Hey there fellers. I was replacing a few vacuum hoses and spark plugs the other day, and I noticed that the scuttle panel doesn't like up with the firewall or whatever that is called.
The hood shuts fine. Is that gap normal?

Excuse my very good artistic skills.

Gap looks similar on ours, I think.

 

 

That trim panel is cosmetic and fulfills no other function and as such has no real structural strength, the sealing rubber is there to keep water out and sound in the engine bay which is why it's attached to the steel scuttle and not the trim.

Seal is also - maybe primarily - to keep any possible leaked exhaust (or other) fumes from directly entering the cabin air intake which is just under the plastic trim.

Thanks fellas. Yes it seems to be normal. I tried looking at other Fabias on the street and it seems a lot of them had it.