I recently bough an 2007 1.9 120bhp with 100k on it and guess I have been stiffed. I am trying to narrow down what the problem could be without having to spend a fortune at a Fiat center.

After a solid 6 hour motorway drive at about 75mph the engine failiure message and light came on and the engine went into limp mode. As I was in France and french mechanics seem to be on permanent holiday in August I ended up having to continue the drive. After a further day the light turned off and power returned. Since then the same has happened two more times - both during lengthy motorway drives.

I dont know anything about mechanics but from reading this forum it seems other people have DPF issues however the fact that it has happened during long high speed drives could point to something else. I had a new timing belt and water pump fitted when I bought the car and the only other issue of note is that the turbo makes a strange high pitched sound when revving in low gears - much more noisy than a normal turbo.

Any help or advice much appreciated before I leave myself at the mercy of the mechanics

Cheers
Dan

Best way to find the problem is when the light comes on again is to have a diagnostic check (plug in) either at Fiat/Fiat specialist or any garage with the correct software just to find out where the problem lies.If it's a sensor on it's way out you may be able to change it yourself.You'll be lucky to find the problem without a diagnostic check. My last plug in cost £20 at a local garage.
My turbo whistles a bit on this Doblo on low revs when it's spinning up but it didn't on my last 1.9 Multijet .
I've seen 1.9 Multijets with 300k on the clock still going strong.