I have a 2001 Fabia Elegance Estate which I bought for my wife and whilst I have cured a few of the niggling faults that appeared days after I bought it, it has now started cutting out whilst driving, ie everything going off for a second and then coming back on, couple that with the pinking/metallicky noise that I cannot source I am getting fed up with it.

Am seriously considering chopping it in for something like a Subaru Forester as I have had a few Suabarus over the years and whilst they are not as solid etc I have hardly had any problems in over 10 years of ownership.

Just having a rant as I am very dissapointed with what is supposed to be a great car and part of me wants to persevere as I know there is a great cat in there trying to come out but the shear amount of niggles is drowning the poor thing...

Is this the 2.0 petrol engine? If so it sounds like the common problem this engine has with the crankshaft position sensor. Replacing this should solve the problem!

I'd say stick with it, on the whole they are very reliable. What other problems have you had with it?

I have a 2001 Fabia Elegance Estate which I bought for my wife and whilst I have cured a few of the niggling faults that appeared days after I bought it, it has now started cutting out whilst driving, ie everything going off for a second and then coming back on, couple that with the pinking/metallicky noise that I cannot source I am getting fed up with it.

Am seriously considering chopping it in for something like a Subaru Forester as I have had a few Suabarus over the years and whilst they are not as solid etc I have hardly had any problems in over 10 years of ownership.

Just having a rant as I am very dissapointed with what is supposed to be a great car and part of me wants to persevere as I know there is a great cat in there trying to come out but the shear amount of niggles is drowning the poor thing...

Dunno about the cutting-out thing myself, but I'm sure someone on here will know. As for the 'pinking/metallicky noise', I take it it's coming from the engine? If your wife's car is a 1.4MPI, it's possible that the short timing chain that drives the pushrods is a little worn. It shouldn't break, but if the noise is that bad, replacing it would cure the problem. As for the Subarus being more reliable, I think that may have a lot to do with the 6000 mile service intervals - I suspect most cars' reliability would shoot up if they were serviced that often!

Is this the 2.0 petrol engine? If so it sounds like the common problem this engine has with the crankshaft position sensor. Replacing this should solve the problem!

I'd say stick with it, on the whole they are very reliable. What other problems have you had with it?

sorry not explaining very well, it is a 1.4 16v (74kw)

I do want to stick with it, they are very nice cars, perfect size for what we want and the engine whilst not very powerful is a decent enough thing and the mpg makes a change from my normal gas guzzlers!

I think that may have a lot to do with the 6000 mile service intervals - I suspect most cars' reliability would shoot up if they were serviced that often!

Used to be 7.5k, now a more reasonable 10k

Chris

Dunno about the cutting-out thing myself, but I'm sure someone on here will know. As for the 'pinking/metallicky noise', I take it it's coming from the engine? If your wife's car is a 1.4MPI, it's possible that the short timing chain that drives the pushrods is a little worn. It shouldn't break, but if the noise is that bad, replacing it would cure the problem. As for the Subarus being more reliable, I think that may have a lot to do with the 6000 mile service intervals - I suspect most cars' reliability would shoot up if they were serviced that often!

yes but the noise only occurs when under load at low revs, it is a 1.4 16v

you have a point my Subaru has an interval of 7500 miles but nothing has ever gone wrong (wood touching furiously!) except the only weakness they have which is MAF sensor, although they are a bit more expensive to service than most this seems to keep the niggles at bay, perhaps most manufacturers are being a tad opitmistic with their service intervals!?

yes but the noise only occurs when under load at low revs, it is a 1.4 16v

The 16v is belt-cam, so it won't be what I thought. As I say, though, there are some extremely knowledgeable people on here so I'm sure you'll have an answer soon!

you have a point my Subaru has an interval of 7500 miles but nothing has ever gone wrong (wood touching furiously!) except the only weakness they have which is MAF sensor, although they are a bit more expensive to service than most this seems to keep the niggles at bay, perhaps most manufacturers are being a tad opitmistic with their service intervals!?

