So despite my hopes (and as expected), there is no product code or details for cruise control on the Panda on any global markets, so aftermarket it is.

I'll see how much I come to miss it in the coming months before I consider adding it.

On the plus side, the parts I ordered on Friday have arrived at the dealer, despite being told it was a 2 week wait!

Later 4x4s (and also all the previous model) had a height adjustable seat - mine has (2018 car), and an earlier one (2005) did. The adjustment is only to make it lower, not higher, than the fixed seat so far as I can tell. Basically it lowers the back part of the squab - the bit you sit on). This of course then has an effect on where the back of the seat 'fits' your back.

I'd stay well clear of full climate. Manual works really well, and its not exactly difficult to move the controls if you meed to. And, you'd need to dismantle an awful lot of car to get to it [edit] Here's a link to show what might be involved. This is on Fiat 500, but the system is identical. https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/changing-the-evaporator-on-a-fiat-500.35301/

At that age (2013) it is well worth checking that the rubber 'tonight; that supports the centre bearing of the propshaft is still in good order. They fail through perishing.

As to power: enjoy it for what it is - a perfect car for small country lanes and muddy tracks. There, nimbleness rather than speed is called for. Offroad, its torque not HP that's important. And in that context I find my Tuscan Green looks great with plenty of Hertfordshire Mud as decoration

You'll love it - plenty of Smiles per Gallon.

I'll have a good look under at the weekend, it seems to have been garaged when not in use, so hoping that will have kept any deterioration at bay.

Thanks for the heads-up about the seat base, looks like a bit of a non-starter, along with climate control, - perfectly happy with what's there now I've gotten used to it, might benefit from a recharge though as the compressor clicks on and off a bit.

Funny thing happened this morning, after the first day of driving, the stop-start started working and has been consistently stopping and starting, and catching me out pulling away from junctions.

Today it stopped as normal, at its usual junction and on pressing the clutch came up with the "stop start unavailable" message, no other errors - it had to be restarted with the key?

Shift lights were working up to, and afterwards so suspect it was a bit of a glitch, but surprised if it had satisfied the parameters to stop the car, then surely it would have started it again?

System is off for the time being anyhow as it's not of an annoyance at the mo.

lunchbeers said:

...[air con] might benefit from a recharge though as the compressor clicks on and off a bit.

...after the first day of driving, the stop-start started working and has been consistently stopping and starting, and catching me out pulling away from junctions.

Today it stopped as normal, at its usual junction and on pressing the clutch came up with the "stop start unavailable" message, no other errors - it had to be restarted with the key?

Shift lights were working up to, and afterwards so suspect it was a bit of a glitch, but surprised if it had satisfied the parameters to stop the car, then surely it would have started it again?
.

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The air con compressor should clikck on and off - there's a thermostat that regulates the temperature of the air con system - otherwise it would freeze. Ive never yet had to re-gas a car air con (just like most office systems, they re sealed for life... If they need a re-gas. then a seal has failed somewhere). If it's not been done, changing the pollen filter might be an idea as that will let more air through.

Stop-start system monitors the battery voltage, and if low, will not operate. I guess if the car's not been used much it may have dropped charge. The 'turn key' warning tends to happen if you don't fully depress the clutch to restart it, or are too swift in trying to go before the engine’s running. A safety feature to stop it lurching off in gear as the starter turns.

Shift lights are completely independent of the start-start system: they detect the gear selector position (from a sensor on the gear cables), combined with road speed and engine power sensors via the ECU.

If Stop-start remains iffy, a battery change may be in order. An 8 or 9 year old battery (assuming still on original ione) is not bad going. Stop-start batteries are much less tolerant of being allowed to run low (ie by the car not be used often enough to keep a good level of charge) and deteriorate faster than a 'normal' lead acid battery in those circumstances.

Thanks for your comments, the symptoms are similar to an old Volvo we have which clicks on and off when it's pressure is low, that needs a regas every couple of years, no major leaks detected, but it turns 24 this year.

Generally if sat or not used frequently, the refrigerant can escape, which is why we tell my mam off for turning the AC off on her car, you should have a re-gas every 5 years or so anyway

Apparently the car had a service before I received it, the oil is nice and clean anyway and bloody hard to read on the dipstick, but unsure if pollen filter was done.

