General well try and beat this

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General well try and beat this

messym

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Sep 3, 2007
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We brought our 1.6 Dynamic about a year ago, 2002 plate, one previous owner.

Three months after warranty expires, first day of new job, coming back from Cambridge to Colchester, engine misfires. RAC man turns up, plugs in laptop, "it's your injector, can't tow you as the bodywork scrapes, have to call a tow truck to take your car to Bishops Stortford overnight (I was near Stansted) and then back to Fiat in Colchester in the morning."

Dealer plugs car in, says "It's the ECU, not the injector. You need a new one."

I say "Great, when can you get one".

-"Erm, we don't hold them in stock locally, we need to order one in."

"ok, that shouldn't take long?"

-"Erm, we don't hold them in stock here, we'll have to order one, - from Italy." (How stupid of me for thinking I'd purchased a Fiat, not a freaking Pagani Zonda.)

" So can I have a courtesty car whilst I wait?"

-"Sorry, they are all booked, but we can get you one for next week."

Well they ordered the first engine ECU from Fiat in Italy and then promptly "lost it" in transit. I then had to wait for a new one to arrive. Bearing in mind I could not get a direct train from Colchester to Cambridge, you could see the problems this caused me.

Now aside from this problem in the last nine months,

1. It has been in once to have the passenger airbag sensor replaced and a further five times to have the passenger airbag sensor checked, because of the dreaded red airbag warning and "beep beep".

2. It has needed a new radiator.

3. It has had the front pads and discs replaced.

4. It has had the rear pads and discs replaced.

5. It drinks oil like a fish drinks water. For some reason, going round roundabouts makes this problem worse, then I get a new "beep beep" with "engine oil low."

Today - Engine starts misfiring again and the dreaded yellow engine light has come on. It's going back in to Fiat in Colchester tonight. I'm hoping it's nothing more than the ECU, as the replacement one is luckily still under warranty.

I'm now starting to look at leasing a car rather than keep going through this every few months.

I've now paid out half the value of the car in keeping it on the road.

Sorry to say Fiat, never going to get another.
 
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sorry about all your troubles mate, mine does number 5 also duno why it uses so much oil i thought i had a leak at first but i can't find one anywhere, so just keep topping her up.

has a coil gone do a search and then do the test as it sounds very much like it has.
 
Sorry you've had so much trouble with you Stilo, but it's sadly the case with the earlier Stilo's, they were bugged up right good n proper. I think it sounds like you got a bit of a dog there. For comparison mine's an 03 plate and I've had no problems with it. It's been to Fiat once, to have a rear caliper cleaned. Any other time it's been in the garage is work at my request (lowering springs, shocks etc). I wouldn't write Fiat off totally because of a bad experience with a Stilo. By the looks of it the new Bravo is shaping up to be rather, shall be we say, orgasmic.
 
:yeahthat:

Needing a new radiator could happen to any car. Changing discs and pads is normal - they're service items. As for going through oil - what brand and grade is in the car?

I wouldn't base your opinion on Fiat on your experiences with a documented bad car. The Stilo pre-03 was a unreliable car, 03 onwards are much better. As for the Bravo - It's true it's an excellent car. Really enjoying it.
 
Not so sure about that Chris :chin: Mine is an 02 and I think I can safely say I've had less problems than you although to be fair I don't strip mine down quite so enthusiastically as you do ;)

This, once again, is a dealer issue. The cars needs competent maintenance (from all parties) and once this goes then it's a downhill path often becoming a money pit.

It's a great pity messym didn't join the Forum a year ago :(
 
02 Silo hasn't missed a beat for me. Take it to DBS Desira in Hertford. Thats where I usually take mine. They tend to know what they are doing.
 
My 52 plate 5dr has been a good one ..I had a few problems to sort out and the worst being a fuel injector and actually traced that back to the time the car was in its warranty period and not sorted out (n) that one fell on me when I bought it :bang: sort the niggles and keep it maintained and the car is a good one ..I would recommend the stilo to anyone that is prepared to look after the car but not to anyone that want to run the car on the cheapo cos that's when the trouble starts IMO ..
 
That's the point, we have treated it well. Servicing at regular intervals, oil and water properly topped up. Tyres checked weekly.

I forgot to mention when the front nearside suspension spring snapped as well. At least the safety recall of fitting ruddy big metal plates prevented an accident.
 
You could be on to something with the coil, it'd certainly cause misfiring etc.

To check coils: (someone please correct if wrong)

With the engine running carfully remove the wire from the coils one by one, replacing each before moving to the next. If you remove one and there's no real change to the engine sound then you've found your knackered coil.
 
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