Had this car for a little over a month now and even though it's a relatively smooth runner and hasn't really given me any major problems, there have been a few bumps...

Fiat Stilo 1.6 16v AC, 5 Door, Petrol, 64000miles, 53plate, £1400 a month ago...

1) When the engine starts and it is still cold, I get a bit of a soft engine rattle at lower revs. Heard from behind the steering wheel when doors/ windows closed but a bit more obvious from front of car when they're open. It's not really a clunky tractor rattle, more of a higher pitched soft rattling when in the lower rpm range in any gear, after around 3000 in a gear it goes away, until I shift up to the next where it begins again. And this only happens whilst engine temperature is low, after about 10-15 mins of driving it warms up and the sound goes away. Can be drowned out with music, but sounds rather embarrassing from the outside say when i'm reversing out of a friend's driveway. And it's a petrol so usually don't expect much rattling.

2) Clutch makes a clicky kind of squeaking sound when I press down on it. Sounds like a sqeak if I press my foot down quickly but when I slowly lower and lift the clutch it's actually a lot of tiny clicks, like teeth of a comb.

3) Steering makes a distinct squeaking/ whining whenever it feels like it tbh. Sometimes it's silent, sometimes it sounds like a cat stuck under the car and it happens at any random time. Could be dependent on weather. Happens both in city mode and not.

4) Aircon problem- just paid to get the full AC service at the local dealership £50 which included regassing, leak checks, pressure checks, anti- bacterial cleanse, filter checks and anything else normally included. However, as they were doing it they told me that my AC was not working, as in air was coming out of the vents, you could press the AC button and the light comes on but the whole system was not engaging. They said a clutch? was not engaging. After doing checks for leaks, cracked pipes, all the usual problematic stuff, they still said they could not find the problem and they'd have to put it on the diagnostic machine. They mentioned it could either be a cheap switch or a pricy compressor. However they still charged me for the freaking service, and I did notice the air coming out of the vents to be slightly colder but still not 'AC'ed.

Just thought I'd pass these problems by the Forum first as I've been helped out enough in the past just by searching or posting here. The Fiat dealership has told me to let them put it on the diagnostics system for these problems but it seems to me they'd find any excuse to rob motorists of £76 plus VAT per hour!!! to just check what the problem is and let me know (without actually fixing it)...

So before I go ahead and blindly let them take my money I was wondering if I could get any advice from anyone on here or if I should take it to a private garage first, as I know quite a few locally.

Thanks in Advance.

(Sorry if there's already been posts about any of the individual sections in this post, I would appreciate any links with solutions if there are any)

Happy to post pics if required (but more of an audio problem...)

may be worth considering all your belts. has the cambelt been done out of interest?

the other issues could well be slipping belts, pulleys or belt adjusters (for tightening the belts, maybe they are a bit loose?).

the soft rattle could be the undertray perhaps, is it fixed on with all screws/bolts? perhaps its even a heat shield in the engine bay/exhaust area? sound travels very oddly on cars!

you can check the compressor if you can see, should be spinning i think if its engaged (clutch) if not, thats the problem. check the fuse also, could be as simple as that. i believe there is a way to engage the air con in the engine bay, i have done it on my Mazdas in the past but not on a fiat, you simply join two points on the relevent feed and it engages.

if the belts havent been changed or have been changed without the full kit the tensioner on the cam belt has a habit of becoming rattley over time when under load.

Aircon, the clutch wont engage is there is not enough pressure in the system, most if not all stilos have a pipe that breaks, it took my aircon specialist a age to find a hairline crack on my system, i think it was compressor to condensor inot 100% sure. but the pipe cost about £70 to replace.
my advise would be to get one of the mobile aircon specialists out to find the fault, they know thier way around the system and hopefully will solve it for you.

The squeek on the wheel could be the shield behind the brake disk is touching slightly, when hot the disk will expand and cause it to rub, or a stone in the calipers, or brake pads. The orginal pads had shims behind the back of the pads this stopped squeekinh, but a lot of aftermarket pads failed to put the shim on so they squeek.
If it is the pads and you cannot live with it, you can remove the pads and apply copperslip to the BACK (NON FRICTION SIDE!!) of the pads and that will shut the noise up.
roy

I see your problem.....
You bought a Fiat Stilo!

I made that mistake too.

JTDStilo222 said:

I see your problem.....
You bought a Fiat Stilo!

I made that mistake too.

Click to expand...

If you only have doom and gloom to post, probably better not to post anything.

Hi guys, appreciate the responses, sorry didn't have a chance to get back promptly, was out of town for a few days...

Going to get the AC checked out in a garage recommended by a friend in the next few days. I've been told this guy does a good job with AC systems in specific so hopefully he''ll be able to resolve my troubles there.

Sorry, not very motor literate, what belts is it that I should be getting checked/ changed? Bought the car a month ago so not entirely sure when/ if anything has been changed.

Also probably get the engine rattle checked out the same time I take it to get the AC fixed.

Thanks again.

Ace Me Ol' Mukka!

1. the clicking sound is almost certainly the hydraulic tappets if it only 'noticeable' when cold and not under load. even when the engine is warm you will get this on de-acceleration albeit to a lesser extent. its normal... dont worry about it.
   
   
2. if the clutch noise is from within the car try spraying a little PTFE grease around any linkage you can find attached to the clutch pedal including the pivot itself and see how you get on.
   
   
3. ive never heard reports of the steering whining so i can really help with that one... sorry
   
   
4. AC Compressor in this eBay link you can see what the AC Compressor looks like its situated at the bottom of the engine bay at the front you will see a belt running round its pulley. this will always spin when the engine is running but as you can see in the eBay listing it has a triangular arrangement 'inside' the pulley. this is the drive for the AC and the 'clutch' is electrically controlled and is between this triangle bit and the pulley. with the engine off you should be able to turn the triangle bit with your fingers it will be a little stiff but thats normal. if it spins ok then start the engine with the AC OFF, the triangle bit should stay stationary. now turn the AC ON, the triangle bit should be a spinning blur as it spins with the pulley.
   IF, with the AC ON, it doesnt spin then you have issues elsewhere. the usual suspects are the electrical feed to the compressor, Pressure Sensor or the compressor itself.
   
   Now im not 100% if its a basic 12v feed into the compressor to activate the clutch... it maybe a 5v so maybe another member could clarify. if its a 12v feed just rig up a wire from the battery positive into the compressor. this will confirm whether or not the compressor and/or the feed is kaput.
   
   to test the pressure sensor, unplug it and put a paper clip between the terminals on the wiring loom, obviously with the AC ON if there are no other faults on the system then this should throw the compressor in and you will get air con. if not your sensor is shot and you will have to replace.

DON'T take the pressure sensor out of the rigid pipe it sits in without de-gassing the AC System first