Fiat 500 overheating

[Abbiefisherx]

So last week my fiat 500 2015 1.2 petrol overheated whilst stuck in traffic on the motorway. I was stuck and had no where to pull over which meant I drove for another 20 minutes in which the light went on and off twice. I topped the water up and used one bottle and it was full to the brim. It worked fine for a week before overheating again whilst in traffic I seen smoke coming from the bonnet but the light didn’t turn on as it was one bar from full heat. I pulled over as soon as I could and turned the engine off to cool down.

I took it to a garage and they basically told me I should think about selling it ASAP and that he couldn’t get it to overheat and couldn’t fix it. He said he seen white smoke coming from the exhaust and a growling noise and said it might be the head gasket but he wasn’t sure. He couldn’t give a straight answer as to what the issue was he just kept stating that I should look at selling it as it will cost a lot in the long run. I was left shocked and confused as to why he hadn’t gave a solid answer to what the issue was. I have had the car just over a year and this is the first problem I’ve ever had with my car. I am getting a second opinion on Monday but what do you guys think? If it is the head gasket would it be worth repairing or do you think it’s best to get rid of the car?

Also if anyone in liverpool knows any good garages to recommend?

 

[lunchbeers]

Go to another garage, a head gasket failure is normally easy to detect, if they're seeing it in the exhaust then it sounds as if you're pressurising the coolant system and have probably blown the coolant out.

A car of that age, I'd suggest fixing unless it's done monster mileage or is otherwise in bad nick.

Spares for these, even used should be plentiful, the largest cost will be if you've warped the head, but then a known food used one shouldn't be too expensive.

 

[Abbiefisherx]

It’s in another garage as we speak so hopefully they can determine the issue.

It’s only got 50,000 miles and it’s 2015 plate and not over caused me an issue so hopefully it’s an easy fix

 

[chris3234]

You should really have got it looked at after the first time it overheated if you needed a bottle of coolant you have a serious leak someplace a common area is the thermostat housing

 

[Troubles with 500c]

I’m afraid Chris is right. What starts as a leak can then lead to expensive fixes, if the engine overheats.

However, what’s done is done. Most of us have had cars overheat on them. The trick is not to repeat the same mistake next time.

The 1.2 engine is pretty hardy and not too complex. An independent garage should be able to diagnose and fix.

Before committing to any repairs I suggest you share their findings here because others will have been in a similar position and be able to advise how it worked out for them.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

It's not uncommon for the metal pipe, which runs along the front of the engine block behind the exhaust, to develop very localized corrosion which then lets the coolant slowly leak away. It's difficult to fully examine but a garage should have a pressure tester which can pressurize the cooling system and then you can see where it's leaking. The pipe is relatively expensive (for what it is) if bought from a main Fiat dealer but much cheaper from the likes of Shop4parts (recommended by the forum). The other "favourite" is the water pump leaking (complete replacement is the only cure).

I think it likely a coolant leak was probably your original problem but now, with two overheating episodes having taken place, it's very likely the head gasket will have suffered damage. If this is the case it's not a "difficult" one to do, especially if you're a garage - I did ours in the driveway in about a day and a half without breaking sweat. I'd definitely be checking that pipe out though and if it's not had a cam belt and water pump done recently then, as the cambelt has to be removed to take the head off, I'd be renewing the cam belt and waterpump at the same time. You'll need new coolant too and at the age/mileage of your car that would be a good idea anyway and I'd bet it's not been done?

Compared with the difficulty of doing this on most of the Panda's contemporaries, the Panda's little FIRE engine is easy to work on and will be a familiar unit to most small garages. Because it's an "easy" one to do it'll be at the cheaper end of the scale for this sort of job. Cost will depend on whether the head needs to be skimmed flat due to heat warping (needs a machine shop to do it) or if it's really bad, procuring a second hand head (not too likely in my view). Up here, with hourly labour around £45/£50 per hour in the wee garages, I think you'd end up with a bill for around £300 to £400 to do the head gasket, including new coolant, if no other unexpected damage was found. - cam belt kit price on top of that (approx £70/£80 for full kit with water pump last time I looked but there are bargains to be found on line), labour for stripping out the water pump and installing the new one would be the only extra task compared to doing the head without changing the cambelt and waterpump (ie just putting the old belt back on - which I wouldn't recommend) Should add maybe half to three quarters of an hour to the job so they'll probably add an hour's labour to cover it.

From your post it's obvious you don't have a local "favourite" garage you trust? Try asking around friends, neighbours and folk at work for where they go. It's never good to have to hand a bigger job like this over to a workshop which is an unknown and untrusted entity. Be sure to get a written quote before authorizing any work. Good luck.