General 1.9 JTD Sporting (130) Acceleration (06 Reg)

[allarmsandlegs]

Hello all, I have recently purchased a 2006 GP 1.9 JTD (130) Sporting in Black, 44,000 miles on the clock. It is the first time I have gone for a diesel car so I am somewhat having to adjust my driving style (my previous car was a 2.0 litre petrol Mondeo) and of course learning to use the torque which is at the lower end of the revs!

I have a question regarding the acceleration of the car from standstill as I go through the gears. Just to mention now I have no mods etc. on the car. Anyhow, it doesn't seem to pull that quickly in 2nd gear when the revs pass 1700 and beyond. If I compare it to 3rd gear as soon as I hit 1700 revs I really feel the acceleration, that feeling of being pushed back in your seat like you're strapped onto a rocket!

I was just wondering is this normal for a turbo diesel? Anyone else experience the same and is it just my unfamiliarity with diesels and turbo's....

Thanks all!

 

[nickkk]

Anythig past 1700revs in second and I'm pushed back in my seat, it will struggle to keep traction in the wet!

 

[Ffoxy]

Mine picks up from 12 - 13,00 and goes like hot snot in any gear from 15 -16,000 rpm.

 

[sharkrider]

indeed , if third is better than second, there maybe a problem.... sticking egr maybe?

edit: oh, and lol at Ffoxy

 

[allarmsandlegs]

Thanks for the replies. Searching on the forum I did come across the EGR and was wondering if it may be that... but the car has just had a full service and MOT without anything being picked up... Sometimes I think you can just be paranoid!!

Still, I have a friend who is a mechanic so I may get him to check it out and I got a 2 year guarantee from the FIAT dealership when I bought it second hand so it may be covered

 

[Wyldie]

Mine is similar to yours. I have also changed from a 2.0 petrol to a 1.9Mjet Sporting and it does take a little while to get used to.

Might be worth checking out to see if anything is up but until mine gets to around 1500-1600 rpm the turbo doesn't kick in.

Can leave some people a little red faced as I pull away and once changed into second gear I'm still only doing 20mph...

Let us know what you find out...

 

[allarmsandlegs]

Let us know what you find out...

I will do, I may leave it a couple of weeks whilst I drive the car a bit more and make sure it's not just me being pedantic! But if I do get it checked out I'll let you know the outcome.

Thanks!

 

[1.8Stilo]

second gear should definetly have more kick that third gear, on a standard map the power comes in around 1.3k revs and it pushs you back in the seat and then further more power is delivered around 2.75/3k revs and yes like said a stand still start isn't great as 1st has no ummph and 2nd gear is short, although whilst on the move in real world driving 3rd and 4th gears give great acceleration. I would advise on a standard GPS to change gear when you see it hit around 3.5k revs by the time you put change it you'll be nearer 3.75k and without killing the turbo by taking it upto 4.5k, ull keep the car in its peak torque range and to me it feels smooth than taking it all the way round and killing it. Its taken me awhile getting use to driving a diesel and dont think I would go back to petrol

just my tupence worth hope it helps.. I would say you EGR is suspect! Do a search they can be picked up much cheaper than from fiat. Although with you warrenty it should be free does it put out much of the black stuff under acceleration?

 

[ste]

iam on 34k now and might just for service sake take the EGR off and clean it out and change the fuel filter. then i know iam all good for another few thousand k's

 

[1.8Stilo]

Fuel filter is meant to be changed every other year ie. 2,4,6,etc

fit the new swirl gasket when you clean the egr (engine runs much smoother) you won't believe how much blackstuff comes out the EGR!

 

[ste]

yep i read that in the book.
its due any way so while iam under the bonet twirling the spanners ill change it.

 

[allarmsandlegs]

second gear should definetly have more kick that third gear, on a standard map the power comes in around 1.3k revs and it pushs you back in the seat and then further more power is delivered around 2.75/3k revs and yes like said a stand still start isn't great as 1st has no ummph and 2nd gear is short, although whilst on the move in real world driving 3rd and 4th gears give great acceleration. I would advise on a standard GPS to change gear when you see it hit around 3.5k revs by the time you put change it you'll be nearer 3.75k and without killing the turbo by taking it upto 4.5k, ull keep the car in its peak torque range and to me it feels smooth than taking it all the way round and killing it. Its taken me awhile getting use to driving a diesel and dont think I would go back to petrol

just my tupence worth hope it helps.. I would say you EGR is suspect! Do a search they can be picked up much cheaper than from fiat. Although with you warrenty it should be free does it put out much of the black stuff under acceleration?

