General Calling all start 'n' stop owners!

[Ricard]

Can anyone tell me if 3 out of 8 stop start success rate is normal. By the way it has not worked since I collected it from the garage.

Oh-yes.

That sounds about the level of performance you'll get out of stop-start and the explanations you've been given are based on the nonsense that Fiat have circulated to their dealers.

As has already been pointed out this car is so popular why would Fiat be concerned about these failures when customers queue up to buy.

My advise is for you to enjoy the car for other reasons than stop-start, door handles falling of, fragile exhaust, gear shift gaiter falling to bits, corroding sump, (In the case of the multi-jet) gear box problems (In the case of the multi-jet) and problems with the rear hatch electrics getting crushed.

I also have rust creeping in around the window rubbers on the drivers side at three years old.

 

[Mercky]

Thanks merky i think the problem is that the battery check comes in as a good battery,so fiat will not replace with a warranty battery replacement. I will check with there service dept to see if any new software has been installed. To be honest its as if i am dealing with conmen

Morons rather then Conmen would be more like it. If its bothering you then I'd bite the bullet and buy a new battery. I'm not sure if batteries are covered by warranty anyway after 2 years?? I'd put money on it solving the problem.

 

[306maxi]

Oh-yes.

That sounds about the level of performance you'll get out of stop-start and the explanations you've been given are based on the nonsense that Fiat have circulated to their dealers.

As has already been pointed out this car is so popular why would Fiat be concerned about these failures when customers queue up to buy.

My advise is for you to enjoy the car for other reasons than stop-start, door handles falling of, fragile exhaust, gear shift gaiter falling to bits, corroding sump, (In the case of the multi-jet) gear box problems (In the case of the multi-jet) and problems with the rear hatch electrics getting crushed.

I also have rust creeping in around the window rubbers on the drivers side at three years old.

Talking crap again I see Ricard Shift cables sort your problems I'm guessing?

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

That sounds about the level of performance you'll get out of stop-start and the explanations you've been given are based on the nonsense that Fiat have circulated to their dealers.

Rubbish. Out of 2.5k miles in a 500 I use SS worked EVERY time is should have.

Even when kicking in 15+ times over 25 min in very heavy traffic.

As has been mentioned previously, it's most likely to be a duff battery which isn't quite up to the job.

 

[306maxi]

Ricard is the forum doomsayer......

 

[Ricard]

Talking crap again I see Ricard Shift cables sort your problems I'm guessing?

You need to pull your neck in, no it wasn't a cables problem. The cables were just a symptom. Would you like to know what the problem is ? Pull your neck in and ask politely though I doubt you have that capacity.

 

[306maxi]

You need to pull your neck in, no it wasn't a cables problem. The cables were just a symptom. Would you like to know what the problem is ? Pull your neck in and ask politely though I doubt you have that capacity.

Of course I'd like to know what the problem was.

 

[jrkitching]

Can anyone tell me if 3 out of 8 stop start success rate is normal. By the way it has not worked since I collected it from the garage.

You aren't the first person to post something like this, and you won't be the last.

That said, for some of us (including myself), the S/S system works flawlessly.

It seems to need both an in-spec battery in good condition and all sensors working and correctly adjusted.

Correct specification batteries aren't cheap, and have a design life of 3-4 yrs if looked after properly (which basically means never letting them get excessively discharged). I suspect some owners (and unscrupulous secondhand car dealers) may be tempted to replace a failing battery with the (much cheaper) version from the non-S/S 500; we may see more posts like yours as the fleet ages.

If the battery has ever been left standing in a fully discharged state, it will likely be significantly degraded and although the car will start & run normally, it may no longer have the charge acceptance to enable correct operation of the S/S system.

Some dealers kindly provide such a battery knackering service at no extra charge (pun intended) before the car is even delivered to its first owner .

 

[Ricard]

It seems to need both an in-spec battery in good condition and all sensors working and correctly adjusted.

The S/S on my 500 hasn't worked flawlessly from the day I picked up my shiny new Fiat 500 though it has worked, only three weeks after I collected it I took it back to told exactly what you are saying. I was told the Fiat 500 had far to much electronics for its own good and the S/S fault was blamed on the battery of a new car.

Ask me if I'm cynical ?

