General Fiat Sedici

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General Fiat Sedici

Lous Blue 500

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Feb 22, 2009
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We bought a 500 6 months ago and are realy loving it, we are now also buying a sedici but cant find much info on them especially if there are any bad points to watch out for, anyone got one of these are any info would be appreciated
 
Hi I bought a used Sedici 4 months ago and am having terrible trouble with going from 3rd gear down to 2nd or 1st when the car is cold (or even if it is chilly outside)....... I am fighting with Arnold Clarks and Fiat to try and get this resolved. Fiat turned around and said that the gear problem was a "characteristic"... problem more like! Having read other posts on this site it appears that the problem is with older Diesel Sedici's (mine is a 56 plate) so if you are considering petrol or diesel, go with petrol. I don't know if this a problem with new sedici's or not. But having said all this I love my sedici and hope that I don't have to demand that Arnold Clark take it back if the problem with the gears cannot be fixed.
 
I have never had any problems with 2nd gear myself. But, I have had a rattle coming from the door which turned out to be a loose external black panel and has now been fixed. There was also a vibration coming from the front of the dashboard which apparently was the aircon pipe and has also now been fixed. Still, I have no regrets whatsoever and love owning my Sedici which is such a rarity on UK roads. Enjoy yours!
 

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Seriously considering canceling!! as it already developing faults and we havent even got it yet !!was due to pick it up sat am 1hr before pick up got got a call from the fiat dealer engine management light had come on, can we delay pick up till today as they get it sorted, promised a call this morning to let us know when it would be ready call about 2pm just going into workshops and they would let us know, no call so i called them at 5:30 answer oh yes was just going to call you (yeah right!!) we think it needs a new air flow meter (shouldnt they have noticed the fault on the PDI before saturday) we have had to order one and it should be here tomorrow!! and you should be able to have it tommorrow, this was a fiat main dealer doesnt say a lot for there spares availability as from past experience (Alfas!!) MAfs fail a lot!!) its only 2 1/2 years old and only has 15k on the clock, also salesman when asked on warranty said until manufacturers warranty ran out (he even tried to say that some dealers only do sold as seen which is complete garbage as a garages legally cannot do sold as seen!! )
 
Hi the kit which is meant to fix the gear problem hasn;t worked on my Sedici and I am fighting with Fiat to get the gear box repalced for a new model as seemingly the problem does not exist with the newer models (mine is an 56reg). The 3 year warrange expires on 15th Dec so am fighting to get this resolved before then or else I am demanding my money back from Arnold Clarks!:bang:
 
I can’t get into 2nd when the car is cold.:( Usual Fiat response from the service department was to basically ignore me. I will be selling in the spring when the warmer days means the gearbox will work and the dealer I part-ex too won’t know there is an issue.:D
 
The 2nd gear issue is with the Diesels only as they have a different 6-speed box whereas the petrol is 5-speed.
 
Scotsmiss

As yours has the same reg date as mine you may or may not have another issue with Arnold Clarks as I have just discovered mine is ex rental car and the dealer lied through there teeth when asked were it had come from prior to purchase
 
We have a 56 Plate 1.9 multijet dynamique. We also had the problem with gear linkage (I was driving one day and it snapped) we had it repaired under warranty. No other issues so far (touching wood!:p)

I really like the car however I do think there is poor visibilty at front sides due to windscreen columns.
 
Lous Blue 500

Perhaps it would be better if you didn't get the car from Arnold Clark. If you like the car get one from another garage. I'm not sure where you're based but look for a dealer who includes a years warranty on used cars - Parks for example.

Personally I wouldn't buy a car for Arnold Clark as after sales service is non-existent. I also know someone who used to work for them. I've heard some horror stories about the cover ups!

Good luck(y)
 
HI Lotus Blue, funny you mention about your Sedici being and ex rental, mine is too and the only way I found that out was when the paperwork arrived from the DVLA!.... funy how Arnold Clark's forgot to mention that little gem.

