Hi all I too have a Croma 1.9 Multijet 150 eleganza, and boy do I have problems, upon turning the ignition key to the on position I get a loud prolonged humming from under the bonnet this repeats itself for several seconds after firing her up. I have taken it to one dealer who I shall not name who were completely useless and unwilling to try and find the cause. After complaining to FIAT I took the car to another dealer, upon arrival the car just shuddered violently before dying completely I mean nothing would register. A new battery was ordered and did not remedy the problem so I had a reconditioned alternator fitted. The car now handles and drives well however after only having the car back one day the humming as returned. This originally started several months back being intermittent at first however the humming was consistent and lengthy by the time it died. Obviously I don't want the expense of a new alternator, battery every six months, as anyone else heard of this problem the cars on a 55 plate.

By the way anyone tried Frosties lately there GRRREATTTTTTTTTTT

Where abouts does the noise come from?
My humming noise comes from the belts, had them all changed but humming came back after 1 day. Been told my car just thinks it's a alfa.... lol.

Not sure were the noise is I only know that its after the car as been left idle i.e. overnight or during the day whilst at work. I simply turn the key to the on position and its there a deep humming for about 30 seconds or so. Which becomes more frequent as time goes on and like I say after around six months of this I started to have battery trouble then the whole car just died on me.

It's probably pointless looking at the belts since the noise returned the following day Bunny I bet you were hopping mad have you finally resolved the issue as the noise gone?.

by the way do rabbits eat Frosties there GRRREATTTTTTTTTTT

Nope, the noise is the belts, but i can live with it. My dad has had the same noise on his alfa 156 and he changed the belt lots of time. In the end he now just left it. We are lucky because the car we running happily with the noise and it causing no damage.
Quite a few people with alfa 156's and 159's have the same problem. In the end it's best to learn to live with it.

Mind you, your problem sound different, since my croma has not been effect by the humming and the humming last longer then 30 seconds or so. Last about 5 minutes or so on a cold day, never notice it on a sunny day.

Shame you don't have a FIAT specialist you could ask. I never take my Croma to FIAT garage, but near by we have a fiat/alfa specialist that are great and very useful.

Alas dare I say it here I'm thinking of chopping it against a Pro CEED ZR 7 or new Bravo, I'd like to keep the Croma as it really is a fantastic car plus I have the new design Connect Nav + fitted, but is it going to continue to be trouble?it will be warrentless from September

New Bravo is a good car. My other half has the 150mjet sport. It's such a different car to drive to the croma. I like my Croma for comfort, but his car for fun

Don't understand why you say it is the belts. Tony the Tiger said he just turns the ignition to the on positions and the noise starts. At this point the engine has not been started and is stationary!

Nick /////

///// said:

Don't understand why you say it is the belts. Tony the Tiger said he just turns the ignition to the on positions and the noise starts. At this point the engine has not been started and is stationary!

Nick /////

Click to expand...

I didn't say his was the belts. Mine problem was the belts that caused my humming, his problems sounds different to mine

Alas it looks like I may of found the answer to my problem it seems the humming/buzzing may indicate an alternator bearing failure or a bad diode that is allowing current to flow in the wrong direction. Either way, the alternator will have to be rebuilt or replaced. And since a new one as just been fitted along with a new battery I'm hoping this is all it is and that it's simply a case of bad luck that the new unit happened to be faulty also. Any how if the problem isn't resolved soon the cars booked back in Friday I shall be taking legal action against the dealer to get my money back.

Did they supply the new (reconditioned) altenator?

Bunny's father in law got a new (reconditioned) altenator for his 156 and after helping him fit it... which is a huge job.. found it was dead on arrival. Que 2 hours work to get the damn thing back out.

Next one we got was ok though. Guess the places that recondition them aren't exactly putting quality control as their number 1 goal.

Yes as a matter of fact it was a reconditioned unit which in my view is not NEW. So now you all now just exactly why I'm looking so peed off in my aviator LOL.

recon units are always fitted, same with most manufactuers

Well if that's the case I could be without wheels and out of pocket for a long time if the problem isn't simply a dodgy unit, I hope it is and that I can have a couple more years happy motoring from this car.After all I bought it just before FIAT announced it's withdrawal from the UK market and believe me I got stung.

Did you buy it new?

No it was an ex demonstrator

I think I know what you are talking about.

I have had this noise once in a while, not always, it is some sort of humming, not longer than 20-30 seconds.

Until now, I haven't mentioned it in the garage. The car is now 3 years old and 125000 kms on it.

Just thought I'd let some of the issue's I've had since owning my Croma for the past 10 mths. The majority of these were down to the sheer incompentance of the main dealer that I bought the car from.

The car is a 2005 05 150 Eleganza in Met Grey with 15500 on the clock when I bought it, it has 10,200. The car had 2 previous owners!

I'd been after a Croma for approx 4 mths previously owning a 99 Alfa 146 ti which was costing a fortune to maintain.

Saw the car and decided it was the one and paid a deposit after test drive. Picked the car up the following week and drove back home and that's when the problems began.

Before leaving the garage I had failed to give the car a final check and on inspection found that,

The Bolt securing the seat belt to the drivers seat wasn't secured fully and the bolt cross threaded.

The screen washer pump had failed

Hatch trim not securly fastened and screws missing

Load bearing hooks in boot missing

Boot trim cracked

and finally one of the air vents damaged.

The garage had the car for 6 weeks while they waited for parts to arrive from Italy and provided me with a very nice Bravo

In fairness to the dealer they were very good in sorting the problems out but should have never released the car in that state. I also had serious issue with the whole dealer that I will not go into.

Since then the rear luggage cover has broken, the spring being jammed, the boot lock has broken and parking sensors failed (see other thread) and the interior bonnet release catch has broken.

All in all I do like the car and find it a very good drive but some of the interior build quality has a lot to be desired.

The main issue with Fiat and to a certain extent Alfa is the poor customer service standards of the dealerships.

Glad you liked the Bravo! Bit different to the Croma eh?

Shame you've had so many little things go wrong. Really distracts from the quality of the car when you have to spend so long fixing trim, and daft bits.

Tony the tiger, Kidcool did you ever get a resolution this and was it the alternator?

or does anyone else know?