justadobie
New member
Just got a quote today for a full service on my Doblo 2009 1.9 Multijet (105hp) Active from an independent garage. I was pleasantly surprised at the cost compared with the Fiat Main Dealer who I’ve been using up until now. However, the service manager tells me that he cannot reset the service interval light or the oil degradation switch for this vehicle (and the 2009 models of the Fiat Stilo) and that nobody else can bar a Fiat Main Dealer. He cautions me they may charge up to £40 for this ‘service’. I have been told that no re-set tools are currently available (this includes the Laser 5060 and the latest multiscan software) and that the procedure is that 1) You call into the Fiat Main Dealer and ask for the oil/service resets, 2) The Fiat Dealer plugs the car into its computer software to identify the specific vehicle 3) the main dealer then contacts Fiat Head Office supplies the specific vehicle details taken from the computer and obtains a Fiat ‘code’that is specific to the vehicle which then allows the operator to perform the resets. The independent service manager also tells me that Fiat have been ‘fined’ for breaching EEC anti-competition laws as their reset procedure is illegal since it compels the customer to go to the main dealer rather than to an independent to have the car serviced (at a rate of £113.90 per hour no less!) or face having the service lights and/or car going into ‘limp mode’ half way through the year. He says that following the fine, Fiat changed its reset procedure to allow independent garages to perform the resets but the 2009 cars were left with on-board computers that would only work with the old (illegal) reset procedure and that Fiat’s have simply ignored this reset issue and carried on regardless. Firstly, is this true? Secondly, if true, has anybody on this forum sued Fiat for the ‘reset fee’ charged by the Main Dealer?
