I have a 5dr 1.6 active stilo, previous to this I have had a punto and 2 Tipos, i'm obviously a fiat person But I seem to be having a problem with control of the stilo on bends, I recently put it down to me driving to fast in to them, the steering seems to just go, but today I was going round a roundabout turning right about 20mph and it slipped away from me, I have been driving 20plus years and ride a motorbike so cannot believe it is the way I'm driving it, any suggestions at all cuz i am stumped on this. ( have check tyres and pressure and its just passed mot)

Something pretty drastic wrong there then so go easy on the bends and go for the easy stuff first.
What tyres and wheels do you have and what pressures are you putting in?
Have you had your tracking checked?
How about the tyre treads? Are they running down evenly and with plenty of tread left?
Has the car been badly damaged/ repaired?

Wheels and tyres are standard for 1.6, pressure in from book. Bought car a year ago from a garage that went bust, so i've no history - beginning to wonder now.

Still need to know what wheel sizes you have as some have 15s and some have 16s depending on model. Still need to know what tyre pressures you're putting in as I found the "recommended" tyre pressures didn't work at all well for me

Still need to know if the tread pattern is going down evenly or whether you've had your tracking done recently

The fuller the information the better the advice

R15 and am putting 1.9 in all round, got the car sep 07 never had tracking done, tyres wearing down evenly, although front outside edges were slightly lower than middle but tyre bloke said this was down to the power steering!

If I was you I would still get the tracking checked it dosent cost anything unless it needs putting right.

Jo51 said:

R15 and am putting 1.9 in all round, got the car sep 07 never had tracking done, tyres wearing down evenly, although front outside edges were slightly lower than middle but tyre bloke said this was down to the power steering!

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Something very wrong here as 'standard' wear is on the inside on front and outside on rear.

As Johnson550 suggests, get a full 4 wheel alignment done as it's almost certainly wrong (stacks of posts on this if you use Search)

will go and get tracking done and then take it from there, thanks everyone

Often, on a lot of cars you get outside tyre wear on the passangers side due to the number of roundabouts in the UK. (a lot more right hand than left hand turns).
You should be able to tell by eye, or by using a tape measure if the alignment is far out. Just compare ones side of the car to the other. 4 wheel alignment can be expensive and the stilo does not have much adjustment (except front tracking and subframe alignment) anyway. Look for signs accident damage/ repair.

Also, check for worn suspension bushes.

My stilo, although tall and wobbly on its suspension tends to dig in and grip when cornering. It gives significant body roll, but I am surprised how well it grips before any understeer occurs. It is a lot better than many other cars in this respect.

Tyre choice also make a huge difference. If you have these eco tyres that are good for fuel economy, they tend to be hard and offer little grip especially in the wet.

john55 said:

4 wheel alignment can be expensive and the stilo does not have much adjustment (except front tracking and subframe alignment)

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It's true there's very little adjustment provided but it's the information that's so important.

A serious rear tracking error will affect the front so it's important to know about it

Shouldn't be expensive anyway - only £13.50 here in POOLE.

Argonought said:

Shouldn't be expensive anyway - only £13.50 here in POOLE.

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Is that Poole in England?
Usually basic tracking costs at least £25, and full 4 wheel alignment is in the order of £200+

john55 said:

Is that Poole in England?
Usually basic tracking costs at least £25, and full 4 wheel alignment is in the order of £200+

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For sure from Protire

That price is only for checking and you have to pay another £20 or so if you want anything adjusted. What's really good is they provide full printouts for both before/after readings.

Right, tracking has been checked and is good, tyres and pressures are good, garage chap checked it over, all looking good, took it out for a test ride and he agreed with me, its like a loose feeling, not sure if you have grip or are under/over steering - at least its not me. Downside he didn't know what it could be and basically said i'd need an open cheque book. Got cheap tyres on at the mo so gonna change them. any other ideas?

I know I am stating something obvious, but have you checked for broken front springs?

he didn't know what it could be and basically said i'd need an open cheque book
Ha! Thats' a good mechanic then, doesn't know what hell it is but can already price up the job!

A loose feeling is a good description and you're probably dead right in that something is loose, maybe not about to fall off but worn to an alarming degree
Cheap and cheerful - check your track rod ends. That will give you that way- hay feeling for sure in corners. Although your mechanic should have checked these BEFORE they do the tracking, they hardly ever do.

My driver's side track rod end was gone at 36k miles (although it was also easy to tell from the knocking noises) I'd jack up the front and check for looseness at the wheels with some hefty tugging and pushing. Then go to the rear for much of the same

Jo51 said:

Right, tracking has been checked and is good, tyres and pressures are good, garage chap checked it over, all looking good, took it out for a test ride and he agreed with me, its like a loose feeling, not sure if you have grip or are under/over steering - at least its not me. Downside he didn't know what it could be and basically said i'd need an open cheque book. Got cheap tyres on at the mo so gonna change them. any other ideas?

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Check your car hasn't got the stilo steering rack campaign, could be causing your issue, if it is get it checked at a dealer straight away.

UK recalls for steering only affect the 1.8 and Abarth

http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/search.asp

Well today I herd a loud clunk when going round a roundabout, followed by something falling to the ground under the car. Yep. You guessed it.... a spring breaking. Now my car handles very poorly. It is all over the road, unstable and does not drive straight.

Make sure you check the front springs.

Dont go for the fiat springs when you replace them and go to proven products and the lesforges [sp] ones like Decks did.. good luck..

Interesting thread... recently had the JTD tracked and told "your suspension is just fooking weird!" Reason for the tracking check was that I had just fitted the 15"steelies with new tyres for the winter and that the previous fronts on the 16vtc alloys had worn slant (but remarkable evenly ns & os) inner higher / outer lower tread. All they could suggest was to centre the tracking by centering the steering wheel and adjusting the tracking on both track rods evenly. I did wonder if this wear pattern may have been as a result of excessive use of cruise control... now 1.5K on and all seems OK

In general Stilo terms though, worn anti rollbar links can introduce looseness into the steering & handling - a gentle knocking/rattle noise is a give away and strangely only drivers side went on both 1.6 & JTD. Stilo is very sensitive to incorrect tracking and increased fuel consumption is always a dead give away!

I suffered a broken NSF spring post recall on the JTD and the only give away was the broken off bottom 2/3rds of a coil rattling round in the bottom spring cup. Handling despite this still rock steady even at 90 on the M1 - prior to identifying the source of the rattle of course