General Stilos that haven't had problems

[wing1200a]

Well, here we go.
I'm wondering if any other stilo owners have received no major problems during their ownership. I've now owned 7 fiats, the last 2 being Stilos.
Stilo 1 - Broom Yellow 1.6 dynamic (02 39k), owned for 4 years, given to my wife 2 years ago - problems 1 front spring under warranty, 1 lambda sensor also under warranty.
Stilo 2 - Crystal green Selespeed (53 23k), owned for 2 years, wiper motor replaced under warranty as was passenger window motor.

I consider this to be reasonable and all repairs have been carried out the day that the cars have been taken to Fiat (Simonstone in Bristol) except window motor which was ordered and in the following day, in this instance Simonstone drove me home and collected me the following day.

I have owned previous cars that have been far more troublesome - Pug 406 required new brakes, disks and pads in 16 months, Citroen Xantia diesel required new clutch and head after 9 months and 6k, Ford Fiesta diesel which required new engine after 14 months and 13k and Ford Scorpio Ultima td which had 4 new turbos fitted in the first 8 months from new which is when I got rid of it.

I hear a lot on here about problems, but what of those that don't have any?
Maybe time for a poll?

 

[thepottleflump]

I didn't have any major problems with my Stilo during 3 years of ownership. The new owner hasn't either, although his definition of major may vary from mine and tell you otherwise

 

[Deckchair5]

Mines doing fine 50k miles now and spent about £150 in parts in the last year.

passenger seat sensor at £105
front brakes at £30 (only half worn but changed as just squealing)
brake switch £5
gearshift gaiter split £15

routine maintenance
oil change and 2 tyres
pollen filter
plugs

Bravo still running now 108k miles
Cheap as chips

 

[PNL]

Mine is a 1.6 Dynamic 5dr :slayer: and the only major problems I have had are with broken front springs [Which fiat are now NOT paying for or paying the dealer for the work ] and intermittent injector fault which is now having to be replaced injector is £100.59p and labour £175 I have spent more on mods than actual maintenance on the car do my own servicing which saves considerable cost to

 

[Argonought]

Minimal problems for me too

Problem sunroof turned out it needed a very good clean.
Recently got the Engine Fault condition and this turned out to be just a perished bit of tubing.

I think a lot of the perceptions of poor reliability come about due to the dealer network which even after 5 years are still learning about the car. Horror stories of gearbox failure seem to be more about poor servicing from the dealer than poor design. Stilo owners are another issue. Those that expect perfection (coupled with a degree of ignorance) will naturally come off worst whereas the more car savvy owners will fair better.

Sure the Stilo has issues (front springs being one) but you've got to expect some on a brand new model.

 

[Slc]

It's been good so far, i've had it one year...and i busted the flywheel after major thrashage but all changed under warranty . And then the normal stuff 2 tyres...oil etc

Long live the tin can!

 

[Schwenck]

Just over 40k on the clock now, so 22k in my stewardship in the last 33 months. Aside from routine servicing:

Defective n/s/f shock absorber replaced in 2004, made under warranty.
Front pads replaced 2005
Broken n/s/f spring replaced 2006, refunded after letter to FIAT(UK)
o/s/f spring replaced 2006 at FIAT(K)'s expense after same letter.

So not bad I reckon, although I realise I do a low annual milege. I wonder if it helps that the dealer ran my car for it's first 18 months? Perhaps that is the key to getting one with all the niggles ironed-out! Or is it still, even in these days of robotised production, the luck of the draw, whether your car was made on a Tuesday morning or a Friday afternoon?

Touch-wood, Stilo has been a lot less trouble than work colleagues of mine have had with variously a Peugeot 307 (disintegrating clutch and gearbox), Nissan Primera (two turbos and an ECU), Volkswagen Bora (ECU, airflow meter) and Passat (shredded oil pump). I suppose it could all change with the turn of the key tomorrow morning.

Now just got to dry out my nearside headlight after driving though the remnants of Hurricane Gordon on Friday…

 

[wing1200a]

So far, so good. keep on adding to your good fortune stories and we'll get a true picture of Stilo reliability

 

[wotnowarninglight]

The petrol 1.6 I had...covered a shade over 27 K in 15 months needed

1. Coil pack died (covered by warranty) brake light switch which checked out same time was not covered.
2. Software update to cure poor cold running & idling.
3. Front antiroll bar links (not covered by warranty).

Else just the usual consumables, tyres, pads all round (@42K), exhaust & wiper blades... servicing etc.

Now on the JTD @ 2.5 weeks & 1.1K on just a sidelight bulb which supplying dealer did as a goodwill gesture (bumper off & headlight out job) and oh I hear the familiar knocking of antiroll bar links again will be digging out my warranty paperwork very soon...

 

[Steven]

My 1.6 Multiwagon, owned for 7 months and 6,000 miles.

No major problems, touch wood. The only problem so far was discovered just after I bought it and wasn't the car's fault at all. The dealer had the wrong battery fitted, a 45 amp rather than 62 amp and I was having electrical issues. The car has been fine though, very comfortable and lots of room.

 

[Rich]

Bearing in mind what I'm like, here are the problems our Stilo's have had (so things like new door trims becuase they were scratched by previous owners are not listed):

Stilo Number 1 - Rejected after an hour due to previous paint damage (so NOT FIAT's fault)
Stilo Number 2 - Power Steering Problem, believed to be wiring. Had new rear axle to cure squeaking, and new headlights for condensation. Only problem we have paid for was a new door lock, £48.
Stilo Number 3 - Nothing
Stilo Number 4 - Cam variator replaced, new key. All free warranty work.
Stilo Number 5 - Nothing

So pretty impressed by that

 

[choppertoo]

1.6 16v Dynamic

29,993 miles ...

