Hello folks, I have just joined the forum, so please be gentle. My Fabia SEL Auto was first registered in January 24, and I took ownership in Jan 25. My issue is that the car is in Eco mode and I can't find a way to change the setting to Normal. There is no button that I can see to make the switch, and I have searched the other means on altering settings ie steering wheel options, and settings an Amundsen without success. I am embarrassed to be asking such a simple question, but there it is, I am stuck.

Hi, welcome.

I'm not scalding you just offering advice and hopefully help.

Although VWŠkoda's version aren't he best with all cars if you read and refer to the car's 'Owner's Manual' you cam learn a lot about the car, and know more than many long term owners, and save time, hassle and money from unnecessary visits to Dealerships, garages, mechanics and auto-electricians.

There's a version of the 'Owner's Manual' in the menu of the infotainment I believe, how good that version is I've no idea, there's also a VWŠkoda website version (link to follow).

You would press the 'Mode' button and then select 'Normal', I would guess that the car defaults to 'Eco' each time the ignition is turned on, I don't know if you can alter this in any program.

Another word of advice is that the computer recommended gear selection isn't always correct for driving condition or best fuel economy, the computers don't (yet anyway) allow for gradients and full road and traffic conditions the more experienced in driving the more you may notice this.

There's lots of info on your model (and other models) on this site and as now you can always ask, there are no silly questions (but there can be different and strange answers).

Good luck, HTH.

VWŠkoda site for 'Owner's Manuals' - https://www.skoda-auto.com/apps/manuals/Models

Edited 5 June, 20255 Jun by nta16
missing word

Thanks nta16. I have read and re-read the manual without getting the answer. I don't actually find it an easy read!!

Diermot

I own a Fabia Mk 4 SE L (build-date 16 January 2024) with DSG transmission.

As you are aware, there is no MODE button. Nor is there an Eco/Normal/Sport selection capability accessible through the car's infotainment system.

With the DSG transmission, 'sport' is selected by moving the gear-lever to its 'sport' position. There's also a manual gear-changing capability using the gear-lever. And that's it....

I've not driven a Fabia Mk 4 with manual transmission, but my manual transmission 2021 Hyundai i20 had a Eco/Normal/Sport selection capability and I'm guessing manual transmission Fabia Mk 4 cars are the same.

No I think the 'Owner's manuals' were written by student German engineers and then sent to somewhere like China to be translated to English. The 'Owner's Manuals' also miss out information that other car manufacturers include and the German just have to add their own specification standards and names on top of the existing systems. They certainly could make things easier if they wanted to but the UK has always been a soft touch for car manufacturers, we let them get away with so much. And "cheaper" marques and brand have more than 3 years warranty, though IIRC VW give 7 years warranty in Australia (they must make them better for there I guess).

ETA: Whoops, sorry I didn't read/my brain didn't compute the word Auto in your post many apologies.

Even allowing for my stupid mistake and this not being in the 'Owner's Manual' despite how the manual is it is still worth reading and referring to for much about and with the car and can prevent soon and so on ....

If you want or need to you can still ignore VW's gear selection by manual shifting the DSG.

'Eco' mode to 'Sport' is a two step jump, seems a strange idea but we can not question the programmers or computers, they don't like it. 😉

Edited 5 June, 20255 Jun by nta16

I know nothing about Mk4 Fabia,s, but i know they have Dq200 7 speed twin dry clutch dsg,s.

Could people maybe say to save anyone looking at their profile when it is a 1.0 TSI or a 1.5 TSI ACT that they have.

Not that i can help with which ever, or what spec / trims of Mk4 they have an issue with.

Thank very much for that reply, DerekU. So it would appear that Eco is the new normal as far as the car is concerned. I can't complain about the economy aspect of using Eco, and you get used to it too, but it does limit the extent of slowing down through the gearbox, and will be using more of the brakes as well. All in all, I find it a strange situation.

@Diermot Is your car going into Coasting Mode. Instead of D7 showing it shows just D.

Touch the accelerator or brake pedal and goes back to D7, D6 or what ever?

Or how is ECO being shown?

