Technical fiat 500 lower suspension arm bushes service life
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Technical fiat 500 lower suspension arm bushes service life
How many miles has the car done? is it under warranty?
Have you had an MoT done and the car has failed due to worn control arm bushes?
If you've had premature control arm bush failure, it could come down to local condtions where you live. What are the roads like?
Have you had an MoT done and the car has failed due to worn control arm bushes?
If you've had premature control arm bush failure, it could come down to local condtions where you live. What are the roads like?
hi, it's a 12 plate with about 25k on the clock. yes it failed the mot on the bushes. We bought the car a year ago with about 12k on the clock. obviously I don't know about the roads for the previous owner but we are in the midlands and the roads are no worse than elsewhere
A failure at just 25k is poor, even for a car that is 5 years old.
Have a look at the V5 and see what part of the country the previous owner was registered at. Might give a bit of a clue to local condtions. What's the first two letters of the registration number?
Have a look at the V5 and see what part of the country the previous owner was registered at. Might give a bit of a clue to local condtions. What's the first two letters of the registration number?
Yes, you are correct, registered in Sheffield, but of course Sheffield is a big area and extends out in the Yorkshire Dales, so the car could have had a rough time on some bumpy back roads.
Have you had a quote yet for the job to be done?
Have you had a quote yet for the job to be done?
Lol! This is a 500 you're talking about!
A few forum members have had to swap out shocks/coils/droplinks and suspension arms. Me thinks they're made of putty!
it was in for mot while we were out of the area for a couple of days. We took a third party warranty out when we bought it as we were told it would cover premature failures. The warranty company is saying this is wear and tear. I think it is premature failure. main dealer did job £365.
Our lower control arm bushes were totally shot at 6 years old, if you're keeping the car for any length of time ie 3 years plus replace ALL of the front suspension, yes everything bar the top mounts, arms,springs, shocks, drop links, everything. And don't forget to replace the rear shocks, front discs, repair the hatch wiring before it gives issue, check the breather hoses, replace the plugs with Iridium, cam belt, etc?
Or about £1000 of fixes
Or about £1000 of fixes
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My dad's Accord has just gone for scrap, at 200,000miles and 18 years on original everything bar discs and drop links
They can fail after as little as 5,000 miles, or still be perfectly sound after 200,000.
The ones fitted by Fiat are not known for being particuarly durable, but there are aftermarket alternatives (such as lemforder) which are of better quality and should prove more durable in service.
I'd agree, but it's by no means unusual.
You can think whatever you wish. The reality is that this is fair wear and tear. I know of many folks who've needed to replace theirs due to wear after less miles than your car has done. Sorry if this is not what you want to hear, but I wouldn't want you to waste more time, energy and money on a futile wild goose chase to try to get some sort of redress from the warranty company.
Don't bother wasting your time. Suspension bushes are a wear and tear item that would be excluded from pretty much every third party warranty I've ever seen. Failure at 25k is by no means unusual and IMO there is no way in the world any warranty company is going to regard that as a premature failure. I've known people who've had them fail on a 2 1/2yr old car with half the mileage yours has done and had Fiat refuse to replace them under the third year of the warranty.
Fiat make the 500 out of pretty much the cheapest parts on the planet, and it shows once the cars have a few years of age. Fortunately decent aftermarket replacements for most of the common failure items can be had for reasonable prices, provided you steer well clear of franchised dealers.
Paying a premium to replace parts which have failed after relatively low mileages with genuine Fiat replacements is a waste of money. You'd do much better to buy a decent aftermarket equivalent part, which will likely prove to be far more durable in service - but I'd suggest you steer clear of the cheapest parts if you plan on keeping the car.
The best way to get the worst possible value for your money is to pay a franchised dealer to fit cheap aftermarket parts.
I know of a Civic of similar age and mileage which is also pretty much original. The moral of this story is that if you want Honda quality, buy a Honda.
It'll likely outlast most anything else you could buy, but the question is, will it put the same smile on your face as a 500?
We love the 500 not because it is durable, but because it's just possibly the most fun you can buy for the money. The trick to owning one, particularly one with a bit of age, is to shop around to find the best parts deals and either find a good independent mechanic who knows the model well, or (better) invest in a decent set of tools and do the work yourself. There are plenty of good folks on here who will guide you every step of the way.
The good news is that the core components like the engine & main bodyshell are proven, sound and durable. It's all the bits that are bolted on which generally cause all the problems as they get older.
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exactly. I know fiat's aren't bulletproof but really 25k. It had a fairly easy life with 12k done in 4yrs. If they had failed at 40 or 50k I would have been annoyed but would have understood. our other car has had some bushes fail but that's now 17yrs old.
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Mine failed at 4 years old, 30,000 miles. I've now replaced all suspension parts front and rear.
SO bottom line, replace everything now, I bought Lemforder arms Bilstein springs and Shachs shocks
Yes, except of course the suspension arm you've just had replaced, especially at a whopping cost of £365!
I'm having my 2 rear shocks replaced under warranty at 3 years 30k, top mounts are knackered
As long as you can replace all yourself, "quality " arms £180 pair, shocks Front £100 rear £50 springs Front £55, drop links £20pr top cups £25pr bump stops £25 pr note the quality arms Lemforder come with new ball joint bolts which are a night mare to remove others may not? You probably need a new rear badge too and replacement key fob cover AND buttons
Cheaper parts are available, I did a strut replacement guide in the guides section too
Cheaper parts are available, I did a strut replacement guide in the guides section too
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