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Old 27th December 2009, 23:54   #31
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fuel lid refusing to close happens. A little time at the ASC should help you sort it out. I had the same issue when i took delivery of my car after about 80k worth of repair after a rear end shunt
But it could also be a sign of shoddy bodywork done on the car, which would also explain the other apparent defects as well

Last edited by greenhorn : 28th December 2009 at 00:08.
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Old 28th December 2009, 00:06   #32
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Originally Posted by Klub Class View Post
It's a bit sad to hear your experiences.But much to my surprise nothing that you have reported here has happened in my car.ie.No falling parts off in my Punto for the last couple of months :-)
Awesome for you then!![not being sarcastic]

Quote:
Meanwhile you said that your fuel-lid refuses to shut,right..? I see that someone/something has hit your fuel lid..Yeah,I am able to see the big scratch lines on the fuel-lid and I suspect that it's the reason why it fails to shut.
Those are not scratch lines!!!! Its the reflection of the car standing next to my car!! Look closely,sherlock homes!!!
P.s. the car was waxed just before i took the photos.

And the fuel lid problem was there ever since i took the delivery,hell it was present during the PDI too,the showroom guys couldn't do anything then,they can't seem to get it repaired now. Standard statement from the mechanic,"plastic hi itna halka diya hai,main kya karun?",but i manage to get it shut with a "jugaad",it just takes 2 or 3 full bashes and bit of an adjustment while shutting the lid.
Problem is i am not around most of the time when the car goes for a fuel refill,and my mum has to drive with this thing open.



[quoteSo I feel it a bit hard to digest why you say that your fuel lid refuse to work..!![/quote]
Hopefully,now you can digest the fact.


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Originally Posted by greenhorn View Post
fuel lid refusing to close happens. A little time at the ASC should help you sort it out.
But it could also be a sign of bodywork done on the car, which would also explain the other apparent defects as well
A little time at the ASC,you say eh?they haven't been able to do jack in my 3 trips to them,even though they are excellent in other areas.
There is no BODYWORK,look closely,its the reflection of the other car standing right next to my car,if such a scratch were there on my car,i would get it repaired right away!

Here you go,and look closely,not a scratch,only a reflection.
Formula one wax zindabaad!!
[hell,even i had to take second look at the photos!,and check my car right now,wondering where is the scratch!]
Is there a big quality lapse at Fiat's Ranjangaon plant that is overlooked by Fiat?-moto_0762.jpg

Last edited by smilenow : 28th December 2009 at 00:15.
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Old 28th December 2009, 00:13   #33
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Originally Posted by smilenow View Post
Awesome for you then!![not being sarcastic]

Those are not scratch lines!!!! Its the reflection of the car standing next to my car!! Look closely,sherlock homes!!!
P.s. the car was waxed just before i took the photos.
Oh..!!!Yeah,It's the reflections of the car that confused me my friend.I am really sorry my friend.Blame me and my eyes.I ain't Sherlock Holmes

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Originally Posted by smilenow View Post
Hopefully,now you can digest the fact.
Yup,Now i can digest the facts.Once again sorry..!!Let's hope that the fuel-lid problem with be solved by the service guys.

Wish you a Happy and Safe Motoring
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Old 28th December 2009, 00:42   #34
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smilenow, i meant extensive bodywork, the type that the dealer might have hid from from you, arising from some damage that occured in transit, and before you took delivery of the car.
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Old 28th December 2009, 00:53   #35
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Well, after all FIAT translates to Fit It Again Tony, for some.

(From a site that I visited some years back).

Personally nothing against FIAT though. Not competent enough to pass a comment either.
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Old 28th December 2009, 06:26   #36
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Sigh

Like most teambhpians, I too frequent Sid's threads in search of scoops or for some jogs down memory lane (referring to the excellent threads on the Indica, the Santro etc.).

