I am afraid that it is bad news . I had another phone call from Fiat customer services, short and sweet, telling me to book the car into the dealer. I took it in yesterday morning and they did a diagnostic check with no errors found in any system. They did do a software update. They also did a road test but said it was normal, when the first time I took it back the chief technician acknowledged the problem and admitted that he had seen it before! On the way home I couldn't see that the update had done anything noticeable. I have also found that, unless you are a very competent driver, doing a hill start would be very difficult, in that you have to apply some revs and get the clutch to start to bite, as the engine dies you have to depress the clutch slightly again, put the throttle fully down, wait a couple of seconds and, as soon as the engine power comes up, let the clutch up. If you are lucky the car will then pull away. It is like having an engine running on three cylinders only. I want the engine out of my old Panda back! It was much easier to drive.

I am cheesed off and very disappointed. How long have these crappy engines been been used on the Panda?

Yesterday I had another call from Customer Services. They asked if we had taken the car back to the dealer for diagnostic testing, and whether the software had been updated. He assured me that they were trying to develop a fix for this problem, I have now asked them to put this in writing. I will wait to see what happens.

This evening I happened to find a post in the 500 section. Two owners described the same problems as I have had. One found a stud missing off the manifold, replaced it and had no further problems. The second followed his advice and also found a stud was missing. He is going to take the car back to the dealer to get it fixed. I am waiting to see what happens.

David

Hi David, popped over from the 500 forum, it was me who found the stud missing.
The symptoms/driving style you describe are EXACTLY how my car had to driven.

After replacing the manifold stud the double dip of the clutch now isn't needed but the increase of power still seems poor. Do you have any idling issues? My idle felt rough/lumpy before the stud was fitted, but is better now.

The fault does feel like it gets more apparent when it warms up.

Have you looked over your manifold for a missing stud?

I'm going to log the fault with the dealer and might just contact c/s too, the more people raising the issue the more might get done.

I have had look at the manifold on my Panda. There is a hole in the top nearside of the manifold. It is larger than the studs and there is a spot of green paint near it on the plastic.

I do not have any idling problems with my car. It is low-down torque and throttle response that my engine is lacking in, especially if you have stopped and the engine has been allowed to idle for a few seconds. It is very easy to stall this car. Although I have become more accustomed to managing the inadequacies of the vehicle, once in a while it can really put you in a dangerous position. Pulling onto a busy roundabout in fast moving traffic is bad. Hill starts have to be a 'snatch and go' with your foot flat down, which is very bad for clutch longevity.

Someone mentioned that the weight of the car had increased, but this would not cause this sort of problem. I agree with the comment that it is the drive to reduce emissions that underlies it. I would prefer to pay extra road tax to get the performance and more miles to the gallon back!

Having said all that I do appreciate the better handling of the car, compared to my last Panda. It has gone back to the sportier feel that I used to associate with the Fiat cars of many years ago.

We need to bombard Fiat with our complaints to push them into sorting the issue out quickly, I don't want a car that has the performance of a Trevant!

I have posted this on the 500 section as well. They are also complaining about this problem.

David
PS: If anybody is really interested, I have already been in touch with a performance testing firm and could put both my new Panda and the 09 one that my daughter now has on their rolling road to get an accurate comparison.

Fiat Customer Services called me today but I was out,I rang them back but the person was busy and was supposed to call me back but did not.Car is booked in dealer on Friday.If they cant come up with a solution then I will be looking at taking the matter further,even rejecting the car.

I have just added a post to 'Panda 1.2 (69bhp) Flat Spot', about the results of my comparison test on a rolling road. If you are interested in the findings have a look there

I've had my new Fiat a few months now (Since July 2014) and I love everything about it apart from this same problem. Hill starts and getting up hills. I thought at first it was my driving but I've had five other family members try even a gradual hill start and traveling uphill and this car struggles. I have to over rev it and slip the clutch to get it to go and it just has no power in the lower revs. This is a definite problem which caused me to stall on a hill the other day and almost run back into the car behind me.

So Fiat can just say we know about this and we're working on it? How long do they get to "work on it" while we drive potentially dangerous cars. Okay, I know it's not like they're catching fire or other grave safety issues but in the end the car does not perform as it should and if both a dealer mechanic and Fiat are admitting their is and issue, even if it is down to engine tweaking to meet EU guidelines then something needs sorting now.

I've contacted my dealer for the first time today and sent a Facebook message to Fiat UK about this issue and I suggest everyone else do the same. Bombard Fiat with complaints daily until something gets done.

