[Guite]

Originally Posted by puchoo

It appears they are being very cautious in their approach to solving it , reason cited was that my report is with Skoda itself now and they are supervising whats being done to the car and the mechanics have little liberty at this point to use their own discretion - dont know how much weight is in that.

Your last update on this matter was in December last. What exactly was the reason behind the shuddering?

Fabia has been ON and OFF my radar multiple times. Now that I am on the lookout for possible second car, the 1.6 is on my list again. The things I always liked about Fabia are interior design, fit and finish, and solid built quality, in the sense that it gives you very good feeling of safety inside it.

Have not had a chance to visit Skoda showroom lately. Is the 1.6 petrol still available? Other reviews have also stated that throttle response at start off is lethargic. Does this mean pulling power from standstill is slow? Does the engine strain when pulling away at 1st gear?

[zwift1819]

Originally Posted by Guite

Your last update on this matter was in December last. What exactly was the reason behind the shuddering?

Fabia has been ON and OFF my radar multiple times. Now that I am on the lookout for possible second car, the 1.6 is on my list again. The things I always liked about Fabia are interior design, fit and finish, and solid built quality, in the sense that it gives you very good feeling of safety inside it.

Have not had a chance to visit Skoda showroom lately. Is the 1.6 petrol still available? Other reviews have also stated that throttle response at start off is lethargic. Does this mean pulling power from standstill is slow? Does the engine strain when pulling away at 1st gear?

Would request you to seriously reconsider your thought of buying the Fabia as it is almost on the verge of being discontinued due to poor sales and the Skoda brand issue which you might have read on members posting it in various threads. There is no doubt its a very good and solid built car but it barely sold here.

[Guite]

Originally Posted by zwift1819

Would request you to seriously reconsider your thought of buying the Fabia as it is almost on the verge of being discontinued due to poor sales and the Skoda brand issue which you might have read on members posting it in various threads. There is no doubt its a very good and solid built car but it barely sold here.

Thanks for the input. If it is indeed true that the model will be discontinued I will not consider it. I already have an out of circulation car (Getz); genuine spares, if available, takes time. Spare parts are expensive as well. I have of course read about low quality of after sales service. However whenever I sit inside this car, there is a certain feel good factor about it.

[puchoo]

Hi - 2 issues with the car have been diagnosed by the Skoda guys finally - i will be getting a new ECM and a new wiring harness - as such the car has been worth me for the last 5 days and is about 50% better already.

Like i have been saying however , this was not a fault that made me love the car any less , or affected performance or the drive - its just that its so smooth all the time that even a little vibration tends to carry through.

I for one have no regrets on the purchase , i think it speaks highly of the car that my wife , who probably is an even more finiky person than me has chosen to take the fabia from me rather than go in for a new one.

Originally Posted by Guite

Your last update on this matter was in December last. What exactly was the reason behind the shuddering?

Fabia has been ON and OFF my radar multiple times. Now that I am on the lookout for possible second car, the 1.6 is on my list again. The things I always liked about Fabia are interior design, fit and finish, and solid built quality, in the sense that it gives you very good feeling of safety inside it.

Have not had a chance to visit Skoda showroom lately. Is the 1.6 petrol still available? Other reviews have also stated that throttle response at start off is lethargic. Does this mean pulling power from standstill is slow? Does the engine strain when pulling away at 1st gear?

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by Guite

If it is indeed true that the model will be discontinued I will not consider it. However whenever I sit inside this car, there is a certain feel good factor about it.

While it's totally upto you before you make that decision, here is a link that's contrary to the 'belief' - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post2921168

As a Fabia owner myself, I do keep my fingers crossed that Sudhir Rao's comments really do take shape. In fact, it's that exact "feel-good" factor that has attracted many customers to the Fabia - including myself. There are little or no gizmos/gadgetry that come with the car. Not even on the top-end model. But yet, it is satisfying.

Unfortunately, the 1.6 is off the grid for now setting ground for speculation that the TSI is on it's way. Haven't heard much since.

Originally Posted by puchoo

Hi - 2 issues with the car have been diagnosed by the Skoda guys finally - i will be getting a new ECM and a new wiring harness

Wow! That's like the car getting a new brain altogether. Do you have a little more about the diagnosis to explain. ?

[puchoo]

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

Not even on the top-end model. But yet, it is satisfying.

Unfortunately, the 1.6 is off the grid for now setting ground for speculation that the TSI is on it's way. Haven't heard much since.



Wow! That's like the car getting a new brain altogether. Do you have a little more about the diagnosis to explain. ?

Have to agree and it would be a shame to see the 1.6 going out.

Unfortunately of all days i dont have the diagnostics from that day. Owing to work related reasons landed up very late to pick the car and missed talking directly to the Skoda engineer.

I do however have to amend my statement from yesterday and raise the 50% to about 65% - no problems at all over last evening and today morning.

