General New Rear Shock Absorbers

[dansdan]

Had my Panda TwinAir in for a Service today, and all was not really well at all. It had to have the rear shock absorbers replaced, albeit under warranty. This got me thinking, new shock absorbers on a two year old car (18,500 miles) is pretty poor going. Some would say shocking (Sorry...). The car hasn't had a hard or punishing life, the majority of road surfaces have been good to very good and I don't throw it into corners like a rally car.

I've asked work colleagues and family if this was normal life expectancy of shocks, and they have said definitely not. I had one of my previous cars for several years and covered about 110,000 miles in it and no suspension issues at all.

As much as I love this little car I'm starting to have serious doubts over it's reliability in the future. It's been into the dealer a number of times since I've owned it and now the warranty is nearly up I'm thinking this could start getting expensive. It's a shame, because the TwinAir Engine is fantastic!

 

[Avaxbox]

It's usually the bushes that wear same as the 500

 

[deeyup]

The dampers on the 500 were pretty poor. Looks like maybe the panda ones aren't much better, but at least they damp properly.

I wouldn't really worry over it, I'd just buy some decent ones as and when the new ones inevitably fail once warranty is up.

 

[Avaxbox]

500 is built on panda chassis so most parts interchangeable

 

[ambient white]

I took my 2015 4x4 TA in for first 12 months inspection service/inspection yesterday.

Everything was fine except for being informed that both rear shockers were leaking and would be replaced under warranty next week after parts arrive.

Thought I would flag it up here for information and to see if otheres have had any similar problems.

 

[bobanana]

Its possible that they are doing it in case you get a case of the squealing noise from the rear.Had my cross done under warranty because of the squeal coming from the rear.Its seems to be a common problem , fiat knows all about it.Could be a case of do it now before you have a problem.

 

[The Pretender]

500 is built on panda chassis so most parts interchangeable

Nope, that is not the case.
I have spend a lot of time on the suspension of the Panda, and 500 suspension parts will not fit the Panda 312/319.
Rear shocks of the 500 are a lot shorter then de Panda ones.
Also the front suspension will not fit, the Panda topmount is completely different, compare to the 500, so 500 parts will not line-up correctly.

 

[babbo_umbro]

Nope, that is not the case.
I have spend a lot of time on the suspension of the Panda, and 500 suspension parts will not fit the Panda 312/319.
Rear shocks of the 500 are a lot shorter then de Panda ones.
Also the front suspension will not fit, the Panda topmount is completely different, compare to the 500, so 500 parts will not line-up correctly.

That's a pity as the 500 is more likely to get third-party options such as Konis.