Fiat Ducato X290 Recall - Ignition switch

[euroserv]

I have been made aware of a recall by one of my customers that resides in Cyprus today! While i am grateful for that, I am a little disappointed to hear about it in this way as some of my vehicles are affected.

 

However.....

 

The fault affects vehicles built between October 2014 and June 2015 and there is apparently a possibility that the ignition may switch itself off while the vehicle is in motion. A new switch is being fitted and it takes about an hour to do. You can, and normally would wait for the recall notice to drop through your door but due to the risk involved, I would advise you to contact your local Fiat agent and give them your registration number. They will order the parts and arrange for you to get it done.

 

The affected vehicles have chassis numbers in the range 2729501 to 2904391.

If your chassis number does not fall within these numbers; you are not affected.

 

Don't panic! It is not going to explode or anything and it should be safe to drive. This kind of recall may have only affected one or two of the 838 or so vehicles with defective ignition switches and my vehicles have covered 20,000 miles or so of normal everyday van use with no problems..... but you must get this done!

[Tall_Mike]

Thanks - Really useful detail, - I will go and check our numbers however pretty sure from the dates that this will be us taking a trip to our local Fiat truck dealer

[Derek Uzzell]

Apparently this potential problem was first reported in Australia in mid-December 2015

 

http://behindthewheel.com.au/fiat-ducato-ignition-switch-recall/

 

There’s nothing about it (yet) on the VOSA recall database and a very recent discussion on the MHFun forum

 

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/re-call-on-2015-fiat-ducato.122588/

 

asks the question whether the problem also applies to Citroen Relay/Peugeot Boxer vehicles.

[euroserv]

Good point Derek,

 

The Peugeot and Citroen vehicles are built at the same factory in Italy alongside the Fiats and these components are the same. I would advise owners of the other brands to check with their dealers as well if their vehicle was built during that period, and if someone finds out a chassis number range for them; it would be a helpful addition to this thread.

[armstrongpiper]

Hello Nick, I have checked my 'van chassis number and it falls within the range of numbers you quote, so phoned my local Fiat Professional (Platts, Stoke on Trent), and have it booked in for the work to be done 25 January. It sure is great to have advice/information so freely offered by yourself (and of course others) on this Forum.

 

Thankyou, Neil B

[Budgie823]

Many thanks for raising this issue Nick. My vehicle also falls within the range and I have contacted Fiat and await a response.

 

I have now read an article on the internet regarding the recall in Australia which highlights that if the fault occurs, a partial loss of electric power would follow and the engine would be turned off, disabling the power steering, power brakes and airbag deployment systems. So potentially really quite serious.

 

 

[Steve928]

As an aside, the ergonomics of the Ducato/Boxer/etc. and its steering column puts the ignition switch just inside the knee of a long-legged person such as myself.

4 or 5 times now I've turned the ignition off with my knee at the most inconvenient moments. It does come as quite a shock until you realise what has happenned and quickly turn it back on again.

[Randonneur]

Thanks Nick,when I saw your post I contacted my cousin in Devon who has a 2014/15 Peugeot based motorhome.Iinformed him of your post and he stated he had heard nothing of the recall.My cousin has conacted his local Peugeot garage this morning and was told that they had heard nothing about this recall but would check and get back to him and sure enough 10mins later they rang back to say that there was a recall but they had only be notified of it the previous day.They have booked him next week for the job to be done,so once again thanks very much Nick.

[Derek Uzzell]

If you get the chance to contact your Devon-based cousin before his motorhome goes in for attention, perhaps you could ask him to ask his Peugeot garage for the range of Boxer chassis-numbers that are involved in the ignition-switch replacement recall.

 

As this is clearly a safety-related issue, I expect vehicle identification details will eventually appear on the VOSA recall database for Boxers, Ducatos and Relays (assuming Relays are affected), or details will be posted to one of the forums. But the sooner which vehicles are involved can be identified the better.

 

I notice that there’s a fuel-injector-related entry on the VOSA recall database for certain Boxers made between 05/09/2014 and 12/12/2014, though there’s no equivalent entry for Citroen Relays.

 

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/search.asp

[John Allen]

Thanks Nick, my Auto-Trail Apache 700 registered last June is now booked into our local Fiat dealer next Friday for the ignition switch to be replaced and also an investigation as to why the worn out brakes symbol illuminates when I switch the cruise control on. Van has only done just over a thousand miles from new, mainly on motorways. Good old Fiat, never fail to keep you mentally active.

