Skoda Fabia VRS - is the engine really such a disaster?

stockhausen

stockhausen

stockhausen

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Recently I have been looking for a decent second-hand Skoda Fabia VRS. Reviews I have read seem to suggest that the 1.4 litre petrol engine is very unreliable, with stories of people having the engine replaced more than once and high oil consumption. I believe that this is basically a VW engine and is used in other cars. I understand that there may also be problems with the seven speed DSG semi-automatic gearbox.

Is this car really as unreliable as suggested or is it more to do with the treatment that it receives by virtue of being a hot hatch?
 
The early ones tend to be the worst, apparently the most recent engines are a bit more reliable in terms of oil consumption. When the engines work they are pretty good especially on fuel. Have you looked at cars with the 2.0tfsi, it seems to be much more reliable.
 
wildman_33 said:
The early ones tend to be the worst, apparently the most recent engines are a bit more reliable in terms of oil consumption. When the engines work they are pretty good especially on fuel. Have you looked at cars with the 2.0tfsi, it seems to be much more reliable.
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I can't say that I have; presumably it is 2 litres? Googling around I get the impression that it is used in the Audi TT and I'm net really interested in that or even particularly in an Audi, not that I have anything against Audis, I just don't really want one - the Fabia is about the right size for my purposes.
 
I just sold my fabia vrs. I did 28k over 2 and a bit years.

I did have an issue, it was fixed by the breather pipe fix.

Some engines are fine, others aren't. People suggest it is all CAVE engine codes from 2011, it isn't. The issue affects the engine in all fleets (seat,skoda, vw, Audi)

Buy a car with warranty, and get it checked.
 
As I understand it they come with a 3 yr transferrable warranty. I am looking at ones between 12 & 18 months old from a dealer rather than a private sale.

What is the breather pipe fix and is there any way I can check whether it has been fixed?
 
You don't have this engine I your golf GTi. You have a 2.0 tfsi if it's a recent golf gti, or, if you have a gt sport, you have the 170ps version, which does not suffer these issues. It's only a problem with 180ps engines.

The breather pipe is some oil breather behind the engine, just ask the seller if it has been done.
 
Chap at work has one. I think it's just come to the end of its 3 year warranty. He's on his 3rd engine, due to oil consumption. This latest one seems ok.
 
I've had one of these for 18 months now (brought new), and although it does have the CAVE engine, it has only used 0.5 liters of oil in ~8000 miles. I only found out about the oil issue after getting the car and reading BRISKODA forums, but I seem to have a good one. It does seem to be from the posts that its the toss of coin as to what you get.
 
Audi S1. Bullet proof world class german engineering. Will be a much nicer place to sit in when your at the garage getting it fixed a few times a week. The Audi will have top notch velvet nappa leather wrapped dash as opposed to the soft rubber coated plastic dash of the Fabia.
 
AVOID!

Jono said:
Chap at work has one. I think it's just come to the end of its 3 year warranty. He's on his 3rd engine, due to oil consumption. This latest one seems ok.
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Dear God, one engine per year! How much would it cost to replace the engine outside of warranty I wonder? No thanks, definitely not one for me.

I gather that this engine is also used in the Seat Ibiza Cupra and the VW Golf and it may be used in an Audi A3?

Wikipedia said:
132 kilowatts (179 PS; 177 bhp) @ 6,200 rpm; — 250 newton metres (184 lbf·ft) @ 2,000 - 4,500 rpm, CAVE/CTHE in ; SEAT Ibiza Cupra, Polo GTI, Fabia RS
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Conanius said:
You don't have this engine I your golf GTi. You have a 2.0 tfsi if it's a recent golf gti, or, if you have a gt sport, you have the 170ps version, which does not suffer these issues. It's only a problem with 180ps engines.

The breather pipe is some oil breather behind the engine, just ask the seller if it has been done.
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The 1.4TSi 170 in the golf does suffer the same issues as the engine in the polo as its essentially the same engine with a different map to make it noticeably slower than the GTI.

