Hi one and all, I own a 1.2 GP and am on the whole very pleased with it. As seems to be the way these days dealer services are unbelieveably poor. I am at the minute arguing with the dealer who has just carried out an abortion of a 24mth / 36000 mile service. The dealer is trying to tell me that the 1.2 petrol has hydraulic (Is that spelt right!!) valve lifters and as such does not need checking. I think this is utter rubbish :bang:and am convinced that this engine has bucket and shim adjustment. One of you guys out there will I am sure be able to advise me and even tell me the clearances. I think they should be 0.35mm plus or minus 0.05mm on the inlet and 0.45mm plus or minus 0.05mm on the exhaust although I do stand to be corrected.
If anyone out there can help I would be grateful as I intend to keep the car for another 3 years at which time my eldest will be looking to get on the road. Obviously I want to look after it so it will last for her.

Thanks all

CONSTRUCTION - 1.2 8v engine
4 cylinder in-line engine, 8 valves, 1242 c.c., single overhead camshaft, mechanical tappets, with Marelli IAW 5SF3 electronic injection - ignition system.

Valve clearances, COLD engine = Inlet 0.3/Exhaust 0.4 (mm)

Thanks guys I knew I was right and you have confirmed it. The thing I now find myself asking is how many people have been short changed by dealers not following the service schedules. Then again I think we all know the answer to that, loads. Is it me or are our cars being attended to by fitters not mechanics these days. I'm sure there are good old school mechanics out there but can I as hell find a decent dealer or more importantly a decent after sale service in or around Lincoln / Grimsby. Surely Fiat must know that they loose sales due to poor aftercare but i suppose the question has to be do they care? Once I find out where this matter goes with the dealer in question I will put up a post naming and shaming to hopefully prevent others from falling into the same trap as I have done. Once again Thanks for the info.

atrl001 said:

how many people have been short changed by dealers not following the service schedules.

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Less than those that are perfectly happy, nobody posts when they are happy only when they have a point to prove/grundge etc

atrl001 said:

Is it me or are our cars being attended to by fitters not mechanics these days.

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Think it's you, Fiat techs are trained to BMW/vauxhall/ford standards including the ATA scheme.

atrl001 said:

Surely Fiat must know that they loose sales due to poor aftercare but i suppose the question has to be do they care?

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More than you think,Fiat are working flat out to improve customer relations & aftercare. Obviously you dont see this going on behind the scenes.

atrl001 said:

I will put up a post naming and shaming to hopefully prevent others from falling into the same trap as I have done.

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Unfair to tarnish the whole dealership on the fact someone gave you the wrong information.

atrl001 said:

I am at the minute arguing with the dealer who has just carried out an abortion of a 24mth / 36000 mile service. The dealer is trying to tell me that the 1.2 petrol has hydraulic (Is that spelt right!!) valve lifters and as such does not need checking

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If I were you I would go back to the dealer and say.......... "Would you mind putting that statement in writing, on headed paper and with a signature please because I intend getting a second opinion from Fiat customer services on this"......and then see what happens.

sledge said:

If I were you I would go back to the dealer and say.......... "Would you mind putting that statement in writing, on headed paper and with a signature please because I intend getting a second opinion from Fiat customer services on this"......and then see what happens.

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Ask to speak to the service manager, tell them to check the electronic manual if they don't believe you (while you wait for them to come back grovelling of course).

Dealers are scared stiff at the moment and are being more ruthless than ever thats why. Dealers work mostly on commision and with this credit crunch no one is buying cars. So everything you hated about dealers has just become 10x worse. they wont give you an inch these days.

All good points well made although in response to t14086 response to customer satisfaction the simple fact is that the majority of owners have little idea about cars and have to take their dealers at their word. I think I should at this point mention this is not a dig just at Fiat, far from it the dealer I had my car in with is a multi car franchise so that would be mazda and citroen in with the mix. Im glad to hear Fiat are tring to get the aftercare in order not least of all because I quite like fiats. In fact I am on my 8th. On the other point about nobody posts unless they are unhappy, well to some extant that maybe true but that said I did make it known I like my car and I would be the 1st to recommend a good dealer the sad fact is however at the moment dealers in my area are thin on the ground and to date not good. Fiat customer services have on the other hand been good ensuring that required work was carried out by a less than enthusiastic dealer at the 1st service. Lets see how they go with this matter. I was talking with a friend the yesterday who is in the know and he informs me that due to the pressures of the current financial climate manufacturers are looking not to undertake warranty work if at all possible to save money and given the dire straits some appear to be in who can blame them, another reason to ensure that servicing is on the ball. I am new to this forum so dont wish to tarnish the whole of the Fiat dealer network as I am confident that there are good dealerships out there. The Service manager I have been dealing with has so far been reasonable so lets see if the situation can be redeemed.

sledge said:

If I were you I would go back to the dealer and say.......... "Would you mind putting that statement in writing, on headed paper and with a signature please because I intend getting a second opinion from Fiat customer services on this"......and then see what happens.