[Steve928]

John Allen - 2016-01-14 3:54 PM

and also an investigation as to why the worn out brakes symbol illuminates when I switch the cruise control on.

 

I wonder if the Ducato/Boxer/Relay instrument cluster ranks as one of the least reliable automotive components ever produced?

 

I can't immediately think of anything else that has such a reputation for failure - and costs so much (c. £1000) if the owner were to be footing the bill. Quite why they haven't sorted this out at the manufacturing stage in 10 years of production beggars belief. Not many component failures occur so regularly that they get their own name; 'Ducato Phantom Dash'.

 

We owners should really establish a database of all these these failures (some people are on their third cluster) so that when they try to saddle some poor out-of-warranty owner with a big bill for dash replacement we have the ammunition to show that the component is simply sub-standard and not fit for purpose..

[thomasplc]

Been chasing Main Dealer since Thurs (8th/1) always will ring back but still waiting. Does not instill confidence

I won't name and shame just yet.

[Robinhood]

John Allen - 2016-01-14 3:54 PM

 

....... and also an investigation as to why the worn out brakes symbol illuminates when I switch the cruise control on.

 

....SNAP. (though I'm going for a full house with it illuminating the rear fog-light indicator as well) :-(

[John Allen]

Please, please,please Toyota, produce a Cab & Chassis for the motor home industry. You could really clean up financially and give us the reliability we crave..

[AlanS]

I had a phone call from customer services in Milan yesterday regarding the speedo illumination problem letting me know that the rectification work will be done about end of March / beginning of April and that they will let me know when to take it in to a dealer service centre (I use HTC at Theale). I was then asked if there were any other problems or anything else they could help me with and I said no, not knowing about this issue mentioned above by Nick. They had chassis number and read it back to me, but no mention of any recalls !!.

Alan

[John Allen]

When I went to my Fiat Professional dealer (Huttons of Weston-super-Mare) today to book the van in to have the ignition switch changed they new nothing about any progress on the speedo visibility (or lack of) problem when I asked if there was any activity on resolving it. Yet again it is people on this, and probably other forums as well, who are pushing Fiat to resolve this problem and taking the time and effort to keep us all informed, thanks. Once again, thankfully, it is the tail that is wagging the dog.

[AlanS]

John Allen - 2016-01-14 10:19 PM

 

When I went to my Fiat Professional dealer (Huttons of Weston-super-Mare) today to book the van in to have the ignition switch changed they new nothing about any progress on the speedo visibility (or lack of) problem when I asked if there was any activity on resolving it. Yet again it is people on this, and probably other forums as well, who are pushing Fiat to resolve this problem and taking the time and effort to keep us all informed, thanks. Once again, thankfully, it is the tail that is wagging the dog.

 

 

There isn't going to be a recall for the speedo lighting issue - you must phone Fiat Professional Camper Assist Customer services on their Freephone 00800 3428 1111 number to register your complaint and requesting that it be corrected. They are very polite, listen attentively, confirm by text a complaint reference number then follow it up with a phone call to yourself.

Alan

[Geeco]

The ignition switch issue has been listed on the Australian Govt Safety recalls listing on 15 Dec 2015. There is no mention of what vin numbers are involved. Thanks Nic for the vin numbers I have checked with my  servicing dealer and he says mine is ok. If I am lucky I will be able to load the link for those interested. He knew nothing about the poor dash visibility fix and Fiat OZ will not answer my email. Having said that this country goes into "holiday season hibernation" until the end of Jan so will try then.

Cheers,

Gary C

Gary

[Geeco]

Seems like I got my finger caught in my eye tooth and could not see what I was doing! Here is the link;

https://www.recalls.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1080368

cheers,

Gary C.

[AlanS]

I spoke to Fiat Customer services this morning and they tell me that with my VIN No. my MH will have to have the ignition switch changed. I also tried the Fiat Professional Camper website to enter my VIN No. beforehand but it kept 'saying' that I had entered it incorrectly, which I hadn't. Fiat said it must be a glitch on the system.

 

They said that I should receive a letter through the post very soon but I could speak to my service dealer straight away and advised that I give them plenty of notice to obtain the replacement switch. Hopefully I might be able to get the two issues (the dashboard illumination) carried out at the same time.

