fud3 Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 For over 18 months I have been having electrical issues, which have affected the dip beam and the wipers on our 2008 Swift Suntor and despite bringing to the attention of Fiat the problems we were having we were told that the vehicle was no longer in warranty and to put the vehicle on the computer to find the fault was going to be £90 without any guarantee of the fault being found. I took the vehicle to two independent auto electricians who spent a large amount of time and a lot less cost, trying to trace the faults with no luck. Nothing showed on any diagnostic testing equipment and even tracing the wiring did not find any faults. Eventually after numerous attempts I managed to get an agreement from Fiat that as i had been informed incorrectly that when the fault materialised, the vehicle was still within warranty and that Fiat would arrange for the vehicle to be booked in my local dealer who would see if they could find the fault. Thankfully when I took it to the dealer I asked to speak with the auto electrician and was asked to show him what was happening in order for him to know where to start in putting the problem correct. It was however, not until a new indicator / light switch had been tried (thankfully an item which the dealer could return without it costing me money) and the visit of one of Fiat UK field engineers, looking at the problem did they discover a split pin / terminal on the main body computer. How this particular part had become damaged I had know idea, I did not know where the body computer was located so I know i had not been anywhere near it and the two auto electricians I had look at the vehicle had not been near the body computer. The dealer in conjunction with the field engineer replaced the pin / terminal and everything was working for a week, when the problem re-occurred. What was the cost for finding the fault lets say there was not a lot of change out of £500 and the local dealer charged me at warranty rate and not standard service rate. I have had more than enough of this issue, and as such chased the dealer I bought it from, Brownhills, who have said that as the company I bought my vehicle from was no longer in existence the new owners have no responsibility to me. Swift, I will give them some credit chased Fiat and got them to agree to pay for the diagnostic costs. I also catalogued various issues, on poor build quality, do not seam to be interested, they have built the vehicle, but once it leaves their factory after being built by former fish filleters from the trawlers of Hull, their responsibility does seam to stop, and finally Fiat, I have no problems with the dealer who have done what they can, it was they that managed to arrange for Fiat to pay for the new body computer, but getting Fiat to send a cheque to pay for the diagnostics is like drawing teeth. It took them a week to raise a cheque and it has taken more than a week for a cheque which was being sent recorded delivery to come and I am still waiting. Conclusions It's difficult to not have a vehicle which has been built on a Fiat chassis, you just have to keep on at them and hope you have a sensible dealer which I had. Swift, would not buy anything from them ever again, all they are interested in is build it as cheap as possible and sell it for as much as they can so that their chairman Peter Smith can take one of his many historic rally cars out and also ensure that his son Guy can compete at Le Mans Brownhills, enough said (?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 fud3, I am a bit confused about the 'Brownhills bit' in your depressingly sad story. Which company was no longer in existance ? If you bought from Brownhills, then Brownhills are most certainly still trading. And have been for many years.....they have just closed branches and got smaller. But still trading under the 'Brownhills' name. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fud3 Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Ray I know that, you know that, their is a s****g big advert flashing in the corner of my eye telling me to use them for service, etc....... I bought from Brownhills prior to them going bust in 2008, it's the current set up who do not want to know at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I didn't realise they went bust in 2008 ! why are they STILL trading under the Brownhills name then ? Surely if they buy the company, they take on the Warranties of the previous Company ?? OR they stop using the name ? otherwise it is verging on Fraud. Ray >:-) Oh of course, thats what Swift did with Autocruise, and similarly 'disowned' all owners of vehicles bought before they took over. it's called 'Sharp practise' which is the very opposite of 'Good customer relations'. Boycott them ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fud3 Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Ray Me too, but not according to Swift see correspondence below from their senior customer service manager "Our Ref. JC/ /MHC995 08/02/2012 Dear Mr Pawson 2008 Suntor 580PR ~ MH2B s/n /MHC995 I refer to our recent correspondence regarding the costs you have incurred resolving issues with your motorhome. Unfortunately as your motorhome was sold to you by the original Brownhills who went into administration the current Brownhills do not have a contract with you. I am however trying to recover some costs for you as a goodwill gesture, this is taking a little longer than I anticipated and ask that you bare with me for a few more days before I come back to you with a conclusion. Thank you for your patience. Yours sincerely Julie Clark Senior Customer Services Manager" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel wood Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 "I am however trying to recover some costs for you as a goodwill gesture, this is taking a little longer than I anticipated and ask that you bare with me for a few more days before I come back to you with a conclusion. Thank you for your patience. Yours sincerely Julie Clark Senior Customer Services Manager" If this is her response it seems like "naked cheek". I hope that you had some good news after "a few more days". