General Calling all start 'n' stop owners!

[wellfan]

But the 500 is assembled in Poland......

I forgot about that. The plot thickens. Sodding Poles now in on the act.
Build quality reminds me of the good old days of British Leyland. I was always fond of BL cars, probably accounts for my love of Fiat. Similar build quality!

 

[larslarsen]

Here my S&S Story:

500 TA bought in July 2011 - today 40.000 km (approx. 300 km / week).

• Problem has been recognized first time as it became colder in autumn 2011 (S&S failure always restart in stop phase after 10 - 20 seconds).
• In November 2011 dealer reset the battery sensor but it does not help.
• End of November 2011 (5°C outside) the problem appeared at each stop, but dealer could not reproduce the problem, because it disappeared after reading error log (possibly it resets something).
• In January FIAT suggested to replace the original battery what has been done and solved the problem until autumn 2012.
• In January 2013 software update has been done (allows rear window heating on and wiper on max. for S&S), but did not solve the problem.
• In January 2013 the battery has been replaced again (suggested again by FIAT). Finally it did not help.
• im March 2013 the dealer decided to replace the battery sensor, what did not change the situation within10 days after replacement.
  Than I decided to unplug the power (plug for the user on battery top, to be disconnect without tools) for 30 min.
  What happend than was, that after one restart, S&S from now it worked perfectly for one week (even with nearly all possible electrical things on al together like heating for rear window, wiper, fan on max, brake light, lights). No restart until the time out after 160 seconds has been observed.
  This shows that S&S could work perfectly even if cold outside (0°C in this case) and the restarts are not normal.
• In the week following, after one day the car not used, the Problem appeared again for 2 - 3 restarts. Than it disappeared for the rest of the day. On next mornig one restart has been observed, followed by normal functioning for the rest of the day.

After battery sensor replacement the system behaves different, what ever the reason is (posibly the software inside the new battery sensor is different).
The dealer even did not understand the problem and FIAT experts do not explain a lot to dealers and not at all to the final customer even is asked for. FIAT says: If no error in the log file, all should be ok.

For me it looks like an software error inside the the battery Management, since disconnecting the battery helps for some time, even if nothing else has been changed.

Possibly we have to wait for the next update, hopefully within warranty period.

Regards
LarsLarsen

 

[lemontop]

Had my 500 1.2 Sport S&S for 14 days . The S&S hasn't worked in that time, but I'm getting no warning lights. I only have a 6 mile ride to work so I didn't expect it to work after reading the conditions of use in the manual (engine still cold, cold external temperature). However, last night a friend of mine pulled up in the street in her TA and the S&S cut in as soon as she stopped. (She'd done 9 miles from cold). This got me thinking about my S&S, so today at work I got the sparky to check the battery ( the car had been sat for 8 hours) and it read 12.25V. Today after work I came the long way home (33 miles) to see if the S&S worked. It didn't. After reading most of the posts in this thread I'm wondering is it worth putting the car in to Fiat and getting the S&S working.

Just got the car back after it spent 3 days at the dealer. Top and bottom of it is the battery's knackered. Now I've got to wait 7 to 10 days for the dealer to send the report away to Fiat about the investigation and wait for them to say "yes" to giving me a new battery under warranty.

 

[jrkitching]

Just got the car back after it spent 3 days at the dealer. Top and bottom of it is the battery's knackered. Now I've got to wait 7 to 10 days for the dealer to send the report away to Fiat about the investigation and wait for them to say "yes" to giving me a new battery under warranty.

:bang::bang::bang:

That is precisely the kind of customer service that would make most right-thinking customers buy something else next time round.

Given the global competition in the new car marketplace, IMO FIAT do not deserve and most likely will not still be in business in 10 years time.

Build quality reminds me of the good old days of British Leyland. I was always fond of BL cars, probably accounts for my love of Fiat. Similar build quality!

Actually, they're way better than anything that ever rolled off a BL production line. But compared to most far eastern cars in the marketplace, FIAT's build quality & customer service experience are both at least as far behind the competition as BL were behind theirs at that time. And we all know how that story ended.

A great shame, given that BL gave us the mini at a time when Ford were still using sidevalve engines in mainstream production.

 

[ItalianWines]

Understood.

I definitely don't disagree. Dealership service ranges from awful, to patchy. Some people are lucky and get a good/caring dealer, but they're few and far between!