Vauxhalls come with 20k service intervals now! My last car was a Renault with 18k intervals. Sold it at 36k just before its second service, at which point it had suffered coil failure and the clutch was slipping. Neither directly related to servicing perhaps, but hardly what you'd expect from a car that's supposedly reliable enough to be serviced every two years!

The 16v is belt-cam, so it won't be what I thought. As I say, though, there are some extremely knowledgeable people on here so I'm sure you'll have an answer soon!

thanks I hope there will be a guru along soon!

No responses last night, then? That's a bit unusual! I asked around, and have come up with two possibilities - bit of which are garage jobs, I'm afraid:

Engine speed sensor, and

Coil packs

I'm hoping it's not as serious as this, but at least if the garage says they can't find anything wrong, you can say "Have you tried...?"

HTH

No responses last night, then? That's a bit unusual! I asked around, and have come up with two possibilities - bit of which are garage jobs, I'm afraid:

Engine speed sensor, and

Coil packs

I'm hoping it's not as serious as this, but at least if the garage says they can't find anything wrong, you can say "Have you tried...?"

HTH

Morning! and thanks for trying to help, these two things don't sound great, are they expensive parts? Just preparing myself for the worst.

Morning! and thanks for trying to help, these two things don't sound great, are they expensive parts? Just preparing myself for the worst.

You might be able to get hold of some coil packs on ebay. You'll need to check your engine code (on the sticker in the manual and/or boot floor) to make sure you don't order the wrong parts, and it may be possible to use parts listed for other makes in the VAG stable (e.g. these, which are listed for a Polo, but share engine codes with some 1.4 16v Fabias)

I know from when they went on my old Renault that although they're expensive parts from a dealer (considerably less so from ebay!), it's a 25-minute job to fit them.

As for the engine speed sensor, it's a main dealer / VAG specialist job, I suspect...

Two other options I've come across are simply resetting the ECU (disconnect the battery for an hour, although you'll have to reset your electric windows and re-code the stereo), and the possibility that the throttle control unit's gone. This last one would be an expensive job, so I recommend:

1. Reset ECU (in the meantime you can look through the manuals to find out how to sort out your windows and stereo!)

2. Coils

3. Engine speed sensor

4. Throttle controller

A bit of a ray of hope for you: although both my and my wife's Fabia's have had their problems, they've not been anything I've been unable to fix myself so far! You never know, resetting the ECU might be all that's needed!

You might be able to get hold of some coil packs on ebay. You'll need to check your engine code (on the sticker in the manual and/or boot floor) to make sure you don't order the wrong parts, and it may be possible to use parts listed for other makes in the VAG stable (e.g. these, which are listed for a Polo, but share engine codes with some 1.4 16v Fabias)

I know from when they went on my old Renault that although they're expensive parts from a dealer (considerably less so from ebay!), it's a 25-minute job to fit them.

As for the engine speed sensor, it's a main dealer / VAG specialist job, I suspect...

Two other options I've come across are simply resetting the ECU (disconnect the battery for an hour, although you'll have to reset your electric windows and re-code the stereo), and the possibility that the throttle control unit's gone. This last one would be an expensive job, so I recommend:

1. Reset ECU (in the meantime you can look through the manuals to find out how to sort out your windows and stereo!)

2. Coils

3. Engine speed sensor

4. Throttle controller

A bit of a ray of hope for you: although both my and my wife's Fabia's have had their problems, they've not been anything I've been unable to fix myself so far! You never know, resetting the ECU might be all that's needed!

this is a huge help many thanks, although being a chequebook machanic I will leave it to my local guy who I trust and is not too expensive!

The pinky metallic noise under load at low revs is pre-ignition or pinking as it's also known. Run a few tankfuls of Shell Optimax, BP Ultimate or Tesco 100 ron through it. I bet it goes away.

The cutting out problem could be fuel pump related. The contacts on the relay can get burned over time causing the fuel pump to turn off and the engine to cut out. You then start it up and it's fine again for a while.

