Fiat 2.8JTD injection warning light - again

[Guest keith T]

I posted an enquiry under the above on 17th Feb, and the replies were very interesting. Today I took the motorhome to the local Fiat Dealers (it's still there!) to check on the Diagnostics,(it wouldn't read at the Peugeot garage). Fiat garage are having the same problems (ie it won't 'read'), and say that according to the Fiat database, having input the engine number,and also teh Reg no, mine does not exist....! Obviously I can prove otherwise, and they now have to contact FIAT tech services, apparantly by fax (!), but has anyone else come up with this problem? The vehicle is a Rapido 710F, and yes work was done under the warranty (by a different Fiat dealer), which with the help of Rapido at Wokingham, was correctly dated from the date I purchased the vehicle. What next - any suggestions - it exists, it's registered, taxed and insured, and still has the fault!

[Guest Mick t]

I had the same problem, my Fiat did not exist,they,Fiat UK told me it was due to being an import,McLouis.purchased via dealer /Don Amott.Also it seems that many british converters give 3 years guarantee whilst on an import only 2 years is given.My problem was that the turbo had an oil leak, only done 14000 miles and just out of the 2 years.Fiat agreeded after many phone calls to replace the part, i had to pay the labour cost.

[Guest Brian Kirby]

Keith Your Fiat would have been delivered to Rapido from Italy and, at that stage, would have probably been recorded on the Italian (factory) database. When Rapido completed the build, they will have completed the EC type approval documentation and, as "finisher", it is probable the Fiat was re-recorded onto the Fiat France database. Your UK supplier should have notified Fiat UK of the registration of the van in UK, and Fiat UK should have recorded the 'van onto the Fiat UK database. Therefore, plenty of scope for Fiat database recording mistakes so far! If your local Fiat man treats it as a "visitor" i.e. a foreign registered vehicle currently in UK, he should have no trouble finding it. For example, ours is Fiat based, Burstner (German) converted, French bought and UK registered. It was not transferred to the UK database as it has a standard German 2 year ADAC backed full recovery warranty which, according to Fiat UK's warranty dept, would not have been apparent once re-recorded onto the UK database. It therefore remains as a "visitor", despiote being UK registered with DVLC Swansea (not to be confused with Fiat database recording, or registration). Our local Fiat service centre has no difficulty finding it as a "visitor", once he knew it was not UK recorded. The extra Fiat UK warranty year is, I believe, properly an insurance, and not a warranty, that Fiat UK "buys" on top of the standard European offering. A cynic might add that is, in part, to justify the price difference between Ducatos in Europe and the UK, but I'd nevet think of suggesting that! You may have a two, or a three, year warranty. That will ba a matter of record (your sale documents) and will depend on arrangements between Rapido, your dealer and, possibly, Fiat. If you have three years, your extra year may have been bought by your supplying dealership. If unsure, ask them. If you know the VIN, ring Fiat UK's warranty dept and ask them if thay can "see" the vehicle. They should then be able to tell which database it is, actually, on. They should also be able to advise whether it would be in your interest to transfer to vehicle to the UK database or, as in our case, not. You should also ask them to tell you when the warranty is shown starting since, if your dealer failed to advise Fiat UK of its registration in UK it is possible the warranty will be shown at date of manufacture, or possibly at the date Rapodo recorded its completion. The correct date would be the date of UK registration and, as that may be some time later than the date Fiat currently has, it may be in your interest to correct and error. Fiat's warranty dept will be able to advise procedure. If you do have the two year warranty I don't think you can buy the extra year, and you certainly won't automatically benefit from it just by transferring onto the UK database! Knowing where it is recorded should enable you to guide any UK Fiat garage to the correct databse, so that they can find it. They are all supposed to know how to search the European databases because the warranty is pan European and so can be called upon at any Fiat dealership/service centre anywhere in Europe. The different databases apparently exist because the exact "flavour" of the warranty is changed to suit local market preferences. Thus someone buying a Fiat in France won't have the UKs 3 years, or the ADAC backed pan European recovery version. Doubtless, they have something else instead. Hope this helps Brian