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sounds like a good idea.

beany_bot said:

Dealers are scared stiff at the moment and are being more ruthless than ever thats why. Dealers work mostly on commision and with this credit crunch no one is buying cars. So everything you hated about dealers has just become 10x worse. they wont give you an inch these days.

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You dont know much about dealerships do you.

atrl001 said:

All good points well made although in response to t14086 response to customer satisfaction the simple fact is that the majority of owners have little idea about cars and have to take their dealers at their word. I think I should at this point mention this is not a dig just at Fiat, far from it the dealer I had my car in with is a multi car franchise so that would be mazda and citroen in with the mix. Im glad to hear Fiat are tring to get the aftercare in order not least of all because I quite like fiats. In fact I am on my 8th. On the other point about nobody posts unless they are unhappy, well to some extant that maybe true but that said I did make it known I like my car and I would be the 1st to recommend a good dealer the sad fact is however at the moment dealers in my area are thin on the ground and to date not good. Fiat customer services have on the other hand been good ensuring that required work was carried out by a less than enthusiastic dealer at the 1st service. Lets see how they go with this matter. I was talking with a friend the yesterday who is in the know and he informs me that due to the pressures of the current financial climate manufacturers are looking not to undertake warranty work if at all possible to save money and given the dire straits some appear to be in who can blame them, another reason to ensure that servicing is on the ball. I am new to this forum so dont wish to tarnish the whole of the Fiat dealer network as I am confident that there are good dealerships out there. The Service manager I have been dealing with has so far been reasonable so lets see if the situation can be redeemed.

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Good points and agree 100%, just to pick up on the underlined sectioned in the above quote...who the hell told you that? I firmly disagree if that was aimed at Fiat, warranty work is never a problem and I can assure you nothing has ever been said to any garages I know off, if it was Ford then yes I agree as heard it mentioned many times before.

T14086 said:

I firmly disagree if that was aimed at Fiat, warranty work is never a problem and I can assure you nothing has ever been said to any garages I know off, if it was Ford then yes I agree as heard it mentioned many times before.

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Have to agree with T, although Fiat have tightened things up a little these days they're far more lenient than other brands regarding warranty claims.

For example, for a serious mechanical engine/gearbox fault Nissan insist on a full strip-down with everything documented and photographs taken of the offending parts, and if possible, only those parts are replaced. In Fiat's case they may send out a field engineer to confirm the fault- but that's all, and they will usually simply exchange the complete engine/box rather than authorise the labour time for stripping and replacing.

D4nny8oy said:

Have to agree with T, although Fiat have tightened things up a little these days they're far more lenient than other brands regarding warranty claims.

For example, for a serious mechanical engine/gearbox fault Nissan insist on a full strip-down with everything documented and photographs taken of the offending parts, and if possible, only those parts are replaced. In Fiat's case they may send out a field engineer to confirm the fault- but that's all, and they will usually simply exchange the complete engine/box rather than authorise the labour time for stripping and replacing.

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Nissan gearbox arent expected to blow up, Fiat are

fenton_jd said:

Nissan gearbox arent expected to blow up, Fiat are

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only thing thats ever made me have to get recovered home in my car is the gearbox, and guess who makes it?

new dualogic gearbox on its way soon

fenton_jd said:

Nissan gearbox arent expected to blow up, Fiat are

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They are since Renault took-over. I take it you've not heard the horror stories about their pick-ups/4X4's diffs and engines? And the Micra's electrical issues, and the 350Z's that open their windows at speed, etc.

T14086 said:

new dualogic gearbox on its way soon

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You referring to Fiat's "DSG-style" 'box?

And the other market-leading developments, which for once, Fiat are going to fully hold the patent's for and a lot of other manufacturer's want.
:slayer:

I think fiat will introduce a dry dual clutch (the C635) on September 2009 and will be for the 1,8TJet and 2,0JTDm. So i guess its not a DSG-style box.

Maybe an improved version of dualogic?

That's what I mean- a new dual dry clutch gearbox with two separate gearsets for rapid shifting like VW's DSG 'box which also has dual dry clutches and a pair of separate gearsets for quicker shifts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSG_gearbox