Diermot, if you want to you can also add more details to your profile to show in 'Author stats' for those that can or do look at those. See mine for an example - top right corner of my posts, click-on the down arrow ( v ) for what I've put in for model details (I might add the engine code too as I keep forgetting what it is to remind me and inform those that look there).

HTH.

14 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

@Diermot Is your car going into Coasting Mode. Instead of D7 showing it shows just D.

Touch the accelerator or brake pedal and goes back to D7, D6 or what ever?

Or how is ECO being shown?

What happens when I lift the foot off the accelerator is very much hit or miss. Sometimes I get the normal gearbox drag,: other times it coasts and Eco comes up on the display. As soon as I touch the brakes, the gearbox drag becomes effective.

Good. Is it a 1.0tsi or 1.5 TSI ACT? Coasting operating if no load on the engine. Does that not happen if shifter in S?

Ootohere......It's a 1.0. Coasting happens when i lift off (but not always). I seldom use S, except when joining using a slip road.

S good for decelerating without using a shifter to go to manual. For downhills. foot off accelerastor.

Good in winter to slow in town without using brakes in winter, ice / snow.

2 hours ago, Ootohere said:

@Diermot Is your car going into Coasting Mode. Instead of D7 showing it shows just D.

Touch the accelerator or brake pedal and goes back to D7, D6 or what ever?

Or how is ECO being shown?

Ootohere... Eco shows on the screen where I usually have my mph in big letters. I have not been watching the gear I am in, but as it usually starts when I lift off after getting up to cruising speed, I would guess I am in D7

I guess you are in D7 as well in the S-A (Semi Automatic) DQ200 DSG.

& if coasting in D which is drive disengaged, so Coasting. and it coasts as long as no load required, accelerator pressed, or into Drive, so D7.

But if the car slowed enough in D / Coasting and you press / touch the accelerator it could be in D6.

Best try, look see and then you will know exactly how it is trying to save fuel / emissions, or just how they engineered for the WLTP.

3 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

I guess you are in D7 as well in the S-A (Semi Automatic) DQ200 DSG.

& if coasting in D which is drive disengaged, so Coasting. and it coasts as long as no load required, accelerator pressed, or into Drive, so D7.

But if the car slowed enough in D / Coasting and you press / touch the accelerator it could be in D6.

Best try, look see and then you will know exactly how it is trying to save fuel / emissions, or just how they engineered for the WLTP.

Thanks again, Ootohere, It almost looks as if the car is behaving as Skoda intended, and I will just have to live with it. BTW the step at the end of "freewheeling" is usually braking to negotiate a hazard, or simply bring the car to a halt.

Diermot

The data on my Skoda Fabia’s EC Certificate of Conformity indicate that its build-date was 16 January 2024, that it has a 3-cylinder in-line motor with a 999cc capacity with a power output of 81kW (110PS) at 5500rpm, and that its transmission is “automatic”. It’s an SE L model with an ANALOGUE instrument-cluster and an Amundsen touchscreen infotainment display.

My car’s Owner’s Manual has a June 2023  publication date and covers all Fabia Mk 4 models irrespective of their specification. The Manual’s “Driving modes” section does not apply to my car that has no 'Mode' button.

My car’s DSG automatic transmission has 7 forwards ratios and 4 ‘states’. Using the gear-selection lever I can choose the ‘drive’ state that will cycle automatically between D1-D7 (as shown on the instrument-cluster ). Or the ‘sport’ state that will cycle automatically between S1-S7 (as shown on the instrument-cluster) and result in gear changes occurring at higher speeds than in the ‘drive’ state. Or the ‘manual’ state that will show as M1-M7 on the instrument-cluster depending on which ratio I have chosen. 

The 4th ‘state’ is under the transmission’s control. For this 'state' to occur, my car must be in D7 with neither the accelerator-pedal nor the brake-pedal being depressed and must be travelling in the 12mph-80mph speed-range. The transmission will disengage from the motor, the motor’s rpm will drop to around 1000 and the car will ‘coast’ with D showing on the instrument cluster instead of D7. Accelerating or braking the car while it is ‘coasting’  will cause the motor and transmission to re-engage and a D1-D7 ratio to be selected by the car according to circumstances (or the car’s whim!)

