Heather's Stilo
New member
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2005
- Messages
- 11
- Points
- 2
Hi all,
An appeal for your help here please. I have a Stilo Multi-wagon, TD. It's 18 months old, has full service history etc and has been well maintained.
Yesterday I took it to the dealership for a brakes check, I had heard a funny noise from front left wheel area when I was driving on a high gradient and fog, making full use of brakes. Decided to have it checked out. Dropped car off and was phoned 10 minutes later to be told discs and pads all fine but the brakes needed a clean down, this would cost £45. Fine, i agreed and informed I would return in 2 hours.
I returned as promised and was told my car had seriously broken down. In fact, the engine would need to be replaced entirely. The problem? Apparently the oil tank was twice as full as it should have been, there was oil all over the place, the turbo had broken and the tech driver had been forced to stall in order to stop the engine, which would not turn off with key, all this happened when it was out on a test run.
We have had problems (all reported) with the oil sensor in the car. It regularly reports oil level too high / too low. I have spoken to the dealership about this on several occassions and was told to ignore the oil sensor as it was proving to unreliable in my car model and instead defer to checking the oil via the dipstick only. I have done this for the last 6 months, have topped up oil only twice, tiny amounts each time to ensure the perfect level. I am fairly engine ignorant but I know exactly what I'm doing with regards checking oil - flat surface, engine cooled overnight etc, clean down dipstick - recheck. Add tiny amounts, new diesel cars require very little, if any, top up etc etc.
There is NO way that I have topped up to the extent that the oil level was twice as much as should have been. I am also at a loss as to how they could have ascertained the oil level as being 100% overfull, but I'm not technical... just a user of the vehicle rather than an engine guru.
The car was running beautifully when I dropped it off. No smell, no strange noises, no stalling, no warnings. Other than the oil sensor indicator and noise from front wheel on one occassion, performance has been excellent. The drop off journey was a 20 mile run through dual carriageways, several roundabouts/junctions, a village. If anything was wrong, surely this journey would have indicated that given that it included driving at 65mph, then 30, lots of stopping, lots of gear changing and accelerating.
Sorry about the length of this post, I know it's becoming a volume. Basically, can anyone relate about similar experiences? We are waiting to hear whether the engine replacement will be covered by our 3 yr warranty. I have asked them to do nothing to the car meantime and to retain all fluids and parts that may have been removed from the engine on it's return to the workshop. If they will not cover this under warranty I will have to get an independent in to inspect so we can build a case against the dealership. I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that, I'm at my wits end already....
I was told yesterday that the oil sensor feature is being over-ridden in new sales of the Stilo, as it has proven unreliable and confusing. I have queried that my car should have been recalled when this info came to light, in order that a safety check be done and my oil sensor over-ridden too. Perhaps this would have averted the current crisis?
Advice please....
An appeal for your help here please. I have a Stilo Multi-wagon, TD. It's 18 months old, has full service history etc and has been well maintained.
Yesterday I took it to the dealership for a brakes check, I had heard a funny noise from front left wheel area when I was driving on a high gradient and fog, making full use of brakes. Decided to have it checked out. Dropped car off and was phoned 10 minutes later to be told discs and pads all fine but the brakes needed a clean down, this would cost £45. Fine, i agreed and informed I would return in 2 hours.
I returned as promised and was told my car had seriously broken down. In fact, the engine would need to be replaced entirely. The problem? Apparently the oil tank was twice as full as it should have been, there was oil all over the place, the turbo had broken and the tech driver had been forced to stall in order to stop the engine, which would not turn off with key, all this happened when it was out on a test run.
We have had problems (all reported) with the oil sensor in the car. It regularly reports oil level too high / too low. I have spoken to the dealership about this on several occassions and was told to ignore the oil sensor as it was proving to unreliable in my car model and instead defer to checking the oil via the dipstick only. I have done this for the last 6 months, have topped up oil only twice, tiny amounts each time to ensure the perfect level. I am fairly engine ignorant but I know exactly what I'm doing with regards checking oil - flat surface, engine cooled overnight etc, clean down dipstick - recheck. Add tiny amounts, new diesel cars require very little, if any, top up etc etc.
There is NO way that I have topped up to the extent that the oil level was twice as much as should have been. I am also at a loss as to how they could have ascertained the oil level as being 100% overfull, but I'm not technical... just a user of the vehicle rather than an engine guru.
The car was running beautifully when I dropped it off. No smell, no strange noises, no stalling, no warnings. Other than the oil sensor indicator and noise from front wheel on one occassion, performance has been excellent. The drop off journey was a 20 mile run through dual carriageways, several roundabouts/junctions, a village. If anything was wrong, surely this journey would have indicated that given that it included driving at 65mph, then 30, lots of stopping, lots of gear changing and accelerating.
Sorry about the length of this post, I know it's becoming a volume. Basically, can anyone relate about similar experiences? We are waiting to hear whether the engine replacement will be covered by our 3 yr warranty. I have asked them to do nothing to the car meantime and to retain all fluids and parts that may have been removed from the engine on it's return to the workshop. If they will not cover this under warranty I will have to get an independent in to inspect so we can build a case against the dealership. I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that, I'm at my wits end already....
I was told yesterday that the oil sensor feature is being over-ridden in new sales of the Stilo, as it has proven unreliable and confusing. I have queried that my car should have been recalled when this info came to light, in order that a safety check be done and my oil sensor over-ridden too. Perhaps this would have averted the current crisis?
Advice please....
