Hello Panda Lovers!

Here's a new novelty trick that my Panda has learnt ...... when i turn my lights on or off my boot unlocks.

it can also do this at other random times and not always when the car is stationary.

The plus side is that this has made driving a lot more exciting but I'm a bit worried about the slight downside of the tailgate flying open on the motorway.

so I'm looking for some advice. While the car was under warranty I had a similar fault and the dealer ship replaced the left hand stalk (the stick thing where the light switch is). So I spoke to them about it and apparently if you have work carried out under warranty there is no guarantee( how rubbish is that?)

Anyway my questions are:

Is this common or is my Panda special and unique
Any ideas what might be wrong with it?
How difficult is it to put right?

Grateful for your thoughts/comments

Jennifer

Sorry to hear your woes.
Never had the problem before, but at least they are telling the truth. Most (if not all) manufacturers warranties only cover it while the car is in warranty and dont extend this warranty cover for an extra year after the parts are used.
If you had bought the parts then they would be covered.
Perhaps If you ring Fiats customer care line and you never know you may get a goodwill payment from them.


Is it not something obvious or simple like water getting into somewhere? Probably boot related! Or you could just change the stalk and try that again.
Good luck though.

jenniferkk said:

So I spoke to them about it and apparently if you have work carried out under warranty there is no guarantee( how rubbish is that?)

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All work done under warrentiee is guaranteed for 12 months, or the remainder of warrentiee, what ever is longer

Warranty work should indeed be covered for at least 12 months...

Perhaps you have two separate problems which seemed to happen together coincidentally. My tailgate switch failed and would either keep opening the boot or keep it firmly shut, but I could still open it with the remote on the key. Within a week of getting my tailgate switch replaced, I started having problems with my headlights turning themselves off and had to get the light stalk replaced. This was all done freely under the third year warranty.

Thanks for all your input, heres the developments....last night when i turned my lights on instead of my boot opening the message "side light failure" flashes up on the dash.
Sure enough the bulb had blown, since replacing it the boot seems to be behaving.
I suppose the trouble with any intermittent fault is that you are never quite sure if it's fixed or not but please keep your fingers crossed and well see what happens!


Thanks Again
J

Hi,
my panda does the same thing (=random tailgate opening). I noticed when the car is on a scarp or one half (eg. right side) is parking on wall-seat (so it isn't parking horizontal) then random opening is more frequent. I have the 'remote open button on key' version, tailgate can be opened only with key or pushing the button on key.
My tips so far:

1. Maybe the microswitch on the tailgate lock has contact-fault.....
2. or maybe there is a cabling problem, I mean damaged wrapping on controlling cable towards the lock could cause short circuit when touching somewhere the body of the car.
I am suffering with this problem for a while so any other idea or the final solution tip would be appreciated. Thanks in advace.
BR,
grimbus

Grimbus.

If your car is still in warranty, get the microswitch on your boot changed under warranty. That's the way mine started to go. The switch is definitely not working properly any more.

grimbus said:

Hi,
I noticed when the car is on a scarp or one half (eg. right side) is parking on wall-seat (so it isn't parking horizontal) then random opening is more frequent.

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How do you manage to park on a wall-seat?

Hi Wee Smurf,

Thanx for the hint but unfortunatelly the car is out-of warranty....
anyway is it a cheap or expensive component?
BR,
grimbus

Sorry don't know the price. I didn't pay so I didn't ask.

Can't imagine that the part would be that expensive though. Probably would pay more on labour replacing it, but it's probably something that could be tackled by yourself.

I have the exact same problem, started a couple of weeks ago. Car is out of warranty. The tailgate will unlock shortly after starting the car, stationery or whilst moving. After 2 or 3 hard slams it seems to stay locked but it is a bit worrying. I have also started to get the Airbag lights come on at random times, stopping and starting the ignition seems to cause them to go off....

Ours started to do this and we sent it in. The dealer said there wasnt a problem it was just being operated incorrectly. Having said that the problem went away and hasnt resurfaced for the past 6 months.

MarkMorb said:

...started to get the Airbag lights come on at random times, stopping and starting the ignition seems to cause them to go off....

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Mine did this for a while. My cure was to open the glovebox and, using the key, turn the 'Passenger air bag switch' in there off and on a few times. Seems the switch contacts get dirty and cause the error light to show, often after going along a rough bit of road (which is most of them in Hertofrdshire!)
Pete

grimbus said:

Hi Wee Smurf,

Thanx for the hint but unfortunatelly the car is out-of warranty....
anyway is it a cheap or expensive component?
BR,
grimbus

Click to expand...

Hello All,

Well i've taken it in and been told that it was the micro switch in the boot and it cost £40 for the part and £40 for the labour, I'm sure there is a healthy garage mark up on the switch.

So I was pleased that it didn't really cost that much to get it sorted.

Got in the car the next day, turned it on and....the boot opened!

it's happened a couple of times since, seems to be happening less so that's good. We are thinking about disconnecting the electrical element of the lock and leaving it as a manual lock so you'd only be able to open it with the key but it wouldn't open on it's own any more.

Anyone think that's a good idea? frankly i don't have the time or money to keep taking it back to the garage.

Any thoughts?

Jennifer

The switch isn't available separate- it only comes as the complete tailgate handle assembly (inc number plate lamps), so the price isn't too bad when you think about it.

Because of this, and to make things simpler, the unit has only one electrical connection, so disconnecting just the switch will involve removing/cutting individual wires- unless you're happy driving around with no number plate lamps.

At the end of the day they diagnosed incorrectly, so they should have another look (free of charge, for the first hour at least, until they're certain of the cause)- I assume it's now out of warranty?

jenniferkk said:

Thanks for all your input, heres the developments....last night when i turned my lights on instead of my boot opening the message "side light failure" flashes up on the dash.

Click to expand...

This is could be linked to the cause of the fault, as both the number plate lamps and the tailgate catch motor use the same common earth point (I know in this case the bulb was blown, but you mentioned in the first post the boot fault happened when the lights were turned on).

If there's a dodgy connection to earth, when the number plate lamps come on it'll find the next best route- possibly through the motor, causing the boot to open.

Only a guess though.

MarkMorb and others- There's an old Service Bulletin for airbag faults (where both red and amber lamps stay on) which has been discussed on here before. Cure is a modified piece of loom fitted by the dealer only, only about an Hour's labour + the part.

Same probl;em with the tailgate here. Usually if I have the wipers goiung and select reverse, the rear wiper starts and the boot unlocks. However, it doesn't just do it at this time, it can go at any time. I've even heard it chuntering away to itself constantly trying to open over and over again. I'm gouing to delve into the wiring and see if there is an earth issue. I notice that it doesn't open with the switch on the tailgate very often now either, altjhough the key and the key switch both operate fine. Bring back the good old manual lock I had on the Uno!