GOOD NEWS RE Panda / 500 Euro 6 FLAT SPOT

After a major rant with my dealer and Fiat over the past few days, our undrivable 3 month old 1.2 Euro 6 Panda with 350 miles on the clock has had a software remap installed this morning (6.12.14) and they also mentioned that there is a "cluth re-learn" sensor which has been reset.
First impressions are it is a differnet car to drive, now pulls away below 2000 revs and has sufficient low down torque to be a "normal" car.
Not tried a full on hill start yet but so relieved at this improvement as the car is for my daughter and we had stopped her driving it.
Not sure if they have installed the "old" upgrade which some say has been around for several months or if I am guinea pig for the "new" upgrade which is rumoured to be scheduled for January 15.
Either way RESULT !!!!!

Hi all, I've just acquired a Panda easy (2015), and after driving an ancient Corsa it's a bit of a shock, one I'll think I'll warm to in time.
Right now the brakes feel off/on, the steering super sensitive,and as stated this strange auto-throttle business when pulling away which makes for anything but a smooth take away.
I must look like a total novice at times, lurching and almost stalling.
At first I was pretty annoyed with the car, it was like am I driving this thing or you? Great on hills but hardly required on the flat.
I prefer to choose my own throttle setting.
However I'm starting to see that it might be best to let the ECU do it's thing upon releasing the clutch, and I'll stay off the gas until the revs fall and the car decides it's safe to hand back control to me.
Actually it might be okay once I get the proper feel for it.
All that aside it does feel like an extremely well put together vehicle, I'm sure we'll get along fine even if its with joint-custody of the gas pedal

Geoff 59 said:

Hi all, I've just acquired a Panda easy (2015), and after driving an ancient Corsa it's a bit of a shock, one I'll think I'll warm to in time.
Right now the brakes feel off/on, the steering super sensitive,and as stated this strange auto-throttle business when pulling away which makes for anything but a smooth take away.
I must look like a total novice at times, lurching and almost stalling.
At first I was pretty annoyed with the car, it was like am I driving this thing or you? Great on hills but hardly required on the flat.
I prefer to choose my own throttle setting.
However I'm starting to see that it might be best to let the ECU do it's thing upon releasing the clutch, and I'll stay off the gas until the revs fall and the car decides it's safe to hand back control to me.
Actually it might be okay once I get the proper feel for it.
All that aside it does feel like an extremely well put together vehicle, I'm sure we'll get along fine even if its with joint-custody of the gas pedal

Click to expand...

Brakes you get used to soon enough. The clutch switch..........not so much.

Re: GOOD NEWS RE Panda / 500 Euro 6 FLAT SPOT

HighC said:

After a major rant with my dealer and Fiat over the past few days, our undrivable 3 month old 1.2 Euro 6 Panda with 350 miles on the clock has had a software remap installed this morning (6.12.14) and they also mentioned that there is a "cluth re-learn" sensor which has been reset.
First impressions are it is a differnet car to drive, now pulls away below 2000 revs and has sufficient low down torque to be a "normal" car.
Not tried a full on hill start yet but so relieved at this improvement as the car is for my daughter and we had stopped her driving it.
Not sure if they have installed the "old" upgrade which some say has been around for several months or if I am guinea pig for the "new" upgrade which is rumoured to be scheduled for January 15.
Either way RESULT !!!!!

Click to expand...

Hi there, I`m experiencing the same issues with my 2013 1.2 Panda, can I ask you which dealer you dealt with please ? So I can refer our local dealer to one who has actually done something positive about it !
Thank you .

U619825 said:

Hi there, I`m experiencing the same issues with my 2013 1.2 Panda, can I ask you which dealer you dealt with please ? So I can refer our local dealer to one who has actually done something positive about it !
Thank you .

Click to expand...

Hi.

Has this fault developed..?

Or is it a recent purchase

varesecrazy said:

Hi.

Has this fault developed..?

Or is it a recent purchase

Click to expand...

A recent purchase , car has about 30k miles , I tried 3 others before purchase and they were all the same so seemed to be the way the car drives ,which isn`t ideal, but the Panda was definitely the car we wanted so had resigned to put up with it but it is a bit annoying !

Re: GOOD NEWS RE Panda / 500 Euro 6 FLAT SPOT

U619825 said:

Hi there, I`m experiencing the same issues with my 2013 1.2 Panda, can I ask you which dealer you dealt with please ? So I can refer our local dealer to one who has actually done something positive about it !
Thank you .

Click to expand...

Pentagon Huddersfield.
Car has run fine since.

Re: GOOD NEWS RE Panda / 500 Euro 6 FLAT SPOT

HighC said:

Pentagon Huddersfield.
Car has run fine since.

Click to expand...

Thank you very much !

Re: GOOD NEWS RE Panda / 500 Euro 6 FLAT SPOT

I was told that they applied a re map to the Engine Control Unit AND THEN there is a device that learns how you release the clutch in relation to pressing the throttle and adjusts the ECU . This clutch "memory" needs to be re set so that it "re-learns" from the new re map settings.
Hope this helps.