Hi guys!
Well as some of you know the Mrs has had her new 500S TA for just over one month.. Covered just over 1000 miles.
The Stop Start has worked.... Occasionally. Pretty much never, and when it did, it restarted after around 10/15 seconds - more so, dependant on how much the Interscope Sub was sounding
Took it into Dealers yesterday, collected it today. They said nothing wrong, but we have done a Software Update....
They showed me the report from the computer that showed we have started the car 112 times with the seatbelt not clipped in amd stated, for the SS system to work, you must wear seatbelt First, then start the car?!?
Is this true???? ... I understand the many 'factors' that apply for the SS to work from what I have read here in the Forum. But didnt read anything about clipping the seatbelt First!
Thanks guys

Edited for spellchecker

 

[bgunn]

Hi guys!
Well as some of you know the Mrs has had her new 500S TA for just over one month.. Covered just over 1000 miles.
The Stop Start has worked.... Occasionally. Pretty much never, and when it did, it restarted after around 10/15 seconds - more so, dependant on how much the Interscope Sub was sounding
Took it into Dealers yesterday, collected it today. They said nothing wrong, but we have done a Software Update....
They showed me the report from the computer that showed we have started the car 112 times with the seatbelt not clipped in amd stated, for the SS system to work, you must wear seatbelt First, then start the car?!?
Is this true???? ... I understand the many 'factors' that apply for the SS to work from what I have read here in the Forum. But didnt read anything about clipping the seatbelt First!
Thanks guys

Edited for spellchecker

They're telling you lies - there's no documentation to state this is necessary, and my own experience says this isn't true at all, I always start my car, and let it idle for a few seconds whilst I put my seatbelt on. S&S works faultlessly.

Battery needs charging. Simple as

 

[jrkitching]

They're telling you lies - there's no documentation to state this is necessary, and my own experience says this isn't true at all, I always start my car, and let it idle for a few seconds whilst I put my seatbelt on. S&S works faultlessly.

Battery needs charging. Simple as

:yeahthat:

My S/S also works faultlessly regardless of whether I fasten my belt before or after starting.

 

[ItalianWines]

:yeahthat:

My S/S also works faultlessly regardless of whether I fasten my belt before or after starting.

Cheers Thanks for the quick responses.
My thoughts confirmed...
As read in other posts, the battery simple needs an overnight trickle charge? .... Possibly they didnt bench charge it during PDi.... ?
I'll see how the next 7 days pan out...

 

[Esscon]

S/S monitors battery and if there is a big drain on it from the Interscope blasting away and the air con going full blast etc then the engine will stay on. Sometimes for me the engine will stop at traffic lights but then switch back on before I'm ready to move off because the S/S system has noticed the battery has dropped below a certain level. Take the 500 for a good long run to make sure the battery is fully charged.

 

[jrkitching]

Take the 500 for a good long run to make sure the battery is fully charged.

Actually you may need to remove the battery and bench charge it using a pulsed charger - if it has been deeply discharged, the car's internal charging system may not be able to properly recover it.

 

[ItalianWines]

Actually you may need to remove the battery and bench charge it using a pulsed charger - if it has been deeply discharged, the car's internal charging system may not be able to properly recover it.

And by saying 'you may need' , I'll take that as 'the dealer may need to '

S/S monitors battery and if there is a big drain on it from the Interscope blasting away and the air con going full blast etc then the engine will stay on. Sometimes for me the engine will stop at traffic lights but then switch back on before I'm ready to move off because the S/S system has noticed the battery has dropped below a certain level. Take the 500 for a good long run to make sure the battery is fully charged.

Yeah, again lots learnt from this Forum - the battery charge being one of them when it comes to SS.. Basically, the occasions it has worked, most of those few times it restarts... No air con, rear heater etc in use when its done it...just an offending blast from the Interscope, as ýöü say when the battery drops below a certain level - what I'm trying to say is..
SS has worked rarely... And times it has - most of them restarted... The sub causing the battery level to drop...
So this signals that the battery is indeed not charged enough??
The car has had a couple of 'good long runs' Lancashire - North Wales a couple
Of times.

 

[bgunn]

Battery needs to be at at least 80% charge before being connected so that the IBS will initialise correctly.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Battery needs to be at at least 80% charge before being connected so that the IBS will initialise correctly.

IBS

 

[jrkitching]

IBS

Intelligent Battery Sensor.

Or if you're a S/S owner, Irritable Battery Syndrome.

