now this problem with my engine has been annoying me for 2-3 weeks now. the engine sounds like its trying to do a tap dance when i 1st start it up.

its been into one fiat dealer (sheffield) and they said it was nothing "just how they run" (wot!!!)so i took it to another fiat dealer (chesterfield), they reset the tappits but that didnt solve it, they think its 'piston slap' and there is nowt they can do about it.not knowing what piston slap was i said "oh right?" and took my punto home.

ive just researched this fault and it sounds prety serious.its the piston head that is put on wrong, eiher not square or just wrong, and the piston knocks against the cylinder wall taking great lumps out of it. this obviously is not a good thing!and will eventually kill the engine. the only cure is engine rebuild or new engine.

just wondered if anyone else had this problem.

gonna go down to fiat tomorrow and confront them with the research and tell 'em to fix it. and its still under warranty!!!B)

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whats your mileage?and has it had all its oil changes as specified/

A Dog Is Not Just For Christmas
Sliced Thinly It Can Last Till Easter

its done 15000 in 1 year it had all the checks and services early[!]

punto mk2 novitec X1 kit brio alloys

no way should you have piston slap on a car of that year/mileage.defo hit fiat with the warrenty cos theres no way that should be happening.good luck and make sure you let us know how you get on

A Dog Is Not Just For Christmas
Sliced Thinly It Can Last Till Easter

8v or 16v is what i want too know

uno 1.0ie RAAAWW!

its 8v but dont go shouting it [:0]cus its debadged and it doesnt look like an 8v any more. and i dont drive it like an 8v (which may have contributed to the problem)

so disappointed cus i love my carand i didnt spend 7k on a car that goes wrong after nearly 14 months.

punto mk2 novitec X1 kit brio alloys

Yeah go in that dealer and lay the smack down get that car fixed and get it done free .

I have a 53 reg Sporting and it has suffered from piston slap since December 03 (3 weeks after buying it new). I have had various problems with the main dealer over various things but they have been sorted and now the problem lies with the fact that every time I have contacted Fiat directly (customer care) they have failed to get back to me. The new manager at the Fiat garage tells me that Fiat accept that my car is suffering from piston slap but that we have to wait until Fiat come up with a fix, but I get the feeling that that may be never. So with the foregoing in mind I e-mailed Fiat with my record of contacts to them and not getting any reply and they promised to contact me very soon (again) but I did let them know that if there is no explanations forthcoming by this Friday then I am heading off in the direction of Trading Standards.
My Punto has still not even done 4000 miles yet and I know of two other 16v punto's in the area suffering the same problem (informed by mechanic at Fiat)

That is a true statment from FIAT. At the moment they think its got something to do with over fueling when starting engine from when cold, making the fuel was the bores out clean, over a period of cold starts thus wearing the bores/pistons, But as yet they have come up with nothing..[!]

It may be a statement from FIAT but it's crap, When the 188 punto came out I changed loads of pistons because they had put the wrong ones in from the off. I recently had a 16v re-bored due to piston slap. There was loads of play, far too much to be caused by a fuelling fault. Keep moaning to FIAT they will do something about it eventually.

No they Will not. If you contact TESEO Now, or zone manager nothing will be authorised, as as i say this problem is under review.. Please Check

Well how do you explain the fact I just completed one on a 16v! It cured it! Teseo Paid for it!!!!! So start shouting

Fantastic,, You must of shouted, I know of about 20 cases and all of them are waiting for a fiat to make there move.... Thanks for info,, I'll investigate

I have had the same problem with my 8V Punto Active, for me it is a sign that the car is in need of an oil change/service as the problem in my car seems to disapear after it has the service, so maybe it is a sign that the oil in the engine has gone a buit naff!!!!!!

Hi,

Our 2002 Punto sounds like that on start up, it's a 1.2 16V Speedgear. I thought it was just one of those things, but will it lead to an engine re-build. The warranty runs out inJan 2005 and it's only done about 11K.

Should I make a fuss now.

Andy

Yes better that than needing a rebuild and replacement parts once it does run out

Hi,

If I go to the Fiat dealer and say the problem is under review, what happens if the warranty runs out before they find a fix. I think to protect myself I will have to get a letter confirming that my car had the problem inside the warranty period.

On my car it only happens in the morning when first started, I assume this is the piston slap and it sounds terrible with a loud banging sound. It takes a few minutes to go away.

I thought they all had it, as thats what I was told !!!!.

Andy

P.S By the way FiatExpert & D White Motors, has there been any fix for the terrible telephone microphone in the new Ulysse. It sounds like your in a fish tank, everybody is complaining. It is great that we have some Fiat dealers on the site now, it shows a real commitment to improving standards. It's a shame other dealers don't have the same attitude.

whos teseo?

as soon as i have a spare minute i'll go down to the dealer (armed with some info-ammo) and see if i can get it sorted.

cheers for all the input

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Teseo is Fiat and Alfa Romeo's technical help department. Provide information for fixes, authorisation for certain warranty repairs and more besides. Only the dealers can contact them.

I finally got through to Fiat head office today. I got past the customer care operator by informing her that I had been in touch with Trading Standards,
(I actually did get information from them that effectively says that I can sue the dealer or Fiat in the small claims court for independant repairs as under my statutory rights the dealer has broken his contract to supply me with goods of merchantable quality, and Fiat have broken thier contract under the terms of the warranty)

However the outcome of my conversation was that Fiat have accepted that my car IS suffering from piston slap and that they are apparently waiting for modified pistons to be delivered from Italy and that there was some sort of meeting taking place today regarding the piston slap problem. ( I got the impression that this problem is bigger than perhaps we all thought)

I am still not holding my breath, but I have informed them that I require regular updates but in any event if there is no progress in sight within a month I will be taking action against them.

P.S. If you bought your car on HP finance you can sue the finance company under the terms of your statutory rights