Technical So, here we go again…Aaargh

[bendheim]

So thanks to help previously from this group, the brand new Panda 2023 Hybrid I bought last month just miraculously, after about 3 days, started working in Hybrid mode (after being dead) and has been working fine ever since. Its all tops, it charges nicely, the auto off stop start works great, all hunky dory, as they say. It was obviously just a battery that needed way more charging than the 200km first journey from the dealership, go figure.

However, I should know more about Fiats by now to NOT necessarily expect such good fortune to last.

Like all things Italian, including Italians, they are entirely unpredictable.

So with just 1400km on the clock, a strange new thing has happened. When changing down, say on entering a roundabout, for eg, from 3rd to 2nd, the car makes a very weird noise, about 60 percent of the time….
1. Its almost always from 3rd to second, but NOT always. Its not very time I change down, either.
2. It doesn’t really happen if I do a very slow change, as in take my foot off the clutch abnormally slowly.
3. It is a very odd sound. It is NOT a clunk, or a rattle, or anything like that. Its a GGGGGGHHHHH sound if that makes any sense. Its not quite a grinding sound either. Or a screeching sound, like standing on your cat. But its definitely not normal and it started out of the blue. It lasts about a second or less. When it happens.

Any ideas are most welcome. Please.

 

[Panda IIs]

So thanks to help previously from this group, the brand new Panda 2023 Hybrid I bought last month just miraculously, after about 3 days, started working in Hybrid mode (after being dead) and has been working fine ever since. Its all tops, it charges nicely, the auto off stop start works great, all hunky dory, as they say. It was obviously just a battery that needed way more charging than the 200km first journey from the dealership, go figure.

However, I should know more about Fiats by now to NOT necessarily expect such good fortune to last.

Like all things Italian, including Italians, they are entirely unpredictable.

So with just 1400km on the clock, a strange new thing has happened. When changing down, say on entering a roundabout, for eg, from 3rd to 2nd, the car makes a very weird noise, about 60 percent of the time….
1. Its almost always from 3rd to second, but NOT always. Its not very time I change down, either.
2. It doesn’t really happen if I do a very slow change, as in take my foot off the clutch abnormally slowly.
3. It is a very odd sound. It is NOT a clunk, or a rattle, or anything like that. Its a GGGGGGHHHHH sound if that makes any sense. Its not quite a grinding sound either. Or a screeching sound, like standing on your cat. But its definitely not normal and it started out of the blue. It lasts about a second or less. When it happens.

Any ideas are most welcome. Please.

No experience of the hybrid but my first "guess" would be a bit of belt slip; as you are changing down the regeneration demand would be at a maximum therefore the alternator will be "loading up" the belt. I think this was raised in your other post? While it should be a dealer (warranty) thing I have seen products in a spray can that essentially are sticky goo that you spray on the belt/pulleys to enhance friction a bit.

You are in Spain(?) so I guess ambient air temperature is not helping in terms of friction too (plus any additional loads due to A/C running - if hybrid uses same belt?).

Just some suggestions - as i said, not based on any experience.

 

[vexorg]

Does the hybrid still have a manual gearbox?
I thought all hybrids were the automatic type so that it could mix in electric and petrol when needed.

 

[Panda IIs]

Does the hybrid still have a manual gearbox?
I thought all hybrids were the automatic type so that it could mix in electric and petrol when needed.

I believe this is a "mild hybrid" so alternator acts as a "booster motor" adds little but ticks a green box... (excuse my being a cynic).

 

[vexorg]

Seems a very weak use of the word "hybrid"

 

[Panda IIs]

Seems a very weak use of the word "hybrid"

Give the marketeers an inch and they will take a mile...

There are others better informed than myself on here https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/hybrid-start-stop.498172/#post-4668446

 

[boozyjay]

Are these Panda Hybrids nippy like the TwinAir, or underpowered? I haven't test drove one.

 

[Marcus Daly]

Underpowered is an understatement.

They’re nothing like a TwinAir.

 

[Panda IIs]

Are these Panda Hybrids nippy like the TwinAir, or underpowered? I haven't test drove one.

Nipped in the bud I believe (power wise)...

 

[Graham GB]

if it's manual could it be thrust bearing noise ?(or whatever it's called nowadays), our Panda TA has had that for years, since it was a few months old, of course it could just be complaining about slow old age drivers .

 

[bendheim]

No experience of the hybrid but my first "guess" would be a bit of belt slip; as you are changing down the regeneration demand would be at a maximum therefore the alternator will be "loading up" the belt. I think this was raised in your other post? While it should be a dealer (warranty) thing I have seen products in a spray can that essentially are sticky goo that you spray on the belt/pulleys to enhance friction a bit.

You are in Spain(?) so I guess ambient air temperature is not helping in terms of friction too (plus any additional loads due to A/C running - if hybrid uses same belt?).

Just some suggestions - as i said, not based on any experience.

Thanks very much - that was a very useful suggestion and I think what you are saying makes absolute sense when I think about the type of noise and duration. I am going to look at the solution you suggest.
I really appreciate your time and effort replying to me!

 

[bendheim]

if it's manual could it be thrust bearing noise ?(or whatever it's called nowadays), our Panda TA has had that for years, since it was a few months old, of course it could just be complaining about slow old age drivers .

I sincerely hope not!! May I ask what that sounds like?

 

[bendheim]

Nipped in the bud I believe (power wise)...

It feels quite nippy in town and makes a nice Italian sound, but it’s by no means fast. On the open road you can sit comfortably in 6th gear on a FLAT road but on ups and downs, you’ll be working the gearbox often.
Having said that I enjoy the overall driving experience and it’s fun, so to enjoy one needs to look beyond just nippyness

 

[bendheim]

Give the marketeers an inch and they will take a mile...

There are others better informed than myself on here https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/hybrid-start-stop.498172/#post-4668446

It is basically marketing. However it gets me an ECO sticker here in Spain which allows in city access in bigger cities. After 1400 Km the consumption is not great at 5,9 l per 100km so far but maybe it will settle down.

 

[bendheim]

I believe this is a "mild hybrid" so alternator acts as a "booster motor" adds little but ticks a green box... (excuse my being a cynic).

That sums it up well

 

[vexorg]

After 1400 Km the consumption is not great at 5,9 l per 100km so far but maybe it will settle down.

That's only about 47mpg, not any better than the 1.2

 

[Graham GB]

I sincerely hope not!! May I ask what that sounds like?

Hard to describe, but It sounds like a "whirring/moaning" noise when the clutch takes up the drive on a gear change, i wouldn't worry too much if that is the noise you're hearing, our TA has 95k miles now & it's been doing it for at least 80k of those.

 

[Panda IIs]

Thanks very much - that was a very useful suggestion and I think what you are saying makes absolute sense when I think about the type of noise and duration. I am going to look at the solution you suggest.
I really appreciate your time and effort replying to me!

It's my pleasure and what this forum is about. Your subsequent posts are interesting re the "hybrid" experience and make it sound palatable - although I am tempted by the electric 500 just on the basis of styling.

 

[bendheim]

It's my pleasure and what this forum is about. Your subsequent posts are interesting re the "hybrid" experience and make it sound palatable - although I am tempted by the electric 500 just on the basis of styling.

The electric looks very nice externally but I preferred the more retro styling of the dash in the petrol model. And its super expensive in Spain - upwards of 31K euro, I think, which is just under double the price of the hybrid. Besides, I have always like that Fiat “growl” even if the bark is way louder than the “bite”, performance wise.