Didn't get a call back, but I knew I wouldn't.

Phoned back again, got a fella this time he was really helpful. Quoted the part number and he got it ordered for me (£6), I've got to pick it up on Friday.

Take it it's easy to fit?

I tried both ways and found this the best what do people think? [ame]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y285/frazle/e7429cec.jpg[/ame]

I had the same problem on my 09 Punto 1.4 8v in the recent cold spell. Started the engines and within 30 secs the car was full of acrid smelling smoke. I checked under the bonnet and could see the alternator (fan) belt had disintegrated. Because of the urgency of repairing it and distance to my Fiat dealer I got a local garage to replace the belt. It seems I have been lucky and the alternator is ok. Just read this thread and got a sleeve from my dealer. It looks an easy job to replace, any tips / suggestions?

dai16 said:

I had the same problem on my 09 Punto 1.4 8v in the recent cold spell. Started the engines and within 30 secs the car was full of acrid smelling smoke. I checked under the bonnet and could see the alternator (fan) belt had disintegrated. Because of the urgency of repairing it and distance to my Fiat dealer I got a local garage to replace the belt. It seems I have been lucky and the alternator is ok. Just read this thread and got a sleeve from my dealer. It looks an easy job to replace, any tips / suggestions?

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Quick update, I replaced the old smaller sleeve with a new one (similar if not the same as the one on the other side). Tested and all seems OK now. To a non-mechanic it just looked wrong before with all that water pouring over the alternator, which cannot be right. I cannot understand how Fiat let this go through prototype / testing. In my opinion there needs to be a recall to correct the fault.

Does it rain in Italy at all?

Tbh after reading that Citroen recalled the C4 Picasso for the glass roof leaking, i tend to agree that this should definately have sparked a recall from Fiat.

And the more i see people paying to have it put right themselves, or even fix it themselves, the more angry i get. There was something in this weeks Auto Express about a Grande Punto with a wiring fault on the heating fan and Fiat expected the owner to pay for the repair despite it being modified on newer cars.

As a goodwill gesture they offered a contribution so the owner 'only' had to pay £180 per car (he had 2 GPs with the fault).

Two things struck me from that. 1. Fiat have very illogical ways of dealing with known vehicle faults and 2. Their dealerships are way too expensive when you think you can get fixed price service plans for like £200 over 3 years on VWs, Renaults etc.

But if youre not happy with it, then you have to phone Fiat (the company NOT the dealer) and tell them. They even told me that when i enquired about this fault on behalf of everyone. I have said people should phone, complain or whatever, but people don't seem to take notice. I can't complain, i don't even own a Grande Punto. Nor would i after reading the hell people go through with them.

I just got back from TJ Vickers, a very reputable dealer close to where i work. I asked about the pipe that needs replacing to which i was told they know about it and have replaced quite a few, they also said that they are waiting on FIAT Italy for more of them, aparently they are waiting on the manufacturers for some more before they can be sent to dealers. The technicians suggested either blocking the pipe up or redirecting the water with a bit of pipe as a temporary measure

Rich

GymJunkie said:

I just got back from TJ Vickers, a very reputable dealer close to where i work. I asked about the pipe that needs replacing to which i was told they know about it and have replaced quite a few, they also said that they are waiting on FIAT Italy for more of them, aparently they are waiting on the manufacturers for some more before they can be sent to dealers. The technicians suggested either blocking the pipe up or redirecting the water with a bit of pipe as a temporary measure

Rich

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I went to TJ Vickers in Telford, they're **** and their customer service is too. However, I recently had my heater(s) fixed at Guest fiat in Wilenhall and they also sold me the drainage tube part for £6.

GymJunkie said:

I just got back from TJ Vickers, a very reputable dealer close to where i work. I asked about the pipe that needs replacing to which i was told they know about it and have replaced quite a few, they also said that they are waiting on FIAT Italy for more of them, aparently they are waiting on the manufacturers for some more before they can be sent to dealers. The technicians suggested either blocking the pipe up or redirecting the water with a bit of pipe as a temporary measure

Rich

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That's good to hear. If all the dealers had been giving out this sort of information then confusion would not arise. Nice one for updating the thread with this

idaho1 said:

I went to TJ Vickers in Telford, they're **** and their customer service is too. However, I recently had my heater(s) fixed at Guest fiat in Wilenhall and they also sold me the drainage tube part for £6.

