My Mum's just in the process of buying a used Fabia 1.4 16V comfort and I've just been reading about failing piston rings on here.

Does this affect all of the 100 bhp 1.4 engines or is it just the earlier ones?

The car she is about to buy is a 2004 with 12K on the clock.

mine is W reg 2000 with 66k on the clock, no probs, uses about a pint of oil every 2k miles

The AUA and AUB 1.4 motors had the problem. The BBY and BBZ version of the motor was changed and there should be no problems with piston rings.

I forgot one thing... Check the manufacture's decal under the carpet in the boot - lh side. In the series of codes (think its the first line), you will find the info you need.

Thanks for that. I've seen the log book and I'm pretty sure the engine code is BBZ.

:( Mines a AUB. Going to check the oil as much as I can from now on. (This should be ok to indicate any problems shouldnt it?):confused:

I would assume (someone else can verify it for me) that the AUA/B should have its oil changed religiously. I would check it often and if the car is consuming more than a pint every 3500miles then I would start wondering. Also, you can look for strange exhaust emissions levels in the MOT or out your rearview mirror at night under hard acceleration.

My 2006 BB uses almost no oil at all. It only has 3000miles on it, but the level hasn't changed.