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Warning light on my Fiat 500 keeps coming on
I took delivery of new Fiat 500 1.3-litre diesel at the end of Oct 2010. Within a couple of weeks problem with warning triangle and stop/start unavailable lights coming up. Car went back to dealership. Kept for one day and told no problem.
Within a few days same problem but car also very lumpy. Dealership took car in for three days, problems were found, technician took car home to test drive etc, car also lost power when being driven by him. Told car sorted, no problems.
Same problem occurred with a couple of days. Car went back, told sorted. Still have the problem with warning triangles coming up (service book says contact garage when this happens) and start/stop is working intermittently.
Had a long discussion with the Sales Manager and we discussed the probems, stating I was extremely unhappy, the car was unreliable and after paying £14,000+ for a new car, I felt it was not satisfactory and the car is not fit for purpose. I would like them to replace it, having had three attempts to fix the problem. I wrote to them (recorded delivery) stating 'Sale of Goods' etc, from your website. Reply has come saying they want a "teseo", they would need the car for another 10 days, bearing in mind they have tried three times to repair it. I have under 600 miles on the clock - their technician has put over 100 of these miles on the clock. I would like the car replaced as I have no faith in it. I quite often travel from Devon to London but I have used my husband's car instead as I can't trust the car. What should I do?
Within a few days same problem but car also very lumpy. Dealership took car in for three days, problems were found, technician took car home to test drive etc, car also lost power when being driven by him. Told car sorted, no problems.
Same problem occurred with a couple of days. Car went back, told sorted. Still have the problem with warning triangles coming up (service book says contact garage when this happens) and start/stop is working intermittently.
Had a long discussion with the Sales Manager and we discussed the probems, stating I was extremely unhappy, the car was unreliable and after paying £14,000+ for a new car, I felt it was not satisfactory and the car is not fit for purpose. I would like them to replace it, having had three attempts to fix the problem. I wrote to them (recorded delivery) stating 'Sale of Goods' etc, from your website. Reply has come saying they want a "teseo", they would need the car for another 10 days, bearing in mind they have tried three times to repair it. I have under 600 miles on the clock - their technician has put over 100 of these miles on the clock. I would like the car replaced as I have no faith in it. I quite often travel from Devon to London but I have used my husband's car instead as I can't trust the car. What should I do?
Asked on 12 January 2011 by daisey
Answered by
Honest John
You are probably choking the diesel particulate filter by not driving the car far enough after each cold start. This is a problem with the 500 1.3 Multijet. If you drive it huge distance it is fantastic, delivering 65mpg and no trouble.
The other problem is that stop/start will not function at termperatures below 3 degrees centigrade. 500s are not fundamentally bad cars. My own 1.2 petrol is now nearly three years old and had been entirely fault free for the whole time.
The other problem is that stop/start will not function at termperatures below 3 degrees centigrade. 500s are not fundamentally bad cars. My own 1.2 petrol is now nearly three years old and had been entirely fault free for the whole time.
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