[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Whenever I enter the car and close the driver side door, the autolocking sound is heard for a couple of times with the doors getting auto locked. This sound is heard if I open the driver side door, the clicking is distinctly heard for a couple of time.

An Update:
Visited the Balaji workshop y'day for the autolocking issues. The culprit was the driver side lock which had gone bad. No reasons though specified by the technician (Mannubhai - a nice chap, patiently answered all my queries). The lock was replaced under warranty. Tested post the replacement, the car autolocks at 20 kmph and not within 20 secs of the car start as earlier. Even the continuous operation of the locks was also not seen which was the case earlier when the driver door was opened. Not a single penny paid, zoomed out of the workshop.

Pain points:
1) For first 25 mins there wasnt any SA who opened the job card, although the SA named Wilson immediately assigned a technician to have a look at the car. He went missing after a couple of minutes looking for an expert in wiring.
2) The technician offered me two options - a) Lubricate the existing door look which can then be reused but without any guarentee. 2) Replace the locks. I opted for second, but this put a doubt in mind whether the new lock replaced wasnt an earlier removed but lubricated one. I wasnt shown the packing for the new locks
3) There was no bill provided since the warranty details of the car werent updated in the system, hence Balaji couldnt claim warranty from Fiat. Hence no billing
4) It was found that the RC (Smart card) for the car had one letter missing out 20 characters when cross checked with the VIN. Now an additional headache of getting the RC changed for which I have to submit a few documents and again wait for 30-40days for the changed RC.

Met the Workshop Manager Mr Suryakant Patil (who had joined about a 10 days back & was getting a feel of the Fiat workings), he was enthusiastically ensuring that every car was attended within the stipulated time from arrival at the workshop which as per Fiat SLA is 15 mins max. Suggested a few things such as a displayed organogram of the workshop, a suitable shed for the parked Fiat cars, better Workshop feel etc. Got the e-mail ids of few imp Balaji + Fiat people, will be mailing them of the suggestions officially.

A few pics from my side of the workshop (already there on the forum but these are the latest ones)

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

It was found that the RC (Smart card) for the car had one letter missing out 20 characters when cross checked with the VIN. Now an additional headache of getting the RC changed for which I have to submit a few documents and again wait for 30-40days for the changed RC.

An Update:
The documents for changes to be made in RC were handed over to Balaji Fiat 4 weeks back, got an update recently from the Balaji person who overlooks the RTO process. He said that Thane RTO had deliberately omitted once character from the chassis no since their system accepts max of 19 characters. The argument here is most of the other car manufacturers have 18 characters or less in the VIN. I found this logic totally baseless. Is this the case with Thane RTO, can any Thane Fiat owner confirm the same if the chassis no does have max 19 characters printed? Otherwise I will have to investigate myself by visiting the RTO.

Dropped a mail to Fiat as well as Balaji Sales+service team regarding the same. If the above is the case, what are the issues I might face in future in regards to missing character of chassis no in RC? Should I take it in writing from Balaji of the above logic?

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

An Update:
The documents for changes to be made in RC were handed over to Balaji Fiat 4 weeks back, got an update recently from the Balaji person who overlooks the RTO process. He said that Thane RTO had deliberately omitted once character from the chassis no since their system accepts max of 19 characters. The argument here is most of the other car manufacturers have 18 characters or less in the VIN. I found this logic totally baseless. Is this the case with Thane RTO, can any Thane Fiat owner confirm the same if the chassis no does have max 19 characters printed? Otherwise I will have to investigate myself by visiting the RTO.

Dropped a mail to Fiat as well as Balaji Sales+service team regarding the same. If the above is the case, what are the issues I might face in future in regards to missing character of chassis no in RC? Should I take it in writing from Balaji of the above logic?

Hi,
Any further update on the same?

I received my RC two days back. It doesn't mention the last 3 alphabets of the VIN in my case. The other numbers are same.

Also it mentions against 'body' as Saloon.
The wheelbase is mentioned as 4880. What is 4880 supposed to be? Is it mm? How many cars have that sort of wheel base?

Can you confirm what is mentioned in your RC against the sections?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Hi,
Any further update on the same?

I received my RC two days back. It doesn't mention the last 3 alphabets of the VIN in my case. The other numbers are same.

Also it mentions against 'body' as Saloon.
The wheelbase is mentioned as 4880. What is 4880 supposed to be? Is it mm? How many cars have that sort of wheel base?

Can you confirm what is mentioned in your RC against the sections?

Vibbs,

If the last three characters are missing, then suggest you get the dealer to get it rectified, mine was just one character missing but still I insisted on the changes to the RC.
In my case after a long long verbal volleys with the dealer, I finally got the receipt for the changes to RC (this was couple of weeks back), now waiting for the RC despatch from the RTO.
Regarding the section you refered, mine shows Saloon for body and 2580 for the wheel base. The figures are in mm.

[vibbs]

Thanks Ghodlur for that. This means I now have 3 mistakes. 1 is ofcourse the chassis number, 2nd is the manufacturing date and third is wheel base.
Cool now let me get ready for my round of verbal volleys with the dealer.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Also it mentions against 'body' as Saloon.
The wheelbase is mentioned as 4880. What is 4880 supposed to be? Is it mm? How many cars have that sort of wheel base?

