(T) Gear selection problem

In addition to a new steering rack on order which seems to be the norm for GP's, i seem to have almost all the faults listed on this forum, from the AM on the radio working intermittently, to something that sounds like loose trim coming from the rear, but everything seems fine back there!

It now needs new gearbox parts as 3rd gear crunches badly when changing up over 3,500 rpm, and again when coming back down if you change down from 4th over 3000rpm. Anyone else had these problems? I thought it was my bad driving, but happened to the dealer to when he went out to check it.

How many faults should a car have before it can be rejected as a bad a car? None of the above have been fixed yet as the dealer will do it on one go when all the parts are in.

I love the way my Punto looks, but the problems are starting to get annoying!

One of the most important laws for consumers is The Sale of Goods Act which says any goods sold must be:

* of satisfactory quality
* fit for purpose, and
* as described

This means the vehicle must be in the kind of condition you'd expect. So if it's a new car, you wouldn't expect any major faults. To say it must be 'fit for purpose' means it must be safe and capable of carrying out the tasks it was sold to do. The car must also be 'as described'. For example, the dealer isn't allowed to sell a car advertised as having a 1.8L engine when in fact it's 1.6L.

It is up to the seller and not the manufacturer to ensure the car meets these standards before selling it.

If you think your dealer has sold you a car that is in breach of the law, contact your local Trading Standards office - it's their job to enforce consumer legislation. Find your local Trading Standards office.

This is what im doing

rob19791,...my friend,.....from what I understand from all your posts inside the forum and without any intention to offend you :

- must always wanted to become a lawyer...
- you actually hate fiat and I wonder why you bought one....
- You are not aware (or you don't want to consider) of some basic rules:

1. A new model ALWAYS has problems,....no matter how many test drives,
etc. Therefore, buying a new model just after launching is always
including a risk, which you take, so you must be prepared.

2. You buy what you pay for.....

- Furthermore, you must understand that to reject a car you must find all the defects on delivery day / time....after they deliver it to you, (that means you accepted it to be "as described", "road worthy", etc....) you cannot go back and say I don't like it take it back...!!!

Of course you can ask for rectification (again is different meaning from repairs) and that's the reason you have the guarantee from Fiat for so many years.

If after rectification of the problems you are not satisfied with the car, or you do not want the car,....nobody stops you from selling the car,....

Always friendly...

Have just heard back from my local dealer, they are not expecting any replacement steering racks in until 17th October.

This can't be right, does anyone know a dealer who has the new redesigned racks in stock as have def got jitters about driving it for that long with these faults.

Thanks to the guys re advice on rejecting a car. Before I get hammered for being a Fiat hater too, if the worst come to the worst and i had to get rid of the car i would still get another one as I'm sure a fully working GP is a cracking car!

Have also had a mk1 Punto 75 ages ago and thought that was a great car, and it never went wrong whilst i had it so i do have confidence in Fiat to find a solution to this!

I loved me Grande!
Just aint good when its dangerous
I want them to replace it for a like for like, fiat shut down in ital from Aug-sept so i doubt anywhere has the parts in stock.
My garage reconed 6 weeks plus.... thats why im so unhappy
I do love the car, honest, it looks good and feels good....but i as a consumer have rights...and my rights are that it has to be fixed in a reasonable time and with minimum inconvenience.
Now 6 weeks + isnt reasonable....well i dont think it is, if they would have said a week or 2 then maybe i would be looking at this at a different angle.
Im not a Fiat hater.....honest.

how many times have i heard that about a fiat.


if only honda's looked good and were affordable.

Why dont you talk to Fiat customer services,explain your concerns to them,I feel that often too much bad advice is given here.

I tried them first, Fiat Customer Services didn't want to know and told me to go back to the dealers.

Wouldn't even give any kind of advice as they said they were not authorised to talk about technical problems with the cars............!?

But, getting back to the initial posting, has anyone had problems with their gearbox?

You do not have to let them repair it, the quicker you reject it the better, but as long as you do it within 21 days max you will have a very good chance of getting your money back / replacement.

rob19791 have you actually made up your mind what you want to do? As the dealer will always play for more time in a rejection case, you need to make it clear it is rejected with the reasons for doing so, what you want and when by. I did my rejection on the 14th day from collection and it took 3 stressful months to get the full refund & compo. But the main thing was from that 14th day I told them it was a refund or I'd see them in court. No messing about letting them fix it, although they did on an inspection! Which was better becuse they were told specifically no work was to be carried out under any circumstance!

I recently had a GP courtesy car for the day bottom of the range 3 door, no gear problems or steering noise in the 50 miles I did, it had 700 on the clock. Looks great, but to me it drove exactly as my 05 Punto did, which isn't a bad thing

The only gearbox grinding I get from my grande punto is when I 1st start it and I put it in reverse. If I wait a few seconds then it doesnt grind but if I start then put her in reverse the gear box crunches.

The Alfa 147 courtesy car I had did exactly the same thing so im guessing its a fiat/alfa character trait rather than a fault. I just have to remember to wait a few seconds before engaging reverse which is only a mild annoyance when your in a hurry.

If I hadnt had the Alfa before hand I may have thought there was a problem as my 05 plate Hyundai coupe and my W reg Honda HRV didnt display this trait when I had them.

i had a problem with my gear box as in it crunched in every gear and would only go in reverse when it wanted to!

i was stuck in redcar for 30 mins trying to get it in reverse so i could get out of a parking bay, eventually i pushed it out and drove it home and to the dealers the next day. then they just adjusted the gear box and its fine and havent had any problems with it since

I have it sometimes that it's hard to get in to reverse but I had that on every car I owned. I just let the clutch come up very slowly and then it shoots right in.

I want my car replaced
Dont wana wait 3 months for it to be sorted to be honest, ive got onto fiat uk and the dealer and im hoping they can sort this out for me. I had the car 30 days when i rejected it to the finance and recieved a letter today saying that they would not accept the rejection..... durgh. So if Fiat and Glyn hopkin cant sort out a replacement like for like then im more than happy to pay the £250 to take them to a county court, and with the mot failure i dont think that they would stand much chance, as they told me the car was roadworthy and let me take it back.....not knowing it was or wasnt, but the mot proves it isnt lol
Its all fun and games lol

just take it to your dealer it only takes a few hours to correct, and itll work fine. it wont be doing it any favours using the bite to pull it into gear

Really would never of guessed it,off the 54 posts you have made you have moaned in all but 2 of them!.
I hope you do get your money back so we can all have peace,minus the damage to the car when getting the windscreen done who I hope you are taking to court aswell.