David Bliss said:

The last two Fiats I have owned both had ABS. When this worked (ie when braking in icy conditions or on a wet grass verge) it was less agressive that some ABS systems are, the pedal did not vibrate as much as some do. In normal conditions the pedal was fairly firm near the top and only had about one and a half to two inches movement, you could not feel any feedback from the system. The only time I ever had the pedal move under my foot was when the back brake shoes came unbonded (at the time this was a common problem, but I haven't heard of it happening for years).
I did see a post a week or so ago from someone whose ABS was cutting in on a dry road, almost stopping the car from actually braking, and the car was being taken in to have it fixed. I can't find the post now so don't know what happened after.

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That may well have been me, fiat keep denying there is a fault, I'm just waiting to have an accident cos of it as it is still doing it occasionally, It's that fiat keep telling me it's normal operation, my vehicle also seems to have quite a long travel before the brakes actually bite and neither me or my dad or work colleagues thinks it is normal, I'm planning on going down the route of getting an independent garage to klook at it and taking the results back to fiat however I doubt it will help at all

Re: Australian 500 owners!

Has anyone here in Australia purchased a Pop 1.2 2014 release Series 3 and experienced any of the Euro6 1.2 Throttle Response & Hill Start Issues as mentioned in this article?

I have just agreed to buy one, but don't sign on the dotted line until Sunday.

Would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks

Re: Australian 500 owners!

cattard said:

Has anyone here in Australia purchased a Pop 1.2 2014 release Series 3 and experienced any of the Euro6 1.2 Throttle Response & Hill Start Issues as mentioned in this article?

I have just agreed to buy one, but don't sign on the dotted line until Sunday.

Would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Even in Europe, we don't as yet have any way of identifying whether or not a particular car is afflicted, short of actually driving it.

Some folks have taken delivery of new 1.2's that are seemingly free of issues, some have had updates and reported the issue as resolved, some have had updates and said the car still isn't all that it should be, and some are still wringing their hands in frustration after many months.

My advice remains not to accept delivery of any new 1.2 500 until you have test driven the specific car you will be buying and are completely happy with its performance. Getting this fixed after accepting the car is proving traumatic for some folks; at least one chap has said their health has suffered as a result of the stress of trying to resolve this.

Personally speaking, if the dealer would not agree to refund my deposit in full if I chose not to accept delivery, I would walk away and buy a different marque.

So, if I could pick up a heavily discounted 2013 Series 1 model, that is probably my best bet?

I have now been told by the finance company that Fiat's official 'line' now is that any cars that still require a fix are being held at dealerships and customers being given loan cars until said fix is issued (which could be some time in April).

I am just waiting now for news as to when I can go to the dealership, leave my car and collect the loan one.

This saga just keeps rolling on and on and on.....

ab4444 said:

I have now been told by the finance company that Fiat's official 'line' now is that any cars that still require a fix are being held at dealerships and customers being given loan cars until said fix is issued (which could be some time in April).

I am just waiting now for news as to when I can go to the dealership, leave my car and collect the loan one.

This saga just keeps rolling on and on and on.....

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keep on calling dealership to pester them about loan car and threaten to call fiat if not provided with one. should keep them on their toes.

ahmett said:

keep on calling dealership to pester them about loan car and threaten to call fiat if not provided with one. should keep them on their toes.

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Assuming they've got one spare, they can't give you something they haven't got

ab4444 said:

This saga just keeps rolling on and on and on.....

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Given the speed at which Fiat are rolling out the update, we'll all be with Saga by the time this issue gets sorted .

Most Easterly Pandas said:

Assuming they've got one spare, they can't give you something they haven't got

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yes but if 10,000 fiats have the same problem then Fiat UK would have to provide their dealers with many loan cars = )

ahmett said:

yes but if 10,000 fiats have the same problem then Fiat UK would have to provide their dealers with many loan cars = )

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No they wouldn't as its the dealer supplying these cars, not Fiat UK. So there will not be enough cars to go around as dealers are not going to buy in cars just for this (and who says the courtesy cars won't have the same issues ).

ab4444 said:

I have now been told by the finance company that Fiat's official 'line' now is that any cars that still require a fix are being held at dealerships and customers being given loan cars until said fix is issued (which could be some time in April).

I am just waiting now for news as to when I can go to the dealership, leave my car and collect the loan one.

This saga just keeps rolling on and on and on.....

Click to expand...

It's taken an absolute age, but this news is the sort of thing one would want to hear - The car's being isolated until they're fixed.

It's a pain that you're potentially without your car for a couple of months, but it saves wear & mileage I suppose, and if it gets you a fixed car at the end of it then all well & good.

Hopefully the penny has finally started to drop at Fiat HQ.

ahmett said:

keep on calling dealership to pester them about loan car and threaten to call fiat if not provided with one. should keep them on their toes.

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It's not about pestering the dealership. The dealership where ab444's car has been to recently is very competent - if they have news, chances are they will tell ab444. The delay is down to Fiat & clogging up dealer's phonelines & service desks every day is just pointless. It's better to hang onto the faulty car until a loan car is available, then take it in. If dealerships are struggling for loan cars for warranty customers they're supposed to be able to gain access to a hire car & charge it back to Fiat (though that never worked when I needed a hire car so God knows if it will now).

