I posted the sad story below in December.

Grieving Fabia vRS owner

I own a Fabia vRS that was purchased new 3 years ago and has done122,000 km.

It has begun smoking and has developed a drivetrain vibration under acceleration.

Computer diagnosis was inconclusive so by elimination 2 injectors were replaced which reduced the smoking but not the vibration. Dismantling of the transmission revealed a damaged fly wheel and excessive clutch wear. Investigations show some reports of fly wheel failure in VW golfs with the same engine and trans. This car has not been driven hard as it''s still on original brake pads and only its 2nd set of tyres.

Either this is a one off and I have bought a "lemon" or.... the drive train and transmission are not robust enough to cope with the torque production over time.

Has anyone else run a Fabia vRS for as long as me and encountered similar failures?

Clutch and flywheel have been replaced and missfire and smoking still apparent. Problem has been traced to a stuck valve that has worn a lobe off the cam!!!???? I begin the wait for these parts to be delivered apparently from Czech republic via Pluto to Tauranga NewZealand. Travel time 2 - 3 weeks. It has taken 12 weeks to diagnose so far!

Welcome to Briskoda - Sounds like you have a few problems.

I hope some people here can help you..

It's not uncommon in the PD130 with various transmissions, it's a shame it happened out of warranty.

I have never heard of a sticky valve on a PD however but it's not impossible

Sorry to hear all that, hope it's back on the road and putting a smile on your face again soon. If you reported the problem while it was still under warranty you may be able to get them to cover some/all of the costs if you argue enough.

Hiya. Send a PM to RobClubley. He's down in Kiwiland too, so will be able to help better than we can regarding your consumer protection laws.