Issues on new Fabia MK3 estate

[mark_irl]

Hi All,

 

I've a 2018 Fabia Estate (Or 'Combi' as they call here in Eire!) with DSG which I got built to spec and picked up in Jan. Love the car but I've had a few niggles which I'm listing here in case anyone else has them.

 

1. Aircon whine. When the aircon is on, there's a secondary whine (over and above the usual AC noise) which can be mainly heard in the cabin. It sometimes happens straight away when AC is switched on but other times happens after a short time driving. Doesn't matter what external temp is and goes away the minute I switch AC off. When it first happened I thought the noise was coming from a faulty belt of another car beside me!

 

2. Drivers windscreen will fog up unless AC is on - never had this in any other car before, regular fan would normally clear windows (Should mention I have the upgraded climate control not the dials).

 

3. Intermittent screech when reversing. Seems to mostly happen when reversing very slowly and turning at same time.

 

4. Today an error popped up saying something like 'Workshop, put lever in P only'. From a bit of Googling I can see this could be a faulty shifter unit switch and mean a gear shift assembly replacement. It's the first time it came up so hopefully not but sure we'll see. I've car booked in with dealer service this Friday.

 

 

 

Edited 18 September, 2018 by mark_irl

[Ootohere]

Seems you got one with all the stuff that makes them full of character.

They do not all get everything, luck of the draw. You seem to have won the lottery. Lots of free coffee if you are going back and fore to a dealership.

 

Steamy windows, common.

Edited 18 September, 2018 by Offski

[Eccles]

Yes windscreen fogging is a possible issue but how long can it clear with a "standard" fan system - quite a few minutes from my past experience whereas the AC assisted system now used by Skoda is much faster. Can't say I have experienced any of the other issues you have mentioned in my now 3year old Fab Estate although the DSG system has had troubles in the past which is why I chose to have a manual gearbox.

[mark_irl]

2 minutes ago, Eccles said:

Yes windscreen fogging is a possible issue but how long can it clear with a "standard" fan system - quite a few minutes from my past experience whereas the AC assisted system now used by Skoda is much faster. Can't say I have experienced any of the other issues you have mentioned in my now 3year old Fab Estate although the DSG system has had troubles in the past which is why I chose to have a manual gearbox.

 

Yeah, was aware of some DSG issues on previous versions - think the potential issue here is around a faulty sensor/switch rather than the DSG unit but getting access means replacing other parts.

 

We do a lot of city driving and after having DSG for the first time on my last car I don't think I'd ever go back to manual.

[Guest]

Mark, I'm sure the issues will be sorted quickly for you. It's a great car for most people. Enjoy!

[FabRio]

I've had the same error message pop up a couple of times. I think it was because I didn't shift the lever full to the "P" position. After putting it intro "P" switching ignition on a couple of times cleared it and I've had no further problems.

[mark_irl]

So just heard from the Dealer Service dept. Yep it's the gear selector switch and whole unit will need to be replaced. 

 

They can't replicate the Aircon or reversing problem but that's not surprising given they're intermittent. They'll try a few times in the coming days while waiting on the part to come in for the other problem.

 

 

[threadbear]

When I had my Mk2 Fabia from brand new, I had problems with fogging of the windscreen. It must have been a film from the production process as repeated cleaning with Autoglym Fast Glass it eventually got better but took a while. 

[Guest]

All of my new Fabia's of every year have needed extensive windscreen cleaning on the inside after we took delivery. They all had a poorly cleaned glass surface which led to vastly bad fogging of the screen and when driving into the sun early morning you could see smear marks and a film of some sort. It took about 5 or 6 attempts to get it really clean with powerful solvents. I tried everything from soapy suds to windolene, to a range of car windscreen cleaners. Best one turned out to be Autoglym cream cleaner. It's powerful! It did the job. The inside of the screen on the Mk3 is quite difficult to clean because it involves a lot of stretching. My theory on why they nearly always come with this dreadfully dirty screen is that it happens at the dealers. I watched several new cars being prepped at more than one dealer and it's clear the people doing the job seem to use cleaning cloths that have contaminates on them eg: traces of polish or paint treatment creams on them. Often they used the polishing cloths that had been used on the external paintwork to give the screen a final clean inside. Big mistake!

[Harnser]

Thanks for that tip EM. I never really solved the inside screen 'film' in my Roomster and with the Mk3 Fabia I had the same problem but the Autoglym cream cleaner has certainly improved things. Will probably give it a second clean when my back has recovered from all the stretching!