Nigelblacks....yes is does sound like same problem, seems like fiat cant match the right pistons to the 1.1 , you were lucky to get 13000 ....i only got 1000...tried to contact the dealer today at 16.50 got answering machine ho hum....going to try again tomorrow for a (don't laugh) progress report....
getting to point where i want to contact finance company telling them i am defaulting cos i been stuck with dud mechandise.

Todays news.... dealer was asked by slough to time the engine to see how long it knocked for!!!! they did this and sent report back to slough, now they want dealer to take oil pressure readings....
For pete's sake all this matters not to me the engine is duff no matter how many tests they do....why don't they just send replacement engine??? they can play with my old one to their hearts content once mine is back on the road...
Fiat couldn't give a damn how long i'm without the car.... and no courtesy car

cant believe you have no courtesy car.as i only really have one car i would be kicking up a fuss till i got one

When my Punto Sporting was diagnosed with Piston Slap, I was first told that it was perfectley acceptable if the noise went away within 30 seconds.

When I told them that it actually went on longer than that I was given a revised answer that it was acceptable if the noise went away after 1 minute.

I then told them that it had lasted up to 5 minutes before receedng and was told that Fiat had said that that was certainly acceptable and that absolutely no long term damage would occur to my engne.

What a load of c*?p

Do not be swayed by the "excuses" that they will try to give you which will only save Fiat money and leave you with a faulty engine which can only get worse.

With the volume of small cars that Fiat churn out, there are bound to be some lemons that escape, but Fiat should have the common sense and courtesy to get them sorted quickly if they want to keep customers.

You can't blame Fiat for trying to get out of it but they really need to get their customer relaton act together if they want to keep customers repeat buying.

Tradng Standards was useless, but a solictor got mine sorted and he billed Fiat.

I have been an HGV Class 1 driver for the last 35 years and currently an HGV drving instructor as well, but in the "old days" I have spent many happy times fixing my truck at the side of the road in the UK, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and the Fiat dealership treated me like I knew nothing about engines. They even gave me my car back after one repair with the new alternator not connected and the petrol vapour recovery pipe disconnected and then had the cheek to try to tell me that it wasn't detrimental to the running of the car!!!

I know that other manufacturers probably act the in a similar way as Fiat, but it's only Fiat that have bitten me.

My car runs great now and I love its looks, economy and specs, but "what's going to go wrong next" is always in the back of my mind and how are the garage and Fiat going to treat me.

Good luck gettng yours sorted and "happy motoring" when it is

Oh my God, i just don't believe i just signed on the dotted line without consulting the forum. Just bought a 54 plate Panda 1.1 Active, with 7000 on the clock. Engine sounded fine, How long do you think i've got before it blows?

Modo...don't panic chances are that yours have 4 matched pistons ...evedently mine has not the engine builder must have been practising his alphabet " i'll hava da A an da B an da C ana D"

Thats good to hear. Got 2 Marea's, both with blown engines (No, i'm not a heavy driver) LOL. I'll check with Fiat dealership when i go and p pick up a panda. At least i can amaze him at my knowledge of teflon coated pistons HaHa.

you might get matching set of 4.... seems its a 1.1 problem and its pretty gutless anyway i think my old daewoo matiz 796 was on par with this 1.1

For those of you who have been acessing this particular discussion, I can advise that any correspondence sent to our offices will be addressed as soon as possible.

This case is being monitored by Customer Relations and we will take any action to ensure the vehicle is to the customers satisfaction.

Regards,

Chris Smith

A thread like this makes you NOT want to buy a new Fiat.

Surely replacing the engine (or the car) promptly would have left a happy customer and encouraged (especially me!) more buyers because the service from FIAT and the DEALERSHIP was excellent and the member would have been on here recommending we all buy a car from Fiat.
How much custom do Fiat lose for the cost of not replacing an engine?
WE all accept I'm sure that cars do develop faults, even new ones. IT's not the fault that loses customers but the way in which it is handled.

p.s. I used to work for a Ford dealers, saw how they treated their customers and have never bought a Ford - nor do I plan to!

Sprox hit the nail on the head...
News today, the kind intervention of Chris Smith means i will soon have some transport sorted, awaiting call from dealer that didn't come and got answering machine at 3pm!!! so will let the forum know when it arrives or more than likely i'll have to find someone to take me the 30 approx miles.
At least something appears to be happening now , an engine on the way to swansea would soon hasten the wait NO MORE DIAGNOSTICS just change the engine , fiat can play with the dud back at their own factory in their own time

ChrisSmithCR said:

For those of you who have been acessing this particular discussion, I can advise that any correspondence sent to our offices will be addressed as soon as possible.

This case is being monitored by Customer Relations and we will take any action to ensure the vehicle is to the customers satisfaction.

Regards,

Chris Smith

Click to expand...

Easy to say, but the evidence on this thread suggests otherwise...

mark1962 said:

Sprox hit the nail on the head...
News today, the kind intervention of Chris Smith means i will soon have some transport sorted, awaiting call from dealer that didn't come and got answering machine at 3pm!!! so will let the forum know when it arrives or more than likely i'll have to find someone to take me the 30 approx miles.
At least something appears to be happening now , an engine on the way to swansea would soon hasten the wait NO MORE DIAGNOSTICS just change the engine , fiat can play with the dud back at their own factory in their own time

Click to expand...

It would probably cost them LESS to just replace the engine rather than have the time and labour and admin costs of managers etc dealing with it ..... remember they don't pay as much for an engine as we do! (how much does it cost fiat to make an engine block? More than a day's wages for a manager?) Plus! they need the engine back so they know what went wrong and can fix the design fault! Car manufacturers do really want to get rid of faults don't they? ? ? ?? ? ? ?

mark1962 said:

Sprox hit the nail on the head...
News today, the kind intervention of Chris Smith means i will soon have some transport sorted, awaiting call from dealer that didn't come and got answering machine at 3pm!!! so will let the forum know when it arrives or more than likely i'll have to find someone to take me the 30 approx miles.
At least something appears to be happening now , an engine on the way to swansea would soon hasten the wait NO MORE DIAGNOSTICS just change the engine , fiat can play with the dud back at their own factory in their own time

Click to expand...

And how did Chris SMith know about the Forum?

This is just one case of many though, Im sure Mr. Smith means well, but he cant monitor everyones case! Also, he cant win back all those lost Fiat customers that have suffered for years from bad service, myself included. It shouldnt have taken this action to get your car sorted, mine was never sorted so they got it back with my love! Stick to used cars and just use dealers for parts.

Swansae dealer obviously doesn't work saturdays, no call from him and just the answer machine again when wife tried this am. So no car till monday at least, they will have to deliver it cos i will be back in work and wife won't drive that far away even if she can arrange a lift

Sprox said:

And how did Chris SMith know about the Forum?

Click to expand...

word of mouth, used a search engine etc etc.......

It's easy to knock the Chris Smith, but to be fair he has come on this forum and made a commitment to see the matter through.

I agree this particular problem has gone on too long, and certainly not to the customers satisfaction, but lets see if things improve soon

Fiat have got a mountain to climb in order to win back the support of many consumers, but don't have a pop at somebody who is trying.

see for me a courtesy car would have gone so far to save all this hassle.okay its not what you want with a new car but at least it cuts down on the inconvenience

I respect Chris Smith for coming on and leaving a comment. Practical, sensible and just polite and friendly.