Technical 1.3 MJ Smelly exhaust fumes.

[henryrym]

My wife's 1.3 MJ diesel produces smelly exhaust fumes, much to her annoyance.
It's an 08 plate which we got 6 months ago with 16K miles on the clock from a Fiat dealer and with a full Fiat service.
It always gave a puff of smelly blue fumes - like burnt old oil - on start up. I've changed the oil and fed it Redex diesel, but it still keeps on being smelly. Otherwise it runs no problems, returning over 60mpg if the built in display can be believed. When warm, the exhaust fumes are smellier than what I can remember from my Punto 1.3 MJ, not as bad as when cold. The exhaust tailpipe looks quite sooty.
I contacted my local Fiat (not the supplier) who said something about an EGR valve and an £85 charge for a look. The car has 3 months Fiat warranty remaining and the dealer had no idea whether any repair - if needed - would be covered.
As the car has run fine apart from a bit of the smell, I've not been too bothered, but she's not happy....
I'm loathe to pay £85 for the dealer to have a non-commital look - what do you think, and if it is a fault, would it be covered by the Fiat 3rd year warranty?

 

[JD82]

This sounds like a warranty job pure and simple, as for the £85 tell them to **** ***** ***. The car is under warranty you shouldn't have to pay a penny for a diagnoses.

I really wish FIAT would sack these bad dealers. As you're in Preston have an idea which group the dealer belongs to.

 

[ivantate]

Maybe it is the egr being slightly stuck, not sure if the dealer will be interested because it hasnt actually failed. (no error code) does it take a couple of extra turns to start or have a flat spot when going from trailing throttle to acceleration if the engine is warm?

Its still low miles for egr problems, but I guess a cold winter and lots of pootling mean it might have got a bit sooty.

Ours is smelly sometimes and not others, I keep meaning to strip the egr and might get it done this spring but cant say if its the cause yet.


i find the computer to be +/- 2mpg generally.

 

[davidmkwilliams]

mine did the same but my car has done 78k anyway the engine light is on the code reader said its the egr. before though on the code reader it flags up possible problems so it could come on later after a few more runs take in and have it checked out mine was a funny smell burning but no blue smoke

 

[doctorchris]

If you tend to buy all your fuel at one garage, try a different one. Maybe it's something in a particular brand of fuel. Worth a try as it won't cost anything to do.

 

[Wee Smurf]

I had a new egr at around 38K miles. Unfortunately I was just outside warranty but my dealer had a chat with Fiat and all was sorted much cheaper...

My trip computer underestimates by around 2mpg.

My Panda hated Sainsbury's diesel. It seems to prefer BP or Tesco. Don't know why???

 

[Bri]

Your diesel particulate filter could be blocked up if your car is fitted with one. take it for a good run on the motorway and rev the engine .this should clear the DPF if its to badly blocked sometimes you have to take them off and blast them clean....they block up if the cars only been used as a shopper ..

 

[richardllew]

If your Panda is a 70hp version, and just about all are, then it will not have a DPF so it won't get blocked. Nevertheless, as Bri says, a good thrash for a minute will do it good, but make sure the engine is warm.
I drive very slowly ,as you can tell from my mpg, but every week I give it a good belt up a hill, up to 4,000 rpm, and it sometimes blows a bit of soot out !

 

[KozmoNaut]

If your Panda is a 70hp version, and just about all are, then it will not have a DPF so it won't get blocked. Nevertheless, as Bri says, a good thrash for a minute will do it good, but make sure the engine is warm.
I drive very slowly ,as you can tell from my mpg, but every week I give it a good belt up a hill, up to 4,000 rpm, and it sometimes blows a bit of soot out !

You can take it to 4500rpm with no problem, that's the redline. Of course, not much power to be had above 4000rpm, but it certainly clears out any soot!

 

[ivantate]

its amazing how much soot comes out even after a short time.