Technical Multijet - loss of power after cold start

[Trimdoner]

I've had many petrol cars & know where the damp can affect them but didn't think this was an issue on Diesels.

Exactly my thoughts when it first happened to ours....

One area you may like to check is the maf sensor - when I removed ours, it had approx a teaspoonful of water lying in the housing. Where this had come from I've no idea - all pipework was assembled properly, and the previously 'flapping' air filter lid sealed a long time before.

We've had no starting/loss of power problems since its last dose of WD40 in February, when I removed every plug I could find and sprayed them with Halfords electrical cleaner followed by WD. At the same time I thoroughly sprayed the maf sensor with cleaner, but obviously not the WD.

Surely if a fair number of MJ owners are having these problems, Fiat (not their dealers) must be aware and be able to pinpoint the cause?

 

[chevykevv]

Hi, I took the MAF sensor off on Friday when I got home from work, it also had lots of water in it, & when I turned the air filter housing upside down the water poured out.

This has got to be some kind of design fault, if the water gets as far as the MAF, the next piece of pipe goes vertically down into the engine.

This would explain why mine was "Hydraulicing" the water had obviously got into the cylinders & wouldn't compress.

This also worries me as water inside the engine doesn't do it a lot of good from what I can remeber.

Now looking into modifying the air intake to alleviate the problem.

 

[pondweed]

can you post a photo of where you think problem lies?
Doe one need to drill some drain holes on the intake side of the MAF, somewhere?

 

[chevykevv]

I don't usually have time in the week to "play cars" so i'll check it over on Saturday.

The thing is that the air filter itself was bone dry, being paper & sponge it would stay wet for a long time if the water was getting through it.

So in theory the water must be getting either in after the filter or geting past it somehow, and we're not talking an insignificant ammount here, it litterally poured out of the air intake unit when I tipped it up.

I saw on "Ebay" they do an induction kit, I may give that a go.

Watch this space.

 

[Wee Smurf]

My Panda got much worse last week...

I was pulling out onto the main road unsure if I would have any get up and go at all (which isn't a good feeling to have with two wee ones in the car). Brought him back to the Fiat dealership. Again nothing showed faultwise on the meter. They tried swapping over various parts but have come up with the answer being a new turbo... at a cost of £682.82.

Feeling somewhat down at the moment...

 

[306maxi]

My Panda got much worse last week...

I was pulling out onto the main road unsure if I would have any get up and go at all (which isn't a good feeling to have with two wee ones in the car). Brought him back to the Fiat dealership. Again nothing showed faultwise on the meter. They tried swapping over various parts but have come up with the answer being a new turbo... at a cost of £682.82.

Feeling somewhat down at the moment...

I'd be looking for a scrap turbo.

 

[Wee Smurf]

Probably hard to find a scrap one here... Northern Ireland scrappies aren't that good and very few Multijets would be sold here...

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

There were alot of Panda MJ parts on the bay the other day

EDIT:

Two turbos;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FIAT-PANDA-1-...s_SM?hash=item4399d6a67e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fiat-Panda-20...s_SM?hash=item4146955950&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

[Wee Smurf]

Thanks Jon.

Better news today...

I phoned Fiat Customer Services on Wednesday evening. They got back to me at lunchtime today. They said that they would pay for the new turbo. I still need to pay for the work to be done, but they said that they would ask the dealership to minimise the cost for me. Hopefully will get things sorted next week.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Thanks Jon.

Better news today...

I phoned Fiat Customer Services on Wednesday evening. They got back to me at lunchtime today. They said that they would pay for the new turbo. I still need to pay for the work to be done, but they said that they would ask the dealership to minimise the cost for me. Hopefully will get things sorted next week.

Ah thats a bit of good news then. Yours is a 2006 Panda isn't it

 

[Wee Smurf]

No 2005...

 

[Wee Smurf]

Got new turbo fitted today... Cost £213 for the labour and a few bits and bobs of wee parts. So not as bad as first anticipated thankfully.

Dez feels and sounds so much better. It's good to press the accelerator and be able to go again, as opposed to pressing the accelerator and wonder if it will go.