Stop-start has been working well up until.this morning, I charged the battery when I got the car last week and stop-start began working the next day, the battery being a nearly new Bosch S4, so definitely not the original, just thought it was odd as it obviously looks at numerous parameters such as engine temperature, speed leading up to the stop etc that it would have an issue.

Mentioned the shift lights as seems to be a couple of occurances with the clutch switch/pedal breaking, knocking out start-stop and disabling the shift indicators.

I'll probably just leave it off from now on

Herts Hillhopper said:

...At that age (2013) it is well worth checking that the rubber 'tonight; that supports the centre bearing of the propshaft is still in good order. ...

Click to expand...

Don't you just love spellcheckers that can't cope with my fat fingers... That should have said 'the rubber 'doughnut' that supports the bearing!

No worries, I got the message, and my spellchecker is just as bad, it's actually saved all my misspellings and I can't get rid of them!

RE 105 BHP mod.

I used to have the TA105 engine in a 500S before switching to a Panda 4x4 when I got my dog. As has been mentioned it produces the same 145Nm torque as the TA85. But also, The TA105 reaches that torque peak a bit higher up the rev range. So until you get over 2000rpm, the TA85 actually has more grunt. Which is what you want in a 4x4.

Beefing up the power to 100+HP can be done cheaply with a Race-Chip basic S box. This improves the torque as well as the power. I got the previous version when I switched to the Panda as I thought I'd feel the drop in performance (because the Panda's heavier than the 500 - I take more notice of Nm than 'horses').

It worked as claimed for a year, then I removed it before the first service in case the dealer raised warranty questions. Then I decided the Panda had enough power as it was, I hadn't really been wringing out the extra. And having taken it off I noticed the engine made a nicer sound without the RaceChip. Sold it on eBay.

Thanks for the heads-up, I'll keep it as is then!

Getting the hang of it more and more as the days go by, that feeling of it about to stall when it's telling me to shift up takes some getting used to!

Got to drive the Alfa next week again for a trip up the motorway, that'll no doubt feel like a rocketship again and undo all my learning!

On the seat height adjustment, if you did decide you wanted to try it, it might be worth seeing if there's any 4x4s with your interior upholstery that had it fitted in a scrap yard yet. They wouldn't have reached the end of their natural life so there's not going to be tonnes, but you never know about the odd light accident damage example that may have been written off given how easily insurance co's can write cars off now. Obviously the main battle would be finding a seat of an accident damaged car that's not fired the side airbags. I thought all 4x4 Panda's had the seat height adjustment. Fiat were very tight on the equipment on this generation vs the 2003 Panda.

With regards to Cruise Control, they've started fitting it as standard on the 500, which shares a lot of it's architecture with the Panda, so I wonder if using that system would be a way to go? I know the stalks and controls are different on the Panda, but so are the heater controls and yet underneath that's the same system as the 500 too. Lancia/Chrysler Ypsilon is another car on the same platform - that had all sorts of equipment including self-parking, so may have had Cruise Control. My main question mark is whether the Panda's had the wiring for it pre-installed, as can be often be the case with Fiat's/Alfa's.

My Parents old 500 TwinAir would stop and then say 'Start-Stop Unavailable' even from new. It's just a very crude system that seems to get very easily confused and we just switched it off as routine when starting the car and have done with every Fiat and Alfa owned since, although on the occasions we've forgotten, it did work better in my MiTo, Giulietta & Tipo and their 500x than it did in the little 500 - I don't think the small batteries in the 500/Panda help matters, but it's invariably a bit pointless anyway.

Re driving, treat it like a diesel when pulling away; use first to get it moving and then straight into second to enjoy the torque. Where it differs from a diesel is how keenly it revs - you could literally get up to 70mph in forth gear and not realise. It's great fun and the 500 seemed happy as larry on a motorway cruise, where the engine fades to a quiet purr and apart from the road noise it's generally a very happy place to be. Panda may be slightly less settled on a motorway due to the extra height, but the TwinAir engine is fantastic and suits the Panda and 500 character perfectly.

