I have a 57 plate Punto Sporting 1.9 Multijet, and have starting issues which seem to be getting worse. On some occasions it starts first time, but increasingly seems to take longer before it fires up, then I get a fair amount of white smoke from the exhaust. I've also had the "Excess Radiator Fluid" message on screen a few times when it fails to start but not sure if they're linked.
Comments on this would be greatly appreciated as the car runs superbly considering it's just hit the 100k miles mark. I live in Cornwall so if anyone has any ideas on a Fiat specialist, other than a Fiat dealership who could sort this out please let me know.
Thanks, Mark

The rad fluid message is usually linked to low battery voltage.

I'd suggest a battery check first.

If you're DIYing looking for a silver calcium battery they've got far more power in same size.

Bosch and Varta are same batteries with different stickers but the Varta is a lot cheaper.

Before you replace your battery carefully check the cables between the battery and the car at both ends (disconnect the battery before you do so - you don't want to flash the live cable on the body/engine!). The cables have a nasty habit of corroding just inside the plastic where you can't see the issue.

Also do you have a code reader/copy of MES? If so any codes?

Hi both, thanks for replying. The Varta battery is only 18 months old and was fitted by the RAC after the car wouldn't start at all, just wondering if the fact that I do regular short journeys of only a couple of miles is affecting the charge.
Any ideas what might be causing the white smoke on the occasions it fails to start straight away?