Now, it needs emphasising that my car does NOT have the ‘Virtual Cockpit’ instrument display. So, if your Fabia has the Virtual Cockpit, it may well be that “ECO” (instead of a digital mph reading) will appear on the display when your car starts to coast. What I’ve described above is how my 2024 Fabia SE L’s DSG functions.

@Diermot you can just tap the brake pedal and not actually brake. If a vehicle behind just touch the accelerator pedal slightly. Both put it back into D7. Or moved the shifter to manual if you want then back to D. Or back to S and then to D. That will drop a gear though.

Thank you.

3 hours ago, DerekU said:

Diermot

The data on my Skoda Fabia’s EC Certificate of Conformity indicate that its build-date was 16 January 2024, that it has a 3-cylinder in-line motor with a 999cc capacity with a power output of 81kW (110PS) at 5500rpm, and that its transmission is “automatic”. It’s an SE L model with an ANALOGUE instrument-cluster and an Amundsen touchscreen infotainment display.

My car’s Owner’s Manual has a June 2023  publication date and covers all Fabia Mk 4 models irrespective of their specification. The Manual’s “Driving modes” section does not apply to my car that has no 'Mode' button.

My car’s DSG automatic transmission has 7 forwards ratios and 4 ‘states’. Using the gear-selection lever I can choose the ‘drive’ state that will cycle automatically between D1-D7 (as shown on the instrument-cluster ). Or the ‘sport’ state that will cycle automatically between S1-S7 (as shown on the instrument-cluster) and result in gear changes occurring at higher speeds than in the ‘drive’ state. Or the ‘manual’ state that will show as M1-M7 on the instrument-cluster depending on which ratio I have chosen. 

The 4th ‘state’ is under the transmission’s control. For this 'state' to occur, my car must be in D7 with neither the accelerator-pedal nor the brake-pedal being depressed and must be travelling in the 12mph-80mph speed-range. The transmission will disengage from the motor, the motor’s rpm will drop to around 1000 and the car will ‘coast’ with D showing on the instrument cluster instead of D7. Accelerating or braking the car while it is ‘coasting’  will cause the motor and transmission to re-engage and a D1-D7 ratio to be selected by the car according to circumstances (or the car’s whim!)

Now, it needs emphasising that my car does NOT have the ‘Virtual Cockpit’ instrument display. So, if your Fabia has the Virtual Cockpit, it may well be that “ECO” (instead of a digital mph reading) will appear on the display when your car starts to coast. What I’ve described above is how my 2024 Fabia SE L’s DSG functions.

Thanks, Derek. What you wrote aligns precisely with my driving experience. So, It would appear that my car is driving as Skoda intended. Now that I know that, I can live with it. I would have preferred to being in charge of the coasting experience, but will just get used to what I have got. Economy will remain very good, but I will go through more brake pad by having no gearbox drag until I apply the brakes.

7 hours ago, nta16 said:

Diermot, if you want to you can also add more details to your profile to show in 'Author stats' for those that can or do look at those. See mine for an example - top right corner of my posts, click-on the down arrow ( v ) for what I've put in for model details (I might add the engine code too as I keep forgetting what it is to remind me and inform those that look there).

HTH.

Thanks for your help and suggestions. It looks like the car is driving as Skoda intended, and I can live with that.

There are a few threads about the 1.0 engine (with DSG) and its driving 'quirks' in the Fabia Mk3 forum and other forums.

Remember when they said the computers were there to serve us. 😆

Of course few programmers or engineers have ever believed that. 🤭

Good luck.

38 minutes ago, nta16 said:

There are a few threads about the 1.0 engine (with DSG) and its driving 'quirks' in the Fabia Mk3 forum and other forums.

Remember when they said the computers were there to serve us. 😆

Of course few programmers or engineers have ever believed that. 🤭

Good luck.

Thank you for your words of wisdom. Computer tells me I need an initial service in a couple of months, an opportunity for me to have a chat about this with the Skoda representives.