This however, is the first time I have felt that he jumped the gun. Yes, I have been following the couple of threads on the rusting issues on the Linea (bnzjon's name comes to mind and I've forgotten the handle of the other bhpian) and the one on the Bossa Nova white Punto (Sdp??); they made me think about the problems. I believe this has absolutely zilch to do with QC and they can never catch these things as it takes time for the car to show rust spots.
These can happen for multiple reasons, including having faulty rubber beadings (almost impossible to catch at QC as no water actually gets inside the car) that may lead to water not draining away cleanly. That along with the salt content and humidity levels can lead to rusting despite the best of galvanization and paint.

All cars these days are manufactured almost completely on automated assembly lines. All body-in-whites are dipped in electrolytes in order to resist rusting.

Fiat India has a modern plant and the processes make sure that the incidents cited above happen rarely and that too sometimes because of some parts (like rubber beadings) which are hard to catch during QC don't work properly.

Let's cut Sid some slack, although I do believe that the number (12 etc.) was just him becoming a little excited over what is basically not an issue (as yet). I would also tend to agree with most people who have commented and ask the mods to put this thread on the backburner till there is some more concrete evidence.

P.S. Do I speak from personal experience too? Yes. We bought a second hand Ford Fusion in Calcutta, that had the B-pillarsbadly rusted (the Fusion has plastic covers on the B pillars i.e. near the window). It was premature and happened because of the rubber beadings failing. Does that mean Ford's QC is useless? No.
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Old 28th December 2009, 09:24   #37
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@Amartya
You've written some real sensible stuff there.

@Smilenow
What's with your reverse light? I guess it might have had some kind of an impact to get misplaced like that. I went now and checked my car's reverse light, to see if it is fixed properly or is it just a 'fevistick' job seems to be fixed well and it takes some impact to get it misaligned. Anyway, these things belong to the Punto quality niggles thread as someone mentioned.

@sid
We are still waiting for the mystery behind 12-13 Linea rusting calls in a day.
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Old 28th December 2009, 09:26   #38
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I am not surprised at the comments, in fact I expected them be a heated ones.

Yes, I did receive at least a dozen calls this saturday and sunday, all AFTER those people watching team-bhp threads on linea rust issues.

When I received the first call, from Chennai a friend who owns a linea dynamic in flamenco red, he too reported rusting issues, and since he is not a member here, I asked him to contact persons n our friend circle in south, this was just after again I received 2 more calls from a neighbor and another friend in Delhi, all thanks to viewership on team-bhp. Majority of calls (about 7) were rust issues, even if it was small, it is an issue, rest were related to annoying mechanical clatter on 1.4 FIRE motor.

Now why were those calls received late, I cannot answer that. I have asked persons just to get in touch with TASS and get the issues sorted out. tha'ts what the best I can do. Who a I to interfere on their personal issues? Its their problem, let them get sorted out on their own.

ONLY After those calls, I have put up this thread. It is not put up in haste. If Fiat is viewing it, they should be aware of these issues and sort it out quickly before it is too late.

I do not have pics of the complainants, but I have asked if really there is a serious problem, they said, yes. And most of the owners are very senior persons to me.

Search through this forum, you will come across many pics. What further proof do you want?

And I request the members not to bring the palio in this thread as I have only highlighted the
  • linea for rust and some mechanical clatter on 1.4 FIRE
  • punto for mechanical clatter on 1.4/1.3 D (also highlighted by GTO in his roadtest).
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Old 28th December 2009, 09:27   #39
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+1 to clevermax and ms001. It is amazing that owners prefer to call relatives / friends for help instead of FIAT helpline. I donot understand the reason behind starting this thread. I own a Punto and have a lot of colleagues at office who own the same. We have never noticed any rust on any part of the car. Also all of us are more than happy with the performance of the car. Agreed that at some places the interior plastic quality is average, but show me any other similarly priced car which does not have interior plastic problems. Also the point is inspite of the looks the plasics parts are holding up quiet well and there is not a single rattle in the car. I completed 2500 kms and during Christmas vacation drove the car through Shiradi ghat (please read as hopeless roads in the entire ghat section) purposefully. the car's suspension held up pretty well and there is no single squeak anywhere in the car. My erstwhile santro developed all the rattles and squeaks the first time I hit this road and was never solved by Hyundai A.S.S till I sold it off. The absence of any rattles is the proof of the build quality. I covered the entire distance from Mysore to Udupi and back in 35 litres of Diesel. This is around 704 kms and the mileage achieved was 20.11 KMPL. Isn't this enough to prove that the car is damn good.

