[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by shantyrocks

i faced something similar in my petra.few droplets of water falling on my left foot every 30-35 mins or so but i never felt any loss in cooling and i never switched off the a/c for that.

In the Palio and the Uno, there is a pipe that goes from the cooling coil box to the outside for the condensation water. Sometimes if the pipe is broken or is leaking, then water will fall on your feet. Check and replace the pipe if need be. Small job that shouldn't take more than 10 minutes.

[Ice]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

In the Palio and the Uno, there is a pipe that goes from the cooling coil box to the outside for the condensation water. Sometimes if the pipe is broken or is leaking, then water will fall on your feet. Check and replace the pipe if need be. Small job that shouldn't take more than 10 minutes.

Will do. I actually have a service appointment at Prerana OMR in Bangalore to sort this out. HRAG has been very kind in pointing me towards a non-nonsense service advisor. I'm going to sit there and get this sorted out - I want to witness the repair job. Will keep this thread updated. Also, some pictures are due - will get these across soon!

[Ice]

The guys at Prerana OMR, Bangalore, must hate me. I landed up at 10 AM this morning, all peppy with caffeine and nicotine coursing through my veins. And the service advisors had spent the better part of the 2 hours leading up to my visit checking in cars for regular service and such. I located my preferred punching bag and let rip about how the ice formation in the AC kept re-occuring, despite multiple visits to Prerana. I mentioned that divine intervention was probably needed to make Prerana fix this bothersome niggle. And then I lined up the all the service advisors against the back wall and shot them with my .45. Or not.

Anyway, Mr. Zaakir Hussain (no relation to the tabla thumper) apologized with a lot of heart, and I melted. Put a brotherly arm around his shoulder and explained how Fiat affocianados bought Fiats in India for the driving experience, and not for anything less mundane, like the gas mileage or the price tag. I implored him to aim higher on the topic of customer satisfaction in after-sales service, especially since the luxurious Linea had now been launched.

I waited for 4 hours at Prerana, and the car was handed back to me. The problem: a loose wire in the thermostat. Funny - loose wires are the easiest to blame and the toughest to find. Imagine this: you set to prove him wrong and dig into the engine bay in the quest of the loose wire, only to find all wires tight (or non-loose). Then he looks at you with a "I-told-you-so" sneer. Then you shoot him with the .45. Or not.

Anyhoo, I took his loose-wire theory at face-value and moseyed over to the billing counter to get my gate pass and bill. Whereupon the mobile-wielding cashier crisply informed me that customers did not get a copy of the bill for a zero-charge job like this one. Then I shot him with the .45. Or not.

Zaakir informed me that the no-bill policy was kosher, and insisted that their service record of my Forza was proof enough of the job done today. Convenient. Much like the Prosecutor handing over the bloodied knife to the bailed-out defendant because he needed to cut some vegetables for dinner. Total blahooey. But I was tired and late for work.

The drive from Prerana to Sadashiva Nagar took me the better part of 45 minutes, and I left the AC on for the entire journey. Report: No ice formation, and excellent cooling. For the moment, I love you Zaakir - wah Ustaad!

I am doing a weekend sortie to Chennai, which should prove an adequate test for the now-fixed thermostat. Watch this space.

[gemithomas]

I would say you are a lucky guy!!!! You bought a FIAT and you got away !!!!

[Ice]

Originally Posted by gemithomas

I would say you are a lucky guy!!!! You bought a FIAT and you got away !!!!

I'm lucky because I got a Fiat and it runs as its supposed to! (for the moment at least)

[deepakhon]

So, you now have a cool Fiat .

After all these things, it boiled down to a loose wire?

[Ice]

Originally Posted by deepakhon

So, you now have a cool Fiat .

After all these things, it boiled down to a loose wire?

Cooling was never a problem. The problem was the icing, and as problems go it really took the cake My bad pun quota for this month is now exhausted.

The service adviser says it was a loose wire - I have no reason to doubt him for the moment, but I'll give him a clean chit once I have a trouble-free drive to Madras this weekend.

[hrag]

Originally Posted by Ice

HRAG has been very kind in pointing me towards a non-nonsense service advisor.

Glad to have been of help.

Originally Posted by Ice

Whereupon the mobile-wielding cashier crisply informed me that customers did not get a copy of the bill for a zero-charge job like this one.

That is a normal practice - although you can ask for a copy for your records. I've always asked and received a copy for all my warranty replacements.

