General Mould in boot!

[123mjb]

Hi Guys,

I picked up my fiat 500 second hand in October 2012, and so far (touch wood) its been good as gold! (bar the odd squeak from the air conditioning)

Recently the car has been developing mould in the boot. It only seems to be on the right hand side of the car. I took it to the dealer near me (Westover Poole) about a month or two ago, and they advised me that due to be in the third year warranty, chances are I would be looking at an £80+ fee to just take a look, incase it wasn't under warranty!

Has anyone had this type of issue before?

The boot is rarely used to be honest, except the occasional shopping trip and nothing has been spilt in it.

I've also noticed recently its misting up quite bad (My old Rover 25 did this, but that was due to the sunroof rooting away and leaking badly!)

Any help will be appreciated!

Cheers!

 

[Mitchiet123]

Do you mean ok the outside when you open the boot there's like mouldy green stuff near the corners?
Cause that's what I've got atm

 

[Mitchiet123]

Or is it actually inside the boot?

 

[123mjb]

Its actually in the boot

I cant seem to attach a picture to the post :/

So heres a link to one:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1a6yjqodn2761xm/2014-03-05 22.36.01.jpg

 

[Mitchiet123]

Hmmm not too sure about that one then! Only obvious thing I would say is clean it more often! I don't clean mine as often as I should as it's white and just gets dirty the next day so can never be arsed! Lol

 

[jrkitching]

Well, the mould together with the misting up means something is leaking inside the car. You need to get it fixed or your car will end up smelling like a pond.

The most likely cause is a leaking rear washer hose - they are known to split and others have reported the same issue. FIAT dealers should be aware of this.

It's downright shameful that a franchised dealer should even be thinking about charging you for looking at it on a car this new.

That said, it's very cheap to check & sort out yourself if you strip out the rear seats & trim - there's a guide to fitting additional sound insulation which tells you everything you need to know, but why should you have to do this on a car that's less than two years old?

The only possible reason that I can think of for FIAT to legitimately refuse a warranty fix would be if the cause were badly repaired bodywork damage - which sounds unlikely.

If you empty the sreenwash (just use the windscreen wash until it runs out), then put a little undiluted concentrate in the container & operate the rear washers, the smell should be enough to positively identify this as the cause.

 

[123mjb]

Thanks. The cars in its 3rd year warranty hence why the garage was going to charge.

It's booked in at the end of the month at the fiat dealership near home, we've used them a fair amount with our fiats (mine and my dad's panda)

Fingers crossed that if they find a problem it will be covered under the 3rd year warranty.

Out of interest, are leaks covered by this? Or is a case by case situation?

Thanks again and will keep you posted

 

[PsFiat]

If it's a factory fault then it is often covered, but the garage can claim misuse, or just wear and tear. I wouldn't hold my breath for a freebie.