Please : FIAT owners are the best people to judge the car and all the other comments are just hearsay cases. This is just my Humble opinion and not targetted at anybody.

EDIT : My car's engine does not have any mechanical clatter.

Lets not change the plate (thats the title of the thread to mechanical clatter now).

Last edited by MCR : 28th December 2009 at 09:31.
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Old 28th December 2009, 09:31   #40
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At least, I know 2 Lineas (MJD E+ & 1.4 E+) dont have any complaints/issues that are usually discussed in TBHP.

There are 3 more Lineas awaiting delivery in the next couple of weeks in my circle of family/friends!
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Old 28th December 2009, 09:39   #41
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I would agree with sidindica. If Fiat is providing good cars, they must match it up with much better QC and even better A.S.S. Nothing wrong in taking these cases as benchmarks and work towards providing platforms that are free from these issues. We have already seen niggles like seat height adjustment and chrome strip falling being taken care of. Please remember that a label once stuck wouldn't come off easily. There is already a label stuck on Fiat, and they have to work hard to wash it off. I would say that even if the percentage is minuscule, this problem must be addressed by Fiat ASAP.

As far as mechanical clutter goes, I have had no such problems with my Linea. I feel this clatter could creep in if engine isn't revved sufficiently to keep it in appropriate power band. I find engine to silent, maybe not smooth but definitely not a clattering block. Fuel efficiency: I am getting 13.6 in city with 100% ACC. The only long drive I have undertaken is from Chennai to Kochi and I got 20.4 with full ACC in that trip. Maybe I am wrong, but probably people reporting mechanical clatter need a relook at their driving style, just a thought.

Last edited by NutsNBolts : 28th December 2009 at 09:41.
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Old 28th December 2009, 10:09   #42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sidindica View Post
I am not surprised at the comments, in fact I expected them be a heated ones.
Yes, I did receive at least a dozen calls this saturday and sunday, all AFTER those people watching team-bhp threads on linea rust issues.
Majority of calls (about 7) were rust issues, even if it was small, it is an issue, rest were related to annoying mechanical clatter on 1.4 FIRE motor.
So now the calls story stands corrected as

7 rusting calls in a span of two days.
Other calls were on mechanical clatter of petrol engine.

So let's discuss that also here. And why not, all the issues which have already been discussed in the niggles thread too.


Quote:
Originally Posted by NutsNBolts View Post
As far as mechanical clutter goes, I have had no such problems with my Linea. I feel this clatter could creep in if engine isn't revved sufficiently to keep it in appropriate power band. I find engine to silent, maybe not smooth but definitely not a clattering block. Fuel efficiency: I am getting 13.6 in city with 100% ACC. The only long drive I have undertaken is from Chennai to Kochi and I got 20.4 with full ACC in that trip. Maybe I am wrong, but probably people reporting mechanical clatter need a relook at their driving style, just a thought.

I tend to agree with this. My Palio also has mechanical clatter in low revs when engine is lugged (which I don't usually do) but there's no clatter when it is driven properly. I think the clatter when engine is lugged is there in similar mpfi petrol cars.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCR View Post
Also the point is inspite of the looks the plasics parts are holding up quiet well and there is not a single rattle in the car. I completed 2500 kms and during Christmas vacation drove the car through Shiradi ghat (please read as hopeless roads in the entire ghat section) purposefully. the car's suspension held up pretty well and there is no single squeak anywhere in the car.
My car has run 3300 Kms, we've driven her through some pretty bad roads, luckily no rattles till now. Everything holds up in one piece, but I have a t-bhp created phobia of things falling down. Jokes apart, I feel that the newer Puntos (like mine, < 3 months old) have some of these niggles fixed, while the earlier ones had such issues.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCR View Post
Lets not change the plate (thats the title of the thread to mechanical clatter now).
Yes please.

