Multiair Unit

[garethslee]

2010 Punto Evo 1.4.
Car is 6 months out of warranty and has a mileage of 70,000.

Car is in garage and according to mechanics the multiair unit is the chief suspect.
They've contacted Fiat and apparently a multiair unit is only supplied with a new cylinder head, and at a cost of £1190!!

Is that possibly correct?

Any others thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[fingers99]

Unsure of the status of your garage. The technology is relatively new, to FIAT themselves, let alone non-franchised dealers. You have to ask -- are they equipped to make such a diagnosis?

6 months out of warranty you might expect FIAT to offer very good terms on replacement.

 

[s130]

I don't think your dealer know what they are talking about.

The Multiair engine has a separate "Actuator Unit" which caries all the hydraulic mechanics etc. These actuator unit are available as complete spares units at a cost of around £600 from Fiat/Alfa. I also believe the units, unlike a broken timing chain/belt are supposed to be fail safe i.e. non interference failure so the pistons can not hit the inlet valves if one or more of the actuator components fail. If this is the case then there would be no need to replace the rest of the cylinder head.

I CAN NOT believe that Fiat said the actuator was only available with a new head UNLESS a new actuator design change has been made to improve reliability and it is only compatible with a new matching cylinder head.