The golf isn't really much bigger a car and handles far better than the Fabia/Polo/A1 due to a far better rear suspension setup. If you are looking at 12/18month old Fabias you should be able to afford an early mk6 golf GTI which has the more reliable 2.0TSI engine and shouldn't be that much worse on fuel than the Fabia (the mk5 GTI golf is a bit more thirsty due to having the older engine)
 
stockhausen said:
Dear God, one engine per year! How much would it cost to replace the engine outside of warranty I wonder? No thanks, definitely not one for me.

I gather that this engine is also used in the Seat Ibiza Cupra and the VW Golf and it may be used in an Audi A3?
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It is used in the Audi A1 (185 TFSI model) but not the A3. The latter received the 1.8 TFSI instead (this should have appeared in the golf GT as well instead of the stupid 1.4).

The Ibiza Cupra & FR both use derivatives of this engine (180 & 150PS).

I used to have a A1 with this engine (185) and it spent as long in the garage as it did on our drive. The oil consumption was around 1L every 800-1,000 miles or so. Not as bad as others but still very high.

That along with other issues made me get rid of it.

Ultimately I think VW have built an engine that is too complicated for its intended market. They would have been better off developing a 1.6 Turbo or just using the already existing 1.8TFSI.
 
I have a Cupra which is a late 2010 but has the 2011 revisions. Oil usage has been ok, ive only bought 4 litres for it and have done 20k (This is not including services). I bought it at 14k used. Its warranty expired in December which Ive recently extended for piece of mind.

Ive had a wheel bearing go, which apparently is not unheard of on ibiza's. Ive had the DSG mechatronics unit need replacing due to juddering pulling away.

Personally if you can afford a VRS/Cupra with the new CTHE engine things are a lot better. The engine is great and it goes like stink, but its a very complicated engine and can go wrong. If you buy a 2011+ your chances should be greater of finding a good one.

When I bought mine I went in eyes open accepting this could be an interesting car ownership, but so far I enjoy driving it and the looks it gets. I know it wont help but Remember how many cars this engine is in and so far a small minority are complaining. Those which go wrong are getting the new revised engine.
 
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matthab said:
I have a Cupra which is a late 2010 but has the 2011 revisions. Oil usage has been ok, ive only bought 4 litres for it and have done 20k (This is not including services). I bought it at 14k used. Its warranty expired in December which Ive recently extended for piece of mind. ...
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4 litres over 6k miles (not including services)! Not exactly great.

As a matter of interest, what did the extended warranty cost and how long does it last?
 
2.0t FSI is an epic engine especially on the end of a S-Tronic gearbox. 260hp is a remap and exhaust away, the engine is so smooth and lag free thanks to TFSI technology.
 
stockhausen said:
4 litres over 6k miles (not including services)! Not exactly great.

As a matter of interest, what did the extended warranty cost and how long does it last?
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What I meant was I bought it at 14k its now on 33k and only is on its 4th bottle of oil (litre containers). Sorry if this wasn't clear I typed in a rush.

The warranty is the gold cover with full breakdown. It cost £295 a year with no excess. The cover effectively covers the same as the original warranty.

My advice if your looking at Cupras is look for the battery in the boot, which at the age your looking at is standard. Also check the rear bumper and exhaust for excessive "soot" as this shows its burning oil. The first Cupra I went to look at was white and was covered so walked away, mine didn't have much and after a long aggressive test drive looked ok.
 
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Buckster said:
would you be concerned ref the chain-jumping issues ?
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No. It did not affect my engine. And it seems to be under warranty anyway:

What is known:
1. Unpredictable failure mileage could be as early as 10k and latest one so far happened at 60k.
2. Full engine replacement is recommended because jumped timing ruins both the head/valves and the bottom end.
3. VW seems to be picking up the tab while car is under the 5 yr 60k powertrain warranty.
4. Happens to tuned and untuned cars.
5. 2008-13 all Years seem to be affected
6. It seems that after 9/12 motor build dates updated tensioners were used
7. There is a TSB currently out on the issue:
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I am sure if it worries you you can update the tensioner before it happens.
 
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