Drop onto the dodgy cars Facebook page for a real eye opener on damaged cars. HPI is not an accurate check for previous damage as cars are not always correctly registered as damaged. The page looks at reports that can actually show damage at the recovery yard. We bought a Polo actually advertised as Cat N, and paid for a search from vcheck.uk which gave us the damaged photos for future records if we sell it.

Many of the cars on the facebook page are from major players in the car sales world, including franchised dealers such as Audi who quote cars have passed multi point checks.

 Your seller may not have known as the can get a marker on HPI years after salvage sale.

 

 Another report supplyer is - Buying or selling a used car? — carVertical

 

See a typical report at about 3.1/2 minutes in this video - 

 

Edited 8 December, 20214 yr by KeithCheetham
Appear as Cat on HPI years later

My seller is a private seller who's had the car since 2019. If they had an accident in their time, they would have noticed. And if it was marked before they bought it, they would have known and would have told me. I am wrestling my mind to remember 100% if I did (been viewing many cars in the last weeks), but I do recall asking if it had a category write-off on it and they said no. They DEFINITEYL did not mention it in the listin gdescription, which they should have, and the listing was removed post-sale.

 

Now. Moving forward.

MPG is lower than advertised expectations, and pick up after revs drop upon a near stop (traffic light or mostly junctions) is near dead sometimes. What could it be.

 

By the way, where the heck is the turbo in this car? And shouldn't that thing give a distinct turbo sound when revs go up?

 

Any input on what the noises are which I've linked in my first comment above? The constant whine after startup, and the ticking after turning off electrics.

That whine sound like a fan starting/running - is it constant speed independent of engine revs. Can you identify if from dash or under bonnet. Is a fan running - radiator or aircon if you look under bonnet. The other thing to try is if turning the heater either to or from recirculation (assume it has a button for this, on my 1.4TDI Greenline it is under fan speed/direction selector switches) the sound changes. How is the pollen filter. Another thing that may be worth trying is with engine running engage reverse gear - on mine fan sound changes, but again that is a 1.4. Can you also turn heater fan off before turning on and try it. Sorry if these sound like stabs in the dark but hard to identify location of sound without standing next to car.

 The searches I mentioned will give date when photo'd at salvage yard and confirm dates of owner changes, You will see the information format in the FB page, generally under "see more - source link - salvage history - click to view - click here to view" - does the 2019 date align with last registered owner change on V5. 

I've just re-read your last entry and understood a bit more. Thank you. I've got a Vcheck report now and can see photos. Report says "cat S structural, nearside and roof" but photos only show nearside small rear triangular window gone. Think they put Cas S instead of Cat N on it to get a definite write off? Oh well, at least there really isn't anything "structurally" wrong with it so my eyes weren't decieving me. Need to look at the roof in the morning now.

Seems to have been bought by someone just after salvage, kept for a month (repaired for profit for sure) then sold to an owner who kept it for over  year, then to last owner, then to me.

Mileage discrepancy also detected in 2015: 34K, then 63K, then 40000 sharp, then starts to build up normally from there. 40K is marked red, but I'm thinking it's the 63K that may have been misentered.

This is all trivia by now, most likely.

That rules out any relation to previous salvage history to current issue. 

 

Whining noise is constant and does not change regardless of anything. Ever. Until I turn the car off. When I had my Citroen C3 a long time ago there was a small beep similar to that that I thought was coming from the ECU, a bit less noticeable than this one. This is similar but it does noticeably "rise" in the first 3 seconds.

 

I tried to do the locate-noise-by-dipping-nose-under-hood protocol, or even listen for the turbo up close, but there's only me here and my legs are neither long nor made of rubber, so this will only have to wait until I can have someone rev while I listen under the bonnet.

I'm sure the near stalling was covered in another thread and a known fault to it but I can't remember what.  Perhaps if you put up another thread with a subject title referring to that it will attract the same posters with possible answers.

 

Good idea to check the cabin filter as a clean one makes a different fan noise (normally they are white but I think you can get a special one that's grey material, hold the existing one up to the light or better still just replace it and then you know for sure).

 

For sounds you can buy cheap four or six way listen units, put them where you think the noise might be and switch between channels to locate or eliminate if you need the car driven best to let someone else drive, or listen, especially if using closed (shell) headphones which would be best to use.

 

Quick reply from work.

 

I have the full service kit so the 

cabin filter is going in anyway. Oil and diesel filters too. I can't wait to change that oil,  I have a feeling (or a hope)  it will change the feel of the car a lot. Or maybe not .

