Fabia VRS MK1 ownership woes
Discussion
big_boz said:
Anyone who tells you a 172 is a "cheap" runabout is talking nonsense....My sister has a CUP, 30MPG is she is lucky, VED is band J, Cambelt is a stinker of a job and will set you back about £600 and check the insurance Group.......
That's not really normal, unless she's driving at mach 1 or in stop start traffic constantly, or one of you is exaggerating a bit 
simoid said:
That's not really normal, unless she's driving at mach 1 or in stop start traffic constantly, or one of you is exaggerating a bit
+1 I average 36 day to day and I drive pretty fast by any account if she is getting sub 30 must be sat in 2nd gear everywhere or something...On a motorway run sat at 80 I get about 40mpg
willmagrath said:
I've had mine 4 months, this is all very worrying....
We've had a vRS in the household since 2004. Compare the issues we've experienced - maybe we've been lucky, or they've been unlucky.You can generally pick a car and someone will be able to post a nightmare story about it.
bonesX said:
...mildly mapped...
[...]
The car was not right on its return from the turbo replacement. Fuel consumption was up, and power was down (~10% on both). Nissan said 'brim the fuel tank, do 50 or so miles and then brim it again. Work out the fuel consumption and then we'll compare it to what the car should be doing'. WTF kind of thing to say is that? BS or what? I said to them I regularly do a 15 miles run and see ~52mpg, now I see 42. Ended up taking it somewhere else - EGR valve knackered
It's also possible that they've hooked up the ECU to their equipment to download any new updates from VW and your map has been wiper or partially wiped. I had this happen to me with a remapped Astravan and was convinced they had broken something else under the bonnet when replacing a faulty boost solenoid - it just didn't drive as nice, power was down and didn't have the same pull through the rev band. After 5 visits for them to find out what it was they continued to claim that there was nothing wrong with it but someone else had suggested that the map may have been partially wiped. I took it back to the mapping company and they reflashed the file and it was back to how it was previously after that.[...]
The car was not right on its return from the turbo replacement. Fuel consumption was up, and power was down (~10% on both). Nissan said 'brim the fuel tank, do 50 or so miles and then brim it again. Work out the fuel consumption and then we'll compare it to what the car should be doing'. WTF kind of thing to say is that? BS or what? I said to them I regularly do a 15 miles run and see ~52mpg, now I see 42. Ended up taking it somewhere else - EGR valve knackered
Your EGR (as you have mentioned) blocked up would also cause poor mpg and throttle response too so it may have been that which was the sole cause, but the above is worth bearing in mind.
willmagrath said:
I've had mine 4 months, this is all very worrying....
171k on our 2006 VRS.Used as school of motoring car from new until 150k. Now my runaround.Brakes discs replaced at 100k,clutch at 150k odd,fan motor just replaced.bit clogged up with soot at about 100k and apart from minor bits and pieces nothing else to report.It does sound like you've had all the usual weaknesses go at the same time, which is a bit of bad luck and/or a sign the car wasn't cared for by previous owners. Remaps are also bound to accelerate wear and tear on certain items.
My VRS, which is getting traded in tomorrow for a Mk2, is on 85k, bog-standard and has needed new console bushes twice (latest upgraded to Ibiza Cupra ones), a new rad, a new intercooler, a new coolant tank, new washer pumps, rear discs alongside usual servicing.
It's also had an intermittent alarm problem, the EGR is leaky and probably knackered and the DMF is getting a bit clattery and judders.
Having said that I still think it's fantastic little car, mixed feeling seeing it go after 4 years.
My VRS, which is getting traded in tomorrow for a Mk2, is on 85k, bog-standard and has needed new console bushes twice (latest upgraded to Ibiza Cupra ones), a new rad, a new intercooler, a new coolant tank, new washer pumps, rear discs alongside usual servicing.
It's also had an intermittent alarm problem, the EGR is leaky and probably knackered and the DMF is getting a bit clattery and judders.
Having said that I still think it's fantastic little car, mixed feeling seeing it go after 4 years.
I had mine for 5 years and it was on about 70,000 miles when I got rid (standard, not remapped or any other mods). It passed all MOTs in that time and the only problems I experienced were the leaky rear doors (fixed myself with sealant after poor warranty repair attempts by Skoda), the coolant temperature sensor needed replacing (not expensive), and the rear wiper started leaking a bit towards the end. That's about it. A couple of other minor things like the rear tyres wearing on the inside edge in a saw-tooth type fashion leading to a drony noise, and the laquer on the rear spoiler started peeling off but I didn't do anything about those. I was very pleased with that little car!
Podie said:
I used to check it brim to brim every tank and never once achieved over about 57-58mpg, yet the trip computer always said well over 70mpg! I've not trusted or taken the least bit of notice of a trip computer since.
Shoukie said:
Podie said:
I used to check it brim to brim every tank and never once achieved over about 57-58mpg, yet the trip computer always said well over 70mpg! I've not trusted or taken the least bit of notice of a trip computer since.
ian2144 said:
Sorry to hear of your Fabia vRS woes. We have had our vRS for almost 4 years now and its's been faultless. it's just about to go for a sevice at 80K.
Best kept as standard IMO, heard to many horror stories regarding mapped cars.
Interesting. I had one for 20K miles when it was new, no problems. One thing I did regret is not getting it remapped, as at the time, it was said it didn't really increase wear and tear. Seems like the legacy of that is starting to come out now; I always thought if VAG deemed the engine and rest of car to be able to take the extra power in its stride, then they would have done it.Best kept as standard IMO, heard to many horror stories regarding mapped cars.
Even on my standard one, I could invoke heatsoak in the turbo by driving it hard in warm weather, and make the brakes fade routinely. If thats how a standard one reacts to being driven hard, then I can't imagine these mapped ones stand up too well unless plenty of money has been spent.
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