Hi all

As a new owner of a Fiat 500 Twinair Plus (6 weeks old), I'm now very sad to now be writing with my issue with the car and after sales treatment. Excuse the essay below, I'm currently fuming..

So, I was happily driving along one day towards a roundabout at about 20 mph I went to put the foot on the brakes and nothing much happened so pushed harder, when the pedal got to the floor I still wasn't stopping with the force I'd expect and I could feel the abs kick in. To stop fully I had to lift up my foot and press hard down again, luckily I stopped in time. Now this was worrying and I thought it could be a one off, a couple of weeks later it happened again. I just stopped in time, but the adrenalin was rushing by that point and I thought that I had to get it seen to as this is pretty serious. In total it's happened three times in six weeks.

I took it to my Fiat dealership (it's a dealership with lots of brands there, so not totally Fiat if you see what I mean). This was last Thursday.. They said that they knew the issue and it needs a software update, but there isn't an update for my chassis number officially, but Fiat have approved one anyway and it's being sent through.. Should take an hour. So I waited for a call back. They then called and said that Fiat download site has crashed and they can't update my car. I asked exactly what they meant and does this update really fix the brake issue. They assured me that this was the issue and the software update would fix it. They said they needed to keep it one night and that Fiat website would be up and running on Friday. It wasn't and they didn't update my car, so I took it back.. I was only free to take it in today for the update. So I took it in at 12 as agreed, they said that they didn't have anyone available to look at it so I had to take it back an hour later (good job had day off work). I have also told them that I'm getting a little bit frustrated by this point. I definitely get the feeling that I'm being fobbed off.

So I waited while they applied this 'software update', I then had the guy come up to me and said that the software update hasn't fixed the issue and Fiat Technical Centre is asking them to take some timings(?) of abs and when it kicks in and something about the ECU and send it back to them. This meant that I wouldn't be getting my car back today. I then get a call this evening saying that Fiat haven't authorised any new parts for my car and what 'Fiat' are suggesting is that they take the car out with me in it and the mechanic to see the fault?!!? Because apparently they now can't see the fault?!

What I don't understand is that they applied this update and said that it "didn't fix the issue".. Which suggests that they know that there is an issue.. Now the big Fiat Technical Centre, who apparently won't speak with me (I asked this just now and this is what the service centre told me) wants the mechanic at this dealership service centre to go out with me? I mean, do they just now not believe me and want to test my driving skills?

Has anyone come across this before? Any ideas? Apparently I shall be getting a call first thing in the morning from the mechanic.

It's really distressing that my lovely car is now in some garage with god knows what happening to it.

Think i'd be fuming too if they asked me to drive a car with a braking fault! Demand they have it tested without you being in it, cars can be replaced, you can't. I also must be missing something about very modern brakes! Are they now computer controlled then? Always thought it was a physical action from your foot, through the pedal, down the hydraulic lines to the brake pads.

TMS500 said:

So, I was happily driving along one day towards a roundabout at about 20 mph I went to put the foot on the brakes and nothing much happened so pushed harder, when the pedal got to the floor I still wasn't stopping with the force I'd expect and I could feel the abs kick in. To stop fully I had to lift up my foot and press hard down again, luckily I stopped in time. Now this was worrying and I thought it could be a one off, a couple of weeks later it happened again. I just stopped in time, but the adrenalin was rushing by that point and I thought that I had to get it seen to as this is pretty serious. In total it's happened three times in six weeks.

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No idea what your problem is and it does sound odd.

But the oddest thing about your story? That someone would suffer brake failure twice, in a new car, under warranty, and do nothing about it until it happens a third time. That's just bloody mad.

RobinPJ said:

But the oddest thing about your story? That someone would suffer brake failure twice, in a new car, under warranty, and do nothing about it until it happens a third time. That's just bloody mad.

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Well that's not quite right, it happened once and I thought it a bit odd and then started to worry, when it happened a second time I pulled over and had it booked in to the service centre immediately. They couldn't look at it until the next day - then I had all the issues with the updates and had to end up taking it back, then it happened on the way back to the garage yesterday morning. However the bit that I do agree that I'm completely mad on is that I accepted it back with a fault.. I should have left it there.

As far as I'm concerned they either fix it now or they keep it, I am not getting into that car until it's completely fixed and I have assurance of this.

Quite right. Tell them that now - that they fix it or you are rejecting it.

Sounds perhaps like a master cylinder seal or something perhaps?

I'd take it back to the supplying dealer and insist it gets fixed straight away. Get a courtsey car and don't give it back until yours is sorted. If they can't do it within a reasonable time and Fiat dealers have had several attempts at repairing it, you have a right to reject the car and/or get it replaced for another identical one.

Thing is, you've probably already lost confidence in it and you will be expecting it to happen every time you drive it from now on.

You will need to act quickly though....

306maxi said:

Sounds perhaps like a master cylinder seal or something perhaps?

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That's exactly what I would have thought except for.

TMS500 said:

I still wasn't stopping with the force I'd expect and I could feel the abs kick in. To stop fully I had to lift up my foot and press hard down again, luckily I stopped in time.

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Makes it sound like braking power was lessened due to the abs cutting in far too early?