I've had my fabia 2001 just under 2 weeks, bought from a used garage in derbyshire. first, my rear washer didn't work.

i took it to the skoda dealership just up the road from me and they sorted it free of charge. while i was there, i asked them if they could tell me why my steering wheel light comes on sometimes but not all the time. they said £69 to diagnose the problem so i rang the guy up where i got my car (because it's got a 3 month warranty) and he said £69? i'm not willing to pay that.

He's being really awkward about the money. Being a little more willing now my dad has had a right go at him (by the way, when i first got it, i got 35 miles to £10 petrol - found out all my tyres were virtually flat - not noticeable by looking that's why we didn't realise, naughty us for assuming the car would have enough air in it's tyres)

I have it booked into to an autoelectricians on sat because my headlights flicker ever so slightly and the steering light. i haven't noticed any change in the steering when the light comes on, it just comes on when it feels like it. i'm guessing by looking at threads on here, it's the sensor or the pump, how much would this cost roundabout cos i bet the guy will say it's too much he's not paying it, in case he will have the bloody thing back!!!

While this is doing this, is it safe to drive (i only drive about 15 miles a day but on fast roads). any advice would be great

I seem to remember the PAS sensor is around £80, though that might be totally wrong now...

Did you get it from a garage?

Have you got the warranty written down on paper?

If so, you can take it back to him to get the work done. If you take it anywhere else then he doesn't have to honor the warranty.

And also, it makes a strange noise from the engine that i can only hear when stationary (at traffic lights etc) it sounds as though some electrics in the engine are struggling? I have no idea what this is is it related to the above steering problem?

He said yesterday the warranty is three months from date of purchase. as he is quite a way from us, he has agreed to let us get the work done here and send him the bill on the condition that we ring him before anyone does any work. on that note he is being quite reasonable.

i also found out it said on its mot certifcate (jan 28) that an advisory notice was issued so i called him to see what it was for, he said he couldn't find it and me being a girl, he said goodbye straightaway.

i found the website where you can check the mot history for your car and it turns out the advisory notice was for slightly corroded brake discs (front ) and tyre tread (rear wheels), this has been sorted but i found out it failed the first time due to headlamp aim being too high.

i'm not the brightest crayon in the box but surely he has a record of all failed mot certificates seeing as he does it himself. if the rear washer wasn't working, that's a fail i read on the mot website, so he knew the washer didn't work.

As yegnold's already hinted, failure of the power sttering angle sensor will cause exactly the symptoms you describe (basically, the power steering pump is trying to work all the time, which makes the noises you hear and causes the lights to flicker as you describe due to the motor drawing something like 30A).

As an electronic sensor (i.e. not a mechanical part), it's possibly not covered by your warranty depending on what level of cover you got at the time of purchase, but you'll need to find that out yourself by looking through your warranty docs. If you have no joy with the warranty, Ross (Lummox) and Stu (VRStu) did a DIY guide, here. It's an axle-stands job, so if you don't have any or aren't a confident mechanic, you may want to trust the job to a garage. Nevertheless, I'm 99.99999% certain you can cut out any diagnostics and go straight to replacing the sensor!

Hope you get it sorted soon and have a chance to enjoy the car!

PS: I'd be very wary of getting the work done locally on a promise of the guy reimbursing you. It's entirely possible he'll want the original receipt, which will then mysteriously go missing in the post.

Seriously, I'd check your warranty docs, as the basic used car warranty isn't all that brilliant, but IIRC you can get any VAT-registered garage to do the work, and they claim the costs back from the warranty company and not the seller.

Well i do enjoy the car now, it's nice to drive, fuel economy is good, it's just these little problems that are ruining it a bit for me! Knowing that something is wrong, and this guy being so awkward. With the washer not working, and it being an mot failable thing, it just makes me wonder what else is wrong. I assumed with the mot pass that the washers worked and it didn't so they've either not tested it properly or overlooked it cos they didn't want to pay to get it fixed. Other than this problem, it's a great little car

And i wouldn't put it past him saying the receipt went missing in the post, i will either send by registered post or email a copy. As he wants us to ring him before they do anything, he can talk to the mechanic himself on sat.

Washer pops off a lot.Easy to pop back on though

Hi,

My Power steering went after only a month of buying a 2001 Fabia at the end of 2006. Unfortunatly it was my Pump.. but my steering gave no warning lights, just packed up one morning. On this note it sounds like a different fault to mine and so hopefully it's your sensor, as my pump, fitted by Skoda was nearly £800!!

Guess what, the garage I bought it from were complete R'sez and I ended up footing the bill my self, it's my own fault to a small extent.. it was sold "with 12 months warrenty".. except, that coverd such a tiny amount of parts and was a 3rd party warrenty with the cost factord into the window price..