Thanks for your resposne - I have definitely got to grips with the car a lot better now and learnt where all the power is with shifting correctly - all pretty much around the revs you mention actually

I do think the EGR is suspect, strangely I've had a couple of other things occur recently - puff of smoke (blueish) on a cold startup (which has now stopped) and also when accelerating lightly in 2nd or 3rd gear I sometimes get what feels like a "slip" in power. Best way I can think of describing it is if you were riding a bike and the chain slipped round. I don't think it's the clutch as there's no jump/decrease in revs when it happens. Also, I have a "knocking" noise which I am fairly certain is coming from the rear left tyre area - I checked to make sure it wasn't the seat locks (as I had the seats down when it still occured).

It certainly seems to have "character" slightly annoying when I've only had the car for a month but hopefully I'll get all of this sorted out. It's going to the garage on Monday!

 

[stokefc]

OP, how much did you pay for the car?

 

[willw]

OP, how much did you pay for the car?

I just paid £7995 for my GPS 130 if it helps..

1 Owner, New Orleans Blue, August 2007, full leather, 17k on the clock

 

[meishkablue]

Just my tuppence worth, my GP is doing exactly the same, slight loss of power when accelerating slowly in 2nd gear and sometimes the turbo doesn't seem to kick in at all, ie there's no "thrown back in your seat" going on. The slight loss of power concerns me a bit as never had this before, I have driven petrols before and no bigger than a 1.5 engine so maybe I just need to give it a bit longer and see what happens. My average speed on the commute to work and back is 15mph so that tells you something!

Helen

2007 GP Sporting 1.9 18K on the clock

 

[allarmsandlegs]

OP, how much did you pay for the car?

I managed to haggle a bit on the price and ended up coughing up just shy of £6000.

On another note, my car went into the garage yesterday and came back with the following results: Faulty EGR so that is getting replaced this week. Also the knocking noise I was hearing seems to be the passenger door latch so that is getting fixed as well. Looking forwards to getting it back and hopefully noticing a difference in performance as well

 

[willeywilson]

Thats a pretty good price didn't manage to haggle at all on mine, I did manage to increase my part exchange by £300 though so thats something

 

[allarmsandlegs]

Yeah I thought the price was good but I guess the fact it had done 44k reduced it a bit. In the grand eye of things that mileage isn't high for a 4 year old car (06) but a lot of the 1.9 GPS for sale tend to be lower than that (like yours for example!). However, seeing that I now need to replace the EGR and door latch shortly after purchasing it the cost is beginning to rise... hah, and I bought a diesel specifically to save money

 

[meishkablue]

As my GPS is doing the same, think I should get mine booked in for them to take a look. Although, I have noticed it only does the "slip in power" when the outside temp is below 19C, hmm. Still, it's doing it so better to get it looked at I expect. Does anyone know if this will be covered by the "3 month" warranty the garage gave me with the car? I did ask what was covered when I bought and stupidly I accepted the "all the usual things" response from the narky salesman. If it's not covered by warranty and is a fault, anyone know roughly what I'm looking at cost-wise?

Cheers
Helen

 

[allarmsandlegs]

Whether or not it is covered in your 3 month warranty will depend on a number of factors such as (but not limited to):

1. Is the EGR even included within the warranty - best bet is to phone up to find out as all warranties differ from one place to another.

2. Does the EGR fault appear in the diagnostics. Although my EGR is on its way out, the car itself (ECU) thinks everything is fine - when tests were run on the car there were no errors reported. However, when it was driven it happened a few times so the mechanic experienced the issue first hand. But if there are no real errors the warranty company may not pay out (any company will of course try to prevent paying out!)... However I will say that my warranty company is so again it really depends.

3. If you do have to pay it out yourself, if you know a good garage it should cost about £200. If you use a main franchise dealer this may be higher due to higher labour costs.