Hello All.

When I test drove my 2010 Fabia 1.9, the reversing sensors weren't working but were to be fixed as part of the deal. I've had the car for a week now and they have packed up again, so before I return to the garage, can anyone give me any pointers so I can go forewarned.

On another matter, compared to my previous car, a Zafira, the headlights are......crap.  Before I spend out on replacement H4 bulbs and skin my knuckles and turn the air blue, what does the group think? ( As they say in many training groups)

Thanks for any pointers.

Some people think the lights are rubbish and it depends somewhat on either what you are used to and what types of headlights are fitted. They may have projectors or reflectors. 

I have projectors and although they are not the best, they are kind of typical of the market. Not your BMW glaring jobbies but not your two candles sellotape to the front wing-thing, either.

 

Upgrades often include fitting Osram Nightbreakers or similar or fitting LED bulbs. I had the nightbreakers for a time but have now got the latter and they seem better around town but not much different on dark unlit roads.  The light looks cleaner and whiter, though and I only paid a tenner for the pair!

Changing them was fairly straight forward, unless you have hands like a gorilla, although there is an adaptor needed to fit the LED's which again, cheap and fairly simple to fit. 

I do not have any reverse sensors but have not seen any major issues or complaints regarding them.

If I was going to fit some, I would most likely fit proper Skoda branded ones to be sure they operate correctly etc so this is the burning question. Are they standard/extra fitted from new or are they fitted at a later date and if so, are they the proper ones or aftermarket?

 

If they packed up again so soon, I would suggest the seller just got them going again and decided that was good enough! Perhaps they fumbled around, jigged wires and they came on again, similar to a bulb with a bad connection. 

This will ultimately fail again, though unless the reason for the poor connection is found and rectified. 

 

So it will be best to go back and ask them what happened, if they are correct, standard parts and make sure they "Repair" And not just "Get working" Again! 

 

Be insistant that they ensure the function is correct as it waspart of the deal that the sensors would be working, prior to sale taking place. 

 

Suggest that if they fail again, within a reasonable time, you will take the vehicle to a main dealer and expect the seller to pay for the repair!

 

I am assuming it was an independent seller, here. 

Hi mrgf

Thanks for your reply.  Not sure yet what type the lights are, but I do know they have the single H4 bulbs. I will leave them for a while and see how I get on. Night breakers may well be the way to go.

The reversing sensors are original equipment and were great when they were working. I liked the way that they cut the radio volume when operating so you could easily hear the beeps. They work occasionally but can't be relied upon. When they stop working, the radio volume stays high, so at least you I have some warning.

Points taken about the dealer. I have purchased from them in the past and have always been treated fairly. They now know I have the problem, so will book the car in when convenient to me.

Sorry, laptop crashed on me. I was going on to say yes it is an independent dealer.

 

Regards.

I use Philips extreme power in all my cars, made a significant improvement on the fabia, not the cheapest but they do make it a lot better.

 

https://www.powerbulbs.com/store/category/philips-x-treme-vision-130

 

 

I'm really impressed with the GE Megalight bulbs.  They've been pretty much cleaning up at most halogen bulb group tests.  I replaced some standard and woeful, Osram bulbs in our Mk4 Golf with a set....much better, e.g I can now get away with dipped beam on rural roads where I *needed* to use high beam with the Osrams:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/GE-Megalight-Ultra-Headlight-50440XNU/dp/B06XBC15D6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1547670821&sr=8-1&keywords=h4+ge+megalight+ultra+%2B130

 

https://www.evo.co.uk/features/21014/best-car-headlight-bulbs-2018-group-test

 

 

 

 

Edited 16 January, 20197 yr by penguin17

Well, you are never too old to learn. My fabia has a single headlight bulb so I assumed it would take a twin filament H4 bulb. Then by chance I read a post (sorry, I can't remember who it was), but it talked about lights with a single H7 bulb with a shutter arrangement to cut off the top half of the beam. I couldn't resist looking a little closer at mine and sure enough it has the single filament H7's. Despite my knobbly arthritic hands I even managed to fit two new ones that happened to be laying around. Not sure what the advantage of this system is, as far as i can see, its just something else to go wrong.