Technical New Punto Power Steering & Engine Management Fail

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Technical New Punto Power Steering & Engine Management Fail

shotter

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Had my 53 reg punto active 1.2 for about 6 months - the other day i started the car & power steering failure light came on. Stopped and re-started the engine but the light was still on, except this time the engine management system light came on (glowing steady amber).

Had to drive the car back to work (very heavy without power steering) - when i then restarted the engine, power steering came back on. Had to drive the car home, and although engine management light was on, the performance of the engine/handling of the car was the same as normal.

However, later in the evening i had to use the car, and all warning lights had gone off - the car drove fine!

When i later came to use the car again, the power steering has failed again, and upon restarting the engine, the engine management light has come on. This time though, my trip computer has lost all of its information except for total and trip mileage.

Ive booked it into a dealer, but as this is an intermittent problem, i fear they may come back to me and say nothing is wrong!!!

Any ideas???

Help much appreciated.
 
i have had the same problem apparently its common on new puntos and requires a new transponder mine should be fitted as soon as they get it in stock but 1 day of having my car for this problem has know turned into 5 just tell them thats it keeps happening the other way as in the manual is

when the light comes on for steering remove the key for 20 seconds (was 40 on mine 03 plate) then try again
the engine management light may stay on and i think this took a while to clear not sure of the exact time it took think it may have been nearly a full day

dave

dave
 
A friend of mine has just bought an 04 plate Active Sport and within 20 miles of driving it they are having exactly the same problems as us, except with the extra problem of the speedo sometimes not working. They have taken the car back but theres no service until monday so it should hopefully get sorted tomorrow. Ill let u know what it is.
 
The ECU will hold the error that put your light on and it will say the error is a intermittant one ask the garage to check the engine ecu with Scan tool this system checks the EOBD system for even a sniff of a fault that has not put on the warning light.(It is called non validated errors):D
 
As just posted in a new thread, I have had my Punto from new (well, pre-reg) just over a week and had the power steering and engine management lights come on. Both "self rectified" and the fitter at the dealers managed to wipe the info in the computer. If it happens again, I will be demanding my money back or a replacement (non Fiat) car.
 
Fitters! he he. You very bad!! Still I get called worse;)
So was the problem ever sorted? Similar problem here,red power steering light on(no assisted steering),speedo not working & occasional engine light on.Fault code P0500(speedo signal)but despite new speedo sensor fault still there?
 
Comes from working on the railway I guess, where you call for "fitters attention" to mend our ailing trains. However we also have "Mobile Technicians" but I never quite got the difference.

No, apparently the *Technician* lost the data when he downloaded the black box and both faults had reset by then, so basically NFF (no fault found - another railway term!).
 
Re: New Punto Power Steering & Engine Management Fail

Hi folks, this is my first entry on this forum, but I too am having problems with a power steering failure on my Mk2a Punto Sporting. It happened when I drove home from work yesterday. All of a sudden, the steering went really stiff, and the red steering wheel warning light illuminated on the dashboard. It will not go out, and the steering remains stiff. Anyone know if this is likely to be an expensive trip to FIAT, or is there a happy ending to this story?

Bye the way, Big Vern, I'm a Train Driver at Fratton Depot in Portsmouth, where are you based and what do you do on the Railway?
 
Re: New Punto Power Steering & Engine Management Fail

Hi there, i'm new but am too having problems with my power steering and ECU. In fact the ECU has fialed twice now whilst driving on the motorway !! If anyone is interested in contacting watch dog about this then please post back as it seems like a very common problem and these cars should be recalled instead of us having to pay out for new steering columns and ECU's.

thanks alex
 
Re: New Punto Power Steering & Engine Management Fail

alex23 said:
Hi there, i'm new but am too having problems with my power steering and ECU. In fact the ECU has fialed twice now whilst driving on the motorway !! If anyone is interested in contacting watch dog about this then please post back as it seems like a very common problem and these cars should be recalled instead of us having to pay out for new steering columns and ECU's.

thanks alex


:sleep:
 
Re: New Punto Power Steering & Engine Management Fail

I am having the same power steering problems and the car has been towed ( as helpfully the nearest dealer is 25 miles away!) dreading the cost - any one have any ideas? Plus its only 6 years old with 70000 on the clock is this a usual probelm?
 
Re: New Punto Power Steering & Engine Management Fail

only 6 years old with 70000

ONLY!!!!

the intended lifecycle of a modern car is 4years.

the intended/expected/designed lifecycle of a volvo 240 was 23years!!, and the head of engineering or whatever, within volvo, resigned, as this 'simply IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH' (volvo were advertising on 'volvo for life' at the time).

so 6years, tis expected.


tis common, tis expensive. and if you require a new column (likely) then a fiat peep will have to 'calibrate' it (LOL)
 
Re: New Punto Power Steering & Engine Management Fail

Hi there, i'm new but am too having problems with my power steering and ECU. In fact the ECU has fialed twice now whilst driving on the motorway !! If anyone is interested in contacting watch dog about this then please post back as it seems like a very common problem and these cars should be recalled instead of us having to pay out for new steering columns and ECU's.

thanks alex

I have also had a problem with the power steering on my 2004 model Punto. Although the warning light has come on several times I have only lost the power steering once. This happened on a bend in the rain which was quite a shock. I am certain if my wife had been driving there would have been a serious accident. The car has been into the dealers several times and several items have been replaced but suspect they have been clutching at straws. Again Fiat fail to acknowledge they have a serious problem as they do with the sun visors which have failed twice on a vehicle thats done 12k. Also the sun visors are not covered by the 3rd year warranty. I contacted Fiat customer services explaining that given that this is clearly a manufacturing fault and given the fact that the vehicle has been off the road several times that they should replace it has a good will gesture but they will still not replace it under warranty. This is my third Punto which is normally replaced every 3 years but will certainly be my last. I cannot believe that Fiat are prepared to lose my future business for such a menial item but they are. (They will not deviate from their Guidelines)
I would advise that everybody checks the terms and conditions before purchasing a vehicle.
I paid extra money to have a vehicle with an automatic gearbox yet when it comes to having a courtesy vehicle when your car is off the road for a week its Fiats policy only to supply a manual vehicle, which is a lot of good when you have a wife that only has an automatic licence.
One interesting point is that we had to call the AA out one day because the car would not turn over after my wife popped into a shop. The problem was a dodgy battery connection. The AA man said that the cars are designed to power essential items in the event of a battery failure which the electric power steering pump is not one. (I am not sure how true this is)
I would also like to contact Watchdog regarding this but do not know where to start. DON'T FIAT REALISE THEY ARE PUTTING LIVES AT RISK:bang:
 
Re: New Punto Power Steering & Engine Management Fail

How do you know its not a speed sensor fault?

Sun visors known fault? (you mean this https://www.fiatforum.com/punto/88766-punto-sun-visors.html )

Who doesn't supply autobox courtey cars Fiat or garage?

Any car (except a diesel burning its own oil) would cut out if a battery terminal was disconnected:confused:
 
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