So, my car is 2yrs & 3months old and developed a knocking sound from the rear, over the last couple of weeks.

To cut a long story short, my garage informed me that it`s the rear shock absorbers and recommend taking it to the local Fiat Dealership, for repair under guarantee.

Not being that good with car servicing, is it likely that the shock absorbers will be covered? Everything of a usable nature (oil, tyres etc) seems not to be covered under the 3rd year extension.

If not covered, how much is it likely to cost?

Need to get it sorted within 4 weeks, as going on a driving holiday around the uk then.

My local garage where I get it serviced are highly reputable and have used genuine Fiat parts during the 1st 2 years servicing. I`ve done 13,000 miles.

Thanks in advance.

I wouldn't like to say.

Best thing to do is call them up and ask. Even if they're not, they'll be cheap to replace and it's a very quick job for a mechanic.

I put 2 shocks in the back of mine, cost £120. Must be a weak spot on them.

Dampers are covered

By dampers, do you mean the shock absorbers?


A quick update. I contacted my local Fiat Dealer by phone and agreed to send a photocopy of my logbook service & chassis number pages. After a week, I hadn`t heard so I sent an email to Fiat Direct. Then I rang our local dealer, he said he got my fax but was busy because he had a man off. I told him I was going on a driving holiday at the end of September and his reply was "I`d hope to get it sorted by then". Not very encouraging.

Then I received an email from Fiat telling me I need to book it it at the local dealer, let him look and then they would go through the guarantee process. So I rang the Fiat dealer & booked it in (for the 17th, best time for me) but was told that that the 3rd year guarantee only covers certain things, but didn`t say if the shock absorbers were covered or not.

So, now I have to wait until it goes in before finding out if they will charge or not.

Funny though, I bought the car from an Authorised Fiat dealer, who don`t do servicing. It`s another garage who are the authorised service dealer, yet, the sales garage didn`t pass my details on to the service garage. A bit poor communication, methinks ..

Jerseywurzel said:

By dampers, do you mean the shock absorbers?

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Yes, they are covered as Maxi said.

Update
The Fiat Service garage have now examined the car and agree the rear left shock absorber has gone. They also say they have been in touch with the UK network which covers the 3rd year guarantee and confirm that it is covered. Yay! That's the good news.

The bad news is - they haven't got one in stock, and need to order it in. It won't be here before I drive round the UK next week :bang:

So my next question is, is the car likely to suffer from any further trouble from driving around 6-700 miles? Or is it just going to be noisy. When I asked the mechanic if it was safe to drive around the UK, his response was that he couldn`t say

Re-assurance needed please

If you're worried, a pair of rear dampers (not sure your Panda spec) should cost less than £60..

http://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=store&op=Details&ProdID=5475&sku=63685

And it would take a local mechanic less than 45 mins to change them over (I did it in 45 mins and I'm incompetent).

I bet Fiat will replace just the one, rather than a pair..

Dan Friel said:

If you're worried, a pair of rear dampers (not sure your Panda spec) should cost less than £60..

http://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=store&op=Details&ProdID=5475&sku=63685

And it would take a local mechanic less than 45 mins to change them over (I did it in 45 mins and I'm incompetent).

I bet Fiat will replace just the one, rather than a pair..

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Well, that's a possibility but then any remaining guarantee will definitely be lost ...

Yes, I think they are only replacing the one

Jerseywurzel said:

Well, that's a possibility but then any remaining guarantee will definitely be lost ...

Yes, I think they are only replacing the one

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I wouldn't accept a single replacement, it's dangerous.

They should replace in pairs only. Insist on it.

Thanks for the advice about replacing the pair ...

Replacing one shock is a "NO GO" IMHO.

Well, Fiat Customer Service are on the case!

They emailed me to say that I can get it fixed in the UK BUT I still have to get the garage to do their own diagnostic. They then followed that up with a phone call to make sure I understood that, but also said they had spoken to my local garage about this!

Upshot is - the car is safe to drive, they will order the parts and I will get it fixed free of charge when I return (didn`t say anything about a single or a pair, but if Fiat are involved I`m pretty sure it will be fixed properly, don't you?)

So, a big worry of my mind

Jerseywurzel said:

(didn`t say anything about a single or a pair, but if Fiat are involved I`m pretty sure it will be fixed properly, don't you?)

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Nope, called them up and get this clarified now and not later

Well, I made the trip and arrived back home safe.

The knocking was non-existent on motorways but was noticeable around towns, but other than the noise, the car drove well. Haven`t worked out the MPG yet, but it seems very good.

Had a couple of hairy moments - a bird flew from the hedge into the front of the car at 50mph Don`t think it survived and it knocked the black mesh grill in. Looks a bit of a job to get it fixed, removing the whole back of the inside of the grill to get to it. Don`t think it`ll be worth it.

Then, at 70mph, something resembling an 18" long, 6" wide black rubbr "thing" came from the back of a lorry straight towards the windscreen! Managed to side swerve it(safely, there wasn`t a car on my left side as I was looking to move over anyway) but it was over in less than a second! A bit hairy to say the least.

Anyway, came back to a postcard from the Fiat garage to say the parts were in and I have to just book it in.

Had a nice drive from Weymouth to Chichester, stayed a couple of nights, then drove to Liverpool (Birkenhead to be precise). That took 7.5 hours becasuse there was an accident on the A34, then a more serious one on the M6. Added 2.5-3hrs to that journey.

Then drove down to Tring, near Watford, then to Chichester then back to Weymouth for the ferry. The car handled fine and apart from the knocking, was an enjoyable drive. I just find it so comfortable, especially with the Aircon on. The whole cabin just fits around like a glove, and it`s even better to drive than the Seicento Sporting I had for 11 years!

I just hope the shocks get sorted properly, first time

Good luck with getting the rear shock absorbers replaced. I would also ask the garage to check the drop links to the front and rear roll bars. When these wear the symptom is a distinctive knocking sound that is often present around town but not on motorways and other smooth roads. Both front and rear links produce a knocking sound at slow speeds on poor surfaces that sounds as though it comes from the rear of the car. Changing the links is straightforward and shouldn't be expensive.

Well, picked up my car tonight and the noise is gone, yay!

Not sure what was done, only got the keys from a receptionist but all seems well. No signature required so no job sheet to see. And nothing paid