Panda 2012+ Hi (+a few questions)

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Panda 2012+ Hi (+a few questions)

Galfonso

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Mar 4, 2020
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Hi.
I bought a 2015 Panda with 37000 miles on the clock recently.
I cannot say I am in love with her but I really like her and find her to be really practical and rather nice looking. Still, considering my previous car was an Alfa GT it feels a bit like switching from Monica Bellucci to a young village girl. I cannot get my head around the fact that FIAT thought it was good idea to design a car with no boo latch.
Anyway, she is mine now and I have to take care of her. I have a few maintenance related questions:
1. What work do I need to carry out now? I have done the oil service and bought new spark plugs. Do I need to change the timing belt and water pump now or just check if it's alright? What about the drive belt, brake fluid etc.
2. I have noticed the outside temp gauge starts showing ridiculous readings a few minutes after I drive off. I guess she feels nostalgic for the Mediterranean town she was probably born in and this morning was showing 20 degrees when the cars outside were covered in frost. Is there a easy way to fix that?
3. Another bizarre problem is with the audio system - as soon as I rev the engine up a bit the sound from the CD goes noticeably louder (haven't checked the radio yet). Is this something I should be concerned about, e.g. an electrical problems? I can live with that but I guess I better fix it.
 
If it's not already been replaced, the timing belt is now due for a replacement as it's suggested it's done every 5 years.

The waterpump is a no brainer to replace as you have the belt off anyway.
As is replacing the Aux belt.

I live in a damp area so change the brake fluid every 2 years along with the coolant.
Simple and cheap enough to do.

It's worth cleaning and protecting a few parts underneath regularly.
I presume with it having no boot latch it's a lower spec 1.2 petrol and these engines can suffer a bit of corrosion to the engine sump pan.
I've always cleaned off the dirt and grit and wiped it over with an oil rag when the oil is changed, seems to have worked for me over the years.
If it's already scabby, you might need to rub it down and treat it with some rust remedy and paint.

I'm not sure if they use salt on the roads in your area in winter, but earlier Pandas can suffer with rusty rear axles.
I just give ours a good jetwash underneath and spray Duck oil about (not on the brakes) once every spring.

The outside temp sensor is in the door mirror, it's quite expensive to replace, if you run your hand underneath each, you should find a nipple under one with the sensor in it.
One of ours went haywire after someone passing smacked the mirror housing.

If you pry the inside trim cover off and remove the mirror complete with two bolts, you could try cleaning the connections, see if that makes any difference.

Your audio might be set to automatically increase volume as the revs/engine noise rises.
There should be setting in the "MENU" accessed via the buttons under the audio on the dashboard.

Other than that, they are a surprisingly hardy little cars with few faults.
Parts are cheap and they are really simple to work on.

One other note is that old and duff batteries can make the power steering go wonky, it's an electric system and is quite power hungry.
Our cars do quite short trips, so I've started to hook up a charger a couple of times a year just to make sure it gets a good charge once in a while and keep the terminals clean and protected with petroleum jelly.
 
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