Perhaps it's not so intelligent after all.

 

[j8snl]

Hi, just wanted to add my frustration to that of others here.

I bought my wife a lovely new 1.2 Lounge S&S in April from Arnold Clark.

The S&S worked the day we drove it away but then never came back on, it went back to the dealer, who applied a software update, this made no difference. I then found this forum and discovered the issue of the battery, so asked Arnold Clark to take the car back and charge the battery, this hadn't been done. Yes seriously the dealer didn't charge the battery.

Again, the system worked for 2 days after that and hasn't worked since.

The car goes anywhere from 5 miles to recently 350 miles to London then 350 home, not once did the system come on.

I've complained to Fiat, and told them I will not take the car back to Arnold Clark, they have given me another dealer but they're 50 miles away. It's going into that dealer this week, but I can tell he's reluctant to even want to take this on, his words were "the start stop system is erratic at best" He's only going to have the computer checked and see what it's saying, somehow I'm sure Arnold Clark have done this even if they were incompetent about charging the battery, but who knows.

The car has had the DRL's turned of to see if that would help, in the recent nice weather the AC is on number 1 and bluetooth on the phone and the radio is on sometimes. I've tried all combinations of radio on / off, fans on / off, bluetooth on / off.

The car now 8 weeks old 13 plate with now 2,500 miles on it, and the Start Stop has come on about 6 times in total.

Anyway, thanks for the pointers.

 

[RobinPJ]

Hi, just wanted to add my frustration to that of others here.

I bought my wife a lovely new 1.2 Lounge S&S in April from Arnold Clark.

The S&S worked the day we drove it away but then never came back on, it went back to the dealer, who applied a software update, this made no difference. I then found this forum and discovered the issue of the battery, so asked Arnold Clark to take the car back and charge the battery, this hadn't been done. Yes seriously the dealer didn't charge the battery.

Again, the system worked for 2 days after that and hasn't worked since.

The car goes anywhere from 5 miles to recently 350 miles to London then 350 home, not once did the system come on.

I've complained to Fiat, and told them I will not take the car back to Arnold Clark, they have given me another dealer but they're 50 miles away. It's going into that dealer this week, but I can tell he's reluctant to even want to take this on, his words were "the start stop system is erratic at best" He's only going to have the computer checked and see what it's saying, somehow I'm sure Arnold Clark have done this even if they were incompetent about charging the battery, but who knows.

The car has had the DRL's turned of to see if that would help, in the recent nice weather the AC is on number 1 and bluetooth on the phone and the radio is on sometimes. I've tried all combinations of radio on / off, fans on / off, bluetooth on / off.

The car now 8 weeks old 13 plate with now 2,500 miles on it, and the Start Stop has come on about 6 times in total.

Anyway, thanks for the pointers.

Was it built to order (ie you waited 8-12 weeks from order) or was it available from stock?

 

[Ulpian]

You might read this, found on the Panda forum. It has a frank explanation of S&S systems, and why they might not work so well


http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/06/the-shocking-truth-about-start-stop-systems/

 

[ItalianWines]

j8snl we feel your pain....
Car Delivered 13th May... 6 week's later, 1600 miles... Car went back last week.. software update done.... Stop Start still v v erratic but does work slightly, just slightly better than was.... I'm comparing to our other new car Punto Jet Black, delivered 6th June, 1000 miles later and touch wood it's working exactly how SS should.. (fingers crossed)

 

[jrkitching]

You might read this, found on the Panda forum. It has a frank explanation of S&S systems, and why they might not work so well


http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/06/the-shocking-truth-about-start-stop-systems/

And I'll venture to suggest that the fuel wasted in taking a car back to the dealers just once to have a S/S system fault corrected will wipe out the fuel it'll save in a year.

What I'd like to see is an entru like this is the options list:

delete S/S system....................price: deduct £300

I't'd likely be the most popular option on the list, but I'll bet it'll never happen.

 

[jrkitching]

You might read this, found on the Panda forum. It has a frank explanation of S&S systems, and why they might not work so well


http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/06/the-shocking-truth-about-start-stop-systems/

And I'll venture to suggest that the fuel wasted in taking a car back to the dealers just once to have a S/S system fault corrected will wipe out the fuel it'll save in a year.

What I'd like to see is an entry like this is the options list:

delete S/S system....................price: deduct £300

It'd likely be the most popular option on the list, but I'll bet it'll never happen.