 

Edit: just popped to the car in the break and pulled the cabinet filter out. Quite dirty if I say so. Popped the new one in (Made in Turkey, no airflow indicator, and only two sides firm instead of four. Might be for the wrong model, or might just be a bad make). But it's white clean, and is now in.

Edited 9 December, 20214 yr by KingRoach

Do you have a link to existing discussions? It seems to happen mostly when the steering wheel is turned or turning for the junction. I wonder if steering assist power is drawing power from injectors? /Hypothesis.

11 hours ago, KingRoach said:

I've just re-read your last entry and understood a bit more. Thank you. I've got a Vcheck report now and can see photos. Report says "cat S structural, nearside and roof" but photos only show nearside small rear triangular window gone. Think they put Cas S instead of Cat N on it to get a definite write off? Oh well, at least there really isn't anything "structurally" wrong with it so my eyes weren't decieving me. Need to look at the roof in the morning now.

Seems to have been bought by someone just after salvage, kept for a month (repaired for profit for sure) then sold to an owner who kept it for over  year, then to last owner, then to me.

 Sorry to hear that the report has brought up some history, all be it of questionable clarity, but this may suggest that the previous owner was also in the dark of previous issues. On my Fabia 1.4 TDI Greenline since purchase in 2012 I have identified signs of accident damage - bent track control arm and O/S wing date stamped after original registration date. The car was purchased with a clean HPI report from the dealer but the quoted FB page shows the value of these reports - zero - with the purchase reports giving in depth info, but even these will not cover owners repairing damage themselves.

For filters Mann are fine and not expensive and the cabin filters even come with instructions.

 

See attached PDF below for instructions for airflow direction and what the filter looks like (look at the page and photos for 'Audi, Seat, Skoda, VW' and not the other pages.  Link to Mann (other providers are available) filters. -  https://catalog.mann-filter.com/EU/eng/vehicle/MANN-FILTER Katalog Europa/Vehicles/CARS %2B TRANSPORTERS/SKODA/Fabia II (5J6, 5J9)/1.2 TDI ( (5J6~5J9)) CFWA (T00000000331555)

 

Changing the engine oil & filter won't do any harm and may well help but I doubt it will solve your problem, however the servicing sounds like it may well be worth doing, bearing in mind the engine is one of the least important parts on the car.  The brakes, steering, suspension, (all three include tyres), lights and essential electrics and glass areas (windows and mirrors) are more important.

 

A very big tip I feel is to always have the car battery in a good state of charge and condition, along with its man cables and connections as if the battery gets too low even though the car starts and the lights seem bright enough the computers and their programs can throw all sorts of wobblies and bite you on the bottom and kick you in the soft parts - and it's even worse with later cars.  I've no idea if low battery is causing or contributing to your problems but like the servicing checking and charging the car battery (or changing IF needed) is a good idea.

 

If I could remember I'd have put up a link, I'll perhaps see or remember later, I can put links to car battery causing problems or you can take my word for it (though others might disagree).

 

As for reports, apart from errors and wrong assignments it also require that the damages or repairs are reported, lots of pavement type trading with vehicles.

  

HBHLWH57.pdf

Edited 9 December, 20214 yr by nta16
forgot pdf

30 minutes ago, KingRoach said:

I wonder if steering assist power is drawing power from injectors?

Even if the injectors aren't electric themselves, they're electronically controlled, so it's possible that the hit from the PAS motor causes a voltage drop in the electrics. I'd suggest having the battery health checked properly with a deep load test. Most places will do that for free if you buy the new battery from them.

I would just check the age of the battery... If its more than 5 years old, fit a new one anyway! Keep the old one, charge it fully and store it. That way, you can do regular swaps, to slow charge the new one every six months, off the car. 

The easiest way to check the turbo is actually working, is to drive gently, then increase the revs and at a certain point, the turbo should kick in and speed the car up more then you intended. I usually have to say to students, if they feel the turbo cutting in, they are driving too hard on local city roads. On faster, dual carriageways, etc, when pulling away from a standing start, try to get that boost!

 

Also, after a fairly hard, fast drive, if you come to a stop, a ****ed turbo will often produce a cloud of foul-smelling fumes. Funny and embarrassing in equal measures. 

I have a 1.4 Greenie but I am sure the 1.2 will still have that boost at around 2-2500 revs!

 

 

10 hours ago, KingRoach said:

Do you have a link to existing discussions?

