krugoval said:

ok i see your point, maybe i overreacted

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Thats ok, don't get me wrong, not saying that whats happening is good, and one would hope they sort the issue (ie upgrading the replacement parts for better quality / redesigned ones) sooner rather than later, as it'll be costing them £££. Its just that unfortunatly the odd issue does need to be expected on newly manufactured parts. Throughout all the testing there is occassionally the odd thing that slips through the net. Only advantage being it the fault seems to cause minor annoyance / inconvienience rather than immobilising the car etc (always got to look for a silver lining ).

Re: Tailgate mechanism...

Sorry to have to report this, but my replacement tailgate mechanism, fitted 5 weeks ago, has just failed as well.

Re: Tailgate mechanism...

Oscar said:

Sorry to have to report this, but my replacement tailgate mechanism, fitted 5 weeks ago, has just failed as well.

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Looks like Fiat need to pull their finger out sooner rather than later at this rate

Most Easterly Pandas said:

And each and every one of those cars you purchased within the first few months of their launch did you

The part is completly different to the mk3 Panda and 500, their faults cannot nessecarily be directly related. If the same part then fair enough, but they're not as far as I'm aware.

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I have a funny feeling they are the same parts, the lock itself looks identical to me and the general sound of the mechanism is identical to the one on our old 500

But I don't know 100% so I am prepared to be corrected on this.

Anyway, ours has totally given up the ghost now, it doesn't even work intermittently. Will have to get it replaced in the New Year, am really hoping Oscar's experience isn't going to be the way it pans out for all of us...

Tailgate

And apparently the dealer has 6 customers waiting for the new part (seven including me now!) and there is a wait of some weeks. I feel like contacting Fiat directly - can't seem to do it via the website at the moment. Does anyone have an email address for them?

bedbug said:

How long are people waiting on average for boot mech replacement parts to arrive?

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About 3 weeks wait in the end...getting both replaced later today

My boot mech has also failed AGAIN! After only a little while of having the replacement part fitted. Surely Fiat need to redesign this part and make a nationwide recall.

The prob was that i have the key without the remote so i couldnt access the boot until i got home.

This is starting to get a joke now, cant we all sign something and send off to fiat?

Ok, I'm in the club. Mine's bust as well.

I called the service department at Desira in Norwich today and (uh-oh) both lines were engaged. The person in sales who took the call mentioned that they had heard that the problem is so widespread that Fiat are going to roll out a complete recall related to the boot mechanism.

For all of us that have this problem i have found out how to temporary fix the issue. Here goes (worked for me anyway):

It appears that these locks seem to mess up once we have had some rain and somehow water gets inside the lock (when it was dry it worked fine).

When you press the button to open the boot what is happening is that the button is getting stuck. You need to bend down and look up at the lock you will see the plastic button and then about a 2-3mm gap before the black plastic moulding. Carefully put your finger nail in the 2-3mm gap and flick the button forward, you will then once closing the boot be able to open again via the button. However it will soon get jammed again. I tried a quick blast of WD40in the 2-3mm gap and it seems to have done a job (well still ok after a day!).

Sorry if the explanation is poor so ask me further question if you like.

Hope this helps until Fiat fix this problem!!

SCORCHIO12 said:

My boot mech has also failed AGAIN! After only a little while of having the replacement part fitted. Surely Fiat need to redesign this part and make a nationwide recall.

The prob was that i have the key without the remote so i couldnt access the boot until i got home.

This is starting to get a joke now, cant we all sign something and send off to fiat?

Click to expand...

Yep, mine has failed again after a few weeks of replacement. Worse, the hillholder element of the ESC system is no longer working. Since I paid £300 quid extra for the privilege, I will need that sorting soon, as the rest of the system must be suspect.
Mike

Hill Holder is extra You sure have some stripped down versions up there. Here in Slovenia it is standard even with pop trim.

As for the boot mechanism failure - are there even any forum members without this problem here

A lock is annoying enough, but when something like the hillholder, that you come to rely on, fails, it all becomes serious.

I hope Fiat is working very hard on all of this because there are pundits who say one or more of the big European car companies will go under this year...

