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Hi folks and thanks to those kind souls in anticipation of much needed info.
I don't own the MH myself - it's my step-kids grandfather and he's getting a bit of a run around from Fiat Auto UK. Please bear with the b/g info and my lack of info (although as an Alfa driver, I feel his pain)!
He has had ongoing problems with it since he bought it in Oct 07 with most little things fixed under warranty admittedly. It was taken back under recall to have the steering rack sorted in Feb 08 by Fiat Group and an exterior door refitted following notification in Jan 10 by 'Swift Group Ltd'. He wasn't informed of the recall for the spare (when falling off) issue - I noticed that here - should he get this done?
However, from day one he has issues with a 'shudder' when reversing. He raised this with his dealership a number of times but told it was 'normal'. The clutch failed in early 2010 with 6000 miles on the clock and the dealership repaired it under warranty (the RAC who had to tow him said the shudder was an indication of a clutch issue). It failed again in Aug 2011 (only another 6000 miles) with a new clutch and slave cylinder and he was again towed to a garage, this time a local indy.
As it was out of warranty and the indy did the work, Fiat won't do anything. The indy also put in the OEM parts but said he knew this was an issue and that Fiat should be upgrading this.
At a motorhome show he approached a Fiat customer service rep who said "hundreds of these vehicles which have been returned have been upgraded to proper standards" and that "these faults have all been on vehicles produced between 2006 and 2009".
So... firstly - I'm not sure how long a Fiat dealership guarantee work for but it seems the second clutch failing after so few miles/time should be an issue for Fiat.
Secondly, was there a known issue with the clutch?
The depth of information that is in the background - which you cannot access as you are a non-subscriber, would probably be worth considerably more than the Ģ12.50 subscription. Since that only represents about 10 minutes work in any independent garage and probably considerably less in a franchised dealer!
Suffice it to say that it is a known problem.
We have to restrict access to members who have subscribed in order to ensure (a) value for money and (b) that posts can be read which our dear friend Mr Google cannot access as they are behind a portal I believe..... i.e. that some sections of MHF are only available to subscribers.
I am sorry if this seems very negative but it is in accordance with the site rules and if non-members were given access it would raise many questions about the value of the subscription.
Out and about alive website which is MMMs site covered this many times mainly due to one of their correspondents,Andy Stothert having the same issues with FIAT. Go on the site(free) and PM him.
I made the big mistake of buying a new FIAT lovely conversion (autotrail) but what a dog of a chassis.My clutch went after less than 2000miles,every time I went out in it something went wrong.
The Customer (couldn't)care rep was a slimy piece of work.
Their recovery/breakdown service was geograhically challenged.
I got rid after 18 months.
Good luck but stick at it.
I had a 2007 Fiat (Chausson conversion). It was a great van. We had the reversing judder, which occurred twice or three times in around 18,000 miles. This was fixed under warranty - this was very well publicised (especially on here).
The experience didn't put us off, and we bought a new motorhome last summer - again, a Fiat. The Fiat makes an excellent base vehicle - powerful, quiet, smooth.
It's hard to know what to know what to advise in your case. The van should definitely have had the clutch judder fixed under warranty. Try calling Fiat Customer Service - there's an 08000 number (yes, 0-8-thousand) somewhere on this forum.
The crucial question here is which engine does the van have. The judder issue on the 2.3lt version is recognised by Fiat and they have attempted repairs which have been considered successful by the owners of almost all the vans they have done.
If the van is a 3 litre Fiat deny there is or ever was a fault even though many owners say they have a faulty vehicle and have had them tested by Fiat dealers who agreed that there was a fault. This changed around two years ago when it looks as though Fiat instructed dealers to deny that the 3 litre has a fault.
So if it is a 2.3 there may still be the possibility of a repair. If it's a 3 litre there never was and never will be a repair from Fiat,.
Andy Stothert did excellent work but had to distance himself from the argument as it was not helping his career, as I remember it. I doubt he would get involved again, Alan.
Folks - thanks for the helpful replies. I'm still trying to get a few details from the kids grandad so I can take the info gleaned here and put it together to try and get Fiat to take some responsibility. I've taken on them before in their AR UK guise so I know what you mean about sticking at it.
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