Mr FIAT - Your #1 source for vintage car parts

Technical ABS Unavailable

Currently reading:
Technical ABS Unavailable

S

Sexyeyes83

New member
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
11
Points
4
Hiya, I'm new here, I dont own a Fiat myself but the other half does.

He went to get in his car to go to work tonight, and as he went to drive the car didnt want to go as it felt as if the brakes were locked, and it really made a terrible noise when he tried to drive it.

The car said ABS Unavailable.

Anyways he ended up taking my car to work as was running late.

Any ideas of how to get this problem fixed? We will phone Fiat up, but guessing they will be closed New Years Eve and New Years Day.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance :)
 
Thank you both, I will get other half to read this in the morn when he returns from work, and get him to phone Fiat as soon as they are open.

Thank you :)
 
Thanks everyone :) Its my car sexyeyes was talking about.

I got in last night and as I went to pull away it wouldnt move, its as if the handbreak was still on. After I checked the handbreak was off I thought maybe someone had stuck a brick or something under the wheels, so got out and had a look and nothing was there.

Got back in and after stalling it three times managed to pull away at a struggle. As it just about pulled up the road, it made a most awful screeching sound. I managed to find a space to pull in and on the screen in flashed up "ABS UNAVAILABLE, PLEASE REFER TO HANDBOOK".

Now I dont know too much about cars, but it appears the breaks are permantly on. We live on the side of a hill, and even parked up with the handbreak off it wont roll down! It wont budge! I get the ABS warning everytime I start the engine.

Im guessing the fiat garage wont be open till after new year now, im hoping they might be open Monday. Luckily I took out the roadside plus cover, which allows the vehicle to be within 1/4 mile of your home address!

I had my first service a few months ago, within warranty, however I had this carried out a Kwik Fit. I did check with Kwik Fit first of all if the service they do fits in with the warranty and they said yes, and stamped the book.

Any ideas what the problem may be at all?

Many thanks
Dave
 
You had it serviced by 'Kwik Fit' and not at a proper Fiat dealership??
Sorry man but I think you're crazy.
 
Last edited:
Superboy said:
You had it serviced by 'Kwik Fit' and not at a proper Fiat dealership??
Sorry man but I think you're crazy.
Click to expand...

Whys that? Kiwk Fit were around £70 cheaper then having it serviced at Fiat. The Kwik Fit full servce was also more extensive then what is required by the service handbook at 12000/1 year.

Does anyone have any idea what the problem may be, I suppose I get worried like most people when things happen to their car whether or not it will be covered by the warranty, and if not how much its likely to be!
 
powerful_rogue said:
Whys that? Kiwk Fit were around £70 cheaper then having it serviced at Fiat. The Kwik Fit full servce was also more extensive then what is required by the service handbook at 12000/1 year.

Does anyone have any idea what the problem may be, I suppose I get worried like most people when things happen to their car whether or not it will be
covered by the warranty, and if not how much its likely to be!
Click to expand...

[rant]
Its not as extensive as kwik fit will not have the Expensive Fiat Diagnostic machine and as result will not upgrade all your cars software while your there (yes believe it or not it needs software updates :rolleyes:). And there £70 cheaper for a reason, usually by using rubbish parts and using pimply faced youth's as cheap labour.

[/rant over] :p

I think the only way foward is to get it into a Fiat Dealer tell them what happened and they will probably read the error info and know exactly what it is will more than likely be an easy fix like a loose cable or sensor.
 
powerful_rogue said:
Whys that? Kiwk Fit were around £70 cheaper then having it serviced at Fiat. The Kwik Fit full servce was also more extensive then what is required by the service handbook at 12000/1 year.
Click to expand...

first service is only £125 (including correct plugs) at most dealerships + they reset service counter + update any required software (as mentioned earlier) + carry out any outstanding recalls + carry out any safety related work all under warranty. There are also a few 'known issues' that techs know about on GP's which (not disrespect intended here) kwik-fit fitters dont.

example;(true story this)

I recently had my water combi boiler serviced(took 8 minutes!),charged £65 for basically saying 'yes the boiler fires up' what they didn't check was the fact the water was not circulating,radiators not getting hot,and no proper inspection of the boiler.I then got correct specialist to service the boiler & found water pump seized,divertor valved seized & 2 PCB boards covered in water....the boiler was actually a accident waiting to happen! New parts were fitted,fully serviced,system flushed & fully tested (took them 4 hours!) all for £285....best money I probably ever spent as they also guaranteed boiler & system for further 12 months.Point i'm making is cheapest isn't always the best & often false economy!

Fiat dealerships are a franchise,Fiat motor company have little or no control over them....therefore I prefer the term garage or fiat dealership than calling a garage 'fiat'.

Most garages are open tomorrow (monday) & back open thursday.
 
T14086 said:
first service is only £125 (including correct plugs) at most dealerships + they reset service counter + .
Click to expand...

Hmmm...

I paid £235 for an 1 year 18K service on a 1.2 Dynamic.

Why did I pay so much? The answer is the other two dealers within a reasonable travelling distance (in Kent) wanted £265!!! (One of the latter originally quoted £165 - but changed their mind when I questioned what the service actually entailed)

Andrew
 
I'm afraid 'Powerful Rogue'.....as the detailed comments go to show....
It's 'daft' to take a brand new car to any other place than a proper franchised dealership.....very unwise man......sorry.
 
Kwik-fit OMG nooooo...
I just dont have time to relate the horror stories I have heard about them over the years because I have to be back in work on Weds morning! The problem with Kwik-fit is that the employees wages are based heavily on targets..ie the more the branch turns over the more they get paid, hence the reason they invent unrequired work and inflate parts prices. I stopped using them around 1989 when they torched the pipe off my then Sierra without checking the replacement actually fitted.....it didnt and I was car-less for 3 days while they sourced and fitted the correct one...the fookin` clueless idiots.

More happy kwik-fit punters here.......
http://www.blagger.com/db4/company_id/87/companyname/Kwik-Fit.html
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/transport-automobile-services/kwik-fit/reviews/

I wouldnt touch any `fast-fit` franchise with the wrong end of a ****ty-stick now because of the rep` kwik-fit have given the industry. The lease company my employers use for providing vehicles sacked kwik-**** off last year for poor service, the last straw came when they fitted a used 2nd hand battery in one of our lease vans and charged them for a new one. I recently heard of a 65 yr old neighbour who was charged £255 +vat by KF to have the rear shoes and 1(£15)brake cylinder replaced on her 12 year old Fiesta.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
General Start stop unavailable
Replies
3
Views
328
FiatPunto99
F
Jiannis71
Technical Hill holder/Check transmission /esp unavailable GP2007
Replies
1
Views
787
Jiannis71
Jiannis71
D
Technical P1752 Pump Relay Dualogic No Gear Unavailable
Replies
1
Views
612
dexiu93
D
A
  • Question
Technical Any way to read error codes?
Replies
4
Views
383
abunea
A
R
Technical Punto Evo ABS pump
2
Replies
28
Views
1K
varesecrazy
V
Back
Top