Technical Front o/s strut top mount bearing failed at 16,000 miles

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Technical Front o/s strut top mount bearing failed at 16,000 miles

As most of you know our Qubo went through 2 sets of bearing in 10k miles and was only 18 minths old, Now its fine whilst the car is still under warranty, but what happins once the vehicle is out of warranty.
I'm quite sure it wont be a cheap job at a dealer, and as Chimpy stated what other damage is being caused.
We bit the bullet and changed the car, not everyone can afford to do that. I require an economical and reliable car as my wife used it all the time, the Qubo although economical was now proving to be unreliable with regards to bearings and tyre wear.
I do hope Chimpy's cure works, as a lot of owners could face large bills to get these bearings replaced, and if Fiat are only putting a 2 year warranty on the parts, it seems they dont think the new one's will last much longer.

Cheers Ian
 
Rather then going to the scrapyard this weekend I will dismantle the grill and have a look at an easy solution from readily obtainable materials :p I'll take a few pictures while I'm at it

BTW anyone who wants the K&N code for a suitable replacement for the standard paper filter element give me a shout. I fitted mine yesterday and it is a good fit. You will find Qubo is not listed but there is an element the right size for one of the jap hybrids. The old paper one was choked with dust, so the new cotton filter gave my car a bit of a shock untill the ECU had time to compensate for the sudden rush of fresh air.:D
 
Thanks for the suggestion Qube O. I will certainly register a complaint with Fiat UK.

I took the car into my garage today and they confirmed it is the front Offside bearing gone and nearside also in bad shape, am having them both replaced next Monday, will cost me £270.00.

Other than that I still love my car. When I get it back I will put its winter shoes on!

Thanks.
 
Morning Monkeyboot,

Yes, thats the best thing to do, get on to Fiat, I used their international help line, and complain...........my Qubo was a little out of warranty, but they still picked up 75/80% of the total bill, leaving me with just a small 'contribution' to make. Plus, providing you keep the receipt, all the parts, and the labour is warranted for two years.........thats at least 2 years peace of mind.
Though I suspect that the new/replacement parts are more robust, and will with luck cure this problem........time will tell.
Take care, Qube O.
 
Hi Qube O. Sorry for the shockingly late reply, I have registered the complaint, can't be bothered to chase them though me and Fiat UK have some bad history through me rejecting my first Qubo, so I took this one on the chin.

It cost me £236.00 to have the pair replaced at a good local indy. Had a look at the old ones and they were well shot, particularly the nearside one.

Apart from this I really do still love my qubo.
 
Hi Monkeyboot.........At least you got them sorted, fingers crossed now that the new bearings are better quality then the older one's. P.S. Nearside is nearest the people on the footpaths.........

Take care, Qube O.
 
I did read through all these comments and not very happy .. im to take owner of a new qubo in a few days
 
Hopefully you have new and improved mounts, my qubo was made in May 09, however they do appear to be very poorly positioned.

But most cars have there faults and having had to replace the engine mount bearings it was a pain, the mechanic said they should not have failed that early, but I am still loving my Qubo!
 
Morning Daveukqubo, As I understand things, the poor quality bearings have been replaced with a quality part, which forms part of a kit, this kit is what Fiat now fit to cars under warranty who have this problem occur. All new Qubo's have it fitted as standard. Hence I wouldn't be too worried, though it is yet too early to be 100% sure the problem is totally fixed.
Take care Qube O.
 
I can't quite get my head around the fact that some Qubo owners are defending Fiat over this issue. Such remarks as " I hope","should be ok", or "minor problem" are of no use what so ever to someone thinking of making a qubo purchase, I reckon it will chase them away.
As for putting your faith in the new component supplied by Fiat, I can only tell you of our experience, we had the new top mount bearings fitted at 5.800 miles, and by 10.000 miles they were starting to click again, on top of this it destoyed one set of front tyres and was on its way to a secdond.
Sorry guys, for as nice a car as the Qubo is, it has a major problem at the front end, and Fiat need to get to grips with it.

Ian
 
Ive never lifted the bonnet on a Qubo but going by the comments saying its based on the Grande Punto If its the same part as the GP they are naff... very naff ......

dont know if this will be of any help to any one i might be totally wrong but no doubt someone will tell me ;) but seen that they are "handed" side wise so i might be incorrect since the GP uses one part number for both sides :eek:


https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-pu...-top-bearing-removal-service-replacement.html

(y)
 
Morning 2668GRIFFIN,
Thanks for your post, yes I totally agree, this faulty part has now been replaced with a upgraded kit to solve this problem. No point in going on about it, all car makes have there various faults, some companies will do a recall, others just sort out the problem quietly behind the scenes. Whats important is that the problem is sorted.............and until I have done another 20,000 mile over the next 3/4 years I for one and hoping that it is all sorted. Only time will tell, though I do have every confidence in both Fiat and my Dealer.
Take care Qube O.
 
Very true Qube O. but its such a pity that such a nice little car has been spoilt by this fault.
Had the modified parts worked we would have held onto our Qubo, but as stated they started to fail again after 5.000 miles, now whether that was just bad luck or due to the amount of speedbumps in our area I dont know.
All you can do is as Qube O states "and hope the modified part works".

cheers Ian
 
Morning Fellow Qubist & Kia owners,

Nice one Luigi, I'm 100% with you.

Highlander, I can't help but wonder if those replacement parts which your dealer fitted were either 'old stock' from his parts bin, or old stock which he was supplied if he ordered these parts in ???? Just a thought. Could have applied to both sets. All I can say is that both Fiat and my Dealer are confident that this is a 'fixed' problem............

Take care, Qube O.
 
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