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-   -   A thin line between genius and insanity - Fiat Grande Punto 90HP - 2,00,000 km up! Edit: Sold (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-term-ownership-reviews/119206-thin-line-between-genius-insanity-fiat-grande-punto-90hp-2-00-000-km-up-edit-sold-13.html)

Park you car in hot afternoon sun preferably with bonnet open for 1 hour and you would have your problem solved. I did the same in my i20 where after a wash the temp was fixed at 21 degree

The thermometer is under the left ORVM. Run your hands below the ORVM and you will be able to feel a small spherical thing sticking out. Thats it. Try to clean it and check the reading again.

It started working again after 3-4 hours under normal conditions. Thanks. I guess I started worrying too soon.
Ya. Found it under the left ORVM. It started working again on its own, so didn't need cleaning. Thank you.

Got Formula 1 wax (looked original- from shell bunk) and My Shalden Lime air freshener for the car today. Small gifts for the 12345 kms milestone that came up yesterday.

Had my share of the famous 'odo flashing' issue that many have experienced in their FIATs. Mine started flashing today morning, and the same was noticed over a 5km run. Disppeared once i switched off and restarted the car again.

Weird! :D

I really wish the 90 had a lot more power/ a smoother revving engine under the hood. Although its fast enough for daily runs with medium load, it doesn't feel all that peppy with a full load. Today morning, with 5 people on-board and some light luggage, a heavy right foot still left me wanting for some more pep - specially below 2500 rpm. Even above 3000rpm - the engine does not feel all that rev-happy although power is much better compared to lower rpms. Performance mods are the need of hour, for sure - but they need to wait. :Frustrati

Anyways- that flashing odo brought up the 12500 kms milestone, in 144 days since purchase.

Two more pics of the 90. She got new company last saturday. We took them out for a spin! :thumbs up

That's stunning Pictures. Both are looking awesome in each other’s company.

Your 90 has got a perfect companion.:thumbs up

BTW, I have had ODO flashing thrice in my 7700 KM run. Yes, it goes off after switch off & restart.
Any known reason for this.

Perfect companion would have been a white Vespa. Two beautiful Italians. Imagine a photoshoot with those two! cpics:

Infact, we almost bought one. However- the 20k difference in price was a little hard to digest, even for a lifestyle product. If it was 10k more than Maestro/ Swish- we would have happily gone ahead and bought it. Infact - I had already prepared a mental sketch of all different pics, and how to frame a review. :D

Several reasons have been mentioned online for the ODO flashing (continuously)- Ranging from B&M issues to a weak battery. But not sure why we get it without any major issues in the system, and why it disappears when the car is restarted. Good thing is - its not an irritant and does not affect the car in any way.

Had another long trip today. Chennai- Tirupati- Chennai. With 14.5k kms on the odo, I should be registering for 2ND service next Monday. Will be trying TAFE Reach, Greames Road this time.

Noticed two issues during todays drive-
1. Front passenger mats got really wet. Not sure if its the ac, or some missing plug from underneath.

2. Some thud sounds from front suspension, although not so severe as a loose link road.

Issues faced + Service Experience #3 - 2nd service @ 14917 kms.
Service Satisfaction - ****-
Service Centre - TAFE Reach Limited, Greams Road, Chennai.

Time to visit the service center again. Just to give a recap of my experience experiences with TATA-FIAT service-

Issues faced + Service Experience #1 - Loose link rod @ 1500 kms.
Service Satisfaction - *****
Service Centre - Mohandas Motors, Trivandrum.
Date - 20 March 2012.

Issues faced + Service Experience #2 - 1st service @ 4700 kms.
Service Satisfaction - *----
Service Centre - Concorde Motors, ECR, Chennai.
Date - 16 April 2012.

More about both these service experiences here -
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2748655

Positives-

1. Called TAFE Reach contact number on wednesday, and booked an appointment for monday. Reached there early at 8:45 AM, and was promptly attended by Mr. Tamil.