With the pace Fiat have worked at so far, a phone call once a week to the dealer to check progress should be ample, if they've not already contacted their customer.

Most Easterly Pandas said:

No they wouldn't as its the dealer supplying these cars, not Fiat UK. So there will not be enough cars to go around as dealers are not going to buy in cars just for this (and who says the courtesy cars won't have the same issues ).

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Then the dealer (charging back to FIAT UK) or FIAT UK themselves should get onto Enterprise* or whoever and get hire cars sorted (as suzuki have done for the celerio buyers)- specifying another brand of cars if they don't have faith in their product. Yes, it's expensive, but they're a major company and they've badly dropped a bollock- save your sympathy for those people that have paid very, very strong money for their cars and are being treated abysmally.

This whole saga is hardly rocket science, but FIAT seem determined to make as much of a hash of it as possible.

**** happens; be honest, open and apologetic when it does. Don't do a FIAT.

*Other hire providers are available, of course.

ab4444 said:

I have now been told by the finance company that Fiat's official 'line' now is that any cars that still require a fix are being held at dealerships and customers being given loan cars until said fix is issued (which could be some time in April).

Click to expand...

I see this as a rather sinister development.

The only reason why I think Fiat would do this is that they're concerned about the consequences of folks continuing to drive these cars before they've been fixed. This could be because they fear someone having an accident, or because they fear additional warranty claims from burnt out clutches, etc; - or both of these.

Personally I think cars affected by this issue are blighted for life; further on down the line, I can imagine plenty of potential used car buyers not wanting to take the risk of buying a car that once had this issue and suffered excessive mechanical wear as a result. This could easily extend to a general wariness of all 1.2's built from, say, mid 2014 until the issue is definitively fixed.

jrkitching said:

I see this as a rather sinister development.

The only reason why I think Fiat would do this is that they're concerned about the consequences of folks continuing to drive these cars before they've been fixed. This could be because they fear someone having an accident, or because they fear additional warranty claims from burnt out clutches, etc; - or both of these.

Personally I think cars affected by this issue are blighted for life; further on down the line, I can imagine plenty of potential used car buyers not wanting to take the risk of buying a car that once had this issue and suffered excessive mechanical wear as a result. This could easily extend to a general wariness of all 1.2's built from, say, mid 2014 until the issue is definitively fixed.

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i guess some savvy buyers who dont live in hilly areas can buy an almost new 1.2 500 from a very desperate owner at a good discount and then put up with fiat themselves = )

108,000 + page views? Wow i hope Fiat have noticed that they should maybe test drive their modifications more before deciding to sell them = )

zanes said:

Then the dealer (charging back to FIAT UK) or FIAT UK themselves should get onto Enterprise* or whoever and get hire cars sorted

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Don't get me wrong, I don't disagree that this should be done, but looking at costs, and seeing how much Fiat have tried to defend this already I can't see them doing this. At the rate they're going it'd be cheaper for them the buy all the affected cars back, fix at their convenience and resell them as used approved etc.

out of interest..
( I KNOW it's a mapping issue effecting the FIAT 1242's)

does the Ypsillon have a better time of it..?? surely the mapping will be virtually
identical..??

Charlie

Well, we eventually declined buying new, opting for a local used low mileage EURO 5 Pop. I do hope this turns out well for all those affected.

The plot, as they say, grows ever deeper (and murkier, and painfully frustrating).

Following confirmation from the finance company last week to say that Fiat want all faulty cars to go into dealerships and loan cars issued, I was told the end of last week that because Fiat don't pay for loan cars (!!!!!!), they were having to do some negotiating with Enterprise to get the vehicles organised for customers and I couldn't be given a timescale (considering the fix is due in April they may dodge this one as well if they keep dragging their poxy heels).

Yesterday I get a call from Fiat out of the blue to organise my 'replacement' vehicle. I followed the instructions on who and where to call and this was wrong. Luckily I was transferred to the right team who confirmed I was getting a replacement car from Enterprise. They transferred me to Enterprise, who then transferred me to the appropriate local branch. They confirmed I would be picked up at a certain time yesterday evening, driven to branch, given the car.

The agreement as explained by Fiat was that the car was to be delivered to an agreed address, namely my home. The branch insisted this wasn't the case and I had to collect (you can imagine how I was feeling by the 4th phone call). I told them if this was the case I would rather collect from a branch closer to my work, and they agreed, putting me through to them instead. This other branch were lovely but it dawned on me that my car would then be stuck with them.

I rang back Fiat to confirm how they were going to organise recovering my car from Enterprise to my friendly dealership in Chippenham; they questioned why this would be an issue given that my car is already at Chippenham. Oh. My. God.

Nobody seems to communicate about this case to anyone. Why the finance company haven't told Fiat I have my car is beyond me.

And after I left it with Enterprise to call me back (which they didn't), I then got a phone call from someone in Customer Relations at Fiat. They wanted an update on my case, which I gave them. They wanted to know who had agreed the loan car and when I confirmed that it was the finance company, he hurriedly ended the call saying he would be calling me tomorrow.

I don't know WHAT is going on but it's becoming very apparent that this is an absolute farce. I don't know what to think any more.

Enterprise normally offer to collect you, they always have when I've used them anyway. Can't you drive car to dealer and get them to collect you from there to pick up the rental