I am a Taxi Driver in Scotland and think i have the most soul destroying vehicle in my fiat doblo 1.9 Multijet 57 plate. This vehicle is a verocious money pit as the majority of parts are available via a main dealer only. It recently passed both its first MOT and a strict taxi test but after a couple of days lost total power and stopped. After about 10 mins it started and i managed to limp home. After contacting my local main dealer, who wanted a lottery win to diagnose the problem, i gratefully declined and contacted instead fellow taxi drivers who had doblo's. Since disconnecting various sensors i have managed to get the vehicle running although without the turbo. After producing masses of black dross from the rear of the vehicle everything seems fine. I have only one sensor disconnected and its fine but if i connect it the doblo is a flying machine. It firstly goes like a rocket and covers the whole area in black soot. It then produces plumes of white smoke that gasses anyone following to closely. Disconnect it again and it runs in non turbo mode again. Help Please. Just want to fully fix it and then get rid for a more ecconomical car.

If it's the sensor in the air inlet (MAF sensor) just replace that, not cheap though. How many miles on it, could be an iffy / part blocked EGR valve. Does it use a lot of oil?

welcome to the forum. i have moved your thread here for a better responce

127,000 not using oil. Cleaned egr valve. still not good. Arnold Clark and Fiat most unhelpful.

what brach of arnold clark?

Dillon1505 said:

127,000 not using oil. Cleaned egr valve. still not good. Arnold Clark and Fiat most unhelpful.

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Less than £100 for a new EGR from a Vauxhall dealer, part number B1055215032. No hassle to change if you already took it off for a clean. I cleaned my old EGR after I had it replaced, thought I'd done a good job until I fully stripped it... including the electric solenoid side, AND the 2 hidden side venturi...

Dillon1505 said:

127,000 not using oil. Cleaned egr valve. still not good. Arnold Clark and Fiat most unhelpful.

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127,000 miles...regulary serviced then?

End of the day if you want it fixed you'll just have to pay or do you let people get in your taxi for free? Its no good guessing and going on hearsay (sometimes you get lucky) you need a good tech with good equipment.

I cant see how a garage will cost you a lottery win to diagnose...how can you put a price on something when you dont know what it is?

T14086 said:

I cant see how a garage will cost you a lottery win to diagnose..

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maybe he only got 3 or 4 numbers

i'd be happy with 3 numbers...aint won nothing for years

ive never won any thing on it

ever...............?

no

your nickname 'lucky'?

:hm:

i would have thought investing in a code reader would be cheaper also as said before parts available from vx dealers and saab if 1.9,only vauxhall if 1.3

Dillon1505 said:

I am a Taxi Driver in Scotland and think i have the most soul destroying vehicle in my fiat doblo 1.9 Multijet 57 plate. This vehicle is a verocious money pit as the majority of parts are available via a main dealer only. It recently passed both its first MOT and a strict taxi test but after a couple of days lost total power and stopped. After about 10 mins it started and i managed to limp home. After contacting my local main dealer, who wanted a lottery win to diagnose the problem, i gratefully declined and contacted instead fellow taxi drivers who had doblo's. Since disconnecting various sensors i have managed to get the vehicle running although without the turbo. After producing masses of black dross from the rear of the vehicle everything seems fine. I have only one sensor disconnected and its fine but if i connect it the doblo is a flying machine. It firstly goes like a rocket and covers the whole area in black soot. It then produces plumes of white smoke that gasses anyone following to closely. Disconnect it again and it runs in non turbo mode again. Help Please. Just want to fully fix it and then get rid for a more ecconomical car.

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I thought you were a taxi driver - not a mechanic. You have a car that, presumably, has served you well for 127000 miles and yet you now quibble over a few quid to put on the diagnostic machine. Surely as a tool of your trade you would want it to have the best care as soon as possible - who knows what other damage you could be causing by driving around with hald the sensors disconnected (the emmisions answer that)

That's an interesting reply sludgeguts, I wonder though how much Dillon has thrown at the car over the years, in saying that any taxi will have had a hard life pro rata to a private car and will indeed be more expensive with repairs and bit and pieces.
My Doblo was given to me partly because the previous owner gave up with it, but it was far to good to scrap or break up, I have now fixed most of the faults and have now slowly started to improve on it,
I certainly wont be selling it, I will persevere with it and fix anything that shows up.

Don't we have a guy on here that uses a doblo for courier work? I'm sure i read one of his posts where he describes loads of remedial work - but I think he would expect it of any vehicle doing the same mileage.

I've yet to meet a taxi driver who drives like they are out for a sunday jaunt - they all tend to want to get to where they are going ASAP so they can get back for their next fare. In which case, a taxi will receive much harsher treatment than my doblo and so parts will require service far sooner.

Also, what I said comes more or less as a direct quote from a London cabbie I once saw on a programme where the cameras followed the cabbie around.
He took his black cab in for everything - as he said, tool of the trade, it gets the best TLC & it serves him well - and it was a very, very old cab.
In contrast, my bus doesn't do anywhere near the same mileage and it gets a service every 6 weeks and that includes fresh oil and filters.

Edit.
Actually, thinking about it, aren't taxis subjected to MOT twice per year (and round here they have interim inspections at 3 months)? dillon says this one has just had its first - normally you would have first MOT at 3 years old but would a taxi?
As for how much money has been thrown at the car, if it has got 127k on the clock, if the normal service schedule is every 12k then it should have been through 10 services.
Also, the normal lifespan of serviceable items is generally quoted in years but this will also be based on an average 12k miles, so a cam belt, for example might be OK for 5 years but you should also be looking to replace it at 60k

I mentioned the MOT, Dillon has just had his first MOT - at 127k

I wonder if the reason for not having the MOT in the first 3 years is based on the expectation that the vehicle will be in for 3 annual services anyway & customers would be eager to drop the car in for every little annoyance as a repair would generally be free under warranty.
So the expectation would be that a car should get a service every 12k then an MOT at 36k (based on an average 12k/pa.
So this taxi should have had at least 10 services and 3 MOTs by now?

Yes regularly serviced, it is my livelyhood. There are several doblo drivers who have encountered the same sort of problems as well as one relation. Arnold Clark want 75 pounds just to try and diagnose the problem.