I posted a few weeks ago that the Injection System Failure light had come on (twice) although after turning off and restarting a few times the light went out again. I rang the dealer and was told that if it happened again to take it in but otherwise just leave it until the next service then they would check the stored fault code and go from there.

The car has been running OK but the last two fill ups have shown a sharp increase in fuel consumption, now down to about 45mpg from the usual 54mpg.

Also the oil level (which is notoriously difficult to read anyway) on the dipstick seems to be getting higher so I am now worried that the extra fuel is not being burnt but bypassing the rings and ending up in the sump the same as happens when it goes through a regeneration cycle.

I've covered just over 5000 miles and had to have the oil and filter changed at 3500 due to excessive regeneration so I hope that when I contact the dealer on Monday if there is a fuel fault and they rectify it under warranty they will change the oil this time FOC.

I was just wondering if any Fiat techs have come across this before on any diesel model in the range.

Just to really make my day the heater fan has started to get annoyingly loud. :bang:

Was the Engine management software updated for the DPF issue?

D4nny8oy said:

Was the Engine management software updated for the DPF issue?

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If you mean the updated parameters then yes. Following your previous advice relating to my early oil change I asked if there was a software update and they did that at the same time and I've done approximately 1500 miles since then.

Following other advice given I also make sure that I give the car a 10 mile burst at a steady 70 mph every week or so to get the DPF nice and hot.

The car is going in on Wednesday to be checked out so I am hoping that the fault code has been stored to help pinpoint the problem.

Can you tell me if your noisy fan is sorted out - mine is now driving me mad with it's odd noise and if I turn it off then the car steams up!

Well I had the noisy fan and had it replaced under warranty no problem. Quiet now, but for how long!!!???

Melanabb said:

Well I had the noisy fan and had it replaced under warranty no problem. Quiet now, but for how long!!!???

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Thanks - I've just got to find the time then to take the car in and be car-less with a toddler for a day ... I'll see how Grim's fan fares at Westover as it's the same garage as I use too.

Heidi said:

Thanks - I've just got to find the time then to take the car in and be car-less with a toddler for a day ... I'll see how Grim's fan fares at Westover as it's the same garage as I use too.

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Do they not do courtesy cars Heidi?

nottsfiat07 said:

Do they not do courtesy cars Heidi?

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Good point Notts - Northgate Garage in Canterbury do but best to book ahead.

Yes I suppose I could pay for a courtesy car provided it's not a renault or a peugeot lol. Just like to spend the few pounds i have left a month on me and not on more bills and stuff (those of you with young children know that 'me' money is very rare as it is!).

when I take mine in for stuff I may try Autoworld in chesterfield instead... maybe theyll give me an abarth as a courtesy car... VROOOOOOOM (bang hiss oops)

I wonder if the disclaimer you have to sign when you have the courtesy car is the same if you had an Abarth for the day - expect the excess is way higher!

nottsfiat07 said:

Do they not do courtesy cars Heidi?

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They do and they have 4 500s but they tucked me up with a ?%*]=/$%&# clio. Also, the earliest I could get one was 6th April and I didn't want to wait that long..

Heidi said:

Yes I suppose I could pay for a courtesy car provided it's not a renault or a peugeot lol. Just like to spend the few pounds i have left a month on me and not on more bills and stuff (those of you with young children know that 'me' money is very rare as it is!).

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They will let you ring and arrange to use your own insurance company from reception and then you don't have to pay the £10 per day fee.

grimwau said:

The car is going in on Wednesday to be checked out so I am hoping that the fault code has been stored to help pinpoint the problem.

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Hi Grim

Look forward to hearing the outcome of Wednesday's visit. See if you can glean any further on this matter too.

Cheers

Heidi said:

Thanks - I've just got to find the time then to take the car in and be car-less with a toddler for a day ... I'll see how Grim's fan fares at Westover as it's the same garage as I use too.

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Mine was ordered and when it arrived the garage had it changed while I waited. It was appx 1 hour job. Better than having courtesy car...

I picked up the car and I was able to chat with the DET who checked it out which is something you don't usually get the opportunity to do in big dealerships.

First off, he said that there were no fault codes stored but after the info I had given him he was able to determine there was an overfuelling problem and that there was a software update which he has now added. The oil level problem is more to do with the design of the dipstick and he said that there is a sensor that will trigger a warning if the level in the sump becomes too high.

The examiner also showed that the DPF was 80% blocked so he also did a forced regeneration, running the engine at 3500RPM to clear. I am obviously going to have to revise the way I drive and start using more revs as driving in ECO mode is not good for the DPF.

I have to agree with some of the members in other sections of the forum that the 500 Diesel is probably not the best city car, the 1.2 would seem to be a better proposition.

One other thing he did which I thought was good because I hadn't mentioned it was a proxy alignment. He said he had done this as several people had reported flashing mileages, although it isn't a proven solution. In my case he found that the body computer was out of sync and so reset it.

The heater fan was behaving itself and was nice and quiet so I will continue to monitor that and if it plays up again I will take it back then.

This time I was very pleased with the service I received and the job was done within the agreed timescale so full marks to Westover Motors.

Having chatted with the DET I will have no hesitation in using Westover Fiat for any servicing and repairs because I know that I am able to talk to the main man if there are any problems outside the scope of routine servicing.

grimwau said:

The examiner also showed that the DPF was 80% blocked so he also did a forced regeneration, running the engine at 3500RPM to clear. I am obviously going to have to revise the way I drive and start using more revs as driving in ECO mode is not good for the DPF.

I have to agree with some of the members in other sections of the forum that the 500 Diesel is probably not the best city car, the 1.2 would seem to be a better proposition.

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Good stuff this - thanks

I agree with the ECO mode of driving and the PDF being contradictory. I also think that changing gear at such low revs and labouring the engine isnt too clever esp with an new engine. I wonder if the engineers built the car with ECO driving in mind or if it was trown in as a martketing tool and essentually destroys your car

italian tune up saves the day again

let this be a lesson to you ecolentilists

Fiats are meant to be driven hard:devil:

RobW said:

italian tune up saves the day again

let this be a lesson to you ecolentilists

Fiats are meant to be driven hard:devil:

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Don't you ever get tired of being right.

grimwau said:

Don't you ever get tired of being right.

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not when the same problem and solution keep repeating

my mate was an Italian Car Specialist and every year this old granny brought her Punto in for service, every year it was running rough and emissions were high - MOT fail

every year he dumped a bottle of injector cleaner in, brimmed the tank with Shell Optimax and took the car for a hour's thrash:devil:

it then ran perfectly and passed the MOT