Regarding the shift-cables, yes the shift cable broke but I suggested this was because of a fault in the gear box. The cables have been replaced because a termination had broken, the cables themselves were free-running. The pivot point and the selector mechanism in the gear box were both sticky, the pivot point is now free but the selector problem still exists because I can't afford to pay to have the gear box repaired. It's the spring that drops the the selector back into the gate. If you don't have the 1.3 multijet then you likely have a different gear box.

This fault appears to be almost unknown though it was diagnosed correctly by the outgoing service manager at the dealership. I won't tell you why he was outgoing.

 

[jrkitching]

...and the S/S fault was blamed on the battery of a new car.

It's by no means unusual for the batteries in new cars to be significantly degraded as a result of being left standing around in a discharged state before the vehicle is even delivered to its first owner. It shouldn't happen, but it does.

Be particularly wary of preregistered cars in this regard.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

The S/S on my 500 hasn't worked flawlessly from the day I picked up my shiny new Fiat 500 though it has worked, only three weeks after I collected it I took it back to told exactly what you are saying. I was told the Fiat 500 had far to much electronics for its own good and the S/S fault was blamed on the battery of a new car.

Ask me if I'm cynical ?

Regarding the shift-cables, yes the shift cable broke but I suggested this was because of a fault in the gear box. The cables have been replaced because a termination had broken, the cables themselves were free-running. The pivot point and the selector mechanism in the gear box were both sticky, the pivot point is now free but the selector problem still exists because I can't afford to pay to have the gear box repaired. It's the spring that drops the the selector back into the gate. If you don't have the 1.3 multijet then you likely have a different gear box.

This fault appears to be almost unknown though it was diagnosed correctly by the outgoing service manager at the dealership. I won't tell you why he was outgoing.

You car, when purchased, was it a factory fresh order (normally only the case if you've specified factory fit options) a standard new order or pre reg out of interest

 

[Ricard]

Well-yes, and it's a good point. When I collected the car the tracking was out but that didn't show it's face until months later. Then the service manager tells me that tracking isn't checked as part of PDI.

To be honest I'm not too concerned about S/S, I'm just sharing my experience with others. When it does work I think the 500 has stalled. That is how often it works, not very often.

Another point, quite a few cars that became shopping-baskets, mine included, have batteries that are low on voltage. The first three years of life for our 500 was weekly 500 miles round trips along the M4 so hardly low volts unless the battery was terminally ill from the start as you point out is a possibility.

 

[Ricard]

You car, when purchased, was it a factory fresh order

It wasn't pre-registered it was a stock item at the dealership so presumably not, "Factory fresh"..

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

It wasn't pre-registered it was a stock item at the dealership so presumably not, "Factory fresh"..

So potentially could have been sitting a few months which has caused the battery to discharge and not recover enough subsequently for SS to work properly again

Its things like this that really let Fiat and their dealer network down imo

 

[Ricard]

Its things like this that really let Fiat and their dealer network down imo

Don't the dealerships make enough money on a sale to include a thorough PDI rather than the minimum required. A voltage under load test takes minutes and is the load of lamps and wipers really that high with the engine running ?

Thanks for your very-posotive input on these issues.

 

[Andy Monty]

A battery load test doesn't tell the whole story my s/s equipped evo passed several load tests but it wasn't happy

The test someone on here reccomended involved going for a good drive then park up leaving the bonnet open turning the car off and locking it then leaving it 10 minutes then testing battery without unlocking the car or doing anything bar putting the multi meter probes on the terminals and looking for a minimum voltage of 12.72v (think that figure is correct) if not either the battery is no good or you have a parasitic drain

 

[MN500]

Ours was a factory fresh order and has worked without fault since day one.

 

[Ricard]

I'm just looking at the poll statistics and it seems close to 50/50 if you include those who had a problem but now don't. Is there anyone reading this that can confirm a battery change solved the issues because three out of the four visits I made to the dealership had them faffing with it connected to their computer thingy.

I know it's a little off-topic but I would like to share this sump photo with you again, the photo was taken last year and I pooped my pants. Shame on whoever did the oil changes without saying anything.

 

[306maxi]

it's just surface rust..

 

[jrkitching]

it's just surface rust..

It's more serious than that, particularly the corrosion around the sump plug boss.

I'd be very surprised if that sump lasts the life of the car unless immediate remedial action is taken.

Personally I wouldn't do an oil change on that car without first getting a signed waiver from the owner that it was at their own risk if the plug boss broke off when removing the drain plug.

Judging by the complete lack of oil around the plug, I'd say it had been serviced by vacuuming out the old oil through the dipstick hole.