hi all . is 25mpg correct for the fabia 1400 8v classic, i hope not, i have had a new temp sensor fitted, new air filter, new plugs next, booked in the garage to see if there is a fuel leak, the timing chain is a bit noicy, but the cost to renew is £230.00, so that will be a last resort. any advise please. bob. ps. what does vrs stand for, is it the diesel car.

Hi, Bob.

25mpg does not sound right at all unless you are doing endless city driving / very short hops / a combination of the two.

I'm sure others will be along shortly to tell you what to expect / what to do.

The Fabia vRS is a 130bhp 1.9TDi diesel - very good (as an owner)

40 mpg round town and plenty plenty performance.

If the Skoda OHV block still needs the valve clearances setting in it's 1400 Fabia incarnation, and it's not been done in a while, get those checked/adjusted. Other things worth doing might be changing the leads (you can take the time to test them properly but it saves time to just swap them), distributor cap, and rotor arm.

Shop around for timing chain change and maybe even get the parts off jorily skoda on ebay, (if you ask him I'd imagine he should be able to let you know the parts needed and if he has them) you could call around asking for labour only costs then. I was quoted £160 labour and parts on the 1.3 favorit, almost the same engine, by a garage that used to be a Skoda dealer. AFAIK loose timing chain wouldn't affect fuel consumption that much, if at all.

hi all . is 25mpg correct for the fabia 1400 8v classic, i hope not, i have had a new temp sensor fitted, new air filter, new plugs next, booked in the garage to see if there is a fuel leak, the timing chain is a bit noicy, but the cost to renew is £230.00, so that will be a last resort. any advise please. bob. ps. what does vrs stand for, is it the diesel car.

vrs stands for Victory rally sport:)

The other thing to check, assuming you are getting your figures from the dashboard display, is to ensure the stated MPG is accurate. Fill the tank, reset the MPG display, drive 100 miles or so, fill the tank again and see whether the amount you have to top up with tallies with the average MPG reading on your dash.

My Car returns approx 36 to 38 mpg in town driving , according to the MFA computer (I'm not sure you have one , being a Classic) Only if Im in traffic jams for ages does the figure drop anywhere near the 20's. On a run I get between 42 and 48-49 mpg (depending on speed), again figures from the MFA screen so they may not be wholly accurate. My car has the same engine as yours so Id definately say you have some sort of problem there somewhere.

hi all, thanks for the replys, i am traveling a few miles to work and back, about three, plus a few miles during the week, shops etc, have not been on a long run yet, maybe being a bit ambitious. will check the mpg on the dash, as stated. i like the car so i hope that this is just winter problems. ta again. bob

I live about the same distance from my work as you do , after 3 miles , the water temp is on the normal 'mid way' point on the gauge , but in reality the engine isnt properly warmed up , so I wouldnt expect to get optimum MPG on a short drive like that. I live on the top of a hill so the drive to work is mostly downhill , I get low 40s on the computer for that , but the return journey uphill (including approx 30 seconds up a steep hill using 1st and 2nd gears) Im lucky to see 26 mpg. In reality I wouldnt look at the MPG you are gettng in the first 10-15 mins of a drive from cold (especialy at wintertime low ambient temperatures) as an example of how healthy your car is.

I get 28mpg on average when town driving but that is over an hour day stop starting and crawling in traffic.

When I get on a run I get up into the 30s the other day I hit a whoping 36mpg my record so far.

Hope that gives you some idea.

Just to echo Fabia 1.4's post, my wife gets high 20s / low 30s from her 1.4 MPi Comfy (with the air con on) when doing her usual trips into work (probably a good 8-10 miles each way, but in slow traffic mostly), however when we took it to Wales on holiday, I was quite happily getting 40mpg from a combination of dual carriageway and 'brisk' B-road driving. As has already been suggested, consumption will be WAY up until the engine is warm, and also the ECU will 'learn' your stop-start habits, and so alter the fuel delivery etc. to suit. The odd long-distance trip from time to time may be all that's required to keep the engine running nicely and the fuel consumption down...

Hope this helps!