Did the RTO register a Rolls royce as your Punto by any chance? 4880mm wheelbase is humongous! I would suggest to get it corrected if possible. Mistakes in Engine number, chassis number mistakes can be troublesome at a later stage, but I don't believe this wheelbase information will ever be used for any insurance claims or anything. More of a trivial mistake and visual blemish which shouldn't have come in there at all.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Regarding the section you refered, mine shows Saloon for body and 2580 for the wheel base. The figures are in mm.

My old 2006 Swift had 'Saloon' mentioned, I remember. Probably this is a common mistake across most RTOs. Not sure what my Punto's RC card contains now- let me check tonight, even though my registration is not from Thane . I wonder if they register SUVs also as 'Saloon'.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Did the RTO register a Rolls royce as your Punto by any chance? 4880mm wheelbase is humongous! I would suggest to get it corrected if possible.

Even our swift had saloon as body. That was in Delhi. So I guess as you said it's common across RTOs.

My dealer readily accepted the mistakes and agreed to get them corrected. Now the wait for receiving the corrected RC.

@Ghodlur as per my dealer, wheelbase is 2510 for the Punto.

[ghodlur]

A bump to my sleepy thread.

I had got the Wheel alignment/balancing done for the Punto since it was more than 6 months since delivery. Got it done at Premji's Tyre Plus, Thane (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/mumbai...ml#post3333406). Attached is the Wheel alignment report, note the huge variations in the front toe readings. Can someone confirm if the specifications mentioned in the report are correct. Actually there were two options for the Punto in the Wheel alignment machine. One is that as seen in the report and other was without the words MY 2012 (my guess manufacturing year 2012).

[ghodlur]

Forgot to add in the last post.

2 issues with Punto as of now:
1) The horns dont work smoothly specifically in the mornings. Out of the two, I feel only one works. But at the end of the day both work. What could be the reason?
2) Squeaky noise coming from the rear springs. My guess the spring seat needs lubrication. The noise comes even when there is no load at the rear seats or in the boot.

The rear right door lock went kaput a week back, wouldnt lock with the remote. Had to keep the door locked by manually depressing the door handle. Got it replaced at Balaji Fiat, Thane under warranty. Seriously 2 locks within 6 months - Fiat Quality is questionable. Do I need to raise it to Fiat on their FB page/drop a mail to Mangesh?

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Attached is the Wheel alignment report, note the huge variations in the front toe readings.

It's good that wheel alignment has been carried out, toe readings were way off from recommended values.

Have you noticed good change in steering now, especially in U-turn scenarios?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by sukiwa

Have you noticed good change in steering now, especially in U-turn scenarios?

Frankly I havent noticed any major changes in the steering response. However did observe a bit vibrations on the steering though, is it normal?

U turns are still the same - zippy and smooth.

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Frankly I havent noticed any major changes in the steering response. However did observe a bit vibrations on the steering though, is it normal?

At what speeds do you feel steering vibrations? Vibrations indicate that wheel balancing wasn't done correctly, please revisit Premji's to get it corrected.

In ideal scenario, tyre pressure should be checked. Previous weights (clip-on or sticky) should be removed and then wheel should be balanced on balancing machine.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by sukiwa

At what speeds do you feel steering vibrations? Vibrations indicate that wheel balancing wasn't done correctly, please revisit Premji's to get it corrected.

In ideal scenario, tyre pressure should be checked. Previous weights (clip-on or sticky) should be removed and then wheel should be balanced on balancing machine.

Sorry if I failed to mention, that the vibrations are observed when stationary and not when moving. The tyre pressure is maintained at 32 psi (as per Fiat recommendations), the only difference being I had got N2 filled up during the WA/WB visit. Surely this wouldnt have caused those mini vibrations. Or am I wrong?

[ghodlur]

One more surprise a couple of days back. The rear wiper blade had fallen off (Luckily after I reached home and parked the car). Checked and found that the wiper arm where the blade clips on had a minor crack, making it a bit loose and the blade falling off. Didnt look like I have to replace the entire wiper arm, so used the FeviKwik glue to seal off the cracked portion. Clipped the wiper blade on the arm and it is holding as on now even after operating the rear wipers couple of times.

The reason for the crack is not known but talks a lot about the quality of plastics used by Fiat in its products.

[ghodlur]

New year hasnt been going good. A wagon R bumped into the Punto today morning on the way to office. This happened at the Majiwade section where we turn to approach the EE highway just below the two pillars of the flyover being constructed. The Wagon R guy thought I had moved and kissed the rear left side bumper. The bumper had come out of its slot, I fixed it back but not completely in as yet. Will visit Balaji on the way home back and try to get it fixed. The Wagon R guy profusely kept apologising and since the damages were nil (althought there is a scratch) I accepted his apology and moved on.

Add to that a huge cover of fog made things difficult on the EE highway with the usual morons zip zapping though the lanes. Fortunately I got an opportunity to switch on the front and rear fog lamps in Punto after a very long time