The ECM problem i have been told is actually 'fixable" but they wish to give me a replacement - given how much i think i have troubled them , the wiring harness , there is a leak at some point resulting in voltage fluctuations... but they dont want to fix it - simply change it outright.

[puchoo]

Just a quick update for everyone else. The problem appears completely solved. I got a new ECM unit in the car on Friday and since then its been running perfectly fine across all parameters. The minute we put the ECM in and coded it , at the workshop itself we could make out that everything was running fine - and after having driven it for about a 100kms there are still no problems.

[puchoo]

So it appears that the ECM was the culprit. I have been driving around on the new test ECM all this while and no problems of any kind have cropped irrespective of style of driving , fuel RON or anything. Today i got the "officially" new ECM put into the car which is tagged against my car VIN. Driven around for a bit and no problems but just to be on the safer side have not signed off on the job sheet and it remains open for now.

Interiors dry-cleaned again free of cost along with some few other things here and there which i just got done .

[rajcs]

Originally Posted by puchoo

So it appears that the ECM was the culprit. I have been driving around on the new test ECM all this while and no problems of any kind have cropped irrespective of style of driving , fuel RON or anything. Today i got the "officially" new ECM put into the car which is tagged against my car VIN. Driven around for a bit and no problems but just to be on the safer side have not signed off on the job sheet and it remains open for now.

Interiors dry-cleaned again free of cost along with some few other things here and there which i just got done .

Great to see that you got a new Brain for the Fab. And seems to be good service too, in spite of initial hiccups. Was the work done at Arshia or elsewhere?

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by rajcs

Great to see that you got a new Brain for the Fab.

Originally Posted by puchoo

Driven around for a bit and no problems but just to be on the safer side have not signed off on the job sheet and it remains open for now.

Quoted you guys specifically as you the are Fabia 1.6 gurus that I know on this forum.. Talk about "grabbing attention". lol.

All others are free to provide opinions too.

My vehicle's approaching its second free service and I am beginning to realize that the only niggling issue in my ~22k of ownership has been "noises". Yes! I really do not know the source of emanation and the damn noises never appear while taking a test drive with the service engineer..Yeah! Murphy's Law.

Can you please tell me from your experiences what could be the possible causes for these noises that just don't seem to letting go off me:
1. Low torque bumper to bumper traffic: a rattling noise while loading/unloading clutch while accelerating/decel. I am suspecting it's the engine mount.

2. Kuccha roads: Yes, almost 5000kms of kuccha road driving thanks to Martian roads of Bangalore and the "really" kuccha roads in my hometown. I feel there's a rattling noise from the left rear suspension and my wife's heard the same too. Just not able to re-produce it at the service center.

3. The OEM component speakers on the passenger side have started giving off vibrating sounds. My brother diagnosed it to be coming from the plastic case housing the window roll up/down lever that seems to be loosely vibrating against the door pad. I can't think of a solution than stick a roll of thin paper in the gap.

4. Squeaking noise on the driver side door - Umpteen amounts of WD40, White Lithium Grease have all been tried. Yet, then squeak when you open/close the driver side door.

I know it's crazy. It's the noises that drive me so. That apart, the vehicle is a gem. And of course, the simple solution I try to employ these days is simply turn up the volume of the music. But, really that's just covering the problem thatn solve it.

[puchoo]

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

causes for these noises that just don't seem to letting go off me:
1. Low torque bumper to bumper traffic: a rattling noise while loading/unloading clutch while accelerating/decel. I am suspecting it's the engine mount.

this one has not happened with me yet so cannot really comment ,

2. Kuccha roads: Yes, almost 5000kms of kuccha road driving thanks to Martian roads of Bangalore and the "really" kuccha roads in my hometown. I feel there's a rattling noise from the left rear suspension and my wife's heard the same too. Just not able to re-produce it at the service center.

at my service center i keep asking them to lubricate the shockers/suspension and this takes care of it for 500-1000 kms of driving post that and it feel really soft

3. The OEM component speakers on the passenger side have started giving off vibrating sounds. My brother diagnosed it to be coming from the plastic case housing the window roll up/down lever that seems to be loosely vibrating against the door pad. I can't think of a solution than stick a roll of thin paper in the gap.

not happened with me but pretty sure that they should be able to do something about this - stick foam or something instead of the paper

4. Squeaking noise on the driver side door - Umpteen amounts of WD40, White Lithium Grease have all been tried. Yet, then squeak when you open/close the driver side door.

happened to me twice , solved both times by getting it lubricated

I know it's crazy. It's the noises that drive me so. That apart, the vehicle is a gem. And of course, the simple solution I try to employ these days is simply turn up the volume of the music. But, really that's just covering the problem thatn solve it.

now i would be lying if i said there was never a time that i did not do it

For me the most annoying noise has been owing to the engine mount and it seems to keep coming back after a few month , i used the time the car was the center to keep getting it changed.

