

If you plan to keep the car a long time I highly recommended an oil/filter change every 10k/1 year max. Doesn't have to be done at a dealer. You can change it yourself, the most difficult bit will be removing the engine undertray, if it has one.

 

I have a jaundiced view of dealer minor/major services. What I prefer to call waving a can of oil and filter over the engine. Major = minor + pollen filter + air filter (if you're lucky) + upsell inspection

 

Oh, and I forgot (as will your dealer) strip your wheels off and clean your brakes every year, and strip/rebuild them every second year and they will last twice as long and not drag, costing you wear and fuel. No, I didn't think your dealer would do that, did you?

 

Ok, yours is a diesel, we'll throw in a fuel filter at the "major" (so why is a petrol service the same cost as a diesel service given that changing the fuel filter takes as long as all the other filters combined and is the most expensive item on the parts list?)

 

Interesting take on things.  I am a bit skeptical by nature and I don't necessarily see the value in a lot of what they seem to offer but then i am not that knowledgeable about cars and don't really have much to go on other than an insight into practices in other fields where "experts" tell you what you do and don't need and often talk out of their behind.

 

We will want to keep this car going as it has been great, suits our long distance driving and is very economical.  We have no reason to change it and would probably keep it till it dies.  I guess i might have to get myself skilled up on how to do an oil/filter change as I this sounds sensible to me.

Not being a cynic or anything like that, or even mildly sceptical, I can see that the real reason that diesel and petrol engine servicing costs are the same is to avoid confusion, or to keep the displayed service menu as short as possible - am I correct?