I will never buy another Fiat again!

Bought this van, 50k miles on it, FSH... Here is what has gone wrong on it in three years:

Due to the unsealed joint in the two piece plastic cover between the bonnet and windscreen, water leaked in and corroded two of the injectors so badly they failed. My honest Fiat dealer stated the fuel pump, DPF and all injectors had failed....really, at the same time! They also won't attempt to remove the injectors because the heads always breaks, so £500 for a head on top.... Removed vehicle to an independent (friend of a friend) he said they will not work on Fiat as a rule as they are like boomerangs.... once touched keep coming back!

I was present at his request, to witness all but one head bolts sheer, again due to corrosion......... £5000, later van back on the road..........£3700 cheaper than the Fiat dealer though... Will run out of space so will add further issues on separate threads......

Odd that you had a problem.

Spent the money for a repair..

And THEN join a forum..

presumably waiting to hear of any shortcuts and labour saving techniques

Hello anyway

Hi, I never join "forums" as a rule as they tend to be infested with smug people with stupid add on comments, thanks varse.

My van broke down, couldn't work, need to pay bills, that's why I HAD to have it fixed........

Get one of these (see below) and look at the threads about water ingress



Mike

oops rippled the water their me thinks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To be fair a water leak that rotted the injectors that badly suggests the bonnet was never opened.

I've not had a Fiat van but every Fiat car in the family (two Unos, three Panda Mk2, Punto Mk2 HGT, Seicento 900, Alfa 156) have all been reliable. The Punto HGT let me down but it was my fault for driving a cheap car without changing the cam belt.

I have had a Merc Vito Mk1 van and what a rot box that was. I sent it back when the HP deal was 50% paid off. Two tone white and rust was just not worth keeping. It was also rough and unpleasant to drive and the immobiliser packed up. I regretted not getting a Vauxhaull Vivaro or Fiat Ducato.

Aaarghh FIAT said:

I will never buy another Fiat again!

Bought this van, 50k miles on it, FSH... Here is what has gone wrong on it in three years:

Due to the unsealed joint in the two piece plastic cover between the bonnet and windscreen, water leaked in and corroded two of the injectors so badly they failed. My honest Fiat dealer stated the fuel pump, DPF and all injectors had failed....really, at the same time! They also won't attempt to remove the injectors because the heads always breaks, so £500 for a head on top.... Removed vehicle to an independent (friend of a friend) he said they will not work on Fiat as a rule as they are like boomerangs.... once touched keep coming back!

I was present at his request, to witness all but one head bolts sheer, again due to corrosion......... £5000, later van back on the road..........£3700 cheaper than the Fiat dealer though... Will run out of space so will add further issues on separate threads......

Click to expand...

What year and model do you have????
My 2006 ducato did have a water at what looked like a scuttle drain type structure.....all over the automatic electronics plug. Stupid stupid stupid design... But luckily i found this problem at the start. Plugged leak well. Should have no gremlins now! Touch wood....

I will add. My VAn has got 328K on the odometer.

It hadn't rained here for 8 months.
But then we had a downpour of biblical proportions right when i was in the middle of a fix.
It was a fluke that I was in the engine bay at the time.
... I chanced upon the water leak issue at the very beginning of ownership.

Imagine...you go for a drive. park it. It rains and a water leak...you don't know about, plays gremlins
with the electrics.
It would have been years of random electrical faults and unreliability for me.

I was lucky. Found the fault within a week. Probably saved my auto gearbox also.
This was like winning the lottery. This never happens to me! go figure.

Whilst this is a diesel....this is a high performance diesel with shedloads of electrics.
This is not the same as a diesel of the past. Death by sensors.
In other words, fix that water leak! Water under the bonnet of a modern diesel is not good.

My van seems reliable now....touch wood.
Fix the water leak. Use Neutral cure silicon.

Hope you resolve your issues after that!
I posted some pics of my water leak fix on the forum but you may have a different model?

taffybloke said:

Get one of these (see below) and look at the threads about water ingress



Mike

Click to expand...

yeah...my funnel was built into my Ducato at the bottom of the windscreen. That funnel contraption looks to be a cheaper version just as capable to leak....in the same area. You have to make sure the seals at the hose are good so no water leaks. Older cars will deteriorate.

IceVovo said:

yeah...my funnel was built into my Ducato at the bottom of the windscreen. That funnel contraption looks to be a cheaper version just as capable to leak....in the same area. You have to make sure the seals at the hose are good so no water leaks. Older cars will deteriorate.

Click to expand...

This Funnel is a Citroen part, not sold by Fiat or Peugeot but still fits all the X250 models. it collects all the water that makes its way through the centre joint in the scuttle. The scuttle still needs to be sealed where it touches the windscreen. This has been posted before under "water ingress".

Their are other places that let in water, one place in particular to protect is the area behind the passenger side headlight where the ECU and fuse box is located.

Mike