I think below is it, note new battery needs to be coded-in to car (brilliant VW idea for its computer program(s) to operate) or it takes a while for the dumb computers to cotton on to the improvement in the battery if it's not coded, if battery type is changed (EFB/AGM) that will need coding (I think, who knows with VW's (sometimes) secret programming).

 

 

Edited 9 December, 20214 yr by nta16

The one for where it possibly wasn't (but might also have been) the turbo is this one. -

 

 

Have you heard the horn? It's RIDICULOUS!

 

More troubleshooting: last night unplugged the MAF sensor and drove a bit. It threw an error obviously, with what felt like less power on higher speeds.

Gave the sensor a clean and dry and plugged it back in. Driving today. No difference and feels even less powerful if that is even possible. Really slow at acceleration, if any, above 40mph.

 

Plans so far:

0 Cleaned MAF sensor, and can capture 12v and 5V at some terminals but couldn't check for signal output using voltmeter yet.

1. Still haven't decided what bluetooth adapter to get. Money is real tight TBH so better be careful with everything. Need as much live data as possible.

Does freezeframe only freeze the frame when an error is recorded? Or can I freeze any frame I want (by pressing a button for example?)

 

the rest is additives.

 

2. Run a cycle of engline flush product and change the oil.

3. Run a cycle of injector cleaner product.

4. inspect or change the spark plugs.

5. Run a cycle of diesel system cleaner or whatever cheap desparate measure you feel you can sprinkle on top.

6 Whatever you suggest. I asked a mechanic and he said bring the car to plug it in, but didn't tell me the cost. I'm really skint this is why I have to study.

 

 

 

Q's for today:

 

1. Are there any known problems relating to fuel injection or the pedal?

You know if the problem was that the engine was trying hard and not moving the car on junction, you'd get a feeling that it's struggling, but it feels more like, it's not responding at all, almost like there is no response to the pedal, for like 2 seconds when I junction, then it returns.

 

2. Is there any way to reach or move the turbo actuator arm by hand just to wiggle it a bit in case it's stuck?

 The suggested post on the 1.9TDI states the graphs were obtained through the Torque App, not mentioned if free or paid version but this has allowed him to post results for people with more knowledge than me to comment on. Probably a cheap (less than £5) ELM327 Bluetooth used but may be worth messaging him for clarity of ODB2 adaptor, and instructions on how to carry out the logging - would like this logging method info myself for future reference.

55 minutes ago, KingRoach said:

Have you heard the horn? It's RIDICULOUS!

 

More troubleshooting: last night unplugged the MAF sensor and drove a bit. It threw an error obviously, with what felt like less power on higher speeds.

Gave the sensor a clean and dry and plugged it back in. Driving today. No difference and feels even less powerful if that is even possible. Really slow at acceleration, if any, above 40mph.

 

Plans so far:

0 Cleaned MAF sensor, and can capture 12v and 5V at some terminals but couldn't check for signal output using voltmeter yet.

1. Still haven't decided what bluetooth adapter to get. Money is real tight TBH so better be careful with everything. Need as much live data as possible.

Does freezeframe only freeze the frame when an error is recorded? Or can I freeze any frame I want (by pressing a button for example?)

 

the rest is additives.

 

2. Run a cycle of engline flush product and change the oil.

3. Run a cycle of injector cleaner product.

4. inspect or change the spark plugs.

5. Run a cycle of diesel system cleaner or whatever cheap desparate measure you feel you can sprinkle on top.

6 Whatever you suggest. I asked a mechanic and he said bring the car to plug it in, but didn't tell me the cost. I'm really skint this is why I have to study.

 

 

 

Q's for today:

 

1. Are there any known problems relating to fuel injection or the pedal?

You know if the problem was that the engine was trying hard and not moving the car on junction, you'd get a feeling that it's struggling, but it feels more like, it's not responding at all, almost like there is no response to the pedal, for like 2 seconds when I junction, then it returns.

 

2. Is there any way to reach or move the turbo actuator arm by hand just to wiggle it a bit in case it's stuck?

 

Don't waste your money on additives.

 

It is impossible to diagnose your problem without fault codes.

 

It will be impossible to repair your car without some money for parts.

 

Tell us where you are and someone from on here may be able to read the codes for you.

7 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

Don't waste your money on additives.

 

I read the bit about that additives and wondered how long it would take before you done a biblical level rising.

On 10/12/2021 at 19:50, KeithCheetham said:

 The suggested post on the 1.9TDI states the graphs were obtained through the Torque App, not mentioned if free or paid version but this has allowed him to post results for people with more knowledge than me to comment on. Probably a cheap (less than £5) ELM327 Bluetooth used but may be worth messaging him for clarity of ODB2 adaptor, and instructions on how to carry out the logging - would like this logging method info myself for future reference.