[Guest Bill Ord]

When I bought my Rapido 924F April 2005 I had to fill in a warranty registration which was sent to Rapido France. Rapido then notify Fiat and the Fiat part of the warranty is then recorded from the time of sale. I checked at my local Fiat agent just to be sure but all was well. This seems to be the normal Rapido procedure and the form to complete for warranty registration should be in the vehicle documents when you do your handover. Bill Ord

[Guest keith T]

Hi all and thanks for these repsonses. Yes, all this applies, BUT it was all done at the appropriate time (2002) and the warranty obatined, and it has been used! That is why I cannot quite fathom out why the vehicle still doesn't exist according to Fiat........ It may be that the dealer/ service garage, bneing new to Fiat cannot quite fathom it all out. We shall see, and if anything interesting comes out of it all, I shall keep you posted. Thanks anyway.

[Guest Brian Kirby]

Keith Phone Fiat commercial customer services on 0800 719000, give them your VIN and they'll be able to tell you if the vehicle is on the UK database (or will put you through to the man who can). If it isn't, they'll tell where it is registered. Then speak to your garage and give them that information. Failing that, get someone from Fiat to speak to the garage and sort them out. It seems they're just blundering around in the dark at present and wasting time slowly. Are you quite sure that registering the Rapido warranty does, in fact, result in the Fiat warranty also being registered? It's just that the two warranties are from two different companies. In the case of Burstner, the warranties are totally separate. Burstner warranty their bits, and Fiat theirs, and there is no crossover/commonality. So far as I know, that is fairly normal so I'd be surprised if Rapido have notified Fiat of the wherabouts of your 'van. The dealer, on the other hand, should have done this, but I gather they fraquently do not. Regards Brian

[Guest keith T]

Hi Brian - thanks for this further info. Yes, I think it was Rapido at WOkingham who actually sorted out the warranty, but it was certainly a Fiat based one, as there was a claim a couple of years ago by the garage then dealing with it. I will try the number for CS Dept - they've gone home now, so will call MOnday. I spoke to my Fiat dealer here, and they're awaiting a reply to the fax (modern technology?! - apparanty thatsa the only way they can communicate with the Tech Dept at FIAT UK)and in fact I did suggest they try FIAT customer services. It will be interesting to see the outcome. Thanks anyway.

[Guest Derek Uzzell]

Remembering your earlier postings, I recently asked a motorhome dealer (who is also an expert mechanic) whether the Fiat 2.8JTD and Peugeot 2.8HDI engines differed technically. He said No. Coincidentally, he also told me about a customer's motorhome with a sporadic engine problem that had needed to be referred to a Fiat dealership for diagnostic investigation. The vehicle returned, apparently fixed, with a £700 bill. The dealer demanded a break-down of the costing and this showed repeated diagnostic sessions interspersed by lengthy pre- and post-diagnosis road tests. Certain relatively inexpensive parts had been replaced but, when he checked with the Fiat agency, he was told this had been a 'precautionary measure' and there had been no indication from the diagnostic equipment that the original parts had been faulty. The problem recurred some time after and a further £500 bill resulted with another set of parts being replaced. This was not the end of the story however and, after the fault had reared its ugly head once more, a long-term cure (???) was only arrived at following another substantial bill (this time from a different Fiat agency). I doubt you will have enjoyed this little tale, but it does indicate how difficult it can be to evict gremlins from modern motors. (By the way, my purchased-abroad Transit-based Hobby is not recognised on Ford's database via its UK registration number, though the VIN number identifies it OK. Not really surprising in my case, as the German dealer can't know the UK reg.no. and the DVLA has no link to Ford. As far as I can see, despite (or perhaps because of) the SEVEL Group's dominant share of the motorhome market, it's office procedures still tend towards shambolic.)