dear all,

firstly hello and you seem to have a great site here, I hate the fact my first post is one filled with problems but I am hoping you knowledgeable people can help!

My wife has had a MK3 8v Golf for years and finally it bit the dust the other day leaving her somewhat stranded so I had to move quickly, I have always had a soft spot for Skodas and knowing how good they are decided to buy her a Fabia.

She needed a bit more boot space than the standard car so ended up purchasing a 2001 1.4 16v Elegance estate.

Now I did buy this car a bit spontaneously but it looked like a decent car at a good price from a relatively reputable Arthur Daley. It has had 2 owners and had 57k on the clock, FSSH etc. It had a couple of problems that I knew about when I bought the car, it needed a cambelt change and the dreaded EGR valve was playing up, but this was reflected in the price. Have since done the cambelt (inc water pump) and have sorted the EGR valve out by blanking it off! Any way of getting the engine management light to go out?

My local mechanic who is a VAG specialist gave the car the once over and said it seemed like a good example.

Sorry waffling on now but I have a numbers of problems that perhaps you guys and gals could help me out with, frustrating as I think the car is great so far:

Seems to be using a bit of oil, is this normal? Done about 800 miles and have put in 0.5 litre.

Twice now the power steering has suddenly stopped working, the first time the light came on, my wife turned the car off and on again, light went out and the steering was fine. Second time I was driving it and the light did not come on but the car became heavy and it was obviously not working. Also I can sometimes feel some inconsitency in it, any advice?

Third and last: whilst driving it with the windows down over the weekend I could hear (under the normal engine sound) there is a metalicky loose noise under load, which you can hear quite well at low revs, sorry I know this one is probably impossible but thought I would ask!?

Anyway thanks in advance and I hope I can contribute as I get to know the Skoda brand, I just hope my first taste will not be bitter!

Welcome to Briskoda :wavey:

I hope you havent bought a bag of spanners there.

be patient as some WILL be along to answer your questions, but one thing that is a concern, is WHY did you blank off the EGR, ? as this apperas to be the cause of the engine management light problem, if you fix the EGR, then problem of light sorted.

Good luck with the rest of the issues

Comments below

Have since done the cambelt (inc water pump) and have sorted the EGR valve out by blanking it off! Any way of getting the engine management light to go out?

Use VAG-COM or anyone with diagnostic equipment can reset the fault codes.

Seems to be using a bit of oil, is this normal? Done about 800 miles and have put in 0.5 litre.

Are there any noticable leaks? Black spots under the car? Any blue smoke when revved or milky gunnge under the oil filler cap?

Twice now the power steering has suddenly stopped working, the first time the light came on, my wife turned the car off and on again, light went out and the steering was fine. Second time I was driving it and the light did not come on but the car became heavy and it was obviously not working. Also I can sometimes feel some inconsitency in it, any advice?

There's a known fault with the PAS sensor. There's an article to replace it:

Fabia-vrs.com - Replacing the Fabia PAS sensor

Third and last: whilst driving it with the windows down over the weekend I could hear (under the normal engine sound) there is a metalicky loose noise under load, which you can hear quite well at low revs, sorry I know this one is probably impossible but thought I would ask!?

Sounds like it's pinking (preignition). The timing may be slightly out. Does it only do it under load? It could also be the wrong type of spark plugs fitted.

Try putting in a higher octane petrol and see if it shuts up a bit If not then it could be the knock sensor. These detect pre ignition and retard the timing accordingly.

The only other thing I can think of is that the engine is moving on it's mounts under load and touching something that rattles. Or it could be the exhaust making the noise as these shift a lot when the engine is loaded.

Welcome to Briskoda :wavey:

I hope you havent bought a bag of spanners there.

be patient as some WILL be along to answer your questions, but one thing that is a concern, is WHY did you blank off the EGR, ? as this apperas to be the cause of the engine management light problem, if you fix the EGR, then problem of light sorted.

Good luck with the rest of the issues

thanks for the welcome, I hope so too! Everything pointed to a decent car with just a few niggles but who knows...my local guy does know his VAG cars as he is affiliated with the local VW franchise and he seems to think it is a nice example.

At first I thought the pipes and the EGR valve just needed cleaning which was done but the fault still showed, he quoted me

Comments below

Have since done the cambelt (inc water pump) and have sorted the EGR valve out by blanking it off! Any way of getting the engine management light to go out?

Use VAG-COM or anyone with diagnostic equipment can reset the fault codes.

Seems to be using a bit of oil, is this normal? Done about 800 miles and have put in 0.5 litre.

Are there any noticable leaks? Black spots under the car? Any blue smoke when revved or milky gunnge under the oil filler cap?

Twice now the power steering has suddenly stopped working, the first time the light came on, my wife turned the car off and on again, light went out and the steering was fine. Second time I was driving it and the light did not come on but the car became heavy and it was obviously not working. Also I can sometimes feel some inconsitency in it, any advice?