It was my 1.9 mk1 with the issues, the obd reader was a godsend, my one was this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/312580965038?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2648 there are much cheaper ones out there but knew this one worked as I had borrowed my mate's previously.

 

The app was the torque lite (free) on android (setup the obd reader through the app not the phones pairing options, that had me for a good half hour)

 

Make sure you're getting some data through live by adding an rpm display or something comparable.

Press the settings 'gear' button

Then press the settings 'spanner option'

-data logging and upload

-select what to log

--three dots in top right to add metrics (for mine I had manifold pressure, maf, turboboost and vacuum gauge, engine rpm and speed [obd])

-go back

-file logging interval (1 second for me)

-back out to the normal display

-gear button

-toggle logging (small info should appear at bottom saying logging enabled)

DRIVE

-gear button

-toggle logging (small info should appear at bottom saying logging stopped)

-gear button

-email logs

-csv

-email yourself and then open properly with excel or equiv (graphs don't like the timestamps it uses so I added an additional column to extract only the time part [formula =TIMEVALUE(MID(A2,11,9))  where A2 is the timestamp cell]

 

Shout if you need anything else

Hi Folks! I need to update you.

 

Haven't got the bluetooth dongle yet, will do eventually (just need to have one in general) but for now,

 

I've used an EGR cleaner, ran the car enough to make sure the DPF is clean, replaced air filters, cleaned MAF sensor, changed oil filter, and new 5w-30 fully synthetic oil, ran an engine flush additive upon changing oil, and there is a difference made to the problem I was having.

 

Remember I mentioned a Citroen C3 1.4 petrol I had a long time ago, which would go sluggish off a traffic light or uphill once warm? Which was sorted by an oil change? And that I suspect it may be something like that playing a role?

Well, it has been something like that playing a role. I haven't had a dead-emergence since flushing engine and changing oil, only notice momentary sluggishness trying to pick up after rpms drop 2 or 3 times, which may have more to do with the weird gear ratios combined with the weak engine than with anything else. It does seem to die down, but the engine still feels like it's breathing a bit - struggling to load rather than not responding, so quite a different feel.

 

All in all I'm happy with this difference and can accept that the car now must be performing the way it is expected to for what it is.

 

MPG still seemed low but that may be due to the particular journey that I have to take upon commute, as it include a LOT of stopping and creeping in the rush hour, and it's a short journey. So average is 30-40MPG on screen (before service: 45mpg real measurement at the pump after 100 miles, then 45mpg again after another 100 miles.) Today on a bit longer journey it yielded high 50's on screen, and with some Motorway miles it crept up to 60-62mpg. Any tiny uphill, or junction, and the screen loses 2-5mpg straight away. Average total mpg still around 45mpg. I'll do a real life measurement soon, but this seems to be about what I should expect from now on.

 

I still need to change the diesel filter as I already have the part in the boot, but need to know first if this car has a self-priming pump or if I need to prime the filter when I install it. And this would conclude the full serivce.

After that, the plan is to observe O2 sensor, run an injector cleaner, then some cleaning additives and prime diesel every once in a while. Also considering an oil catch can, is it worthwhile on this car?

Any other suggestions re: engine/fuel/injection/oil/turbo system health before I finish this topic and move on to the next problem I found (relating probably to the old accident it's had) in a new thread?

I don't know about the pump but changing the fuel filter could help.

 

How old is the coolant, what its condition look like? 

 

With all these short journeys a few blow-out runs will be necessary so keep your plenty of fuel in the tank then, see video below.  Also keep an eye on the amount of charge in the battery if you're doing lots of short journeys in this time of year.

 

As so far you've found so much improvement is just doing basic cleaning and lubricating here's a step many don't bother with but I think might help you, changing the gear box oil, same idea as with engine, get it as warm as possible and leave it to drain as long as possible to get as much of the old oil and its contaminants so that there is the least amount left in to dilute the new fresh oil.

 

It could be that there are a few error codes that need clearing or that some/all will or have already cleared with use.  I'd get the fuel filter fitted to complete your set and see if there's any more improvements with use.

 

Good luck.

 

 

On 20/12/2021 at 00:15, KingRoach said:

Any other suggestions re: engine/fuel/injection/oil/turbo system health before I finish this topic and move on to the next problem I found (relating probably to the old accident it's had) in a new thread?