Thanks Liam, had found one up in Leeds, same upholstery and all, but they'd sold the seat, I'd be comfortable stripping a seat down and refitting the correct covers (mine doesn't have the side airbags so not an issue if they'd blown) only other breakers I've seen can't tell if they have the adjustable seat or not.

I did find a switch pack for a 500L which seemed to have same switchgear as the Panda, and a similar wheel/cowling, you've then got to sort out the gubbins which makes it work, I'll see if there's anything in MES, but doubt it, imagine you'd need a specific ECU, that could be a body computer, engine ECU or abs unit (not sure what actually controls cruise control).

Stop start is remaining off for now, luckily once switched off, it remains off until it's switched on again on the Panda.

Excellent point about using it as you would a diesel, not used to having a petrol with such low torque, the last petrol I had was a twinspark which needed revving out to go anywhere.

The Panda's surprisingly civilised on the motorway, although overtaking takes some planning, scary how easy it is to get to 90, and I bought this as it was only a matter of time until I got caught speeding in the Alfa!

Cruise..
Not even an option on the panda.. or 500 up to 2017 - IIRC

Ive spent a decade trying to get cruise on a FIAT.. every used purchase I have ..its the 'other ECU' the one that doesnt support cruise

Punto TA has it from the factory

But Grandes and Panda do not

A place at Castle Donnington had a £180/£320 system.. 3 hours fitting

But once covid hit a trip up there wasnt viable

For us .. the panda is the worst car to spend the £320 on.. the MJ's are better m.way cars

I'll see how I manage without it, it got used loads on the 147, less so on the 159, so perhaps I'll survive.

I normally make a trip to Durham from Southampton once in a while, that'll be the acid test I guess.

The money isn't the issue, I intend on keeping this for some years, my concern is that an aftermarket solution might be a bit crap.

Once the Alfa gets its remap removed and returned to normal, it can be sold and the Panda will be my sole car.

The Alfa does make for a fantastic mway cruiser.

I use cruise all the time on my other car and miss it when I'm in the Panda. If the traffic isn't too heavy and the limit is 40mph and over it's on. I might have to investigate the Castle Donington place as it's not too far from me although the DIY option is tempting at that price too.

Cruise is available as a plug and play aftermarket from Conrad Anderson. As soon as lock up is over and I can drive I m going to get and fit to my TA. There is a thread on here with some info that completely convinced my. They guarantee it and that it will not affect the warranty either. Looks like a really slick system. There are alternatives if you lunt round . Cost c £350

Having looked at the kit, I'm expecting I could fit it myself, save me a couple of hundred quid.

Wondering why the Conrad Anderson is the price it is, can get some much more advanced tech for £350.

Having been underneath the Panda today, have noticed that all looks well, especially centre prop bearing.

Shockingly the undertray is in a right state, that'll have to be taken off and repainted

lunchbeers said:

Having been underneath the Panda today, have noticed that all looks well, especially centre prop bearing.

Shockingly the undertray is in a right state, that'll have to be taken off and repainted

Click to expand...

Good the bearing's fine - pain to fix otherwise. Unlike the whole of the rest of the car, the steel undertray is not galvanised and does show surface rust quite quickly (although that said, my current 4x4 is still fine at three years old, but its predecessors did all have flacky paint on the tray.) It is also very heavy and is best supported on a trolley jack while you undo the various bolts. It then slides back a few mm to unclip from the front edge and can then be lowered on the jack and wheeled out from the front of the car.

Thanks for that, I'm quite surprised at the state of it, luckily just surface rust and no holes, looks like that'll be getting treated over the weekend then!

Thanks for the tip, I'd seen it was supposed to be heavy, but looks deceptively light!

You might get by without the jack, but if left on just one bolt it will bend something - the tray or the bolt...Also, see this thread... https://www.fiatforum.com/panda-iii/486312-rusty-sump-guard.html?p=4587705

No worries, I've any number of jacks so better safe than sorry, funny coincidence that that thread appeared when I was just about to update this thread!

Luckily mine's not rusted through yet, but could definitely be described as 'scabby'