Technical ABS warning lamp not working

[Edcraw]

Hi All, My Mum has just had an MOT fail on her 2013 Fiat 500. The fault is:
Anti-lock braking system warning lamp does not illuminate.
To fix she's being told the entire dash needs to come out. Cost for repair is £1345.60!! Seems a bit rich to me (not that I have a clue about such things). Anyone know if taking out the dash and replacing is the only solution and if this is a reasonable price?
Thanks for your help, Ed

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi

Its NOT a reasonable price..

This seems an unusual failure.. it wants investigating..

But with some of the more commonly reported dash niggles the fix is usually a used dash unit.. less than £200

Where is the car based?

Its possible we can recommend somebody local

Charlie - near the M4

 

[Edcraw]

Hi Charlie, thanks for the reply. My Mum's in Crawley, West Sussex. She got the quote from an official Fiat garage. The breakdown of the cost is £500 for 3 hours labour. £845 for parts

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi Charlie, thanks for the reply. My Mum's in Crawley, West Sussex. She got the quote from an official Fiat garage. The breakdown of the cost is £500 for 3 hours labour. £845 for parts

There are a few recommended places down that way.. one a 500 specialist
typecastboy may well be the person in the know

 

[Edcraw]

Thanks for your help. I've sent him a message.

 

[varesecrazy]

Good luck

Do I take it the car is off the road now?

 

[Edcraw]

It is. Just spoken to the Fiat garage who gave her the price. Apparently it's the entire speedo unit that needs replacing. Hence £835 for parts!!

 

[jackwhoo]

It is. Just spoken to the Fiat garage who gave her the price. Apparently it's the entire speedo unit that needs replacing. Hence £835 for parts!!

Wait until you hear from typecastboy
He is often replacing 500 Speedos due to various faults they can have.
3 hours labour = £500 They are thinking Ferrari
Typecastboy will probably laught at the 3 hours to do the job.

 

[varesecrazy]

See if Bianco-Alfa are still in business at Gatwick

 

[John202020]

So you have checked the fuses? Worth a try have you tried to see if the abs works drive about 30 mph and slam on the brakes

 

[typecastboy]

£835 for a speedo and £500 labour are they having a laugh?

Speedo change, half an hour, tops. I did one recently in 10 minutes flat.

There's a fella on the Fiat 500 Owners Club on Facebook who sells second hand speedos with zero mileage. He will pre-program them to your mileage. You have to get one out of the same generation/year'ish of your car.

Once swapped over, it will require a proxy alignment. You can buy second hand speedos on eBay for around £120. As long as you get one that is lower than your car mileage, it can be upped, but not reduced for obvious reasons.

 

[forzaf1]

I've had a nightmare recently with instrument clusters. Making sure you have the right one for the right age, and also making sure you get one with lower mileage than your own car.

The easiest option is to go on eBay, there are a number of companies who will take your Speedo and fix the issue for around £150. Just take it out, post it and they post back.

 

[varesecrazy]

It is. Just spoken to the Fiat garage who gave her the price. Apparently it's the entire speedo unit that needs replacing. Hence £835 for parts!!

Do let us know what you find