2. He took down all my points, and gave a description of whatever checks were needed as part of 2nd service. Gave a call after sometime to double check if they need to replace the front driver-side wiper blade as well. Impressive once again, compared to the Concorde experience.

3. As promised, got a call by 4pm - and the car was ready. Was attended within 2 minutes of reaching the service station. Bill was explained (although it seemed a bit on the higher side for a newbie to FIAT cars - more on that later). I guess I should have spent more time before paying up though.

4. Car seemed washed, vaccumed, and the plastics and tyres had a nice coat of polish on it. Even though they presented with the feedback form before bringing the car out from the garage, i insisted on seeing the car - and they obliged. Within 5 minutes - car was ready for delivery. Again, a huge huge improvement over the Concorde experience.

5. Place didn't look overcrowded as in Concorde.

6. After taking delivery of the car, I felt the power mirror button was not working as expected (Although all it needed was a firm push!), I went back to the service station - SE immediatly arranged for a technician to look into it. Within 5 minutes - I was driving out again.

7. No 'TAFE Reach' stickers placed anywhere on the car.

Negatives

1. Left door rattle reported seems to have been reduced, but not eliminated. Anyways - I dont think its their fault entirely. 2012 models have become notourious for the rattle from front LHS door.

2. There was a small scratch on the front, but i am not sure if its contributed by the dealership. A good polishing session should take care of it though.

Bill -

Total - 7149/-

1. Engile Oil - 1L Synthetic * 4 - 2270.74/-
2. Oil Filter - 358.95/-
3. Air Filter element SDE 75 PS - 262.88/-

4. Wiremesh Filter - 47.16/-
5. Assembly Fuel Filter SDE 90PS - 1834.06/-
6. Other Item - 147.60/-

7. Wiper Blade Front RH - 538.86/-
8. Plug Oil Sump - 68.12/-
9. 65GM Wheel Weight - 170.31/-

10. Standard Checkswiper washer - 75/-
11. Wheel balancing - 480/-

Doubts -

1. Why is the Air Filter element showing 75PS? Is there any difference in the one used in 90PS? Should i make a fuss about it?

2. 4L Selenia usually costs 2270?

3. Whats Standard Checkswiperwasher for Rs 75? :eek:

A can of Selenia costs 650 INR MRP. So the price seems fair for the oil.

I suppose they should not charge you for alignment and balancing. And that other consumables thingy is also questionable as nothing was topped up.

As you havent uploaded the invoice, check the part no. of your air filter and compare it to the invoice of a few Linea owners as if there is any difference in air filter between 75 and 90, you can double check. Dont think the TASS would make such a big blunder.

Thats fine, major chunk of your bill is oil and the diesel filter but still i dont think the service is expensive, 7k/year is peanuts, even i10's and Santro's cost more than that. Of what i remember in 2010, my Linea's (petrol) second service bill was around 4k.

Ah, thats the soapy solution they added in your washer fluid lol:

I suggest you get alignment/balancing done from outside instead of TASS, the reputed tyre shops do a better job and the rates are reasonable too.

From my experiences with Concorde Motors (both Bangalore & Cochin), they do not do alignment themselves but instead send it out to other tyre shops to get it done.

It may not be applicable for all other TASS centres but from my discussions with the SAs I got the impression that it was how most centres operate.

Having got alignment done at number of places in Chennai, I can comfortably say that TAFE do the best. Don't look elsewhere including service

KHT does it in house. Not sure how reliable it is but my left pulling issue was solved.

Cool. But I'm still not comfortable with the idea of running 15k kms with the same engine oil though.

Even Maruti used to charge for balancing and alignment, IIRC. So no complaints in that direction. They also seem to have done wheel rotation. Front tyres to the rear, and rear tyres to the front - with the spare untouched. I guess I should do wheel balancing somewhere around 22k mark once more. Dont think alignment will be intact for 15k kms?
Part number is 570309130108. Let me check threads from Linea owners. Thanks.

Car is still a few days away from being 6 months old. At this rate - it should be 14k/ year - but FIAT can't be blamed for that. :D