There's a known fault with the PAS sensor. There's an article to replace it:

Fabia-vrs.com - Replacing the Fabia PAS sensor

Third and last: whilst driving it with the windows down over the weekend I could hear (under the normal engine sound) there is a metalicky loose noise under load, which you can hear quite well at low revs, sorry I know this one is probably impossible but thought I would ask!?

Sounds like it's pinking (preignition). The timing may be slightly out. Does it only do it under load? It could also be the wrong type of spark plugs fitted.

Try putting in a higher octane petrol and see if it shuts up a bit If not then it could be the knock sensor. These detect pre ignition and retard the timing accordingly.

The only other thing I can think of is that the engine is moving on it's mounts under load and touching something that rattles. Or it could be the exhaust making the noise as these shift a lot when the engine is loaded.

many thanks chrispy for this invaluable advice;

I do not know what system he uses but he reset it and it came back on, I am not hugely bothered I just ignore the light!

can't see any leaks, or smoke etc but I will look harder, it did have a bit of mayo when I bought it but it had been standing around, I have cleaned this off and it has not come back, in short cannot see any obvious signs

re PAS thanks that would explain it and thanks for the link

pinking, that sounds like it could be it, now that you have said it! All very good advice I will try your suggestions

not that anyone will be that interested but thought I would let the two kind gents who helpded know that I have found the answer to two of my problems:

loosing oil: has turned out to be the sump plug, whoever changed the oil last has threaded the sump whole thingy (technical!) thus it is leaking oil out of the sump plug

the power steering has indeed turned out to be the PAS Sensor

regards noise under load, he could not here anything or find any problems, perhaps I was being paranoid!

Anyway thanks guys for your help, most appreciated.

Glad to hear that your problems appear to have been solved

Glad to hear that your problems appear to have been solved

thanks, but I think you spoke too soon, the air con has now stopped working!!! Will find out problem tomorrow

I thought these cars were supposed to be reliable, which i suppose they are but the more I dig the more I find that a lot of poeple are having constant niggles, I bought this car based on it's reputation and Skoda's in general but so far I this has proved to not be the case...small rant over

loosing oil: has turned out to be the sump plug, whoever changed the oil last has threaded the sump whole thingy (technical!) thus it is leaking oil out of the sump plug

I believe the sump plug is a consumable so I wonder if they tried to reuse it at the last service? Glad it's solved though

Chris

I believe the sump plug is a consumable so I wonder if they tried to reuse it at the last service? Glad it's solved though

Chris

thanks i was concerned as I could see no leaks! Apparently the sump is made out of ali and the plug is made out of a harder metal (steel?) and this has been known to happen if said mechanic is heavy handed... so be careful if you do your own services to not overtighten

I have a 1.4 16v 74kw, the engine is in good nick, (knock sensor ok), but has always pinked slightly. The following may help;

1. always use super unleaded

2. change plugs every 10,000miles, sooner if town driving a lot

3. check no air intake leaks - I had one at the throttle body/air cleaner joint

4. replace fuel filter if in doubt about it's age, they were modded in 2002, beware the inlet and relief valve connections were changed over also.

5. timing is not adjustable

There's no point using super unleaded on an unmapped petrol car inless it's a Subaru or something. The standard ECU map is only designed to go up to about 95 ron....any more is a waste as it can't advance the timing far enough for it to be of benefit. I've mapped several N/A petrols in my time and this was always the case. The timing though is not adjustable manually like in the good old days....the ECU controls the lot through the use of the knock sensor.

The A/C failing is also a common one. It's the condensor temp sensor. Apparently a fiddly job to do but fixable. Do a search....it's listed.

There's no point using super unleaded on an unmapped petrol car inless it's a Subaru or something. The standard ECU map is only designed to go up to about 95 ron....any more is a waste as it can't advance the timing far enough for it to be of benefit. I've mapped several N/A petrols in my time and this was always the case. The timing though is not adjustable manually like in the good old days....the ECU controls the lot through the use of the knock sensor.

The A/C failing is also a common one. It's the condensor temp sensor. Apparently a fiddly job to do but fixable. Do a search....it's listed.

thanks Chrispy

There's no point using super unleaded on an unmapped petrol car inless it's a Subaru or something. The standard ECU map is only designed to go up to about 95 ron....any more is a waste as it can't advance the timing far enough for it to be of benefit. I've mapped several N/A petrols in my time and this was always the case. The timing though is not adjustable manually like in the good old days....the ECU controls the lot through the use of the knock sensor.

The A/C failing is also a common one. It's the condensor temp sensor. Apparently a fiddly job to do but fixable. Do a search....it's listed.

All I know is the handbook recommends 98, and if I put 95 in, it pinks like hell

All I know is the handbook recommends 98, and if I put 95 in, it pinks like hell

It shouldn't pink....it should retard the timing to suit the octane rating. If it pinks then there's something wrong. The knock sensors should detect the pre ignition and the ECU should retard the timing accordingly.