 

[notsmartcars]

Ive got the turbo off my diesel panda multijet at the moment the problem is that the actuator on the back of the turbo was seized this can cause the turbo pressure to drop if stuck open or over boost if is sticks shut.. the dealer can not supply a new actuator only a new turbo( turbo technics could supply one but I would have to modify it to fit) I suspect this will turn out to be a common fault in the future.. I have freed it off now and hopefully will have it up and running at the weekend .. I shall give it a week to make sure it is ok then I will remove and clean the EGR valve and possibly by passing it to eliminate any future problems.. I shall take pictures of the valve and try to post them

 

[Wee Smurf]

That's what was wrong with mine... Hopefully the new one will not fail in the same way...

 

[hackneyman]

Hi
Been following he thread for a while. Having simillar problems, this morning the Car would not start turned overe a couple of times, but would not fire up.
So I left it till this evening tried again seemed like the Battery was very low tried a Jump Start still no go. Called out the RAC they got ii started after a while had to Jump Start it. I mentioned the problems i had been having in the damp weather where the car would start but then hesitate then pull away. The Chap said the Fault may be in the Fuel pressure switch this appeared to be holding the battery back from starting the car , he did say this was only an assumption and that I would be better getting it to a Garage and having it checked out. Anyone had this switch replaced on the MJ ? any ideas on Price etc
Thanks
Ian H

 

[Wee Smurf]

Bad news...

Started the car this morning and was back to no power again... So obviously it wasn't the turbo after all and I've just wasted £213...

 

[Wee Smurf]

Good news!

Fiat agreed to replace my EGR valve at their expense. Got it fitted today - Feels miles better

 

[kuliand]

Is anyone suffering from loss of power this week?

My car seems to be down on power this week in general not just after it has been started i.e. when i put my foot down at 40 in 4th it doesn't really pull at all where normally it would pickup quite well. I can still hear the turbo spin up when i press the throttle it just doesn't seem to accelerate very quickly.

Is this a similar set of symptoms other people have experienced?


also might be worth noting that the engine seems to be doing roughly the same revs at any given speed as it would when feeling normal.

 

[Percypanda]

I have a 58 plate MJ thats had this problem since new, it's been back to the dealers more times than I've got fingers, and as its showing no error codes they say they can't do anything.

It's at the dealers now, having died on me just before New Years Eve and I'm supposed to pick it up tomorrow but can't as I'm snowed in. Again they've found nothing wrong with it.

It's totally unreliable, clouds of blue smoke from the exhaust when I start it up (and I mean clouds the car disappears in blue smoke). Intermittently the power will die and its like you're driving with the handbrake on, no power at all.

The time before last I pulled to the side of the road and the steering felt like the steering lock was on, couldnt turn it to the right at all to pull away.

All the dealer keeps telling me is, if the fault doesnt manifest itself when they test drive it, and there's no record of a fault on the cars computer they can't do anything about it.

I'm fuming. I live in an isolated village and there's no public transport. I traded my 2 1/2 yr old reliable perfect MJ in for this heap of rubbish last January and it's been nothing but trouble since.

I've noted down all the possible 'cures' and will ring the dealer in the morning and suggest them, but I know what they'll say. 'Unless we get an error code we can't do anything as Fiat won't authorise it.'

This happened once on my previous MJ and the RAC found it needed a replacement exhaust sensor, gave the code to the dealer (different dealer) and they replaced the sensor, was no problem after that. I told this dealer that and they still say 'we can't replace the exhaust sensor unless we get an error code as Fiat won't authorise it.' aarrgghhhhh!!!!

I'm still waiting for a replacement rear screen, as the heater elements in mine don't work, they even queried whether that could be done under the warranty.

I think I'll ring Fiat HQ tomorrow too and see if I can get any sense out of them, because at this rate the car will be out of warranty and will still have this problem.

The fuel consumption isn't good, the cars done 6k and the highest I've got is 59mpg but usually it's around 51mpg. My previous MJ was giving me 65-71mpg.

 

[Percypanda]

Rang Fiat and spoke to someone in Milan they've opened a case for the problem on my car and are gonna ring me within 48hrs and also the dealer.

I've got to pick the car up asap cos they want the courtesy car back and we have another shedload of snow due at the w/end. Just hope I can get there and back either tomorrow or Friday.

Still nothing found, so the car will probably die on me on the way home :bang: