Hello - am looking for anyone who can PLEASE PLEASE offer any advice on the following problems which have been plaguing me for a while......

i have a fabia 1.4 classic 2002.

1. Despite changing coolant temp sensor recently, occasionally my temperature gauge does not shift at all. Need to restart car before it flies up to warm in one go.

2. Car sometimes 'chugs' and sounds very very spluttery when slowing down. Rev needle fluctuates up and down and it sounds like its going to stall. Usually manage to catch it and rev it up for a bit and then it runs fine.

3. When starting from cold, every now and again when i go into 1st gear to pull away the accelerator doesnt seem to do anything - even if i press it to the floor.

I made sure i was actually in 1st gear and not 3rd by the way.......! - but when i release clutch and accelerate nothing happens. Car shudders and jerks a bit then stalls. After doing this twice, on the third attempt it revved up and then ran fine.

4. Engine runs very rough at idle- car judders a bit and occasionally 'coughs' and sounds not good. The rev needle has never sat still either - its always moving up and down as if engine it struggling to find idle speed.

I have had these problems for a while now - have recently changed oil, oil filter, temp sensor, and had car given the once over. There are no engine management lights on at all either.

Can anyone help me with why this is happening???????? (ESPECIALLY the stalling issue, and the lack of acceleration - its a nightmare).

I have searched the net, asked everyone i know (including mechanics!) and because these problems dont happen constantly, nobody has been able to tell me what is causing the problems or how to fix them.

If anyone has any ideas i would be so so grateful as it is driving me insane!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks.

Possibly - though will scare you even more - throttle body faulty.

Caused erratic revs and son's Polo to keep stalling every time he slowed and at virtually every traffic light. Throttle body problem common on some VW engines. Expensive -

Is it quite likely to be this? I know theres porbably lots of causes but i wouldnt like to go spending that amount of money unless its absolutely necessary!

ive read around and things that crop up in disucssions are often thermostats, ECU's and idle speed controlling devices.

can anyone suggest how i can differentiate between the 'symptoms' of each of these causing these problems? (or if im being totally stupid and its not likely to be any of these!!)

thanks for the advice though - will investigate!

might be worth asking a friend with VAGCOM to check for any fault codes it might help? Not all faults pop up the engine mang light as I found out on my fabia

possibly the throttle housing is gummed up , i'd whip the intake pipe off and have a look , if it is very black inside remove the housing and give it a good clean with carb cleaner

also i would imagine the thermostat would be reasonably cheap , so wont hurt the pocket too much if one is fitted , therefore ruling out one of the faults mentioned

oh right - never even considered that! will have a look and fingers crossed see if that stops the problems. i hope so......or its looking very expensive!

might be worth asking a friend with VAGCOM to check for any fault codes it might help? Not all faults pop up the engine mang light as I found out on my fabia

That's the best thing. You could change parts for ever and a day, but you really ought to get some diagnostics done.

Have a look in the VAG-COM forum to see if anyone nearby you has it.

"1. Despite changing coolant temp sensor recently, occasionally my temperature gauge does not shift at all. Need to restart car before it flies up to warm in one go."

It may be worth having a good look at the electrical connection to the sensor for a poor contact.

Also check as much of the wiring as you can for chaffed insulation etc.

thanks for all the advice - im hoping that in the next couple of weeks i will be able to get the car into a garage to get everything checked out.

Its just annoying that these things dont happen all the time, so when i try to explain when someone is with the car it never happens!

If i somehow figure out whats going on ill let everyone know - ive heard that the stalling issue has been quite common in skodas for some reason. But if it is all to no avail i think i will have to think about upgrading to a newer fabia. Im hoping they fixed the problems in the later models............

If you're thinking of trading in the Fabia the Honest John site

Honestjohn Carguides

has a blow by blow of what to look out for with Fabias.

Parker's Guide also states 2000 / 2001 models had reliability problems.

Going back to Honest John - if you read carefully you'll see post 2003 the diesels have very few faults.

