[An1]

Today received a call from a Fiat workshop in Rajouri Garden, New Delhi that from 1st to 10th Feb. 2011 the company is changing the A/C assembly for Fiat Linea (those which are under warranty), as their cooling has not been found to be as good as expected.
If it is done at a later stage, will cost approx. INR 50,000.

Did anyone else receive any such call?

BTW did not notice any significantly reduced cooling any time in Linea, but to be double sure that I'm not the one paying for this later, going to see the coming weekend what all they change.

[drdeepudev]

Not yet. Is it for the FIRE or MJD? Mine is 2009 Emotion Pk MJD. Any use contacting their toll free number?

[download2live]

Well there was a talk of FIAT changing the AC assembly. But that it is actually happening is hard to believe. Good on part of FIAT to take this up proactively.
I guess if this is going to happen then they will start from the cities having real hot summers and gradually progress towards the cities having moderate climate, read Bangalore.

But what if in the process the warranty period of the car gets over???

[libranof1987]

You guys might be interested in this.

A BHPian got it done. Here is the thread :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2223637

[drdeepudev]

Just now had a talk with Fiat customer care. They confirmed about the changing of AC under warranty and was asked to confirm the matter from the dealer end.
But, came to know that, this change is only for 1.2 & 1.4 petrol engines in Punto and Linea. Is this true?

[kaushikr]

The following link has more information!

Fiat replaces AC kits in 2 models - Hindustan Times

Reacting to consumer complaints of insufficient cooling, Italian carmaker Fiat has started replacing air conditioning kits in the petrol-powered variants of its small car Grande Punto and the sedan based on it — the Linea. But it says the act is not really a recall for repairs. Fiat started the process, under which customers are being contacted by its dealerships and offered the replacements free of cost, in October 2010. The drill is expected to complete by March 2011. The company told Hindustan Times that this does not amount to a “recall” and is merely a goodwill gesture to redress a consumer complaint.

The Turin-based firm has already replaced the old AC kits with the new one at its Ranjandgaon plant in October so the cars produced since then come with the new ACs fitted.

“This is a goodwill gesture on our part where we are acting proactively to a minor issue we felt in the air conditioning system of all petrol powered Punto and Linea,” said the Fiat India spokesperson.

“We received complaints mostly from the north and some western parts of the country that the ACs were not cooling the cabin adequately in temperatures of over 40 degrees. Hence all those customers in those regions are being contacted individually and offered this free of cost upgrade.”

The exercise does not cover diesel power-train vehicles as Fiat says it has not received any complaint on them. The firm also did not divulge details of the number of cars where such an upgrade has been affected.

Until the end of September 2010, Fiat had sold around 21,000 units of the Linea and 20,000 units of the Punto. Around half of them were of the petrol variant, which may be covered in the current exercise.

In October 2010, HT had reported that Fiat was facing complaints on poor performance of the ACs in the two cars. The company had, however, then refused to respond to the queries.

Though no carmaker officially recalls its vehicles in India due to the lack of compelling regulations, car companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Honda Siel and Toyota replaced parts in their cars last year in a method similar to what Fiat is doing now.

[download2live]

Leaves me scratching my head.
Does the Petrol and Diesel version of Punto come with different AC setups??
I think not !!!!

[Puzz]

This is indeed true. The R&D at FIAT has come up with a retro kit for all petrol Lineas (not sure of the Punto though) as it did not seem to be as effective as it was suppose to be. They are doing it in a phased out manner, starting with calls for some real earlier purchases in 2009 and also as and when cars come in for the services.

I had taken my car last week for my 2nd service and they changed the colling system in the car. But one thing is for sure the new retro kit is definitely a lot more efficient that the older one, it does work a lo better, cools more and faster.

So wait for your turn, you either gonna get a call to get it done and or, if you do happen to be visiting for service ensure to ask and get it fixed. and yes it is under warranty and dont charge a pie for it, not even the labour charge.

[mjothi]

Really a very nice initiative from Fiat. Seems Fiat is really serious about getting some market share and its presence.

It would be a first of its kind in our car industry I think. Probably a beginning of new era.

Go ahead FIAT. Hope this helps to increase the confidence of the fiat owners and bring in more sales

[funkykar]

There is already a thread on this topic.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post2117845

[kalpurja]

Yes, Fiat is replacing AC kit. I got my AC kit replaced last monday. My car is punto 1.4 E+.

[n_aditya]

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