The Fiat engineer now says that my Sedici is fine, even though it still won't go into 2nd gear when cold.... and Fiat customer services is ignoring me, probably hoping I will go away, but they obviously don't realise who they are dealing with!

I now waiting to meet with the GM of Arnold Clark but havng spoken to him once on the phone, I'm not holding out much hope of getting things resolved. Following this experievce I would never tough another Fiat or Arnold Clark dealership again.... I'm sick to the back teeth of the whole experience.... I;m going back to reliable VW's
 
Firstly the sedici isn't a real Fiat, secondly it seems unfair slating the whole arnold clark group (largest in europe) over one salesman.

My advice is talk to the garages DET, let him drive the car & contact Fiat. From here they can bring out a engineer to resolve things to your satisfaction.
 
Having driven both Bravo's and Punto's they were both as bad as each other... sorry but I think Fiat's are rubbish cars. The last courtesy car (which was an 09) had a indictor that either wouldn't switch on or wouldn't switch off... nightmare and I'm not the only one who slates Arnold Clarks, I stupdily gave them the benefit of the doubt that they couldn't be as bad as the rumours were saying, but I've yet to see something to prove otherwise.

The Fiat engineer has been looking at the car for the last 4 months and I'm still left with a car that won't go into 2nd gear when it's cold and as I say am waiting to speak to the GM at Arnold Clark in Aberdeen, so we will have to wait and see what he is saying. I finally got to speak to someone at Fiat Customer Servivces after I had to call them for the 3rd time!!. All in all Fiat seem to be pretty poor on their cars and customer service
 
Having driven both Bravo's and Punto's they were both as bad as each other... sorry but I think Fiat's are rubbish cars. The last courtesy car (which was an 09) had a indictor that either wouldn't switch on or wouldn't switch off... nightmare and I'm not the only one who slates Arnold Clarks, I stupdily gave them the benefit of the doubt that they couldn't be as bad as the rumours were saying, but I've yet to see something to prove otherwise.

The Fiat engineer has been looking at the car for the last 4 months and I'm still left with a car that won't go into 2nd gear when it's cold and as I say am waiting to speak to the GM at Arnold Clark in Aberdeen, so we will have to wait and see what he is saying. I finally got to speak to someone at Fiat Customer Servivces after I had to call them for the 3rd time!!. All in all Fiat seem to be pretty poor on their cars and customer service

Fiats are rubbish cars...well thats a opinion you are entitled to but FYI one in seven vans in the world is a Fiat, Fiat are also fairing better than the majority in the worldwide recession....they must be doing something right!

Arnold clark are Europes biggest independent dealership chain, thats no mean feat! When you sell the sheer volume of cars yearly that they do you have to expect a percentage of dissatisfied customers as any large business has. Thats no help to you I admit but why dont you ask for the engineer to be at the garage first thing in the morning (you need to leave car overnight) so he can see the fault assuming this has not already been done?. Another potential issue is as a suzuki (sedici is not a Fiat based car) maybe they know of a problem but are not releasing information on it? There could be lots of reasons.

No one here is doubting what you are saying or trying to dismiss you but again you cant slate a whole organisation over a individual. I found a piece of blue plastic inside a asda sausage yesterday does that mean I have the right to discredit the whole asda group/personel....I will still shop there....errr well ok the wife will:eek:
 
Okay I appreciate what you are saying... but I'm getting to the end of my tether with both Fiat and Arnold Clark and feel that I am getting the run around from them both.... just feel that they are trying to placate me until the warranty runs out, then hey presto the problem is all mine!

As for your suggestion of leaving the car overnight and getting the engineer to check it first thing, this has been done numerous times and he still says that the car is fine. If anyone can suggest any other alternatives to get to the bottom of this problem I would be very grateful. I really love the Sedici and apart from the problem with the gears it is a great little car, but when it comes to the bottom line, what good is a car that won't go into second gear when it's cold... I had a VW for 7 years and apart from having to get one tire and the battery changed, I had no problems what so ever...

Oh well back to my fight with Fiat and Arnold Clarks
 
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