I’m asking about a late 2023 Mk4 Fabia Monte Carlo 1.0 TSI 110. (6 forward manual gears)

 

It’s great to drive and comfortable but there is a recommendation to change gear function on the dashboard display.  When we got the car, this aid seemed to be doing a good job and we made use of it to keep the revs low.  All of a sudden for no apparent reason it has decided to give recommendations which are well out of line.  It’s now asking us to change down to a lower gear even when the car is quite happy in the current gear.  There are two of us who drive the car and we agree that it is now assessing things differently and working against us.

 

I’ve booked it in at the local dealership and will have to wait over a fortnight plus I’ve been informed that if the engineers don’t find a fault or it is not covered by warranty, we’ll be charged over £100.  The large red front assist warning has also come on unexpectedly a few times but there’s a setting which I’ve found and changed from early to medium which may solve that.

 

Any thoughts from those familiar with the electronics on the latest Mk 4 Fabia models?  Is the Skoda dealership likely to stonewall or be helpful?  Any tips on how best to handle the discussions at the dealership?

Its only a recommendation, most people including me recognise gear change recommendations is hopelessly out on a lot of occasions and a lower or higher gear is more appropriate. It cannot see the road ahead or anticipate your next move.

 

Use your head and gut feelings, ignore the recommendation if you think its wrong and drive in the gear you feel is best suited to your current situation.

 

If you have a drive mode setting somewhere, change that and that should  alter the recommendation thresholds.

 

Don't waste £100 for a diagnostic that won't pick anything up. Maybe ask them to have a look when you have it serviced because a full diagnostic is done as part and parcel of the servicing.

 

Edited 5 March, 20242 yr by xman

We've been driving many years and make our own decision about the gear selected but something has definitely changed.  I've looked up "drive mode" in the handbook but we are looking here at a manual gearbox so that doesn't apply.  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem possible to turn this in your face feature off.  There are so many electronic wonders in the latest cars that maybe they are over engineered - more to go wrong.  I don't want to pay over £100 to be told that there is no problem and the first service which if you are correct includes a free diagnostic will be after one year's motoring has been completed so still not reassured.

The diesel models definitely do what you describe during a DPF regeneration, does your vehicle have a GPF?

 

I would just ignore it, had it been incorrect from the get go would you hve paid for a diagnostic or just taken no notice of it?

27 minutes ago, bazz2004 said:

I've looked up "drive mode" in the handbook but we are looking here at a manual gearbox so that doesn't apply. 

 

Manual cars have "Drive Mode" (my superb has) I would have thought it was standard on a Monte Carlo

 

According to the user manual its in your infotainment

I can't find anything like that in our Monte Carlo which doesn't even have sat nav built in.  My last car was over 20 years old and getting to grips with this Fabia is a challenge. However, I'm pretty sure there's no drive mode options on the manual gearbox Monte Carlo. Thanks for trying to help but I could do with a reply from someone familiar with the model. 

 

I had a Fabia Monte Carlo estate and just used the gearbox to keep the engine spinning lightly in whatever gear suited me,

the suggested gearchanges were largely ignore as they had little or no bearing on the real road conditions.

Save your money, 

I have made some progress on this issue.

 

Having decided that It's time I mastered the innovations that cars now have I went for a drive to explore the cruise control on my Fabia Monte Carlo. It turns out my car doesn't have cruise control after all but has something called a speed limiter. For the less informed, cruise control is useful for motorway cruising whereas a speed limiter is more for urban driving with say 30mph speed limits. Why it doesn't have both puzzles me.  I did get the hang of the speed limiter and there was a bonus.

 

What I noticed after switching the speed limiter function off was that the recommendations for changing gear were once again sensible just as they had been until about a fortnight ago. Some text came up momentarily on the dash about eco tips. The wife has complained a few times that our agreed choice of the layout for the virtual cockpit has changed by itself since a previous drive.  On the Skoda connect app the info says that there is no fault detected.  I hope that electronic glitches are not going to become a regular occurrence with our Monte Carlo.

Re driving mode settings:

 

I need to explore that. I wonder if mine is set to eco or something.

 

I just bought a Fabia 1000 MPI new on 7th February. I notice a lot less torque than my old 1400 tdi for sure, but the car is ok as long as you rev it in third and fourth  if you want to accelerate along a slip road or whatever to rapidly get to motorway speed.