Alan

[Derek Uzzell]

I didn’t have any difficulty using the “CHASSIS CHECK” feature on the Fiat Camper website

 

https://www.fiatcamper.com/en/home

 

which confirmed what I already suspected from the VIN range that had been provided above - that my Ducato was involved in a 'RECALL CAMPAIGN’ (No specific details offered, but presumably the ignition-switch recall.)

 

Although the format of a VIN is standardised, it’s evident from some casual experimentation with the Fiat application that it’s more subtle than it might first appear and that ‘check digits’ are employed to verify the accuracy of the character string and/or that the numbering sequence at the rightmost end of the VIN is not ‘one up’ (or something else!!)

 

For example, the last 8 characters of the VIN show the vehicle’s chassis-number and - in my case - this falls well within the 2729501 to 2904391 range mentioned above. If I input my Ducato’s VIN into the Chassis Check feature, the Fiat Camper system responds as one might anticipate it should. But if I input the VIN with, say 02729502 or 02904389 as the last 8 figures, or with a number that is one lower or one higher than mine, the system rejects it as being incorrect.

[AlanS]

Hi Derek

 

I have tried it again and it still does not work, however when I have used it in the past with our previous X250 there was never a problem - strange !

Alan

 

Derek Uzzell - 2016-01-16 9:34 AM

 

I didn’t have any difficulty using the “CHASSIS CHECK” feature on the Fiat Camper website

 

https://www.fiatcamper.com/en/home

 

which confirmed what I already suspected from the VIN range that had been provided above - that my Ducato was involved in a 'RECALL CAMPAIGN’ (No specific details offered, but presumably the ignition-switch recall.)

 

Although the format of a VIN is standardised, it’s evident from some casual experimentation with the Fiat application that it’s more subtle than it might first appear and that ‘check digits’ are employed to verify the accuracy of the character string and/or that the numbering sequence at the rightmost end of the VIN is not ‘one up’ (or something else!!)

 

For example, the last 8 characters of the VIN show the vehicle’s chassis-number and - in my case - this falls well within the 2729501 to 2904391 range mentioned above. If I input my Ducato’s VIN into the Chassis Check feature, the Fiat Camper system responds as one might anticipate it should. But if I input the VIN with, say 02729502 or 02904389 as the last 8 figures, or with a number that is one lower or one higher than mine, the system rejects it as being incorrect.

[Derek Uzzell]

Alan

 

You might concider progressing this with the Fiat Camper people.

 

The “Chassis Check" feature is there to provide Fiat Camper owners with information about whether their vehicle is subject to ’service or ‘recall’ campaigns. The feature works OK when my Ducato motorhome’s VIN is input, but not when you input your motorhome’s VIN. This strongly suggests that either your motorhome’s VIN is recorded wrongly within the particular datafile that the Chassis Check accesses, or that your VIN is not there at all. As the feature works for me it ought to work for anyone else who correctly inputs an appropriate VIN, so your problem is much more likely to be caused by a data error than a ‘glitch’ with the system itself. Unless Fiat investigates and your problem, it’s unlikely to resolve itself spontaneously.

[AlanS]

Derek

I tried today to enter my chassis details via the Fiat Camper App on my mobile phone and it worked ! It showed I had a recall that needed urgent attention, i.e. ignition switch. Perhaps it was a glitch.

Alan

 

Derek Uzzell - 2016-01-17 8:18 AM

 

Alan

 

You might concider progressing this with the Fiat Camper people.

 

The “Chassis Check" feature is there to provide Fiat Camper owners with information about whether their vehicle is subject to ’service or ‘recall’ campaigns. The feature works OK when my Ducato motorhome’s VIN is input, but not when you input your motorhome’s VIN. This strongly suggests that either your motorhome’s VIN is recorded wrongly within the particular datafile that the Chassis Check accesses, or that your VIN is not there at all. As the feature works for me it ought to work for anyone else who correctly inputs an appropriate VIN, so your problem is much more likely to be caused by a data error than a ‘glitch’ with the system itself. Unless Fiat investigates and your problem, it’s unlikely to resolve itself spontaneously.

[John Allen]

New ignition switch fitted today but guess what? Can't collect van until Tuesday as it needs a new instrument panel as showing worn brakes symbol and car with padlocks symbol but only when cruise controls on. How many more instrument panels am I going to need over the next 5 years? Place your bets now. I now also have my case number for speedometer illumination modification which should be happening in March.