endrop - for all your online needs

Technical Our 5.5 hour ordeal with two month old GP Dualogic

Currently reading:
Technical Our 5.5 hour ordeal with two month old GP Dualogic

A flat tyre,driving over a rock or down a hole damaging a 'vital component' could also cause the same inconvience....which I feel is what this thread is really about? I have recently myself been inconvienced...waiting 3 weeks for engineer to come out to fix my heating in mid-winter & I have insurance! It's all a part of lifes ups & down without which we would have no stories to tell and be rather boring.

All business has to constantly strive against bad feedback,some cover it up (Rolls royce/Mercedes etc) some like Fiat just take it 'on the chin' and although I have many grievences with many companies/businesses at the end of the day I try to remember its the good honest worker that gets the sack when profits drop therefore I try to be 'constructive' in my critism.
 
Last edited:
I know this post has been closed..

https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/88808-our-5-5-hour-ordeal-two-month-old-gp-dualogic.html

But just thought I'll give you all an update. And please, no war-of-words this time - I have no intention to argue/justify/defend anything - this is merely an update :) On the way to the airport I got a voicemail from Fiat AU wanting to discuss the points I raised in my letter. Obviously wasn't a good time to discuss as I was about to hop on a plane, so returned his call just to let him know I'll call him when I get back. So it'll be interesting to see how the conversation will go tomorrow when I call him back..
 
Re: I know this post has been closed..

Just spoke with Fiat AU, very calm/polite, no swearing/yelling etc. Basically we both established that it was an unfortunate incident that happened at an unfortunate location at an unfortunate time. Both parties had done the best they could have and had taken the most appropriate course of action. As I said in my previous post, I wasn't seeking any kind of compensation from them - the fact that they took the time to read my letter and to respond shows that they care and I'm satisfied at that. So, as I previously stated, its cased-closed now :cool:
 
Re: I know this post has been closed..

:nerner: (y) i knew they would respond eventually!
Thank-you Ateco for keeping face!
and thank-you LuvDuvs for posting a good and pleasant outcome!

Nice to hear people posting positive reponses when they come thru (y)
 
Re: I know this post has been closed..

Thanks for letting us know about that mate.

So is the car all sorted now?
 
Re: I know this post has been closed..

Unfortunately, no, there are still unresolved issues (getting off topic now):
  • With the car undriven for about a week, the transmission jerks/judders when moving from first to second gear. Awaiting a software update from Fiat AU.
  • Steering makes faint knocking/clicking noise when turning either left or right. Apparently it was a loose nut/bolt which the dealer claimed had fixed, but no it hasn't been fixed. Was told this was not the steering rack as they checked that my car had no outstanding recalls + it was built in July 06. Will need it checked again at next visit.
  • Engine revs at high RPMs (3500 - 4000) whilst crusing at high speeds. The higher the speed, the higher the RPMs.
  • Dualogic handbook - didn't get one when I bought the car. Fiat AU gave me a part number which I'll need to contact the dealer tomorrow to arrange for one to be sent to me.
  • Fuel meter moves (slightly) back/forth and the car seems to be using fuel a lot faster these days. I'm not too fussed about this one - its hot over here so with the air con on I'm assuming it'll drink more fuel. Not too sure about the fuel meter moving though - have to monitor this. Is this normal?
I'm sure there'll be other issues shortly :devil:
 
Re: I know this post has been closed..

luvduvs said:
Unfortunately, no, there are still unresolved issues (getting off topic now):
  • Fuel meter moves (slightly) back/forth and the car seems to be using fuel a lot faster these days. I'm not too fussed about this one - its hot over here so with the air con on I'm assuming it'll drink more fuel. Not too sure about the fuel meter moving though - have to monitor this. Is this normal?
I'm sure there'll be other issues shortly :devil:
Click to expand...

There was a thread about 3 weeks ago about this. Mine did the same for the first month of driving then stopped, so the upshot of the thread was that it appeared the ecu was 'learning' the fuel tank size etc, once learnt it settled down and have not noticed it since.
 
Re: I know this post has been closed..

aberdeen_tim said:
Mine did the same for the first month of driving then stopped, so the upshot of the thread was that it appeared the ecu was 'learning' the fuel tank size etc, once learnt it settled down and have not noticed it since.
Click to expand...

It would make sense if it was the first month, but I've been driving it for about three months now.. :confused:
 
I would've thought the whole point of contacting FIAT was to get them to give your dealer a boot up the behind and get them to rectify all your issues. It's great that you got a reply, but if it really didn't help you in anyway then we're back at square one :confused:

I'm interested to hear how your next visit to the dealer goes, I sure hope you are able to drive away with a fault free car sometime soon.
 
Turbodiesel said:
I would've thought the whole point of contacting FIAT was to get them to give your dealer a boot up the behind and get them to rectify all your issues. It's great that you got a reply, but if it really didn't help you in anyway then we're back at square one :confused:

I'm interested to hear how your next visit to the dealer goes, I sure hope you are able to drive away with a fault free car sometime soon.
Click to expand...