On a negative note , the problem with my car is back , its less than before but its back , and i think the reason is simply that these guys have not coded the ECU correctly , there was no difference between the test ECU and this one . think they were very non focused about it and hence the problem , but planning to create a major stink on it - glad i did not close the job card and i still need to pay them about 2000 bucks for odds and ends which i had got done... i also managed to find and fit the original mud flaps on the car.

[rajcs]

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

1. Low torque bumper to bumper traffic: a rattling noise while loading/unloading clutch while accelerating/decel. I am suspecting it's the engine mount.

I had noise from the engine mount too. It disappeared after I got one mount replaced under warranty and never had that noise again in the last 5000 km. However, before localising the noise to the engine mount, you could do a trial run with both glove box completely emptied. These things have a way of bouncing across the cabin to make some horrible sounds. I had a high pitch rattling sound from my dashboard once. Even the mechanic was foxed by this sound and said may be he would have to open the dash. Just as I was about to handover the vehicle, purely out of intuition I touched the Ganesh idol on the dash and the sound disappeared! Both mechanic and I looked sheepishly at Ganesha, having completely failed to check what was most obvious. (He still rattles on my dashboard once in a while, but now I know its him.)

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

2. Kuccha roads: Yes, almost 5000kms of kuccha road driving thanks to Martian roads of Bangalore and the "really" kuccha roads in my hometown. I feel there's a rattling noise from the left rear suspension and my wife's heard the same too. Just not able to re-produce it at the service center.

I too had this noise from front right suspension within the first 10000 km. A link on the suspension was replaced under warranty and the sound never surfaced again.

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

3. The OEM component speakers on the passenger side have started giving off vibrating sounds. My brother diagnosed it to be coming from the plastic case housing the window roll up/down lever that seems to be loosely vibrating against the door pad. I can't think of a solution than stick a roll of thin paper in the gap.

Have the storage space on the door completely emptied - even papers - and try playing a good quality CD (Adele - may be, to cover all the frequencies in the spectrum!). I have found small paper fliers or even some match sticks lying loose resonate producing a rattling sound, especially at higher volumes. If the sound still persists, it needs investigation. BTW I haven't found any gap between the power window switch panel and the door in my car.

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

4. Squeaking noise on the driver side door - Umpteen amounts of WD40, White Lithium Grease have all been tried. Yet, then squeak when you open/close the driver side door.

I had an unusual sound from the driver side front door when opening and closing. It was from that black retaining link that holds the door in position when open (see pic below). I got this replaced today and the noise is gone.

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

I know it's crazy. It's the noises that drive me so. That apart, the vehicle is a gem. And of course, the simple solution I try to employ these days is simply turn up the volume of the music. But, really that's just covering the problem thatn solve it.

May be now that you are planning to sell the car, you may like to get these things addressed soon to get better value and to be fair to the car as the new owner may not know what to do.

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by rajcs

I had noise from the engine mount too.


I too had this noise from front right suspension within the first 10000 km. A link on the suspension was replaced under warranty and the sound never surfaced again.


I had an unusual sound from the driver side front door when opening and closing. It was from that black retaining link that holds the door in position when open (see pic below). I got this replaced today and the noise is gone.


May be now that you are planning to sell the car, you may like to get these things addressed soon to get better value and to be fair to the car as the new owner may not know what to do.

Thanks a bunch RAJCS. I think more than half the issues are resolved and it almost looks like these are common problems to most Fabias of the time.

I haven't still made up my mind on the SELLING part, but I'll surely have to hand it over to someone while I'm away. Darn.

Originally Posted by puchoo

For me the most annoying noise has been owing to the engine mount and it seems to keep coming back after a few month , i used the time the car was the center to keep getting it changed.

On a negative note , the problem with my car is back .

I too had the engine mount replaced with a hydraulic mount on warranty almost a year ago. But yet, the problem has resurfaced.

I am sorry to hear about the ECU gone bad. I think it's about time you shot an email to higher-ups at Skoda India.

[IshaanIan]

I know I am extremely late and I haven't got down to reading any more other than your initial thoughts, but Congratulations on the car! I always feel like I relate to another person who appreciates the characteristics of a nice big naturally aspirated engine (no matter how many disadvantages the more practical-minded will care to come up with :P ). Oh and I noticed that you said you think the sweet spot is 2000revs, push further 4000 is typically the take-off point Ofcourse you also mentioned that you had been keeping it easy back then you might have figured that out already by now anyway.

[puchoo]

Thanks!

Its closer to 2500 for me now , at this point the car really takes off , typically in day to day driving in the city i dont cross 3500 RPM (not out of self control but simply too much traffic) and out on the highway i am already in 4/5th so dont really get that "push"

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

I know I am extremely late and I haven't got down to reading any more other than your initial thoughts, but Congratulations on the car! I always feel like I relate to another person who appreciates the characteristics of a nice big naturally aspirated engine (no matter how many disadvantages the more practical-minded will care to come up with :P ). Oh and I noticed that you said you think the sweet spot is 2000revs, push further 4000 is typically the take-off point Ofcourse you also mentioned that you had been keeping it easy back then you might have figured that out already by now anyway.