No major problems only an intermittently rattling dashboard (appears to be coming from the instrument cluster) that the dealer has so far been unable to fix. Oh and the airbag warning light came on once - this was fixed by the dealer and has never happened again.

Other than that it has been totally reliable

It's also for sale in the classifieds section - We've got a baby due in 3 weeks and need a 5 door - bought my Stilo after a good experience with a cinquecento - now hankering after a Alfa 156 Sportwagon!

 

[Igor23]

02 Abarth selespeed, 23988m, owned since 01/05/06, so far air con compressor(replaced under rac extended warranty) selespeed paddles (broken by nationwide when they fixed the air con ) just started to kangaroo so coil pack next on the list...

 

[paul]

2004 1.4 Active
15500 miles
Nothing except airbag light came on after a passenger yanked the seat too hard and disturbed the connections. That was 7 months ago, dealer fixed been perfect since.

On the other hand The Citroen C3 'Er Indoors had of the same age and same mileage had the gearbox and clutch blow up at 3000 miles, 6 power steering failures, failure to start on at least a dozen attempts, half the dashboard falling off and bits of trim that fall off overnight, rear seats replaced as they wouldnt lock into place properly, more rattles than Mothercare, down on power so it wouldnt go above 40mph on most journeys - virus within the ECU according to the dealer, missfired and ran like a bag of ****e when it was damp - more viruses on the ECU, malfunctioning digital dashboard, I could go on but the list would be endless. Biggest pile of ****e to grace the planet

 

[minimad99]

fully loaded 02 plate JTD 3 door,
bought oct 2004 from dealer, no problems except passenger airbag connector problem-fixed by dealer no problems since.
passenger deadlock replaced - £130ish

apart from that, normal tyres, servicing, brake pads now 78000 miles and going strong:slayer:

went straight through first two MOT's after headlight alignment

 

[Big Black Stilo]

03 black 1.2 currently just hit 36k

has had new window mech in drivers side (wich is playing up again possibly because of theiving scum.- first problem fixed by dealer under warranty

Brake lights stuck on- fixed by dealer under warranty

Airbag lights, countless times but twice wouldnt go off and dealer did it for nowt.

My gear gaiter split, yet to be replaced- by me!

Exhaust flexi went, new one welded in by my cousins fella for £29

Gear selector arm failed, trashing 3rd/4th synchro and 4rd gear- replaced under warranty

Gear box exploded ( i kid you not, smoke and metal everywhere)- about to replaced cost covered by fiat.

Some other niggles I can live with as im to picky.

Better than my Seat Ibiza. By the time that hit 40k it had

Blown the head gasket on the M6 doing 70, siezing 3 cylinders and creaming the head
Went through brake pads every 4k miles
Alternator failed
2 batteries
Electrics packed up causing mega false dash readings (no fuel when full, 120mph when your doing 3mph)
temp sensor for ECU on fron of engine failed
Rear light cluster went funny (ie brake and rear light came on or it indicated with reverse light)
Brakes failed MOT as applying different pressures on each corner
Exhaust fell off
Windscreen started to leak
Clutch cable
Wiper arms as the teeth rounded off

This is before money spent on normal stuff (leads, dizzy caps etc) and also vandalism and a prang

 

[wing1200a]

Big Black Stilo,
Hate to think what you'd have replied with if I'd titled thread 'Stilos that have had problems'

Anyone out there with niggles on german cars? I know that the press goes on and on about german quality, but my company had a deal with VW for three years and haven't renewed. Passats spewing oil on M6, gearbox failures, ecu problems and, wait for it, more electronic problems than reported on Stilo forum. We have over 300 cars in our fleet and have now moved to Saab, in fairness they have, so far, been very reliable. Unfortunately residuals for private buyers aren't far off fiats.

 

[Rivern]

Black 1.6 dinamic 02

Mines 4 months in ownership by me and all ive had is a new map sensor put in as i got engine failure, fiat fixed in two days, it was in the garage for 3 weeks as i managed to wrap it round my garden gate... cost insurance £2100 cost me nothing... phew! and just last week i got engine failure again so its back off to fait on thursday... although its driving fine at the moment... while its in, im having a new petrol cap door put on as mine fell off... yep that dodgy hinge we all know about.

But other than that i had an airbag light come up just after i bought it, this was due to my uncle driving it round the block... and cuz he's taller than me he slammed the drivers seat backwards which unhinged the small wire block under the seat. Fixed by me after about 15min wiggling wires.

All in all its a great car... :slayer:

 

[Bren J]

With my 1.2 Active 3dr, the only problem I had as a result of faulty parts was a broken petrol flap. I ripped off the plastic shields underneath the car, but that was my fault, hitting a deep flood at about 70mph.

I've had my 2.4 Selespeed 3dr now since January, and as of yet I've not had any real problems (touch wood). I hope it stays that way

 

[alexGS]

It's been over two months now with my Stilo Abarth, and the only problem: the alarm tends to go off (most times) after I lock the car and leave it in public places.

I also had a merry chime of warnings (ASR, ABS, and some other failure) but they all went away at the next startup. Car hadn't been used for a week, so I think these were caused by a low battery.

My car has 27,000km. I look forward to the next 27,000km without problems...

-Alex