15th Dec 2004, 02:57
My Fabia ran fine - apart from a couple of minor niggles - for the first year. Then the warranty expired - the salesman told me there was a three year warranty, but the garage claimed it was only a one year warranty. First off, the "central processor" failed which meant that the central locking didn't work and the alarm went off whenever the car was driven. Then the alarm failed again. And again. The rear wiper now wipes the registration plate. The car leaks coolant - still - despite three visits to the dealer. The power steering has now failed and I am told that will cost over £750 to fix. I will have spent over £1,500 on fixing persistent problems - on top of exorbitant servicing. This should not happen to a car that is only four years old and that has less than 14,000 miles on the clock. I hate my car.
As an aside, I asked my Skoda garage whether they could MOT my car. They said they could. In fact, they drove my car round the corner to another garage which did the MOT. They charged me the MOT fee that the other garage had charged, and a very hefty labour fee for the time their mechanic spent drinking coffee in the other garage. I hate my car.
16th Aug 2005, 05:39
I am also having too many problems with my Fabia. In Greece warranty lasts for 2 years. I owe this car for 3,5 years now.
1) The engines <<sucks oil>>. I need an oil tank loaded into my car. Skoda dealer asked for 700 Euros to fix it.
2) There is a coolant leakage. Dealer replaced a faulty pump and tightened a screw (this screw is a common VW car problem). It didn't work.
3) Air recycle doesn't work due to cabling problem.
4) When I open the door there is a creaking and very annoying sound. I tightened the screws to the door mechanism, but a month later the problem reappeared.
I cannot say that I am proud of my car! Are you???
3rd May 2007, 12:40
I have a Fabia 55 it has broken down twice (thank god for r.a.c.) Had plugs and points changed, but broke down again! Finally it was found that the cylinder head had gone, luckily for me it is still under warranty, but I have lost faith in the car, which is a shame as my last car was also a fabia and was brilliant. I think my next car will be a different model!!
22nd Jun 2007, 13:16
We've owned a 2001 'Y' Reg Fabia 1.4 8v Classic from new (in Black Magic). It has covered 37000 miles and is mainly driven locally by my wife. We added air-con, so that also came with the trip computer.
After the 1st week, the air-con failed needing replacement. It's failed every MOT its been through on niggly little things which I really can't be bothered to mention.
The body panels seem paper thin, every time the wife comes home, it seems to have attracted yet another opened door or scuff (I really get the feeling other car owners still see Skoda's as very inferior cars - hang on, so do I). I've just replaced the front discs and pads myself, it's just been back to Skoda to have the front anti-roll bar assembly and mountings replaced with the updated version, which in my opinion should never have broken in the first place; very poor design which is completely different to its replacement.
The engine developed an oil leak at the bottom end which started to contaminate and break up the water/power steering drive belt, this was replaced yesterday. I asked my local garage (I'm not using the Skoda dealer anymore) to see if he could find the cause of the water warning light and chimes going off constantly. I'd previously talked to the Skoda guys and they actually agreed with my local guy that it was probably the sensor inside the water tank. He replaced that and also said he saw emulsion in the coolant which only means one thing; head gasket replacement is to be done in 2 weeks. BTW, the water bottle/sensor change did NOT solve the irritating chime / light; and no, it doesn't use any water - I'm hoping the head gasket is also causing that problem too.
In summary:
The 1.4 engine hasn't turned out to be as economical as we'd thought, trip computer regularly records 28-30mpg for a combined trip to work and back which is pretty poor considering its mostly dual carriageway. If you're buying a small engine for economy, buy one even smaller that'll save you in tax too (which 1.4 doesn't to any extent).
The suspension is way too soft and wallows all over the road. The brakes are poor, trim is cheap and the brake lights constantly blow.
Out of choice, I'd never own another Skoda... ever.
As mentioned above, It's a Skoda... Honest!!
30th Jul 2007, 07:19
I bought a Skoda Fabia 2nd hand at the beginning of the year.
Just before we actually handed over the money, we went for a test drive and found that when we stopped loads of water was leaking out from under the bonnet. Closer inspection, we realised there was problem with the coolant tank. We bought the car anyway because the previous owner was willing to pay for the repairs.
Sent the car off to a Skoda Garage who CLAIMED it was because of a faulty radiator, that was replaced and cost £250.
Weeks later the car begins to cut off when stopping at traffic lights or generally slowing down. Ignored the problem for a while, but eventually the car would cut out and not start for 45mins! in rush hour traffic!!!
Back to Skoda garage we went and this time we're told its the thermostat housing that's causing the problem, so they went in to have a look and NO is not the housing it's a pipe that's cracked and needs replacing instead! OK, so they fixed that at £121 and I literally drove the car for 5 minutes, reached a round-about and it cut out again and continued to do so!!!
Phoned the garage the next day and they said 'oh, we think the hand gasket needs changing at a starting price of £300 and upwards depending on the extent of the damage!'
I'm practically pulling my hair out, I love the car, but not the incompetence of the garage who should know how to fix the problem!
Can anyone help???
17th Sep 2004, 10:39
Leaking rear doors, squeaky dashboard? All sounds worryingly familiar. Not to mention all of the electrical problems with it. Examples are the central locking and electric windows that don't always work properly and the power steering system that keeps causing problems.
Further, the dealers don't care, or seem incapable of sorting it out. VW really have destroyed their reputation as far as I am concerned. Never again. It'll be a Honda next time, thankyou very much. They seem to make their cars more reliable, and the dealers seem a lot more focussed on the people who pay their wages - the customers.