Just had my annual service cars on an 52 plate, covered 24.5k miles. Apart from the air bag light the only other problem was with the fan. It was blowing virtually no air. Read through changing the pollen filter guide, and now i can actually feel it (i've just removed it, no replacement yet) Ancaster said that i'd be looking at around £300 for them to strip the dash board out to get to the "heater box" assuming that was the problem, plus the cost of actually fixing the fault. Anyway gripe over with.

Reading through the report
Apparently my differential is leaking, and my exhaust is corroding (i only do short journeys, and not that often 3 trips per week or so)
My electrical system is apparently in really bad condition hence the constant air bag faults (i've not cut anything but have totally renewed the sound system)

Just wondering whether i should be worried yet with the above problems, car rides and handles fine, so if it aint broke don't fix it??

Cheers
Ben

onfire_82 said:

My electrical system is apparently in really bad condition hence the constant air bag faults (i've not cut anything but have totally renewed the sound system)

Just wondering whether i should be worried yet with the above problems, car rides and handles fine, so if it aint broke don't fix it??

Cheers
Ben

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If it's in bad condition thats how it left the factory. The airbag light is an easy fix just search on tis forum. Sensor/connector under the seat. Sounds like somebody trying to drum up business, tell em ******.

onfire_82 said:

Ancaster said that i'd be looking at around £300 for them to strip the dash board out to get to the "heater box" assuming that was the problem, plus the cost of actually fixing the fault.

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You seriously need to choose a different garage for your next service if they want to charge £300 just to find the pollen filter is blocked

^ The garage has been really good up untill now, i dont know whether its because the good looking lass that used to be there has left =(

Anyone got any info on a leaky diff? and what the hell is it, becuase i've not seen patches under the car?

Did they not say £300 IF that was the problem? Big difference from saying they want £300 to fix.

onfire_82 said:

^ The garage has been really good up untill now, i dont know whether its because the good looking lass that used to be there has left =(

Anyone got any info on a leaky diff? and what the hell is it, becuase i've not seen patches under the car?

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The diff is part of the gearbox so guess they mean a leak from that area.

Didn't you ask them to show you the leak

T14086 is right to point out that a dashboard strip for a modern car is a big job (I did my Alfa 164's last year), and if they were quoting to do that, they were well within their rights. Anyway, it's good that it was/is just the pollen filter... and you have done well to find/fix it yourself

I think I'd suggest cleaning the underside of the engine/gearbox (spray cans of degreaser, brush, waterblaster or hose) and parking over some newspapers to help locate the leak. If it is from a cracked casing, it could be really serious if ignored - so probably should be investigated. But if you can't find any leak visibly in the casing, and therefore if it appears to be from a seam, and it's only a couple of drips per night, then I'd ignore it.

I'd imagine that the driveshaft seals would be another possibility. These are likely to be easy to change, as they're often pressed into a bolted-on flange (I don't know the Stilo very well yet so may be wrong!)

As for the 'electrical system in bad shape', what's the battery voltage like? I'd imagine that the electronic control systems would be sensitive to the battery voltage dipping during cranking, just when everything is doing its tests. If the airbag fault appears any time, then that's a different story as bozzy said. Check the alternator belt condition also.

Corroding exhaust... is it leaking? No? Then I think they're just trying to drum up business!

Cheers,
-Alex