 

Sorry - haven't been on here since mid 2021 - else i'd have spotted this and replied; it seems that you had a similar set of symptoms to my greenline.

ie fuel consumption is down, lots of engine revs but no power when setting off. 

 

In my case this turned out to be a combination of a sticky turbo actuator, and a damaged turbo.

I've had no further issues since this was sorted out.

On 04/12/2021 at 00:25, KingRoach said:

Dear all,

 

Good to see you again. I'm coming from a 2009-2010 Octavia II 1.6 TDI Greenline, turbocharged, which I've had for 4 years.

Just got my 2nd car: a 2011 Fabia II Greenline 1.2 TDI.

 

When I tested this car upon purchase, I didn't know much about it, like I didn't know it has stop-start, and I didn't know it had 3 cylinders, and I wasn't sure it was turbocharged.

But it drove and I was in urgent need and I've been looking for a car for 10 weeks so I ended up buying it and who knows, I may have overpaid.

 

The point now is. I'm test running the car and there is one thing I noticed which I didn't like (besides the noise of course, damn that engine is noisy).

Sometimes when I get near a stop, like at a traffic light queue, or when I'm emerging out of a junction, the engine seems to refuse to pull for a short period. I might even end up stranded in the middle of a lane until it pulls through, and that is mostly in low gears due to the situation in which I noticed this.

 

It's been bugging me all day, but it kind of dawned on me tonight. Could my Turbo be shot?

I confimed via google that the car is indeed turbocharged. I don't hear the turbo sound that the Octavia makes but they are two different cars after all.

 

How do I confirm if my turbo is working? And if it's not that, can you think of anything else that does it?
 

Does your car do what mine does?

And finally, there are a few clicks and whirrs I want to ask about. If I upload videos to YouTUbe, can you help me recognise what they are?

 

Too late to make a difference now as we are 8 months on, but. My 2012 1.2 diesel Greenline had the same issues, terrible acceleration from a standing start, almost dangerous when pulling out of a junction, the engine was very reluctant to "rev". Also the stop/start was working, not working, working, not working. Did a little research and it seems the car requires the AGM "heavy duty" battery for want of a better word which it had, but on testing it was only at 75%.  So been ultra low mileage with full service history and wanting to sell it in the near future (getting a motability car) I bit the bullet and paid twice the price of an "ordinary battery". Two thing to report, stop start now working fine, and I have no idea why but the sluggish set off and mid range acceleration has been sorted as well, it drives as if I had had it tuned, the drive is so very different. Could the new battery be giving the engine management a boost somehow, I have no idea. I must add, if someone on a forum had told me this story I would have laughed at them, but it's 100% true, I have tested it on a hill near us, goes up it now a gear higher, HOW.

Most owners T OT A L  L  Y underestimate the importance the condition and state of charge of the car's battery especially with modern cars and particularly German marques like VW with their over-complicated, intrusive intertwined computer programs.

 

 

On 07/09/2022 at 19:11, deerslayer said:

 

Too late to make a difference now as we are 8 months on, but. My 2012 1.2 diesel Greenline had the same issues, terrible acceleration from a standing start, almost dangerous when pulling out of a junction, the engine was very reluctant to "rev". Also the stop/start was working, not working, working, not working. Did a little research and it seems the car requires the AGM "heavy duty" battery for want of a better word which it had, but on testing it was only at 75%.  So been ultra low mileage with full service history and wanting to sell it in the near future (getting a motability car) I bit the bullet and paid twice the price of an "ordinary battery". Two thing to report, stop start now working fine, and I have no idea why but the sluggish set off and mid range acceleration has been sorted as well, it drives as if I had had it tuned, the drive is so very different. Could the new battery be giving the engine management a boost somehow, I have no idea. I must add, if someone on a forum had told me this story I would have laughed at them, but it's 100% true, I have tested it on a hill near us, goes up it now a gear higher, HOW.

 

My 1.6 tdi was sluggish off the line before I got it rolled back and remapped. (90hp to 150hp 😀) Being a 1.2tdi it is not going to be a rocketship. My 1.6 only starts to boost after 1600 rpm because of the dpf restriction.  I would say bite the bullet on a rollback and remap.

 

1.2 tdi will go from 73hp to 100hp and 180nm to 225nm of torque roughly. Thats enough to make quite the difference.

 

Do another service with good oil. Good fuel filter, good air filter and try that if that is within budget. 

Not sure if someone's already said it here (I had a quick scan) or if you already found out but if your car is a TDI/TDCI/CDTI etc then it is turbocharged. The T stands for Turbo