Ok got both mine done today, 35 minute job...guy in service reckons they've changed the design so it shouldn't go faulty ...we shall see.

WD 40 idea is interesting to prevent water ingress, but I wonder if it might invalidate warranty claim.

Guy also showed me the old mechanism...it's the entire black handle they replace with the panda logo and everything...

Tested it and it works as per the instruction manual now, feels a bit flimsy in operation, like there is a slight delay before it lets me open the tailgate.

Good luck fellow boot campers lol

Incidentally, off topic but I saw my two trade-in 1.2 Ecos on the forecourt today, with a substantial markup

My replacement has also died, have another appointment for replacement, one fix I was contemplating was cutting small strips of zipties and putting them in the switch mechanism. I sort of guessed without a redesign it would happen again. Its such a great car this is just minor especially if there'll be a recall.

Ulpian said:

A lock is annoying enough, but when something like the hillholder, that you come to rely on, fails, it all becomes serious.

I hope Fiat is working very hard on all of this because there are pundits who say one or more of the big European car companies will go under this year...

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Rely on hill holder

Have people forgotten how to use a handbrake

No. I hate hillholders, but if they fit them you are kinda stuck, so they'd better work.

I have a colleague with a Renault who has had no end of problems with hers, and on ice they are a disaster, but I've noticed that with the 4x4 and Trekking they come as standard, or at least that's what it looks like. So you buy a 'snsible' car with decent ground clearance and more winter utility, and then they bung in some technology you just don't want, or need.

But they are all doing it.

I like hill holders. I have one on my bus.
If it failed you could still just drive like it wasn't fitted.
I don't see how it would be disastrous if it did pack up?

SCORCHIO12 said:

For all of us that have this problem i have found out how to temporary fix the issue. Here goes (worked for me anyway):

It appears that these locks seem to mess up once we have had some rain and somehow water gets inside the lock (when it was dry it worked fine).

When you press the button to open the boot what is happening is that the button is getting stuck. You need to bend down and look up at the lock you will see the plastic button and then about a 2-3mm gap before the black plastic moulding. Carefully put your finger nail in the 2-3mm gap and flick the button forward, you will then once closing the boot be able to open again via the button. However it will soon get jammed again. I tried a quick blast of WD40in the 2-3mm gap and it seems to have done a job (well still ok after a day!).

Sorry if the explanation is poor so ask me further question if you like.

Hope this helps until Fiat fix this problem!!

Click to expand...

+1

This works for me.... or rather it works once, and then you have to repeat the fingernail trick.

You have to wonder why there is an obsession with electric boot lid releases when we manage quite happily with four doors that all have good old fashioned mechanical handles

deeyup said:

I like hill holders. I have one on my bus.
If it failed you could still just drive like it wasn't fitted.
I don't see how it would be disastrous if it did pack up?

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:yeahthat: If it fails you just use the handbrake as usual.

TBH it only works on certain gradients, and those which are not steep enough you still need to use the hand break on.

jamesbrownontheroad said:

+1

This works for me.... or rather it works once, and then you have to repeat the fingernail trick.

You have to wonder why there is an obsession with electric boot lid releases when we manage quite happily with four doors that all have good old fashioned mechanical handles

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And a +1 from me to, thanks SCORCHIO62!

However it also only works on a temporary basis for me too. The problem is quite apparent when you look at the button closely. Each time you press the button in and then open the boot, pressure is applied to the two bits of plastic which are in contact with each other to trigger the release.

And of course, if the weather is like it is at the moment, the chances are that there is all sorts of water, grime and dirt which gathers in the small gap (as described earlier this is no more than 2-3 mm). I tried cleaning out the gap with kitchen paper and using WD40, but if too much pressure is applied to the button it just jams again.

However, I did find that if you press the button in gently and then use both hands to lift the boot by gripping roughly underneath each of the numberplate light bulbs, that seemed to work as there was no excess pressure being applied to the button. I just used some baby wipes I had in the car to clean off the lights a bit, it saves you getting really grubby mitts!

I suppose the only thing anyone can do (in the absence of a redesigned mechanism) is make sure the button area is kept as clean as possible once you have managed to release the button.