Could also be the cam position sensor but these normally cause funny running and a lack of power when they go in addition to cutting out. OBDII engines should show these up on a diagnostic so get a copy of VAG-COM plugged into it to read the fault codes.

The pinky metallic noise under load at low revs is pre-ignition or pinking as it's also known. Run a few tankfuls of Shell Optimax, BP Ultimate or Tesco 100 ron through it. I bet it goes away.

The cutting out problem could be fuel pump related. The contacts on the relay can get burned over time causing the fuel pump to turn off and the engine to cut out. You then start it up and it's fine again for a while.

Could also be the cam position sensor but these normally cause funny running and a lack of power when they go in addition to cutting out. OBDII engines should show these up on a diagnostic so get a copy of VAG-COM plugged into it to read the fault codes.

Thanks Chrispy, good advice, one question if you put a few tanks of a higher octane fuel in and then went back to 95ron would the pinking not just return?

Car going in tomorrow I have relayed your suggestions.

It will return, probably faster than it went away due to how the ECU handles the ignition timing advancement\ retardation.

The 1.4 16v 100bhp is designed to be run on 97 ron + anyway I think although it SHOULD retard the timing if run on lower octane fuel. The knock sensors are responsible for this as they tell the ECU when pre-ignition is happening.

Retarded timing will just result in less power and poorer mpg than what the 1.4 16v can really give.

Get the throttle body cleaned, the way the breather system works on these engines tends to put a bit of oil in the throttle body and the air filter (get the air filter replaced).

A 16 valve engine from 2001 will have conventional plug leads, we had one in a while ago with an engine light on - showing a misfire, we thought we had sorted it and took it for a test drive no engine light, but it was still misfiring under load (low rpm on large throttle openings), it had a very small nick out of the plug end lead insulation on one cylinder.

With an early 16 valve keep a close eye on the oil consumtion.

Get the throttle body cleaned, the way the breather system works on these engines tends to put a bit of oil in the throttle body and the air filter (get the air filter replaced)..

Whereabouts does the PCV pipe feed into the intake? Does it actually foul the air filter with oil?

I've seen throttle bodies and idle control valves gunked up with camcase oil but never the air filter..... :eek:

It will return, probably faster than it went away due to how the ECU handles the ignition timing advancement\ retardation.

The 1.4 16v 100bhp is designed to be run on 97 ron + anyway I think although it SHOULD retard the timing if run on lower octane fuel. The knock sensors are responsible for this as they tell the ECU when pre-ignition is happening.

Retarded timing will just result in less power and poorer mpg than what the 1.4 16v can really give.

thanks, just taken it in so will keep all informed so that it might help someone else, cut out on the way there again, but does not cut completey ie no warning lights come on, cruising at 3000rpm it momentarily cuts to approx 1500rpm, seems to always do it about 10mins into the warming up process. My man thought, assuming it is pinking, it could be fuel starvation and the two are related but will no more later...

Get the throttle body cleaned, the way the breather system works on these engines tends to put a bit of oil in the throttle body and the air filter (get the air filter replaced).

A 16 valve engine from 2001 will have conventional plug leads, we had one in a while ago with an engine light on - showing a misfire, we thought we had sorted it and took it for a test drive no engine light, but it was still misfiring under load (low rpm on large throttle openings), it had a very small nick out of the plug end lead insulation on one cylinder.

With an early 16 valve keep a close eye on the oil consumtion.

thanks will pass this on, yes I read the manual section regarding oil over the weekend and it states these engines can use as much as 1ltr every 1000kms! Always watch oil consumption on a car that is new to me, certainly until I see a pattern, eg my old E30 M3 used to use a bit but my current car (Impreza) uses none.

Quick Update:

Just come back and yes it is pinking. I have just filled it up with V Power and we will see what happens...at 100.9p per litre!!!!!!

Cutting out, he reckons it is fuel starvation but why he is not sure, is going to try replacing the fuel filter first on Monday as, believe it or not, fuel filter change is NOT on the service schedule for any VAG car! I find this astonishing as it is a wear and tear item.