I've had my 1.9 sporting for about 4 months. Had a few minor warranty issues sorted. I have had the 'excess radiator temp' message come up a few times so booked it into my local fiat to have it looked at. It went into fiat yesterday (wednesday) and they said that their system was not reporting any faults so there was nothing wrong with my car. I drove the car 10 miles home and turned the engine off and the fan stayed on for a few seconds, thought nothing of it. I then this evening drove to my girlfriends house, 5 miles away and the fan stayed on again when I switched the engine off. I checked under the bonnet and the engine coolant was completely empty.

I checked the engine coolant approximately a week ago and it was full and I haven't had to top it up since I bought it 4,000 miles ago. I have never had the temperature gauge above half way (except the few times the excess radiator temp warning comes on when the needle goes to the top, but in this situation the car does not start anyway).

I put approximately 1 litre of water in the coolant tank and started the engine, the fan did not come on, but the water did not move around and stayed cool, will it now have an air block?

I am guessing I'm going to have to take the car back to fiat, will it be ok to drive 8 miles, or should I get it recovered? Does anyone know the AA/fiat recovery phone number as I have received no details (I hope I'm registered on their systems)

Any advice from people would be apprecaited.

Thanks

Alex

I wouldnt drive it if the coolant isn't moving, it sounds like it has air locked as you suspect.

I don't know the Fiat AA Number but if you call Fiat UK's number on 00800 3428 0000 i think there's a recorded message with the number for Fiat AA.

Just tried the Fiat UK number and it says 'for 24 hour roadside assistance, please press 1' - that should sort ya out.

Cheers for that. have just rung them and confirmed that my car is registered. Didn't mention anything about the problem as I'll call my fiat dealer first thing in the morning to see what they have to say and what they suggest I do.

No probs. Sounds wise to me.

Blimey, that sounds a bit serious. I certainly wouldn't drive it - not even a few hundred yards - or the engine will become overheated (have experience of this!). I hope it hasn't been damaged already.

Good luck with your service visit.

you did start it up with the lid off yeah? to bleed the system?

As far as I'm aware you've got to do a bit more than that.
Bring the car upto normal temperature with the expansion cap off then there will be about 3 'bleeding' valves....you've got to know where they are first (every car's different.....and they're difficult to find because they are small), then undo them to let the air escape.....a bit like a central heating system at home......that's the system then free of air locks.
Once you know how to do it it's very quick and easy...saves a small fortune than giving it to the garage.
Maybe 'T' can tell us where the valves are situated...

Crikey, hope theres no serious damage Alex, yours is a seriously nice example of the breed.

If the coolant isnt circulating it could also be water pump failure. Fingers crossed for u m8

Ive had the excess coolant temp message a few times when I turn the key but before the engine fires, when I fire the engine the message goes and the car drives as normall

I drove it carefully to the dealers this morning. They have had it today and have found that a pipe has worn through due to the engine cooling fan rubbing on it. They have ordered the part but it is on back order so am unsure of when they will get it fixed. I'm picking a courtesy car up tomorrow. I'm just hoping that no further damage has been caused. I never let the engine overheat so fingers crossed it'll be ok.

Alex_gregory_uk said:

I drove it carefully to the dealers this morning. They have had it today and have found that a pipe has worn through due to the engine cooling fan rubbing on it. They have ordered the part but it is on back order so am unsure of when they will get it fixed. I'm picking a courtesy car up tomorrow. I'm just hoping that no further damage has been caused. I never let the engine overheat so fingers crossed it'll be ok.

Click to expand...

Cheers for that buddy.... I'll take a close look at mine for preventative reasons later.

Just a quick update for anyone who's interested. They had a look at it on the day I dropped it off. The cooling fan at the front has worn through one of the engine coolant pipes which is why it's emptied the engine coolant. They said the pipe was on back order so I picked a courtesy car (panda) up the next day. A week later they let me know that they can not find the pipe anywhere and it could take upto a month for one to come so arranged for me to have a hire car(Grande Punto Active). Thats where I am upto at the moment, just waiting for the part to come in.

All in all very good service from S G Petch at York. Will update you all when I get the car back!

Can't they just take the pipe from one of their demonstrators and use that, instead of you having to wait a month and drive a hire car in the meantime?

Personally, last thing I want after spending my hard earned money on a new car is for it to spend half its time at the dealer's.

luvduvs said:

Can't they just take the pipe from one of their demonstrators and use that, instead of you having to wait a month and drive a hire car in the meantime

Personally, last thing I want after spending my hard earned money on a new car is for it to spend half its time at the dealer's.

Click to expand...

I totally agree with you. I was reading a test on a Saab conducted by Car Magazine in the UK and the road tester had a faulty EGR valve. His car was in limp mode, so he went to a Saab dealer only to be told that they did not have a valve in stock, however the garage took an EGR valve from a showroom car, job done.

This is what I personally call proper customer service. Proper and permanent solutions there and then.

Finally got my car back today! Cleaned inside and out for me as well. So pleased to have it back

I bet you are, good news