(T) sensor fault-low fuel

sorry to bring this one up again guys but i need to know if this happens to just me and a few other guys or if it is a common characteristic of the stilo.when i start my engine after the car has been in the garage overight and have about a quarter of a tank of petrol the fuel needle drops to zero and i get a sensor fault ,to make things worse i am now getting a spanner and the tiangular symbol glowing but only for a few seconds ,after this has happened the needle goes back up to a quarter of a tank and everything is normal,the above only happens when i am low on petrol at other times it is fine,can somebody please please please put my mind at rest,do ijust need to fill up on petrol or do i need to go to the dealer,which incidently i already have done but they told me they couldnt find any fault ,surprise surprise,perhaps there is no fault and i just need to get over the fact that i no longer own a punto and need to fill up more often,any thoughts or solutions will be very much appreciated,rroper i hope you read this cause i know you are proberbly in the same situation and by the way the software update did nothing to help

I never got something like this so it must be a fault... Sorry...

Grigoris

3-Door Black Stilo 1.8 Dynamic, 17" Alloys, Dual Zone Climate Control, Spoiler

I've been arguing with my dealer for the last six weeks on EXACTLY the same thing. I had the car in 3 times and each time they said there was no fault. It’s intermittent with my car. I had to eventually get my camera phone out and take a picture of it the fault occurring on start-up for them to believe me!! (Can you believe it!).

They put it on the Examiner and each time could not find a fault code or that a fault message had even been logged on it. I eventually got the head technician out and showed him my phone picture and he eventually conceded there was a problem. The latest with me is that they have ordered a new display panel (they think the panel is faulty). I have my doubts; I think it is a low voltage problem with the battery as it was only happening when left in the cold for a long period of time. I asked them about the battery and they said the Examiner showed no fault with the battery. It’s as if the battery is struggling to get voltage around all the circuits on start-up and this triggers an error in the fuel sensor (for some reason) after a few seconds it clears.

Needless to say I’ve been waiting 2 and a half weeks for the panel to come in [:(!]

It's very annoying though when it does it. I’ll keep you posted when I get the panel in. Let me know how you get on as well.

cmc


1.6 Dynmamic 5 door.

..ps What you driving Andy?

1.6 Dynmamic 5 door.

EXACTLY the same here.i did not check it with my dealer yet since i think its a minor problem but yes its annoying.Andy or cmc if you solve it first please let us know.

1600 active 5d

Interestingly enough,

I took my car in for service and mentioned that the display had said ASR Failure etc. (Pretty standard on occasions).

They said they would try to diagnose the problem and asked how much fuel I had in the tank....It seems that the onboard computer / diagnostics don't work properly with less than quarter of a tank of fuel. These were guidelines from FIAT to dealers.

I had to laugh!!!!

Stilo 1.8 Dynamic 3 Door(Tiziano Red)

exacyly the same as you cmc what a coincidence
1.6 dinamic 5 door 52 plate

by the way cmc i doubt a new display panel will help,its not the panel thats faulty its whatevers telling the diplay the info,perhaps the technicians faulty

Andy

you're spot on, I think I just kept going at them so much they just said they'll change the panel to keep me quiet just now but if it doesn't work I'll be back. After the 3rd time they booked it in I demanded they spoke to Fiat Technical Group as they clearly couldn't provide a solution. I couldn't get the head technician the day I picked they keys up to find out whether he did or not. Probably not I'd wager. Like you say Andy, I don't thing the panel is faulty. A problem lies elsewhere and they simply can't find a solution.

Damo8 - If this is true (and I believe they told you this) then this is just incredible that Fiat can't get simple things like this working! Question is why isn't anyone else experiencing this?? Surely it must be a problem specific to some cars and if it is it must be fixable??

If Arnold Clark don't resolve it this time I'm taking my car to Reg Vardy for all future warranty work and servicing.

cmc

1.6 Dynmamic 5 door.

i emailed fiat customer services 2 days ago explaining my problem and all they did was email me back saying they would reply within 24 hours,im still waiting ive also phoned them when i first bought the car 4 months ago and they didnt know then,if they dont reply soon i might get in touch with trading standards because there is no way we should be putting up with this poor service[:(!].
is there anybody else having this prob or is it just me and cmc

I get exactly the same - Its not a fault its just the car checks the fuel level too quickly on start up, then it sort of realises.
I park on my drive which is on a hill, so when i have quarter of a tank it thinks I am on empty then the needle goes up and it realises.

All I do is make sure I never go below a quarter of a tank!!!!!

Fiat Stilo 3dr 1.6 Dynamic, Sassi grey with 17's

i can see what you are saying but that dosent explain why the fuel needle drops to zero surely this must be a fault

Andy

finally got around to uploading the pictures I took of the fault to convince the dealer that I was not making it up. See here
http://www.aqrp77.dsl.pipex.com/Pics.htm

cmc

1.6 Dynmamic 5 door.

your pics look so familiar cmc,one day we will get sorted ,i have reemailed fiat today i will keep you posted ,anyone else experiencing these strange sensor faults[?][?]

I've got the same problem on my 1.6 3door dynamic.

--
Stilo
1.6 dymanic, Broom Yellow, Skywindow, CD changer.
wanna see it? click here
http://www.stupidyellowcar.co.uk