Fiat Linea and Fiat Punto (90 BHP) Owners. Timing chain issue & recall

[justin.das]

I came to know about a timing chain issue of fiat 90bhp multijet engines from my friend who is a fiat dealership employee.Today morning when i went for service ,enquired about the issue and came to know that this issue is spotted across india and fiat had already issued the fix and requested the dealers to call respective the customer(cars with specific engine numbers) to address the issue.The dealers never contacted me http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images.../deadhorse.gif. Contact your dealer for checking your car expecially 2009 build cars as soon as possible because these issue can cause fatal damage to the engine.

[.anshuman]

Thanks for the update justin. I will inform my friend who drives a Punto 90hp.

Even last time when Fiat knew the the clutch master cylinder of first batch Puntos were prone to failures they asked dealers to recall cars but kept the issue low profile to avoid negative publicity, i never got a call from Fiat(they never forget to annoy with feedback calls which end up in trash) or any of the dealers(though they kept reminding me to rate them 5 star for every service), as a result my car broke down on road for the second time.

[aks_karthik]

It's already been discussed and I too changed it in my Silver streak Linea before 6 months.

[bejoy]

Apparently Fiat is testing the MJDs with a new timing chain.
2012 Fiat Linea sedan and Grande Punto hatchback diesels being tested with new timing chain; Possible recall on the cards, in an ICB Exclusive | IndianCarsBikes.in
Source: indiancarsbikes.in

New Timing Chains tested on 2012 Fiat Grande Punto and Fiat Linea
Source: indiandrives.com

[DRIV3R]

What about the Manza Quadrajet and the SX4 DDiS which use the same engine?

Is this not applicable to the 75HP ones?

[justin.das]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

What about the Manza Quadrajet and the SX4 DDiS which use the same engine?

Is this not applicable to the 75HP ones?

There is no issue with 75bhp multijet engine(there is cars which crossed 1.5 lakhs and going fine).I dont know exactly about manza and Sx4 i think with the same engine there is a high probability to have the same issue.

[Amazing]

There are many members in this forum who is having the Linea MJD and 90bhp Punto MJD.

It will be really nice and helpful if they can share if they are facing any such issues in their cars / heard of that issues affecting their friends/families.

What was the action by TASS to handle such cases ? This is again another -ve point that might deter potential linea buyers.

This is albeit a serious concern, after reading the article published in the links posted by fellow bhpian.

[raj_5004]

I have a Punto 90hp. But I am not sure what I should do in this case.

If I call up the dealer, I am pretty sure they would be clueless about this. If I wait for them to call me, I am apprehensive that it will never happen.

Previously, when my car went for repairs, they did 2 free upgrades on my car though, it was the rear axle & power steering pipe upgrade.

[Driving_Nomad]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

I have a Punto 90hp. But I am not sure what I should do in this case.

If I call up the dealer, I am pretty sure they would be clueless about this. If I wait for them to call me, I am apprehensive that it will never happen.

Previously, when my car went for repairs, they did 2 free upgrades on my car though, it was the rear axle & power steering pipe upgrade.

I have got the same question! I am going to my hometown this weekend and shall check at the dealer to see if I can get any information on this.
Mine is a Jul 2011 make GP 90HP and has completed two services. I am not sure whether Clutch Slave cylinder was corrected during manufacturing itself. Is there a way I can check this? Further, please let me know if any other upgrade like the ones you have mentioned above are applicable to a Jul 2011 make GP. It would also do if you could share a url or some kind of a source where I can find out what replacements are applicable and what aren't.

[djkher]

Originally Posted by Amazing

There are many members in this forum who is having the Linea MJD and 90bhp Punto MJD.

It will be really nice and helpful if they can share if they are facing any such issues in their cars / heard of that issues affecting their friends/families.

What was the action by TASS to handle such cases ? This is again another -ve point that might deter potential linea buyers.

This is albeit a serious concern, after reading the article published in the links posted by fellow bhpian.

Please share the symtoms/issues that one has to look for. One of my friends has a Punto 90HP and was naturally concerned when i told him about this.

[akshay4587]

From what i have heard\read,it seems to be a hoax,as few cars were already recalled by fiat over this issue,and replacements were done.
Also,i checked with my Local A.S.S,there is no recent communication from Fiat regarding this.Also the third party link,does not mention anything regarding communication from fiat india.

[justin.das]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

From what i have heard\read,it seems to be a hoax,as few cars were already recalled by fiat over this issue,and replacements were done.
Also,i checked with my Local A.S.S,there is no recent communication from Fiat regarding this.Also the third party link,does not mention anything regarding communication from fiat india.

The timing chain issues is almost 6 months old but the truth is most of the owners are unaware of the issue including me(dealers are the culprit they are suppose to inform the customers whose cars are affected by the issue but in my knowledge no calls were received from dealerships and the result is break downs and engine damage).The latest update from fiat accroding to the service center is a update related to clutch and the other one is rear axle replacement.

[akshay4587]

Eating my own words.
So its not a Hoax,Dropped my 2010 Linea for timing chain upgrade to 2012 design,will have her back tommorow,will update,if i notice any change

[justin.das]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Eating my own words.
So its not a Hoax,Dropped my 2010 Linea for timing chain upgrade to 2012 design,will have her back tommorow,will update,if i notice any change

we cant feel any change after the timing chain replacement.The problem was the timing chain fiat used in 90bhp engines was that of 75bhp engine in some cases the timing chain expands and starts rubbing with the pump(the distance between these two is verysmall) which is placed below the timing chain and as a result metal grains are formed and it gets mixed with engine oil,circulates throughout the engine and this causes severe engine problems.usually these problems are found in vehicles with underbody damage(damage which happends because of low ground clearence).Its highly recommended to change to new timing chain which is developed for 90bhp engine.

[jacksons]

Originally Posted by justin.das

I came to know about a timing chain issue of fiat 90bhp multijet engines from my friend who is a fiat dealership employee.Today morning when i went for service ,enquired about the issue and came to know that this issue is spotted across india and fiat had already issued the fix and requested the dealers to call respective the customer(cars with specific engine numbers) to address the issue.The dealers never contacted me http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images.../deadhorse.gif. Contact your dealer for checking your car expecially 2009 build cars as soon as possible because these issue can cause fatal damage to the engine.

As far as I remember Punto 90Hp was not introduced in 2009,it cam in late 2010 after Auto Expo debut in Jan 2010, so there are no 2009 Punto 90Hp on the road or ever sold by Fiat.