Having ordered my vRS last October, a friend said his gearbox (in an 05 vRS) had developed a whining noise (no jokes about the missus please!) His last vRS (an 04 plate) never whined. He was a driving instructor, so was on the road quite a bit.

Unfortunately, I was now listening out for this noise when I got mine. Sure enough it was there - mainly on slowing down between 40 and 30 mph when in fourth or third gear (ie. not to low a gear to make the engine whine). Don't seem to be getting anywhere with the dealer at the minute.:thumbdwn:

Also, since the bad weather spell, the brakes seem to be grinding/rubbing. Having mentioned this to the dealer, he said the fact that asbestos (a good sound proofer) was no longer used in the brakes there would inevitably be noise. Have since had the brakes cleaned out to get rid of all the s***. Noise is still there. How come other cars I've owned in the past never did this?

Just wondered if anybody else has encountered these problems, or has an advice.

Having ordered my vRS last October' date=' a friend said his gearbox (in an 05 vRS) had developed a whining noise (no jokes about the missus please!) His last vRS (an 04 plate) never whined. He was a driving instructor, so was on the road quite a bit.

Unfortunately, I was now listening out for this noise when I got mine. Sure enough it was there - mainly on slowing down between 40 and 30 mph when in fourth or third gear (ie. not to low a gear to make the engine whine). Don't seem to be getting anywhere with the dealer at the minute.:thumbdwn:

Also, since the bad weather spell, the brakes seem to be grinding/rubbing. Having mentioned this to the dealer, he said the fact that asbestos (a good sound proofer) was no longer used in the brakes there would inevitably be noise. Have since had the brakes cleaned out to get rid of all the s***. Noise is still there. How come other cars I've owned in the past never did this?

Just wondered if anybody else has encountered these problems, or has an advice.[/quote']

I'm a driving instructor, and use my car for work, done 30,000 miles now (05 car) and had no real problems, I had a C2 GT last and killed the gearbox in that in 40,000 miles! in the fabia, it still drives like new, as for the brakes, some people on here have had problems, but I have not, try driving it real hard every now and then to give the brakes a good use, especially the rears (at low speeds the rears are hardly used) , stop stongly to some roundabaouts from 70 mph, to make sure they are getting used !

Have you had rear disks before?

Kia Picanto 1.1LX - discs all round. Same problem with brakes, it's coz they're disc brakes and it just happens.

Brake pads can no longer use asbestos which means they last less long then before, and your discs wear quicker too :(

Gearbox wise I've had no strange noises and I've got an 05 plate with around 36k on the clock at a fairly mixed but around 60% motorway drive in that I reckon

are the discs on the VRs vented or not??

Have you had rear disks before?

Would they be more noticeable in terms of sound than drums then???

Drums don't rust up, discs on the rear (and front) do. Front discs clear their rust during normal use as they do most of the work, whereas the rear brakes get little use during 'easy-going' driving. You have to really hammer the brakes to make them work a bit more.

This then causes more of the rust and road gunk to stick and that in turn causes the grinding noises.

Drums are pretty much sealed from crud from the road, and hopefully also water - thus they don't grind.

It's just one of those things. Drum brakes don't have the performance of a good disc brake setup, BUT they have that as a BIG advantage, which is why on smaller cars you will still see drum brakes used a fair bit.

Drums don't rust up...

Of course they do!

Have you ever owend anything made by Austin Rover or had an early eighties Vauxhall? If you left the car for even an hour after being driven in the rain, it would need the hammer treatment!

The Fabia VRS rear brakes grind at low speeds, it's just something that you have to accept until you change the pads.

The one big advantage of drums on the rear is the handbrake. With a disc braked

set rear the handbrake can leave a lot to be desired.

stop stongly to some roundabaouts from 70 mph

Thanks Instructor , O.K next roundabout, brake from 70mph, mirror, signal ....

Thanks Instructor , O.K next roundabout, brake from 70mph, mirror, signal ....

most town bypasses have 70mph dual carrigeways approaching roundabouts! if my pupils didn't do 70mph on the Sheffield parkway, they would fail for progress! so yes they get told... "do 70 mph, and when you approach that roundabout brake!" at this speed the percentage of braking going to the the rear discs is much more than the percentage of braking going to the rear discs at 40 mph, so should help with his problem! (and you know you are supposed to mirror signal BEFORE you brake right?!) :P

Cant say I've noticed any noises from my gearbox. Have you taken it out on a test drive with someone from the dealership?

As for the brakes, every morning mine are rusty which takes a few stops to clear the rust off. Which can sound like they are rubbing/binding