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fud3 Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 mel wood - 2012-03-13 11:25 AM "I am however trying to recover some costs for you as a goodwill gesture, this is taking a little longer than I anticipated and ask that you bare with me for a few more days before I come back to you with a conclusion. Thank you for your patience. Yours sincerely Julie Clark Senior Customer Services Manager" If this is her response it seems like "naked cheek". I hope that you had some good news after "a few more days". No still waiting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takeaflight Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Hi fud3, I really do sympathise with electrical faults, they have been a pain in the bum for me on numerous occasions to the point that IMO you either have to purchase something 12 or so years old (pre on-board computers ) or new and get rid off before the warranty runs out. However with respect to the home build quality, is it not a little late on a 2008 van to expect the manufacturer to address issues. To be fair Swift have tried with Fiat for you. Have these problems only now become evident ? I have no connection with Swift, my van is a Hymer. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 What is actually happening to your wipers and dip beam on the lights, can you be a bit more specific? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fud3 Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 However with respect to the home build quality, is it not a little late on a 2008 van to expect the manufacturer to address issues. To be fair Swift have tried with Fiat for you. Have these problems only now become evident ? I have no connection with Swift, my van is a Hymer. Roy I would agree, that is why I forwarded onto Swift copies of numerous e-mails, letters, photo's which had been sent to them in the past and also to Brownhills, before they went into administration, and yes Swift have tried with the issue of the problems with Fiat. My main problem was that I should have sent the thing back to Brownhills in 2008 and told them that the vehicle was not fit for purpose, I did not, and I kick myself every time I use it. I had a Hymer and god only knows why I changed to a Swift. Lessons learnt for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 The problem is with Fiat chassis. your van is well out of warranty, you have got 2 electricians to look at it who may of caused damage...I mean really what do you expect. Me, I would have looked for a non franchised Fiat auto electrician and sorted it that way. the Fiat forum would have been a start http://www.fiatforum.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fud3 Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 rolandrat - 2012-03-13 11:42 AM What is actually happening to your wipers and dip beam on the lights, can you be a bit more specific? Nothing now, though if you look back at previous threads I did actually ask for advice and got absolutely nothing back from anyone. The problems was to do with the body computer, which would not allow the dip beam and wipers to work at the same time, a bit of a problem if trying to drive in rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fud3 Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 JudgeMental - 2012-03-13 11:48 AM The problem is with Fiat chassis. your van is well out of warranty, you have got 2 electricians to look at it who may of caused damage...I mean really what do you expect. Me, I would have looked for a non franchised Fiat auto electrician and sorted it that way. the Fiat forum would have been a start http://www.fiatforum.com/ WRONG AGAIN The problem was ongoing prior to any independent electrician looking at the vehicle, you obviously did not read what I wrote, and the vehicle was IN WARRANTY when the problem commenced, it was Fiat that told us it was not in warranty which is why I got someone else to look at it. The Fiat dealer that I used, knew the auto electricians and new they were good at doing their jobs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 takeaflight - 2012-03-13 11:37 AM IMO you either have to purchase something 12 or so years old (pre on-board computers ) That's my approach :-D................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Ian, first you said: fud3 - 2012-03-13 10:39 AM ......................Thankfully when I took it to the dealer I asked to speak with the auto electrician and was asked to show him what was happening in order for him to know where to start in putting the problem correct. It was however, not until a new indicator / light switch had been tried (thankfully an item which the dealer could return without it costing me money) and the visit of one of Fiat UK field engineers, looking at the problem did they discover a split pin / terminal on the main body computer. ................ The dealer in conjunction with the field engineer replaced the pin / terminal and everything was working for a week, when the problem re-occurred. That suggests the problem was not cured, and persists. But then you said, in response to rolandrat fud3 - 2012-03-13 11:49 AM rolandrat - 2012-03-13 11:42 AM What is actually happening to your wipers and dip beam on the lights, can you be a bit more specific? Nothing now, though if you look back at previous threads I did actually ask for advice and got absolutely nothing back from anyone. The problems was to do with the body computer, which would not allow the dip beam and wipers to work at the same time, a bit of a problem if trying to drive in rain. Which appears to suggest the problem is now cured. So, in the interests of clarity, has the problem now actually been fixed? I ask, because multi-pin connectors can be damaged by bad handling, but they can equally be damaged by a fault in the mating component. So, if in your case the bent or split pin was a consequence of a defect in the mating component, it is entirely possible that the same damage would again result when the two were joined, unless both parts are replaced. In respect of the Fiat warranty, does your Fiat handbook not make clear the extent of the warranty period? Those that I have seen all do, in terms of N years from the date of registration, or similar. I'm just puzzled as to why there was confusion over whether the warranty had expired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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