Hello, I have a bought a fiat 500 twin air from an approved dealer only 6 months old but have a couple of issues and as I know very little about cars wanted some help before going back to dealer.
The start stop comes on and off sporadically?
The car is an automatic and when I stop at lights etc when I take foot off the break to place on accelerator the car rolls back it doesnt hold is this normal?
Also when my light were on and driving on ther motorway, the lights on the dash/ speedometer kept going on and off?
Thanks Helen

Welcome

S&S can play up - it needs to be within certain parameters to work. Most likely problem is your battery not being in quite good enough condition. Have a look at other threads on the first page of this part of the forum as it is a much discussed subject.

Yes, it will roll back because it is not actually an auto, but a "robotised manual". You will need to use your handbrake.

The lights on your dash are operated independently of the headlights - they come on/go off when a light sensor tells them too.

Robin PJ is spot on.
The behaviour if you car is normal.
The stop start will only operate if battery charge is very good and if you are not using things like rear heated window, air con etc...
Enjoy!

RobinPJ said:

Yes, it will roll back because it is not actually an auto, but a "robotised manual". You will need to use your handbrake.

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:yeahthat: in as far as its not a convention slushbox auto, but its still an automatic

Either use handbrake, or if fitted hill holder should kick in on steeper hills

Thank you all, I will feel a little more informed now when going back to garage, I am sure more things will come up and will need to ask for your help again.

Thank you

Of your original queries, only one might possibly merit a dealer visit - the S&S. but even that may be normal.

Can you describe how it behaves in more detail and why you think it may not be working properly?

Having recently invested in a twin air 500, I am concerened about the new proposals by TFL to remove the exemption from the Fiat 500 Twin air model.
If you fell like me, please register your concern on the Tfl web site listed below:

• Public consultation closes on Friday 8 February

Thosewho wish to express their views should visit tfl.gov.uk/ccyourviews

sgoody1 said:

Having recently invested in a twin air 500, I am concerened about the new proposals by TFL to remove the exemption from the Fiat 500 Twin air model.
If you fell like me, please register your concern on the Tfl web site listed below:

• Public consultation closes on Friday 8 February

Thosewho wish to express their views should visit tfl.gov.uk/ccyourviews

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Its a done deal but on the bright side there is a 2 year window for current owners so if you are already registered or are registering by June then you will still be congestion charge free to June 2015

hi Robin,

The start stop sometimes kicks in when I stop at traffic lights, then restarts after about 5 sec even though foot on the break and not moved; other times I stop at a junction and it doesn't kick in at all. There doesnt seem to be any consistency to how it works?

Helen.

Helentheresa said:

hi Robin,

The start stop sometimes kicks in when I stop at traffic lights, then restarts after about 5 sec even though foot on the break and not moved; other times I stop at a junction and it doesn't kick in at all. There doesnt seem to be any consistency to how it works?

Helen.

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This will depend upon the electrical load exerted upon the battery, if your lights, heater, etc are on, these will draw load from the battery and can cause the S&S to restart almost straight away. It might also be that your car wasn't properly PDId and the base charge of the battery was never sufficient - part of the commissioning process of a S&S car is to bench charge the battery fully as it will tend to discharge slightly during transit of the car.

Give your dealer merry hell is my advice!

Merry hell may not be necessary - start by asking them nicely to fully charge the battery for you and that may indeed do the trick.

RobinPJ said:

Merry hell may not be necessary - start by asking them nicely to fully charge the battery for you and that may indeed do the trick.

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Well, yes, I meant that..

My twin air has been in and out of the dearler ship with the same stop stat problem, I.e restarts 5 seconds after stoping at lights.

After 5 days of investigation raised as a Fiat tec investigation it transpires that the cars battery was faulty, the battery appeared to be fine on first testing but in depth test showed that it was not.

My battery was being charged over night, looked ok but was not holding the charge.
Fiat instructed the tec to carry out days of testing my car and it all points to the battery.

Now testing the car!

Suggest you speak to service manager and direct them to the possible batch of faulty batteries.

Hello I have just got back from the Fiat dealership, they stated that the diagnostic tests they carried out showed that there was no fault, when I mentioned about the battery not having an adequate charge they just said that there was nothing wrong with the start stop as it will kick in after 5 sec if only on a short drive. I explained that I have done long drives ie 70 miles and the same thing happens.
They have agreed for me to bring the car in again but still maintain no fault present!

I doubt a slightly dodgy battery would show up on diagnostics but I could be wrong. Its worrying that the SS acts up if the battery is even slightly down on performance, lead acid batteries will 'slope off' a little over time so does this imply one has to replace their battery every 2 years or so even though it behaves fine otherwise? Maybe Fiat need to widen the window in the software so its not quite as sensitive.

I drove a TwinAir-engined car for the first time the other day - Panda 4x4. It seemed to behave consistently but a query popped up after I gave the demo car back - if you slip the car into neutral while moving and coming up to, say, the back of a queue of traffic does the engine stop - and potentially reduce your brake servo vacuum - or does it only stop when the car's stationary?

The engine only stops when the road speed drops below around 6mph.

Servo vacuum is provided a vac pump (much like a diesel) as the TA does it's throttling by valve lift, so there's no vacuum present in the inlet manifold. Like any car with a vacuum servo, there's a non return valve in the vacuum takeoff for the servo, so if the engine is stopped, the vacuum won't be exhausted unless you press the brake pedal. There's a vacuum sensor in the vac line to the servo so that the engine will be restarted if the vac level isn't sufficient.

bgunn said:

The engine only stops when the road speed drops below around 6mph.

Servo vacuum is provided a vac pump (much like a diesel) as the TA does it's throttling by valve lift, so there's no vacuum present in the inlet manifold. Like any car with a vacuum servo, there's a non return valve in the vacuum takeoff for the servo, so if the engine is stopped, the vacuum won't be exhausted unless you press the brake pedal. There's a vacuum sensor in the vac line to the servo so that the engine will be restarted if the vac level isn't sufficient.

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Really interesting answer - thanks.

bgunn said:

The engine only stops when the road speed drops below around 6mph.

Servo vacuum is provided a vac pump (much like a diesel) as the TA does it's throttling by valve lift, so there's no vacuum present in the inlet manifold. Like any car with a vacuum servo, there's a non return valve in the vacuum takeoff for the servo, so if the engine is stopped, the vacuum won't be exhausted unless you press the brake pedal. There's a vacuum sensor in the vac line to the servo so that the engine will be restarted if the vac level isn't sufficient.

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Interesting point, I wonder if thats why sometimes it restarts after a short period, ie, the driver has their foot on the brake when stopped as opposed to some drivers who would stop and apply the handbrake?

Mercky said:

Interesting point, I wonder if thats why sometimes it restarts after a short period, ie, the driver has their foot on the brake when stopped as opposed to some drivers who would stop and apply the handbrake?

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Nope, as vacuum is only lost with multiple applications of the brake.