Hi all,

It's great to have found this wonderful forum full of Skoda owners and plenty of advice. I have a few niggles on my car, questions about servicing etc that I'd like to ask. Please be patient with me as I am in the main, clueless about the internals of cars and can top up oil, coolant, and change a tyre

Firstly, I have an 02 Fabia, 1.48v Classic, now just over 90k miles. Is servicing at Skoda garages worth it? I only had services there whilst still in warranty, and now have just moved to an independent, should I switch back?

As far as I'm aware, previous servicing has not swapped anything of importance out, other than the usual wear and tear items - tyres, brakes (pads + discs), filters etc...

Are there any major service things I should have undergone by the time I've reached 90k miles and 5 years ownership? (I have chain instead of belt, so I assume that's fine)...

Aircon - has not been serviced, does that need servicing after 90k?

Brakes - I wonder if this is my driving style... but I find on a few too many occasions for my liking, the wheels lock, my wife also drives the car and hasn't had any complaints... I'll describe what happens

I brake hard, the wheels lock, but just before they do, I get the "kick back" of the brake pedal against my foot before they lock and I get the ABS light flashing on the dashboard.. I assume this is the ABS coping somewhat but then failing? I have to remove foot from brake and then reapply to continue braking...

Is this something I need to get looked at?

Temperature gauge

Coolant level is fine. About 6 months ago, I had experience similar to others which I've noted on here - temperature gauge would only work every 1 in 3 journies or so and generally would continue working if engine was turned off and then on again... This then continued, but now temperature gauge warning light would come on... However if I drove for around 10 mins, then switched engine off / on... temperature light would not come on and temperature would be as normal...

These days, temperature warning light comes on every journey, temperature gauge appears to operate fine, coolant level is fine...

I'm now a bit worried that I should get this looked at. What do you think likely causes are?

Thanks

James

A new temperature sender is a few quid - and a doddle to change, so thats worth doing for sure, as well as a coolant change with G12+. The cooling systems can be a touch fragile on these engines, so its worth looking after them.

Yep, chain is fine.

Brakes - worth seeing if any fault codes are being thrown. Do you know anyone who has VAGCOM? If not it may be worth saying where in the country you are - a fellow Briskodian may help for beer tokens. I found the ABS on the Fabia to be a bit oversensitive, but you should feel it working.

Does the air con work? If so then I wouldn't worry about it. But if its a bit weak, or pongy, then get it serviced. I think VW do a full a/c service for under a hundred quid - bit of a bargain and IIRC they make a loss on every one.

Hi all,

It's great to have found this wonderful forum full of Skoda owners and plenty of advice. I have a few niggles on my car, questions about servicing etc that I'd like to ask. Please be patient with me as I am in the main, clueless about the internals of cars and can top up oil, coolant, and change a tyre

Firstly, I have an 02 Fabia, 1.48v Classic, now just over 90k miles. Is servicing at Skoda garages worth it? I only had services there whilst still in warranty, and now have just moved to an independent, should I switch back?

You're not obliged to take the car to a dealer even if it is in warranty anymore, so as long as you're happy with your local garage, it should be OK to continue going there. The MPi engine in your car is fairly low-tech, so it can cope without the fancy oils that the modern units need (Castrol GTX all the way in my wife's 51-plate Comfort 1.4MPi )

As far as I'm aware, previous servicing has not swapped anything of importance out, other than the usual wear and tear items - tyres, brakes (pads + discs), filters etc...

Are there any major service things I should have undergone by the time I've reached 90k miles and 5 years ownership? (I have chain instead of belt, so I assume that's fine)...

The chain isn't indestructible, although the need to replace it seems to be more down to how noisy it gets, rather than any risk of it snapping. As long as the engine's not too rattly, it should be OK. I have, however, heard of replacement being necessary as often as 30k, so it's probably best to keep an ear out...! Don't want to worry you, though - like I say, they're considerably less prone to snapping than belts Brake fluid and coolant should be replaced every two or three years I think (two if I recall correctly), to avoid the risk of the insides of you engine / brake system rusting up.

Aircon - has not been serviced, does that need servicing after 90k?

If it's nice and cold, maintains temperature reasonably well, and doesn't smell, it should be OK. Any smells can be sorted by spraying antibacterial spray into the inlet. Any problems with the A/C not blowing cold are usually down to either a lack of refrigerant, or a faulty sensor. If it's either freezing or boiling, then it can be down to what are known as the flap motors.

You can buy kits for topping up the refrigerant, but it's as cheap to get it done professionally. As for the sensor, more details are here. I don't have any personal experience of the flap motors, but there's plenty of info on here if you have a search. But as I say, if it seems OK, it probably is!

Brakes - I wonder if this is my driving style... but I find on a few too many occasions for my liking, the wheels lock, my wife also drives the car and hasn't had any complaints... I'll describe what happens

I brake hard, the wheels lock, but just before they do, I get the "kick back" of the brake pedal against my foot before they lock and I get the ABS light flashing on the dashboard.. I assume this is the ABS coping somewhat but then failing? I have to remove foot from brake and then reapply to continue braking...

Is this something I need to get looked at?

When the ABS comes on, you should feel the pedal vibrating under your foot as the brakes are engaged and disengaged rapidly. In my experience, a light doesn't come on on the dash, as happens for example with traction control. But on the other hand, I think the ABS is one of the things that self-checks when you start the car (like the airbags), in which case you ought to get a light all the time, depending on what's wrong. I think that's something that needs looking at, either by a garage or by someone on here with VAG-COM.

Temperature gauge

Coolant level is fine. About 6 months ago, I had experience similar to others which I've noted on here - temperature gauge would only work every 1 in 3 journies or so and generally would continue working if engine was turned off and then on again... This then continued, but now temperature gauge warning light would come on... However if I drove for around 10 mins, then switched engine off / on... temperature light would not come on and temperature would be as normal...

These days, temperature warning light comes on every journey, temperature gauge appears to operate fine, coolant level is fine...

I'm now a bit worried that I should get this looked at. What do you think likely causes are?

This is classic coolant temperature sensor failure symptoms. I did a DIY guide here, but concensus now seems to be to swap out the thermostat body at the same time, as it's not much harder or more expensive, but pre-empts ant problems with the thermostat. There are instructions for doing the thermostat body later in the sensor guide, but only pictures for doing the sensor I'm afraid. Even so, everything should be there for doing whichever takes your fancy, if you want to do it yourself and save a few quid. On the other hand, getting it done at an independent garage should set you back too much anyway...

Thanks

James

Hope this helps!