Fiat declining warranty claims

[Oldschool]

After speaking to some of the lads at Stanford Hall it became clear that what a number of people suspected actually seems to be happening.

Quite a few claims are refused because supposedly the engine has been over-revved so often.

As this is a very serious topic: Please refrain from spamming.

If a pattern can be established steps will be taken to bring this to the public attention. This can only be done when we have all the facts and not just speculation and hear-say.

Currently I help Red Dot to overturn the claim refusal on grounds I would call at least dodgy if not fraudulent.

 

[Hellcat]

Is there a set number/magnitude of over-revs which would come to a warranty refusal situation?

Once in 10,000 miles? twice?

Without publicly presented figures how can Fiat claim their stance?

 

[Ulpian]

If there is a rev limiter how can an engine be over-revved? Also, does the computer differentiate between temperatures: I mean 'over-revving' a cold engine?

I will leave this alone now as I have no real expertise.

 

[Ffoxy]

If there is a rev limiter how can an engine be over-revved? Also, does the computer differentiate between temperatures: I mean 'over-revving' a cold engine?

I will leave this alone now as I have no real expertise.

Not a good idea to bounce an engine on any rev-limiter unless you are a Rally or Grand Prix driver TBH but an engine can be over-revved on a downshift irrespective of any re-limiter, I.E. changing down to too low a gear ratio at too high a roadspeed.

 

[Hellcat]

Usual one is going for 5th and getting 3rd. Who can say they've NEVER done that - automatic drivers not included!

I've got 4th instead of 6th before, and partially depressed the clutch but revs probably didn't get over the limiter... but I'd hate to have a warranty claim invalidated just because of that one incident.

 

[mehstg]

I can comfortably say I have never overrevved the GP, but who knows whether the previous owner did. Would be well pissed off if a warranty claim was refused due to it.

P

 

[Tris Harris]

Technically (and i wouldnt do it myself personally), it should be safe to bounce off the limiter, without damaging the engine/ gearbox as the rev limiter has been set at whatever limit as going any further than this would be over- revving and may cause damage to said components...

now on a down change it is possible of course, and you may find the wrong gear sometimes- its bound to happen! However, as discussed at Stanford, there is no way that people are doing this 251 times which i believe is the amount that the ECU can log at once... and how many times FIAT are claiming that most of the rejected warranty claims have been doing!

 

[fingers99]

Oldschool -- maybe you could say exactly what you need?

There's already one thread open for general chit-chat on the subject............

 

[craig20102010]

i read about this topic prior to buying my car...

and i questioned it with the Fiat dealer i was buying it from and they didnt ave a clue about over revving it.. or about it invalidating the warrenty..

is there any way of getting it checked by the dealer to see if its been over revved to start with so you can get it in written confirmation what the car has been over revved by from when you bought it so that any more on top of that would prove it was ur self that actually over revved it..

that way people would stil be able to claim on warrenty...

i think this is just a massive excuse for Fiat not to pay out for any warrenty claims which personally i think is shocking coming from a massive company..

 

[Oldschool]

Oldschool -- maybe you could say exactly what you need?

There's already one thread open for general chit-chat on the subject............

This is not meant to be a thread with the intention of chit-chat. To the understanding I have and some other people we are dealing with fraudulent claims of Fiat UK calim inspectors.

 

[Venters]

This is not meant to be a thread with the intention of chit-chat. To the understanding I have and some other people we are dealing with fraudulent claims of Fiat UK calim inspectors.

So is the claim that Fiat inspectors are making up numbers?

 

[arc]

there was a thread on here discussing an individual case, is that in the GP section - i can't find it now.

i wonder how many people have had warranty claims after damage arrising from remaps and the like.

 

[punto_matt]

From the GP section what has been happening when gearboxes fail Fiat have come back on nearly every occasion and said that the box is not covered due to the ECU logging 251 over revs which in validates the box warrenty. Now if it was 1 or 2 times that this had been brought up then fair enough but with it happening on every box that goes it is slightly suspicious no? I think one person in the GP section who was a driving instructor went through 3 gearboxes and Fiat said each time it had been over revved 251 times so it was not covered yet they could give no information on what an over rev was or when it occured, all they could say was that it happened 251 times.

 

[Venters]

So is it
Fiat inspectors that are being claimed to be inventing numbers regarding over revs?

 

[punto_matt]

Yup, always the same reason is given for the box going. Down to over revs.

 

[Hellcat]

Is this over-rev something that people could have checked easily? Sounds like a software bug rather than a real error.

I'm quite used to dealing with spurious error messages. Servers who think they have failed disks, or are overheating, or have no power... Usually a fault with the fault checking!

 

[MikeSalt]

Is it possible that the ECU rev limiter logger is faulty?

 

[punto_matt]

Well its either faulty or Fiat are purposfully using it to get out of warrenty claims.

 

[Venters]

Is it possible that the ECU rev limiter logger is faulty?

No. It would appear Fiat are inventing numbers to get out of warranty claims.
If it was a technical fault then using terms like fraud would be wrong.

 

[MikeSalt]

251 rev limits is high. I've been driving my car for 5 years and for 70,000 miles and I haven't hit the limiter anywhere near that many times. I've mellowed now, but I used to rev the nuts off the car, and at 127,000 miles the only major engine work required was a head gasket at 100,000 miles, so I should expect more durability from a modern engine, and that 'over-revving' is a poor excuse to weasel out of warranty claims.