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I gotta say it's very unusual for TJ Vickers to receive bad feedback, theyre usually consistently praised from what i've seen. You must've caught them on an unusually bad day. Glad Guest's supplied the part for you, pity they hadn't offered to fit it too - theyre an Alfa dealer so shouldve known exactly what to do - it was the Alfa MiTo that suffered this problem on a large scale early in 2010

JTD_Liam said:

As a goodwill gesture they offered a contribution so the owner 'only' had to pay £180 per car (he had 2 GPs with the fault).

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£180...where's the contribution in that price

JTD_Liam said:

I gotta say it's very unusual for TJ Vickers to receive bad feedback, theyre usually consistently praised from what i've seen. You must've caught them on an unusually bad day. Glad Guest's supplied the part for you, pity they hadn't offered to fit it too - theyre an Alfa dealer so shouldve known exactly what to do - it was the Alfa MiTo that suffered this problem on a large scale early in 2010

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They probably would've done but I live a long way from the Wolverhampton dealer so my dad picked it up on his travels.

And as for TJ's they were good, but they were also ******s when it came to payment, and that's where my problem lied.

T14086 said:

£180...where's the contribution in that price

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I wondered that too. Just shows how stupidly high dealers seem to be able to set their prices. I'd expect £180 to repair both cars if i was paying, but seen as it's a fault that's had a preventative mod carried out on later cars, i think Fiat should be picking up the tab.

idaho1 said:

They probably would've done but I live a long way from the Wolverhampton dealer so my dad picked it up on his travels.

And as for TJ's they were good, but they were also ******s when it came to payment, and that's where my problem lied.

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Oh i see. I'll give Guests benefit of the doubt then

JTD_Liam said:

but seen as it's a fault that's had a preventative mod carried out on later cars

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has it?

T14086 said:

has it?

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According to the info with the story in Auto Express it has. Ive not a clue personally.

Interesting Souls Fiat in Milton Keynes had no idea about this. My car is in for some work at the moment and I've prompted them about this. Hopefully they have the part in stock etc.

In my Fiat dealers today, noticed an 'exchange alternator' in a box being delivered.

If your car is out of warranty, a new aux belt is a tenner, and an exchange alternator ( try your local motor factor) is about £85.00 .

The new scuttle drain hose is about £6.00.

Ordered the new drain tube last week from Richard Hardie as they didn't have any in stock due to high demand , still waiting. Phoned Fiat customer services, to let them know my complaint but the guy seemed to think I was just complaining about not getting the drain tube :bang:. It's really put me off buying another Fiat .

Benn1 said:

Ordered the new drain tube last week from Richard Hardie as they didn't have any in stock due to high demand , still waiting. Phoned Fiat customer services, to let them know my complaint but the guy seemed to think I was just complaining about not getting the drain tube :bang:. It's really put me off buying another Fiat .

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Richard Hardie seem to be getting a few negative comments on here lately. I'd say that if they havn't got the part in by next week (two weeks is ample time surely) then go elsewhere.

Im not familiar with the exact geography in the North East so they may be a treck, but Wentane Fiat in Stockton is meant to be 100% spot on for customer service. Failing that, GMD in Durham and Springfield in Gateshead both get good scores on fiat.co.uk's aftersales rating system. I've heard nothing about either of the latter two, but Wentane are praised widely, including on here.

With regard to Fiat Customer Service, on both times i've phoned them my call has been answered in Italy and sometimes they don't seem to 'get' our way of speaking. Therefore it might be worth phoning again just to try and explain the situation.

Fiat CS and Fiat UKs Customer Relations Manager both told me to tell people to contact them if they were experiencing this alternator/belt problem, though i appreciate their communication is proving far from World-class.

deano87 said:

Interesting Souls Fiat in Milton Keynes had no idea about this. My car is in for some work at the moment and I've prompted them about this. Hopefully they have the part in stock etc.

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They should know about it, Fiat UK was meant to have sent a reminder to all dealers about this following my phone conversation with the UK Customer Relations Manager before Christmas. Tell the dealer to refer to Service News 7002.10 & if they don't know what is, suggest they phone Fiat UK and find out.

Hope you get it sorted. Souls are usually good.

Called Fiat to let them know my concerns, as I'm still waiting for a new drain tube after ordering it more than 2 weeks ago. They said they couldn't do anything about the alternator as the work wasn't done by a Fiat dealer & they would look into why the part hadn't been delivered by now.Thank's for your help & I'll let you know what happens.