With winter sales being poor (despite what some dealers will tell you) you might pick up a bargain in you trade the car in now at a dealers (and obviously don't tell them of your problems).

Hello. I had a similar problem with stalling and a new engine temperature sensor was diagnosed and cured the problem, though as said that might not be the cause of your problem.

My stalling problem became progressively worse in that it wouldn't re-start immediately, the logic being that it thought it was starting from cold, so flooded when I restarted the ignition. I had to wait three weeks for an appointment and gave up driving it until I could get it fixed, so I hope you are able to resolve your problem soon in case yours gets worse. Fingers crossed.

Mo

is there only the one temperature sensor on the fabia? may be a stupid question, but im just making sure i dont have to change 2 to fix the problem!

for a couple of days ive had no problems with the car - started fine and touch wood hasn't tried to stall or anything. this is why im getting confused - i cant seem to figure out what happens to cause the car to play up. the only link ive noticed (and its a long shot) is that the past 2 times its struggled to keep running, the temperature gauge needle hasn't moved.

dont know if this is a temperature sensor fault still, or whether its something daft like the needle is getting stuck.

if i can fix this issues i will keep the car, but with it being unreliable i may have to say goodbye as i use the car daily for work and can't be without it.

given that skodas have such a great reputation for not being problematic, im surprised at the problems i have had. i got the car november 2005 and had no problems whatsoever until easter time (which was just the coolant temp sensor light on dashboard), and the stalling problems didnt appear until september/october time.

Hello. Mine would start perfectly from cold but then had a stall problem if I stopped as the gauge/sensor still thought the engine was cold, so it would stall later even after driving for a while (i.e. engine warm by then).

I'm afraid I don't know how many temp sensors are involved - though someone else probably can - CALLING OTHERS PLEASE?

I can only confirm that mine was OK after that was fixed. However, if there is a more major underlying problem, then it can mean expensive repair work so it really is worth trying to find out what the actual problem is.

Sorry if not much help - but there are cheap (£100) repairs and expensive (£500+) repairs and it really is best to find out which you need IMO.

Regards

Mo

Edit to waffle92: You don't actually say which car you have so the above could be totally irrelevant. More info from waffle92 please?

Where was the temp sensor located that you changed?

i have a fabia classic 02 plate, 1.4 petrol engine.

the temp sensor that was changed was under the bonnet under the plastic engine cover nearer to the windscreen than the bumper. (sorry im no mechanic - and without going out to the car to check i can't describe it very well!)

it just needed to be disconnected from its holder and the new one put in.

the thing is the coolant sensor light came on, then disappeared after a couple of days. i changed the sensor anyway though a couple of weeks later and the light never came back on. i suppose there could always be a dodgy connection somewhere though.

the prolems ive had arent consistent either - twice ive had it where im slowing down at traffic lights/junctions and the car splutters and coughs before i slam the gas on before it stalls on me and it carries on running fine. the other time it was just after id started it from cold - i went to pull away and it wasnt having any of it. it kangarooed round the corner, stalled, then i started it up again and it ran perfectly.

if i cant sort out this car, i am looking at a skoda silverline 1.4 2003 plate that a friend of mine may be selling within the next few months - does anyone know if these are just as susceptible to the same problems, and how much i should be looking to pay for a private sale? i dont want to end up with another duff!

well touch wood i havent had any problems with the car this week.........however my temperature gauge has now started moving up to warm as it should, and then slowlydropping back to cool and back up to warm and so on.

could this be linked to the stalling/running rough or is this a totally sparate thing? i dont even know if its worth wporrying over, but logic says that the longer the car runs the warmer it gets so there shouldnt be a reason for the temperature to drop back down again!

.....however my temperature gauge has now started moving up to warm as it should, and then slowly dropping back to cool and back up to warm and so on.

Is your coolant up to the right level in the expansion tank? Air in the cooling system could account for the blow hot/blow cold symptoms you have observed.