My cars been grief ever since.. but always faults that can be blaimed on any 66k car... I just seem to be getting them all with-in a year.. heres hoping it means another 3 of trouble free motoring!

Is that right that the rear washer not working is a MOT fault?

Oh dear mine doesn't work.

The Fabia is a good car, I've driven one and liked it.

but it looks like the person you bought the car off is trying to fob you off from the sounds of things.

Tyres can be pumped up, but I'd check to see if there are any nails embedded in them. It might just be a slow puncture.

Looks like you're not having too good a time in Skodaland.

IMO I'd prob recommend you either:-

A - Take said Fabia back, get your money back and go look for a better one

B - Get them fixed, keep records, send photocopies of the bills then if he doesnt pay sue the garage you bought the car off. I'd also real the small print of the warranty as certain items may not be covered.

I bought my Felly off Ebay without examining it first. A silly move yet was smart as 2 years and 27k miles on its going strong spending more time on the road than the ramps. I'd definately give any car a thorough examination before buying next time.

Out of curiosity what Fabia did you buy (1.4MPI, 1.4 16v, 1.9D, 1.9TDI), Trim Level and Price?

Is that right that the rear washer not working is a MOT fault?

Oh dear mine doesn't work.

No, only the front ones are testable.

No, only the front ones are testable.

I thought so pheww another thing which can be relegated to the ever growing needs doing list but not so urgent then.

Thinking about it actually, rear washers prob aren't an mot fail, you need to know where you're going not where you've been but maybe i read the website too quick.

It's only a 1.4 8v mpi classic, don't need anything too flash at the moment or i would have got my first choice.

funnily enough, as per usual, the steering light hasn't come on since i booked it in for that scan thing they do. typical.

In response to the tyres, all four were practically flat as i wondered why i only got 35 miles to £12 of petrol., so i checked and they had no pressure at all. wonder how i didn't wear them out!

I have always tested the RWW and like to make sure everythings in working order.

I changed the rear wiper motor on my Astra that was easy enough.

My first choice in cars was a Ford Fiesta, Focus or the Skoda Fabia 16v version but they were a little out of budget. I got my Felicia and haven't looked back.

Cheap to buy, cheap enough to run and maintain.

Hope your Skoda ownership becomes a happy one from now on though.

I took it to the auto-electricians today and he reset the memory or something to get rid of the fault code. he said if the light comes on again, it's the sensor. the noise hasn't disappeared, i haven't checked the headlights yet but typicaly, since i booked it in, the steering light hasn't shown it's face. let's hope it never does. cheers for all your help guys.

Metfab, (Im a woman too), I had that light come on every now and then - the mechanic told me it was due to my battery being low?

No then the battery light would come on.

Steering would indicate a PAS problem. If you have the time I'd suggest looking under the bonnet and seeing if you have to top up any fluids.

Unless the plan is to get rid of all warning lights just to have a generic fault light forcing dealer fault visits and diagnostics on future models.

The Engine management light was lit on my Dads Honda. Had to replace the lambda/oxygen sensor. £300 fix that was.

Since sold that car though. Nice drive but very expensive to run.

Sounds similar to my problems with a BV51 plate Fabia.

In the end, I had to get all the "common" problems sorted, PAS sensor, knocking ARB, leaking rad switch and a few other things. I complained bitterly to the garage that sold it me and though they offered some recompense, it was an expensive process to "fix" the car.

That said, I've now clocked up 20K on it since then and overall, I do really like it and it's a decent little replacement for my much beloved Felicia.

Well, it's going back. I've had enough. Me and my dad are taking it back this weeend to the dealer and getting a full refund. i've had the car 3 weeks and only be able to drive it for nine days. took it to skoda dealership yesterday and they said the pump AND the sensor is gone, replacement cost £875. why does practically all of the steering system need replacing at 27 thousand miles?

the guy i got it off is being awkward still expecting me to drive it 50 miles back!! Luckily i have a friend who is willing to tow it as he has a 4x4. not ideal but i wouldn't feel safe driving it that far. after the auto electricians checked it out, the light came on again on wednesday (my birthday of all days) and the steering went rock hard and i nearly went into a fence cos obviously, i oversteered to compensate and it decided to come back on, thank god the brakes aren't faulty!!

but it's going back anyway, got my eye on a vauxhall. it's a shame as i did love the car but if this is happening now at 27k, and it costs that much to fix, any bill after the end of march ill be out of my pocket and i cant afford repair prices like that!! fair enough if it was an older car but it's not. thanks for your posts anyway guys, much appreciated.

Sorry to hear that. You might want to read this before you go to the dealers, to make sure you know what's what and what's not as regards your rights and his duties under the Sale of Goods Act:

Clicky Linky

Let use know how you get on. If you get the money back for the car can you post it's full reg ?

That way anyone else on here will know it's history if they buy it.

Also name the dealership you got it from, for the same reason.