Last edited by clevermax : 28th December 2009 at 10:19.
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Old 28th December 2009, 10:13   #43
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Originally Posted by MCR View Post
+1 to clevermax and ms001. It is amazing that owners prefer to call relatives / friends for help instead of FIAT helpline. I donot understand the reason behind starting this thread. I own a Punto and have a lot of colleagues at office who own the same. We have never noticed any rust on any part of the car. Also all of us are more than happy with the performance of the car. Agreed that at some places the interior plastic quality is average, but show me any other similarly priced car which does not have interior plastic problems. Also the point is inspite of the looks the plasics parts are holding up quiet well and there is not a single rattle in the car. I completed 2500 kms and during Christmas vacation drove the car through Shiradi ghat (please read as hopeless roads in the entire ghat section) purposefully. the car's suspension held up pretty well and there is no single squeak anywhere in the car. My erstwhile santro developed all the rattles and squeaks the first time I hit this road and was never solved by Hyundai A.S.S till I sold it off. The absence of any rattles is the proof of the build quality. I covered the entire distance from Mysore to Udupi and back in 35 litres of Diesel. This is around 704 kms and the mileage achieved was 20.11 KMPL. Isn't this enough to prove that the car is damn good.

Please : FIAT owners are the best people to judge the car and all the other comments are just hearsay cases. This is just my Humble opinion and not targetted at anybody.

EDIT : My car's engine does not have any mechanical clatter.

Lets not change the plate (thats the title of the thread to mechanical clatter now).
The main problem in our country is that majority of people buy cars without even inspecting it before taking delivery. They just know only how does the accelerator, gearbox and brakes work. forget about opening the bonnet also. And when these issues start, owners cry foul and start blaming the company.

Unfortunately, this is the case which is true. Some people still have that chalta hai attitude when it comes to take care of the machines and only when it is too late, the owners realise this and start calling other owners instead of helpline.

And I have a reason to specifically highlight the 2 linea paint colours in which the problems has arisen. And vocal white was only in production for 2 months before it was replaced with bossa nova white.
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Old 28th December 2009, 10:20   #44
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Umm, those lines aren't scratch marks. They are reflections on the paint. It's pretty obvious in the way the reflections curve off at the edge instead of continuing on like a scratch would.
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Old 28th December 2009, 10:22   #45
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Quote:
Those 2 white lineas which had rust looked as if they were not treated for anti corrosion. Reminiscent of old cars.
Well i dont know about GTX's linea,

but as far as Bnz Jon's car i know that he has done the anti rust underchassis and internal panel antirusting at the dealership service station itself. In fact we bath have done dinitrol anti-rust which has a warranty of 5years with check up every 6 months

it is really puzzling to see the linea of binze john rust . it was 3 months before when he had taken the linea to service station for rusting near the door locks and the issue was resolved but again it is happening.

I see a similar case with gtx too now since i have seen binze's car in toto and we talk about it daily over the phone.

The explaination given by fiat was that the door is manufactured by 2 vendors and one of them had a quality issue and it is resolved now. This was told to binze himself by mangesh and co in mail and repeatedly reinforced over the phone



i own a Flamenco red linea for about 9 months now. i havent seen any rusting in it till now. thought i havent looked inside the door panels. which i will do soon and report back

Quote:
Other calls were on mechanical clatter of petrol engine
mine is a petrol head too and believe me i dont feel any clatter. though i have faced issues of bad TASS the car is itself a dream to drive. and there is not even a vibration when the car is running!!!!

Last edited by geeash : 28th December 2009 at 10:34.
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