 

The gear change advisor data is absolutely crazy low. It is often telling me to change up when the engine revs are below 2000 rpm - which after fifty years of car driving seems mad for a tiny petrol engine like this - especially without a turbo. 

 

After the old TDI the quiet near silence of the new petrol engine is a delight, but this MPI car is no dragster. I do get 58 to 64 mpg on my twice weekly forty mile commute to a nearby town though, which is a surprise to me after twenty some years of diesel driving. My last petrol car was a 1300 cc Felicia and I was lucky to get 40 mpg ever. 

If you had got a petrol with a turbo it might of had a bit more like the go the diesel with the turbo had, not likely you would have got the economy you are getting with the MPI though.

40 minutes ago, Rooted said:

If you had got a petrol with a turbo it might of had a bit more like the go the diesel with the turbo had, not likely you would have got the economy you are getting with the MPI though.

 

Yes - i knew that when I got it, but you are right for sure. I just went out and checked the car's control systems. There are no settings for driving mode as far as I can see on the car. Maybe that feature is for a more expensive version. 

 

Anyway - no way am I going to take notice of those gear change recommendations. I am interested in economy, but I am more interested in NOT labouring a small petrol engine. If it feels like it won't pull if asked to, it needs a lower gear. I've done that since my first car in 1973 -  a 35hp, 1960,  Morris 1000 with an 850cc engine. If I need advice on when to change gear, I should send my license to the DVLA and tell them I am not fit to drive.

 

Driven the same way as the old TDI I just got rid of, this car achieves similar fuel economy - a tad less miles to the gallon, but very little different. For a petrol engine, that's a surprise to me. Forty miles down a busy A road with lots of trucks and no chance to overtake mostly, it really sips the fuel.

Edited 17 March, 20242 yr by tony1951

Just to clarify, the readings are now back to useful data. Unfortunately, I can't ignore in your face dashboard recommendations when they are clearly wrong.  I must have fiddled with the stalk carrying the speed limiter controls without knowing what I was doing and this corrected later on when I actually used the speed limiter.  Maybe there's a Fabia equivalent of returning to factory settings but I'd be scared to do that in case it wiped something important.  I'm not very impressed with the speed limiter function but it might be handy on long motorway stretches with a 50mph limit for roadworks.  We do like the eco suggestions which have helped us adapt to the new car which is a very different animal to drive.

This issue came back and wouldn’t go away.  I tried Factory resets for Vehicle and then System.  The Vehicle reset didn’t seem to do anything but the latter wiped out the saved radio stations and removed my paired smart phone.  It didn’t put the gear change notifications right.

 

The car is used almost exclusively for short local runs - shopping or the gym. With an improvement in the weather, we went for a long run of around 50 miles reaching on stretches hectic speeds of 50-55mph.  For the first half an hour or so in traffic and within a 30mph speed limit the inaccurate suggestions to change gear continued.  Then we noticed that it had changed completely.  Whereas before 3^rd gear was indicated as appropriate at up to 33mph even when the car was bowling along happily it was now recommending that we change up to 5^th.  We were soon using 6^th without any nonsense from the gear change readout.

 

The car has made a couple more short journeys without reverting to inaccurate recommendations but if my suspicions are correct the readings will soon go haywire again. My earlier belief that the Speed limiter was responsible was wrong. To maximise safety while tackling the unfamiliar technology of a Speed limiter I went on a longish run well clear of the typical stop-start congestion on most local roads. That's likely what reset the system.

 

Can anybody explain what is going on?  

I refuse to use speed limiters on cars after driving on a dual carriageway doing about 60/65 when the car picked up the 30 limits on an adjacent service road. If I'd been using the speed limiter it would have braked abruptly risking a rear end shunt and abusing the car. It's also picked up lower speed limits from side roads.

 

The signage and technology isn't of sufficient standard for these systems to be used safely in my book.

From my limited and recently acquired knowledge of assistance tech you were having issues with Cruise control which is a different animal from a Speed limiter.  I'm not impressed with the Mk 4 Fabia Speed limiter but new legislation is about to be implemented where all new cars sold in Europe and the UK will by law have to be equipped with a Speed limiter. I see you have an automatic Fabia on order so that will concern you. I'm annoyed that the recommended gear changes are all over the place but suppose I'd gone for a DSG automatic shift and it was selecting the gears in the same way as with the 6 speed manual  unit.  I'd be getting poor mpg whilst being completely unaware of this issue.  After receiving the Fabia last December the constant changing through the gears made me think maybe it would have been better to go automatic.  The Mk 4 Fabia is one of the few cars where a spare wheel and fitting kit are available as an option.  It was one of the selling points for us.

