Technical spare wheel mechanism recall for Ducato

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Technical spare wheel mechanism recall for Ducato

appleyard

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Hi

Just to let you know that certain Ducato's are due a recall.

Found the info on http://www.warrantyguide.co.uk/vehi...62C05C802578D90046BE8A-fiat-ducato-van-recall

The recall was made in Sept 2011 and this is copied from that site:

"The spare wheel located under the vehicle may become detached from the vehicle. Vehicles built from 04/01/2006 to 12/31/2008 are at risk.

The following remedial action is necessary to address this problem. Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected to replace the spare wheel lifting and securing mechanism.

Vehicles with the following identification numbers are affected:

ZFA25000001000371 to ZFA25000001789440".

My questions are:
1) has anybody been contacted by Fiat?
2) has anybody had the work done?
3) was it free (as I believe it should be but my experience of a past recall was that Fiat tried very hard to charge when they should not have)

My spare wheel mechanism failed today. it is a very poor design and this is aggravated by a tow bar being fitted.

Has anyone solved the problem by doing away with the wind down cable approach and fitting something more sensible /basic?

Grateful for any/all responses as I will wait a couple of days before contacting Fiat. (By the way since the vans are very similar to Peugeot and Citroen models, can the recall work be undertaken by them?
 
Thanks for the links Pete, very useful.

I tried to find my nearest Fiat Commercial dealer yesterday and it now appears to be Swansea, which is a 180 mike round trip plus a day off work.

Wondering if it may be better to rethink the whole storage issue of the spare wheel and design and make something that is foolproof even if a touch Heath Robinson-ish. One thing is for sure, cannot go around with the spare in the back of the van.

Anyone any thoughts??
 
My '08 ducato came with no spare wheel(money saving fiat)so I made a plate with a large bolt facing towards the ground and then bolted this plate to the four bolt hole on the van.To get the spare off I must put my trolley jack up to the wheel undo the locking nut then drop the jack and wheel.I have not had to use this system in anger yet so I'm sure how user friendly it is going to be at the side of the motorway.
 
Just had mine done this morning. Complete new wind down system fitted. My original one required access through the back door to wind down the spare wheel (so quite good from a security perspective) but the new one has the wind down mechanism at the side - so anyone with the relevent fitting, could easily wind down the spare wheel and steal it !!!

Anyone got any tips on security for the spare wheel ? Was think of attaching a bicycle chain through the spare wheel or something ?
 
Strange though, mine is a 2010 model and I have had the recall letter - thought it was models up to 2008 ???
 
Just had mine done this morning. Complete new wind down system fitted. My original one required access through the back door to wind down the spare wheel (so quite good from a security perspective) but the new one has the wind down mechanism at the side - so anyone with the relevent fitting, could easily wind down the spare wheel and steal it !!!

Anyone got any tips on security for the spare wheel ? Was think of attaching a bicycle chain through the spare wheel or something ?
Strange though, mine is a 2010 model and I have had the recall letter - thought it was models up to 2008 ???

As I posted on the outandaboutlive forum (links above) you did not have to open the rear door to wind down the spare wheel, the other end of the same shaft could be easily turned from under the van with an 8mm socket. So there never was any security for the spare wheel.
If you can have a nut and washer on the van floor (eg by cutting a bit of the plywood floor covering out with a holesaw) you can put a bolt straight through the spare wheel and up through the floor. A good bolt to use is the type used on fencing with one end bent over to form a ring. You can put a screwdriver through this ring to stop it turning, more easily than a spanner on a nut when you are working under the van.
A van registered in 2010 may have been manufactured earlier. Mine was manufactured April 2008, and registered July 2009. If, like me, you got a good discount it is likely because it was old stock.
 
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I had mine done today at no charge.
Totally new mechanism with winder access behind right hand rear wheel rather than rear bumper.
Much improved in my opinion.
Regards
Barryp
 
I had mine done, and can't see any difference! The wind down is still done inside the rear door, and still involves crawling around under the van on a rainy night!
 
Tip!
Grease up the little wing nut that locks the wheel to the mechanism, why!?

I had my recall done late 2011, needed to change tyre 3 months later, all the winter crud/water had seized the little bugger up solid, fiat didn't want to know & you can't buy the wing but separate from the whole mechanism
 
I had mine done, and can't see any difference! The wind down is still done inside the rear door, and still involves crawling around under the van on a rainy night!

Thats strange!! Had mine done in Italy 2 years ago. They replaced the whole lowering mechanism free of charge. The wind down is now located on the right hand side next to the rear wheel.
 
Yes, the modified unit is located on side near o/s/r wheel,
 
This has been really helpful so thankyou.
Just bought a ci caricoa 656 and it needed new tyres on it and noticed that there was a brand new tyre on the spare, been a tight Yorkshireman I thought I would use it and just buy one. Struggled to get the spare off due to the mechanism not working, so I cut the cable, boy did it drop with a bang so beware!
I have since contacted my dealer and it is now booked in for a free spare carrier.

So a big thankyou for the help
 
My 2009 Ducato camper has had three recalls from Fiat to attend to spare wheel carrier. Each time I took the van to a main Fiat commercial agent. Nobody seemed to know what was required! The wheel is lowered by using a hex key inside the back door, just over the bumper. I've just found this thread and it sounds like none of the agents have done anything! Who the hell do I speak to at Fiat? Any ideas?
 
My 2009 Ducato camper has had three recalls from Fiat to attend to spare wheel carrier. Each time I took the van to a main Fiat commercial agent. Nobody seemed to know what was required! The wheel is lowered by using a hex key inside the back door, just over the bumper. I've just found this thread and it sounds like none of the agents have done anything! Who the hell do I speak to at Fiat? Any ideas?


Is this a motorhome with a custom built body or a panel van conversion?


The Fiat spare wheel carrier is operated by a gearbox accessed through the rear right-hand wheelarch using an extension bar included in the vehicle tool kit.


If yours is operated from inside the rear door it suggests that the spare wheel carrier is either a completely different type of unit fitted by the motorhome converter (common on coach-built motorhomes with a separate habitation body) or the original unit has been modified by the converter. In either case, I can understand Fiat mechanics not knowing what to do as the device will be different to the unit they are expecting to find and they cannot therefore confirm that it is an original unit subject of the recall.
 
It's a panel van conversion, so I would expect that the spare wheel carrier is original Fiat. I'm a little startled that no local agent even knows what the call back is for!
 
I have a bolt through the spare wheel and floor to prevent theft of spare wheel.
Since it will also prevent the wheel fallinmg off I shouldn't have bothered taking it in to the Citroen ealer for the recall.
Especially since I had to have 4 appointments - each a 40 mile round trip - once to look at it, once to fit the wrong carrier (15" wheel instead of 16"), once to look at it again, and once to fit the right carrier
 
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