General Panda serice / warranty work

[Panda4X4_Skydome]

Car has gone in for 2nd service today which is bang on 2 years old. Car has done 13,000 miles and is having the reduced mileage service which means no spark plugs changed ( and saves just under £100 on the otherwise full price of £225).

Garage has just called to say breaks are squeeking and so needs discs stripping down etc - £75 for that ..said no thanks.

They also said the cam cover has a leak so they will replace the gasket under warranty, the cooling fan is making a noise ..so will replace under warranty , and the rear shock absorber covers (?) are split so will replace those under warranty.

They also said I need two front tyres due to wear on inside edge. Suggested it needs tracking checking ...and they can get me two bridgestones fitted and do the tracking for £170. I've no idea what the bridgestones go for so have declined and will check out prices myself....Has any one else had replacements on a 4x4 ?

 

[Jai]

does the 4x4 take a 165/65/r14 tyre? if so, you can get them for about £45 a corner (Bridgestone B391) which would make £80 for a track and balance a bit damned steep........

 

[Panda4X4_Skydome]

Think it takes 185/65 R14s from a quick search...but as I don't have the car with me I can't be too sure

As ever I expect the dealer to have invented the prices for tyres ...she certainly didn't sound suprised when I said I'd get the tyres myself.

 

[Toomanytoys]

brakes.. tak it up the bypass at 80 and stand on the brakes a few times.. (without other traffic about of course)..
modern cars are so over braked and people generally drive gently on them.. they need a good workout every now and then.. of course, if you have been offroad/muddy/flooded lanes etc etc, then the brakes will need a clean out too.. and that has to be done by hand!! it will be more than 75 quid if you have to take it back.. but I would have thought they would inspect and clean the brakes as part of the service... (I would/do)

£100 less just because not replacing spark plugs? what they made from "unobtainium"

Most main dealers will not be able to offer the best prices on tyres, its not their biz...

Oh.. doesnt the panda have a visco coupling? if it does its very important to keep all tyres the same make model and wear depth (even correct inflation).. rotation is needed... Now they prob will say, no need... and thats fine, but when it gets to be a few years old and a lot more miles... then thats when the problems start.. so if you are keeping it for a long time, care, if not... up to you.
I run a VW with a VC and now they have 100k miles on them they show all sorts of gearbox breaking symptoms.. but how many panda 4x4's will get to 100k and 15 years old.... It will be a few years before we see any issues.

 

[doctorchris]

Your 4x4 has 185/65R14T tyres. Bridgestones as per original equipment seem to be about £48 fitted per tyre, which is actually just about what my Fiat dealer in Newcastle-upon-Tyne quotes. Every time I visit the dealer they try to sell me tyres and a tracking check. My tyres are still legal and still grip so I have declined. The tyres do wear a bit unevenly on the front on the 4x4 but I reckon that is due to the fact that you can chuck it around corners with great gusto, hence the outer edges wear. Good point about rotating the wheels, Fiat advise in handbook to do it every 6000 miles. It means you need to replace 4 tyres all at once but does help to protect the 4x4 transmission from possible wind up damage.
I find the rear disc brakes always squeak and don't think a strip down is needed, nor would it stop the squeak. My front pads are getting near to the wear limit but that is after 23,000 miles of spirited driving with frequent use of the brakes.

 

[Panda4X4_Skydome]

Just got the car back ...they have swapped the wheels around (more of a pain to be honest as means I need to have tracking fixed asap now which is a problem this weekend as I'm away ...)

They have advised I need to put the same brand of tyre on (I drive an Audi quattro so am aware of need to match tyre tread on same axle with the audi .. ...guess panda is slightly different with its VC - changing 2 tyres would cause a problem potentially ..but garage didn't warn of this. )

Original front tyres are worn on inside edge ..not outside. I think I'll swap them back to the front and then get the tracking done and see about new tyres from there. They are worn but not that badly but I'll see what my local (no fiat) garage think.

I did give the breaks several good goes on the way home but to be honest it actually squeeks from front left wheel when you turn right (and not when braking). It went back in for this at first service and garage said it was brake shields catching and that they had fixed. Guess it's come back if it's the same problem. As I don't really drive the panda ( wifes car) I thought the problem was sqeeking when braking so took their word on the break clean out this morning....but when the wife said it did it on turning I mentioned this just before picking up the car to dealer. Service person said this was due to a build up of rust on outer edge of disc and it is this rubbing when turning the wheel. I don't buy that - I can't imagine the clearances being so fine that a slight lip of rust would catch. When I swap the wheels I'll take a look and see I can see what the squeek is from.

Thanks for price on the Duelers. Unless duelers vary in price that much from Newcastle to North Yorkshire it means my dealer wanted to charge close to £70 for the tracking !


Thanks all for the input so far ...

 

[Toomanytoys]

Well.. I do all of my own servicing and usually check the brakes each time.. (non Panda's) I do a lot of miles too...
clean off the crud from where the pads sit in the calipers, and in the groove on the pads (if it has any) chamfer the leading edge of the pad (doesnt need much) and a dab of copperslip on the back of the pad and mounting points in caliper... this usually cures the squeeks...

in turns just sounds like the pads moving and touching the discs.. again if mounting pionts/faces totally dry.. causes a resonation.. which sounds like a squeek.