the answer is the angle sensor, a common fault. the steering should go really light. bits a bit much when you are doing 70mph. it depends upon who old the car is. mine was still under warranty, but it isnt covered, I had to pay for parts, only the labour was paid. bill was about 70 pounds to me. takes a couple of hours to fit because it has to sit on the computer and be calibrated.
my advice is get rid of it. mine was a time bomb waiting to explode looking back on it. I bought mine new, should have bought a mondeo from a supersite, much better value.
if I can help anymore please contact me,
good luck
chris
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We bought an 03 Fabia last year, first the power steerting light kept coming on (whilst driving) and the steering cut out, easily fixed it seemed by restarting the engine. The garrage (a skoda dealer) reckons its just a low battery issue. Now the entire engine is cutting out and not restarting - which is a bit annoying (not to say dangerous) when you're driving.
Reading the above I think I might just sell it - a grand to try and fix with no guarantees seems like Skoda have a major problem that they need to resolve pretty quickly.
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Been there, done all that, got the Tee shirt!
A pound to a pinch of porridge it's just the power cable connecting the alternator to the connections to the battery. it is subject to chafing/wear because of its routing. Changing it is a lot cheaper than a new pump or steering angle sensor and cured the exact same series of problems on our 200i Fabia 1.9tdi.
Our local dealer tried to take the easy way out by trying to sell us a new pump and/or a new angle sensor, but I was able to drive there with the PAS not working (just after a steering angle sensor change) and demonstrate that the fault lay elsewhere. After some head scratching the electrical techie. thought of the power cable ( a well known fault!) and since then, fingers crossed it's been OK.
--
Roger. (Costa del Sol, España)
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Just to add my tuppence worth - I have a Skoda Fabia Comfort 2002 and over the last few months it has developed various electical faults (temperature guage, automatic windows and door lock gremlins following rain, which are causing water in the loom). So far has cost me £250 but still happening. Garage say it will cost £500 to replace loom and suggest as it is a known fault Skoda may be willing to contribute. However, from what I've read of the problems you're all having even to get them to be civil, it doesn't look hopefull !!
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Oh joy, i have recently received a Skoda Fabia 2002 left to me by my grandad in his will about a year ago and as i have never had a car that is so relatively young.I remember how excited i was what with it being a VW which in turn meant reliability, build quality and good old fashion piece of mind that it will hold its value.
Now i have had nothing but trouble, expense and many a time pleading with god to make this all stop and take the bad ( Fabia man ) away.There are even times when i wake up and think that i dont really own a Fabia and its all a bad dream, then i look out the window and there she is looking back at me with her shiny outer skin and her unoffensive looks i curl up in a ball to start another day of hoping will she get me home in time for the start of the world cup!
The problems started with the engine started running lumpy then the lights started to flicker and now you can hear the electrics buzzing in idle and when you turn the steering it gets louder i think thats it.................erm no did i mention the complete loss of power steering at really inconvenient times like over taking the few cars you can, due to the engine having about as much power in it as a mouses sneeze erm? oh and not forgetting all the dash lights come on like i have just won the jackpot. I have just put it up for sale and it breaks my heart to see the same make, model age with more miles on the clock than mine going for £2999 and i have put mine up for £1399 because of the problems. I have been offered £1000 and with all its problems please tell me im doing the right thing by accepting the offer as low as it is and cut my losses, because that old devil is telling me" get it fixed just give her time "
I always knew deep down inside grandad hated me! oh how he is laughing now.
Many thanks for listening to me bleet on, please post some advice i need reassurance im doing the right thing ;-(
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I have been working on the mother-in-law's 2001Skoda Fabia 1.4 today. Series of electrical gremlins have been flattening the battery for a while. I fixed the nterior light problem by replacing it - it had stayed on beyond the timer period, or come back on after it had gone off. Then the in-law said the number plate mysteriously came on. I tend to take her interpretations with a pinch or even bucket of salt. I attempted to replicate the fault to not much avail and I was just about to count it as yet one more example of looniness, until I found the same thing. The number plate light would stay on with the ignition off, and light switch set to no lights. I wondered if this was a feature, and the hatchback rear door was not closing properly - a sort of number plate light courtesy switch as on some Vauxhalls. On some VW / Audi forums they say that the lights only come on if you switch the ignition off with the lights still switched on, and then switch them off. I found the lights stayed on pretty much in a whim. Switching the lights on and off again sometimes resulted in the number plate lights going out, sometimes not.. I suspect the light switch, but really I'm at a loss. I'll probably wire the lights into the sidelight circuit, as the number plate light seems to have a circuit of its own. Quite puzzling - this Skoda seems to have a number of electrical issues similar to those people have raised on this forum, and similar to ones on my own Seat Cordoba. The other car in our household, a Mazda Bongo, has been superior in every way, despite being far older. Just a thought.
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I have an X reg 1.4mpi comfort that I bought 6 months ago vas a run around from a good dealer. I have just had the same problem; battery drained for no apparent reason. The other night walking home I noticed the rear licence plate light on which went off as I approached the car! Next morning, all ok but the following day, another flat battery. Any ideas please, I am not a car techie and at present I am in France.
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"I have put mine up for £1399 because of the problems. I have been offered £1000...."
I think it's worth finding a good independent garage who can give it a look over and advise whether repairs would be expensive or whether it's something simple like a loose connection. If your grandpa did a low mileage, this may be something to do with its uncertain condition: a few good long runs will do it good.
If the former, then sell it, but bear in mind that the right price is what someone else will pay for it. As a private seller, under the Sale of Goods Act you don't have to give any implied guarantee about its condition.
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"I have put mine up for £1399 because of the problems. I have been offered £1000...."
I think it's worth finding a good independent garage who can give it a look over and advise whether repairs would be expensive or whether it's something simple like a loose connection. If your grandpa did a low mileage, this may be something to do with its uncertain condition: a few good long runs will do it good.
If the former, then sell it, but bear in mind that the right price is what someone else will pay for it. As a private seller, under the Sale of Goods Act you don't have to give any implied guarantee about its condition.
Thanks Great advice Avant really helped. In the end i sold it for a little bit more than bottom offer and i did explain it was cheap because he may have to spend out on it and he was fine with that, I now have about 5 thousand to spend and i think by the reviews the audi a4 is gonna be my next adventure. Thanks again for you response and advice you were very helpful.
Kind Regards.
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Just to say thanks to Roger from Spain for the suggestion about the power cable from the alternator to the battery. It applies to other VW models as well, such as the SEAT Ibiza, VW Polo etc. Another low quality (or badly routed) cable is the one to the starter solenoid, which is more obvious, as the car won't start.
Edited by cfc2000 on 14/05/2010 at 10:58
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then suddenly on the 29/03/2010 it would not start and told me I needed oil which was a blatant lie on behalf of the car lol, I had it recovered to the local dealer as the ECU was loose with a broken bracket ( suspiciously after they had cleaned my engine due to EGR valve leak),
The dealer told me it was the main engine wiring loom and would take 6 to 8 weeks to repair and cost £1600!!! Inc vat and labour, as we can see its 9 weeks on and I am still waiting, has anyone been in this position and how long does it actually take?
Thank you
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