When I had some work done on my cooling system, it was quite difficult to bleed the air out of the system - you need to rev the engine quite hard (3000 rpm + for a couple of minutes) to get the air bubbles pushed round the circuit, in order to bleed the system.

Hi. had this problem too, stalling and the odd kangaroo jump and running rough. now and then i was getting the engine elec's light. some times very sluggish,

I cleaned all contacts on any sensors, temp etc,

changed the oil and filter,

gave all electrical cables and conections a clean,found corrosion on one cable from battery to the body (the neg)

changed the battery,

changed coolant

and air filter, the old filter didnt look like it needed to re renued but it did seem kinda damp.

this improved things, a month later and it seemed ok. now the odd time on a cold wet morning it it loses revs abit only, but doesnt stall, or jump.

not much info but i think if you start with basics, and work from there, i think the main factor for mine was the battery conections and the air filter,

If you do find an answer to your problem please let me know!! I have had the same problems with the starting with my fabia 1.4 2001, regardless of wether it is cold or run in, of intermintantly not starting properly, it starts up ok but as though it's not choking or something and splutters and sometimes dies,sometimes fixes itself, i'm no mechanic. It always runs ok once I have driven about 100yds but before then it will sometimes kangeroo and die completly on me, although will always start again straight away. Not the battery as I have a new one very reciently. Also my temp gague works when it feels like it. although the problem is irritating it's been like it for 18 months and I know as long as I can drive a short distance it is fine and doesn't stall again until I have to start it again. Again like yours it can go for weeks without doing it and it has had 2 Skoda dealer services in that time with no fault found...oh and of course it never does it when you ask someone else to look at your car!!!

Hello,

1.4 16v 100bhp. Developed intermitent relectence to start.. no random stalling though. Mechanic traced back to poor battery.. i.e. dead cells... Not charging very well. Held 11volts but a low ampage.. If it did start it wouldn't again un less driven for 30min cuz I'd a just used all the juice.

Fabia had been to skoda the month before for new PAS pump (Oooo, my wallet still twitches when I say that).. anwyays.. they didn't spot the problem (idiots).. but did charge the battery??!?!?!?!?!

Now heres the thing.. bad batt perfomace causes soooooo many problems on cars like these (apparently).. poor steering, flickering lights.. rough engine and problems starting.. I had em all!

Don't rule out he batt..

Rob.

I've gotta 1.4 16v fabia.

It developed a starting problem (taking along time to catch).. the revs will have lil peiods of jumping between 500 and 750. Somtimes It'll feel like there is no power even though car is running..

My mechanic plugged it in, the temp was reading -8'c on a sunny afternoon.. he wiggled the sonsor an it jumpped up to 60'c.

Bad senor was causing car to over choke it's self. a new sensor has been orderd (I hope.. this was like 2 weeks ago now) :-(

Thinking of changing it my self.

Rob.

Hello,

1.4 16v 100bhp. Developed intermitent relectence to start.. no random stalling though. Mechanic traced back to poor battery.. i.e. dead cells... Not charging very well. Held 11volts but a low ampage.. If it did start it wouldn't again un less driven for 30min cuz I'd a just used all the juice.

Fabia had been to skoda the month before for new PAS pump (Oooo, my wallet still twitches when I say that).. anwyays.. they didn't spot the problem (idiots).. but did charge the battery??!?!?!?!?!

Now heres the thing.. bad batt perfomace causes soooooo many problems on cars like these (apparently).. poor steering, flickering lights.. rough engine and problems starting.. I had em all!

Don't rule out he batt..

Rob.

He was wrong.. was the sensor.. see above

Just an update I changed my temp sensor yesterday and it seems to have fixed the problem, but will wait a few more days before I feel confident about it!! Thanks to all the posts on here it looks like that was the problem on my car.

I have similar problem with a Fabia 2001 6Y5 1.4 16v

Where is that sensor?
Has anyone an image?

It seems to be better now and I guess it is the temperature a bit milder!

Thanks
M