Hi there. I'm new to this forum in the hope of maybe a second opinion or advice.
I recently (September) purchased a used Bravo 2.0 Multijet (165) in its third year of warranty. It seemed fine for a couple of weeks but an occasional problem has appeared on my journeys to and from work. After about 10-15 mins of travelling, and on a dual carriageway by this point in the journey, the car develops a serious judder/kangarooing and a feeling of alternating losses and surges of power, usually at 70-80mph (2000-2500rpm). I can be in 6th gear and change down to 5th to up the revs a bit but the problem persists. The engine is always up to temperature by this time, even on a cold or damp morning. This morning I tried changing down to 4th to get the engine revving even higher to see if this solves the problem but couldn't really tell (as I was turning off) and don't fancy doing this every so often on regular A road journeys. Other than that, I don't seem to have any power issues on any other parts of the journey. I'm not sure if this helps but most of the time this occurs is in damp conditions, although not exclusively.
I've taken the car to my local Fiat dealer who, while I was dropping the car off, said off-hand that it could be a sticky EGR valve (my first suspicion having researched possibilities). Later, their diagnosis found a lamda probe error but the ECU needed a software update (v3.2 to v5.5 I think was mentioned) for them to proceed with anything to do with it. Once this was performed though, the error had disappeared and I was told there were no others. Unfortunately the problem re-ocurred a few days later and another diagnosis was carried out, again to no avail. Along with another couple of niggles which needed fixing this has cost me - apparently due to the difference between the first 2 years manufacturer's warranty and the 3rd year dealership one which I should've maybe looked into before purchase. I've now been told that it could just be a quirk as there are frequent complaints from owners that the 2.0 can be like this but at different rpm ranges each time, or that maybe the air or fuel or oil filters are to blame and this might come up in the car's next service (6 months from now!). I have also been told that the 1.9 might have been a better purchase but as the 2.0 has better fuel economy on paper for my kind of journeys this gives me little comfort as to whether a solution can be found.
I'm at a loss as to what I can do and have even tried Redex in a last ditch effort. I was wondering if anyone else had a similar issue or advice as to how to proceed. It's a beautiful car - comfy, full of features and powerful (when this problem doesn't occur) - but unfortunately this turns every drive into a worry when otherwise it'd be so pleasant. Anything would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.
I recently (September) purchased a used Bravo 2.0 Multijet (165) in its third year of warranty. It seemed fine for a couple of weeks but an occasional problem has appeared on my journeys to and from work. After about 10-15 mins of travelling, and on a dual carriageway by this point in the journey, the car develops a serious judder/kangarooing and a feeling of alternating losses and surges of power, usually at 70-80mph (2000-2500rpm). I can be in 6th gear and change down to 5th to up the revs a bit but the problem persists. The engine is always up to temperature by this time, even on a cold or damp morning. This morning I tried changing down to 4th to get the engine revving even higher to see if this solves the problem but couldn't really tell (as I was turning off) and don't fancy doing this every so often on regular A road journeys. Other than that, I don't seem to have any power issues on any other parts of the journey. I'm not sure if this helps but most of the time this occurs is in damp conditions, although not exclusively.
I've taken the car to my local Fiat dealer who, while I was dropping the car off, said off-hand that it could be a sticky EGR valve (my first suspicion having researched possibilities). Later, their diagnosis found a lamda probe error but the ECU needed a software update (v3.2 to v5.5 I think was mentioned) for them to proceed with anything to do with it. Once this was performed though, the error had disappeared and I was told there were no others. Unfortunately the problem re-ocurred a few days later and another diagnosis was carried out, again to no avail. Along with another couple of niggles which needed fixing this has cost me - apparently due to the difference between the first 2 years manufacturer's warranty and the 3rd year dealership one which I should've maybe looked into before purchase. I've now been told that it could just be a quirk as there are frequent complaints from owners that the 2.0 can be like this but at different rpm ranges each time, or that maybe the air or fuel or oil filters are to blame and this might come up in the car's next service (6 months from now!). I have also been told that the 1.9 might have been a better purchase but as the 2.0 has better fuel economy on paper for my kind of journeys this gives me little comfort as to whether a solution can be found.
I'm at a loss as to what I can do and have even tried Redex in a last ditch effort. I was wondering if anyone else had a similar issue or advice as to how to proceed. It's a beautiful car - comfy, full of features and powerful (when this problem doesn't occur) - but unfortunately this turns every drive into a worry when otherwise it'd be so pleasant. Anything would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.
