Help! Fiat engine problems

[Mrs Sea]

Our 2007 Adria Twin on the new Fiat 2.2 100 JTD developed problems at the weekend. Engine idle is very rough on tickover, diesel consumption much worse and generally not pulling as well. Going into garage tomorrow for an inspection. They are querying a fuel injector problem. They will charge is £52 + VAT to investigate the problem. If its something under warranty we won't be charged.

 

Have other folk with this particular engine had this same problem? We have been lucky so far and had non of the reversing judder problems discussed on this forum, though did have problems with the water ingress before getting the Fiat fix earlier this year. Could our present problem be as a result of water perhaps? Just want a bit more background knowledge before possibly finding I have a problem NOT covered by warranty. It is now 17months old, 12,500ish miles on the clock.

 

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts/experiences

[terry1956]

Hi, some time back i filled up with bad diesel and had much the same engine problems. a new injector sorted it.

michael

[Derek Uzzell]

Mrs Sea,

 

I would very much doubt that your latest problem has anything to do with the water-under-the-bonnet thing.

 

There are plenty of possibilities that might produce the symptoms you've described but, as long as the problem is 'mechanical', rectification should be carried out under warranty without argument. An exception would be (as Michael mentions) that the fuel proves to be contaminated, in which case it would be unreasonable to expect Fiat to meet repair costs.

[hallii]

If they say it is contaminated fuel you must save ALL the fuel when they drain the tank. Then go back to wherever you bought it. Make sure you have a receipt. Get full details of the Head Office. Then sue them through the Small Claims Court.

 

There is a lot more contaminated fuel around than is realized, and if they get away with it it will continue.

 

They don't clean the tanks/pipes etc properly, or put the wrong product in with the right stuff. They make mistakes, and they should pay for it.

 

Good luck.

 

Geoff

[Mrs Sea]

Thanks for your replies.

 

I needn't have worried. The garage carried out a Fiat recall No 5341 which included reprogramming the injection ECU and also a reprogramming of the body computer. All Free of Charge.

 

What I want to know is, if this was a Fiat recall why wasn't I recalled? If I hadn't had problems and gone in myself it wouldn't have been done. So all you Fiat owners, if you aint been recalled, get down to your Fiat dealer now and get recall 5341 done.

 

Many thanks again folks

[Clive]

Have you looked under the bonned while someone blips the accelerator? It could be as simple as the turbo hose has come off one end.

 

The £52 (+ VAT) fee for diagnostics is a rip off but the figure is not unique to your garage. Vauxhall at least is similar.

 

C.

 

 

 

 

[Brambles]

Mrs Sea,

Presumably they also fixed what the fault was you had, did they say what was actually wrong? I also assume you say need not have worried in reference to connecting up to vehicle diagnostics computer as they had to anyway for recall.

 

Whatever, nice to know you are all running again and everything is sorted.

Jon.

[Derek Uzzell]

Mrs Sea,

 

There are RECALLS and recalls.

 

I touched on this in an earlier inquiry. See:

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=13796&posts=6

 

Where a 'safety-related' problem is recognised by a vehicle manufacturer (Let's imagine that, on certain vehicles, the bolts holding the wheels on start to break), then the owners of all the vehicles that may be affected will (or should!) be contacted and instructed to take their vehicles to an authorised dealership for remedial attention. This can be considered a RECALL

 

However, there are plenty of less serious in-use issues that may arise with individual vehicles (eg. a tendency towards rough-running, poor acceleration or deteriorating starting). If a vehicle owner experiences such an issue and complains to a dealership about it, it's often the case with modern vehicles that the vehicle manufacturer has already become aware of the issue and has developed a solution that can be implemented via a software download.

 

'Fixes' involving software revisions can be applied on demand, but will otherwise be applied when vehicles that will benefit from them go in for normal servicing. I can well believe that Fiat dealerships refer to such revisions as 'recalls', though I'd argue that the term is misleading in this context. If you hadn't had problems with your Ducato and visited a Fiat garage then I'm sure you wouldn't have been contacted by Fiat and offered the 5341 'recall'. I've got no difficulty with that - when I'm feeling fit and well I wouldn't expect my GP to contact me spontaneously and offer me treatment, though I would anticipate getting treatment if I felt ill and attended his surgery.

 

It's possible that only particular Ducatos with the 100PS motor require the 5341 software revision (eg Ducatos before a certain Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), or Ducatos within a range of VINs), rather than every one. However, as you rightly advise, it would be well worth other owners checking this out with a Fiat dealer.

[Ned Swift]

Yes Jaguar charge me £80 to tell me what's wrong with my chariot! :-(

[graham]

We have always found that if the base vehicle garage does the servicing then they check the recall state of the vehicle and carry out any outstanding ones at that time. Certainly Peugeot (and I assume the others) have all this information on the computer terminal at the dealer.