Granvilleb said:

... Bad news about the Croma stopping this December ...

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Unsurprising - I heard that FIAT worked to a design lifespan of around 6 years (I think?).

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55 Prestigio 1.9/16v 150HP

Hi Granvilleb. Our 'wobble' at any speed has virtually disappeared now, which is frustrating as the Croma is going to the garage tomorrow to be investigated. Worse now though is the stutter or slight hesitation usually when accelerating or at slower speeds. it feels like a fuel problem (its a 1.9, 150, 16v) either a blocked injector or something. Technically I've no idea what happens under the great slab of plastic covering the engine! I shall message again once the garage has taken a look.
(By the way, we live in Marche region, about 40km from Ancona).

Sounds like your Mass Airflow sensor which is easy to clean or EGR valve. Both reside under that large plastic cover and have been extensively covered on the forum.
HTH
CJLAR

Thanks cjlar. But oh B***** – took car in to garage, but found they were 'on holiday' today despite having it booked in. Chief mechanic on duty but have rebooked for Thursday. So no news on any front until then.

Update. Loaded Croma with our winter tyres and went to tyre depot today as arranged for fitting. Arrghhh, found they had had a power cut and could do no fitting, so will return next week! Another hitch. The front passenger seatbelt jammed half way out. Couldn't pull more out or retract. It has happened before but 'jiggling' it about cured it. This time no. Partner had to sit in back. Next problem found one of the rear belts would not clip in. Next problem, rear head rest which is usually left lowered but sticks in the back would not adjust upwards and stay there! Great frustration and annoyance all round. And its raining! Hopefully tomorrow at garage will bring about some proper news? ciao

Update on drive shaft and ERG query.

Finally got our Fiat engineer to take a look at the driveshaft. Up on the ramp and I watched as he checked it. There was definite play on the righthand side and made a click sound. Checking the lefthand side which had been replaced last year – no play and no clicking. Very perplexing. They were very reluctant to do anything about it. I can understand why, as later we discovered that Fiat in Italy only give a 2 year warranty. Of the Croma is now 2 yrs 7months old but has only done a mileage of 40,000! As the wobble/judder has all but disappeared we have to wait until something breaks. Not very scientific and bound to be expensive...

Next point. The ERG. Diagonostic tests proved that the ERG was 'dirty' giving a reading of 90% which he agreed was too high. The ERG was cleaned and tested again giving a reading of 70% which apparently was OK. As all the discussion was in Italian I could not deciper exactly what it all meant but the stutter/hesitation has disappeared (at least for now) Total bill for over 2 hours checking and testing was €30. (which is the hourly rate here)

The non-retracting front passenger seatbelt issue was mentioned but frustratingly as it seems to be functioning perfectly well, it was decided to leave it alone.

We still need to go back to the garage as there is the paint defect problem to be resolved. It is in such a position in two close together spots on the the leading edge of the rear passenger door as to be not possible to be a chip, scratch or other damage other than a weakness in the original painting which of course only appears after a long time.

Next week I will also attempt to get the winter tyres fitted. Incidentally I can recommend Bridgestone Turanza tyres which were original fitments and have now completed in excess of 31,000 and there is still plenty of wear left. The winter tyres are Finnish Nokian and have also proved good. (It is obligatory to have winter tyres fitted where we live, in case any one was wondering).

Any more info will be posted as and when!

Just adding our name to the Croma 'wobble'.

I suspect something with the driveshafts as exchanging wheels/tyres/brakes has not changed the wobble.

If so many Croma owners have had drive shaft problems, why do dealers look so blank when you tell them. This thread has had over 3000 views. There are only around 1400 Cromas in the UK! Many more of course where I am in Italy. By the way, last Thursday in local Fiat dealer. 120 8v Croma, brand new with blu&me etc for €28000 (about £24,356). Get one quick its a dying species.

mmmmm facelift croma :yum:

I couldn't believe the cost of cars out there - we saw a Cinq up for €3000.. People wouldn't pay £500 here!

Is that a brand new Croma? We bought ours 2 years old, only 16,000 miles, and around £8000. About 1/3 original cost.

From my experience as an almost annual visitor to Italy thier new car prices are very high compared to most of the rest of Europe.

Also the Italian vehicle tax/road tax scheme is quite complicated and "banded". It would not surprise me if that there was some form of interlinking between purchase price and vehicle tax band besides the annual car road tax duty. Such a linking would make the Croma very expensive.

Don't forget Italy is the land of smaller vehicles so the larger ones are in the minority.

Indeed Cromas are expensive here. The insurance system is very complicated. For 2 adults it cost over 1250 euros fully comp. Road tax is extortionate compared to UK. Over 320 euros per annum. Thankfully diesel is always a little cheaper than petrol. Italy may be the land of small cars but it doesn't stop Italians buying big Audis, Mercs, BMs etc by the truckload even in a rural area where we live.

2bakedbeans said:

Italy may be the land of small cars but it doesn't stop Italians buying big Audis, Mercs, BMs etc by the truckload even in a rural area where we live.

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Which is something I don't understand. These imports are far more expensive than home grown Fiats. Are Italians that much better off than us UK bods.

Sadly northern Italy is dominated by German etc. visitors and their culture and language is diluting the north of Italy.

The Ladins seems to be holding their own but in reality they rely heavily on the tourism and skiing cross border visitors from Germany, Switzerland, Austria etc.

When we go to Italy with our Croma and caravan in tow we do get a few odd looks as large Fiats are a rarity, certainly in the Dolomite regions.

The most puzzled, dumb founded and sometimes admiring/appreciative looks we got is when for several years were took our Strada Abarth up into the mountains for great driving fun and of course the wonderful scenery.

Some Italians were shocked to see a fairly new Strada as sales in Italy ceased nearly 10 years before they did in the UK.

This last fact is probably why ever since 1989 the Strada Abarth has been a parts nightmare!

Least many of the locals appreciate their motoring heritage even if the Italian government is trying to tax them off the roads.