The speed limiter is in my Volvo, but I'm assuming is similar in other makes. Speed limit signs etc. are picked up from a front facing camera and are displayed in the drivers display and as I understand it are used by the speed limiter, hence my concerns. I have read that data is also drawn from that used by the sat nav but as my car sometimes doesn't display a speed limit due to a lack of signs I'm not convinced about that.

 

You are right that speed limiter legislation is being introduced but the UK has opted out. Good decision as being bleeped at every time you stray above the limit will be annoying especially when it is picking up the wrong speed limit. Signage in this country isn't good enough for systems like this. And don't get me started on the flawed Collision Avoidance systems which activate for no good reason!

 

Cruise control is as you say is a different animal but doesn't use the speed limit signs to govern speed, that works on the speed you have set.

 

As far as gear suggestions are concerned, I agree with what others say and ignore them. They are based on economy and suggest changing up at ridiculously low speeds sometimes at which the engine would be lugging/labouring.

 

And yes I think the 1.0 TSI is better mated to the DSG box. My wife test drove one this morning and I was impressed with its performance.

Edited 9 May, 20242 yr by VAGCF

Published: 27 March 2019 Updated: 20 November 2023

 

https://www.parkers.co.uk/car-advice/speed-limiters-what-they-mean-for-you/

 

The system is not designed to immediately slow the car down.

 

A series of warnings should happen first.

It can be but most manufacturers are going down the limited warning route rather than actively slowing the car down........but one day??!!!

 

Anyway, as the UK has opted out you should be able to turn it off.

https://www.evo.co.uk/news/22326/mandatory-speed-limiters-to-be-fitted-to-all-new-uk-cars-in-2024

 

I'm not clear on the status of this legislation but if you search there's plenty of recent posts about it -  July 2024 is the implementation date. The move was approved by the UK back in 2022. As for stuff like traffic sign recognition I don't have that and the bog standard Speed limiter that is on my Monte Carlo is easily turned off. It's a shame I can't also turn off the gear change recommendations.  Be aware that Skoda lack generosity in what they include as standard even with the top of the range models. There was supposed to be a usb port up by the interior light for accessories like a traffic cam.  When trying attach and power my Garmin sat nav I found the "socket" but It turned out to be just a plastic blank.  How much extra would that have cost?  Practically nothing.

 

The thread is now way off course as the Speed limiter has nothing to do with the problem I posted on originally but thanks for all the friendly comments.  I may post a review on how we are finding the mc since receiving it last December.

Edited 10 May, 20242 yr by bazz2004
spacing

There are long-running discussions on one of the UK Hyundai forums about speed-warning 'safety' systems that will soon be mandatory for all new cars sold in Europe (including the UK).

 

The four approaches that can be used are listed on this link

 

https://road-safety-charter.ec.europa.eu/resources-knowledge/media-and-press/intelligent-speed-assistance-isa-set-become-mandatory-across 

 

and comprise

 

1. Cascaded acoustic warning

2. Cascaded vibrating warning

3. Haptic feedback through the acceleration pedal

4. Speed control function

 

Huundai has chosen a cascaded  visual/acoustic warning approach where (in its basic form) a single windscreen mounted camera 'reads' speed-limit-related UK traffic signs, shows the speed-limit via a symbol on the car's dashboard and, if the car is travelling faster than the limit, flashes the dashboard symbol followed by a 'chime'. The reason for the Hyundai forum discussion is that the speed-warning system fitted to recent i10 models (without navigation) marketed in the UK has a flaw as it is unable to recognise/react to the UK's national-speed-limit-applies traffic sign (white circle with black diagonal stripe). Inevitably  this means that, although the system works reasonably well within an urban environment, as soon as the i10 car exits that environment, the system will continuously provide excess-speed warnings. Hyundai has been aware of this defect for months, but, so far has yet to provide a curative 'fix'. UK Hyundai dealerships have bee authorised to disable the system as an interim measure, thus avoiding the need for the i10 driver to turn off the system every time the car's ignition is turned on.