Mmm.. I didn't want to push the relationship with my dealer into negative territory. There aren't that many Fiat dealers near my area so I'm relying quite heavily on the one I'm dealing with. The main idea in contacting Fiat AU was to let them know: [1] what happened so they're are aware of it (and hopefully will be helpful for them in preventing any similar incidents for other Fiat drivers), and [2] that I was unhappy with what happened. I've achieved both so I'm content, and since this problem has now been resolved its not really back to square one (the other problems I'm having I would consider separate issues) :)
 
Hey Luvduvs

Just thought that I would update you with the lastest news. As you know the juddering started up again so I booked it into the dealers. I have to say that it wasn't as bad as it had been but it was still there. They wanted me to leave it there for a week so that they could try and replicate the problem, I spoke to them last Friday and was told that they had experienced a slight judder but not enough to put it down as a defect !! Go figure. They were told by Fiat technicians to reset/recalibrate/reboot or whatever the gear box (everything that they had done before but no mention of a softwear patch ) asked to keep it over the weekend so that they could test it again. They were also going to check the squealing brakes and the whaling when turning at slow speed ( I sometimes get this going around a multi storey carpark ) Anyway I phoned this morning to arrange a time to pick it up and was told that it needs a new clutch!!!! :eek: That is what's causing the juddering - my barely 3 month old clutch. I'm still shaking my head. !!! Now they need to get the OK from Fiat so that they can change the clutch. I've just told them to hang on to it for the rest of the week and to make sure that they sort everything out. I'm expecting a call on Friday so we'll see. Maybe it's just the Dualogic but I'm starting to think this whole Fiat thing was a big mistake.(n)
 
skyflyer said:
Hey Luvduvs

Just thought that I would update you with the lastest news. As you know the juddering started up again so I booked it into the dealers. I have to say that it wasn't as bad as it had been but it was still there. They wanted me to leave it there for a week so that they could try and replicate the problem, I spoke to them last Friday and was told that they had experienced a slight judder but not enough to put it down as a defect !! Go figure. They were told by Fiat technicians to reset/recalibrate/reboot or whatever the gear box (everything that they had done before but no mention of a softwear patch ) asked to keep it over the weekend so that they could test it again. They were also going to check the squealing brakes and the whaling when turning at slow speed ( I sometimes get this going around a multi storey carpark ) Anyway I phoned this morning to arrange a time to pick it up and was told that it needs a new clutch!!!! :eek: That is what's causing the juddering - my barely 3 month old clutch. I'm still shaking my head. !!! Now they need to get the OK from Fiat so that they can change the clutch. I've just told them to hang on to it for the rest of the week and to make sure that they sort everything out. I'm expecting a call on Friday so we'll see. Maybe it's just the Dualogic but I'm starting to think this whole Fiat thing was a big mistake.(n)
Click to expand...

They've got to be joking, right?????????

Did they say why/how the clutch was causing the problem, or whether it was doing any damage to any other components? Assuming the clutch is the culprit (and it kind of makes sense now that you've mentioned it), then obviously the dealer I'm dealing with is full of sh*t. I'm going to hold off contacting them until I get a bit more information, so please let me know how it goes for you (y)

(BTW why do they need the OK from Fiat before replacing it for you?)

Also can you please let me know when your GP was built? I'm just curious to know if mine (built July 06) was from around the same time as yours.

Thank you for keeping me posted - its most appreciated! :)

Just went through an old thread (https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/82628-first-second-gear.html) - littlepip17 mentioned something about clutch relearn - do you know if the technicians who looked at your car had tried this?
 
Last edited:
I wish they were joking!! I don't really know too much about it - just spoke to the receptionist so I don't know if they tried a clutch relearn but you would think that they would have been advised to do this if it was a possible fix...then again!
The thing is after speaking to them the other day it sounded like it was all fixed and it was just a matter of testing it before I picked it up. I don't know when the new clutch issue came in.
It seems that because it is a new car, they need authorisation from Fiat before they make any adjustments or do any repairs.
I don't know the build date but it was ordered at the end of August and I picked it up at the beginning of November.
 
I would recommend speaking to the dealer/technician who worked on your car (in person rather than over the phone if possible) so you can get a full understanding of what the problem is. Reason I say this is because messages can be possibly distorted if passed on (i.e. via the receptionist). And best not to assume they know about the clutch relearn thing - I have a feeling that a lot of people on this forum are far more qualified that actual Fiat technicians! So again, best to discuss and ask them lots of questions :)

This is starting to get somewhat stupid with problem after problem. My faith level is dropping, dropping, dropping... :mad:
 
No doubt, though I'm now having doubts about the dealer here telling me its a software problem (when in fact it could be a clutch problem) - TBC I guess. Its hard to explain, but dealing with the Fiat people here doesn't inspire much confidence; its like, they don't give the impression that they know their stuff well enough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Technical I shouldn't leave my GP undriven...
Replies
10
Views
227
AndyRKett
AndyRKett
D
Technical Dualogic Gear Change
Replies
0
Views
729
Damummy
D
D
Technical P1752 Pump Relay Dualogic No Gear Unavailable
Replies
1
Views
604
dexiu93
D
Antedz
Technical Problem with T jet
Replies
3
Views
403
Antedz
Antedz
Louie Bee
General New to GP
Replies
2
Views
432
Louie Bee
Louie Bee
Back
Top