 

My 2021 Hyundai i20 had a speed-warning system that read UK traffic signs pretty well, but - as it just flashed a dashboard symbol if a speed-limit was exceeded - it was non-intrusive. My i20 also had 3 selectable driving modes (Eco, Comfort or Sport) and the usual amusing 'change gear' encouragement dashboard read-out for its 6-speed manual transmission. I don't know if the gear-change recommendations altered according to which driving mode was selected, though I doubt that was the case. 

Edited 10 May, 20242 yr by DerekU

I've got the visual flashing speed limit symbol on this and my previous XC40 and I'm fine with that as it is useful. I think I only get an audible warning if I set the speed limiter, but I don't know for sure as I don't use it.

 

Bazz, yes we do go off at a tangent, though personally I think as long as it provides useful info. I don't have a problem with it. Some folks do though and get arsy about it, they do tend to be short threads after that though! Keep us updated.

 

You are right about extras with VWG cars. What starts off as a reasonably priced car can soon get expensive. I priced up a Karoq when I was changing the Yeti, didn't go too mad but it wasn't far off the Volvo when I'd finished! At least with VWG you do get a good choice. With Volvo you get various models and very few extras are available which can be annoying. Luckily I got near enough what I wanted this time and for a pretty good price even with Volvos change to the agency model otherwise I would have been looking elsewhere again.

 

Chris

Edited 10 May, 20242 yr by VAGCF

The state of the new legislation is that New Type Approved vehicles now require to have as standard the new SAFETY stuff. 

 

Cars leading up to the New Legislation were the Test Beds, & R&D for the stuff that was coming and is now here.

 

Not all New Cars are New Type Approvals though, 

as a All New MK3 FABIA when launched in 2014 was not a New Type approved car from a Mk2. 

This "What Car" article may be of interest

 

https://www.whatcar.com/news/adas-gsr-ii-and-the-future-of-car-safety/n26366

 

My understanding is that the 'rules' that came into force in July 2022 only applied to car models that were newly Type Approved, so would not apply to Fabia Mk4 vehicles. However, from July 2024, the rules will apply to ALL cars sold brand-new irrespective of their Type Approval date. 

 

The implications of this are obvious and tricky, as car dealerships can have new cars languishing unsold on their forecourts for months and there can be a long delay between a factory-order and the car being delivered to a dealership.

 

On the Hyundai forum I mentioned above, there was heated argument over Hyundai having unnecessarily included irritating  'safety' features that owners disliked in the car's standard specification when such features were not yet mandatory. The counter-argument of course was that there was nothing to stop a car manufacturer from including such features even though they were not yet forced to (and then advertise them as selling points) and, in any case, the 'safety' features would need to be place well in advance of the July 2024 deadline.

Thanks Derek, that certainly was of interest. Dacia's view on safety rating was enlightening and a commonsense approach I agree with though of course their hand will be forced in the future and they will have to toe the line.

 

Had to smile when they said that most manufacturers see safety as standard as even Volvo who built their reputation on safety have different safety features dependant on trim level e.g. BLIS (blind spot monitoring) and ACC (automatic cruise control).

 

And sustainability! That's one of my common comments. Cars are so complicated nowadays with increasing numbers of issues (many software based) that I can't see them lasting anywhere near as long as older cars as subsequent owners won't be able to afford to have them repaired and software updates and fixes may not be available (very probable) leading to cars being scrapped prematurely. Trouble is that usually governments and hence manufacturers only think about the first customer and not when a car is a few years old.

 

I can even see a problem with sufficient second-hand cars being available because of this and who'd want to buy a 10 year old car from this era anyway, far too risky. One of the reasons for buying a new Fabia before they get more complicated with going mild-hybrid though I accept it does have complicated software that can have it's issues.

Edited 11 May, 20242 yr by VAGCF

Bought a 2023 VW UP last year.

 

This also has the gear change recommendation display which is always suggesting you change up much too early.

The same system in my 2018 Skoda Citigo and 2016 Skoda Fabia is more realistic.

 

 

The lane assist in the UP is on by default whenever you turn the ignition on.

But around where I drive ( North Dorset country roads ) it was so annoying/dangerous, I have made it so it now remembers the last state it was in.

It has now been off for 4 months.

 

Thanks. AG Falco