Zakir Hussain and Abdul Kader (also a FIAT SA I guess) are young and enthusiastic chaps - they seemed quite genuine when I met them. My guess is that they are learning the ropes and need to be groomed in the right direction.

Having said that, building a good rapport with all your SAs will go a long way. And not just with the maintenance of your car. An old SA of mine from Concorde ECR Chennai moved to VST Tiruchi - he called me from Tiruchi recently to share the news of his daughter's birth - made my day.

[Ice]

Originally Posted by hrag

Glad to have been of help.

Zakir Hussain and Abdul Kader (also a FIAT SA I guess) are young and enthusiastic chaps - they seemed quite genuine when I met them. My guess is that they are learning the ropes and need to be groomed in the right direction.

Definitely. Zaakir was very prompt in keeping me posted of what was happening, and struck me as someone who genuinely cared whether I was happy or not. Not so Sundar, the earlier chap who asked me to just go ahead and switch off my compressor to de-ice the AC.

Originally Posted by hrag

Having said that, building a good rapport with all your SAs will go a long way. And not just with the maintenance of your car. An old SA of mine from Concorde ECR Chennai moved to VST Tiruchi - he called me from Tiruchi recently to share the news of his daughter's birth - made my day.

That speaks a lot to your ability to empathize with the SAs. Lots of car owners (me included) tend to take out our frustration on these blokes, while the chaps creating the problem are probably sitting elsewhere. Account Management sucks, whatever the industry.

[Ice]

Its back. Or, it never went anywhere. The AC still freezes up after a hour or so of running, and then the "turn-off-the-compressor, prepare for wet feet, and restart compressor" routine has to be resorted to.

Took it to VST Motors in Madras, and they agreed to change the thermostat and expansion valve under warranty. Only issue: parts weren't in stock, and I would have had to leave the car back in Chennai for a week or so.

Solution: Put the VST service adviser on the phone with Zaakir at Prerana, and ask him to explain what Prerana needed to do to fix this problem. Prerana has ordered for the parts, and they're due in 10 days. And the wait continues.

[architect]

Well, you didn't really get away after buying a FIAT, did you? . 10 days for AC parts seems to be better than the good old Fiat days, isn't it?

Two days ago, after the first thunder showers of the season, I noticed water on the LEFT side of the car where the carpet touches the transmission hump. It was deja vu, except that it was the LEFT side!!

There is a pipe that drains out water from the base of the windshield to the bottom of the car. That pipe is inserted into a hole at the floor near the transmission hump on the left. It is so far inside that its barely visible. That pipe had come loose. Simple.

For a few moments, I thought I had not got away! . But I was home and dry, finally, in a Fiat.

[amarprusty]

Hi Friends,

My Palio MJD is a year old now,never realized how time flew.

Time to get a insurance renewal done by 25th April,i had to take ICICI Lombard while buying did nit get any choice as it was coupled with the car loan.

Which is the best insurance company to go for for effort less claim settlement and great service.

Any suggestions will be welcome and appreciated.

Regards
Amar Prusty

[Ice]

Originally Posted by architect

Well, you didn't really get away after buying a FIAT, did you? . 10 days for AC parts seems to be better than the good old Fiat days, isn't it?

.......... But I was home and dry, finally, in a Fiat.

Happy for you, Architect! I for one need to figure out why on earth the condensation causes water to overflow onto my foot. The funny thing is that the pipe looks to be working since water also flows out of it onto the ground beneath. Go figure.

I emailed Magesh Kodalkar of Fiat Customer Care, and received an email from him stating that Fiat would get back to me in the next couple of days. If they don't, there's always the new part coming to Prerana in 9 days (and counting...)

[architect]

Hmm... I read that mail you wrote to Mangesh on PUG. I know it's a niggle but an irritating one at that. All the best, I am sure once they change those parts, this will not happen as this is not happenning on other cars so its clearly not a feature.

[jagan0677]

Originally Posted by amarprusty

Which is the best insurance company to go for for effort less claim settlement and great service.

I have my MJD insured with Royal Sundaram. I had to get the headlamp replaced and the bumper repaired in November. I just had to pay Rs 500 out of a total 15k bill. According to the SA, since my car was with Royal Sundaram, i didnt have to pay 50% on the headlamp cost. With most other insurers, this would have been the case.
Apparently, this is because Sundaram treats motorised headlamps as metal,as against others who consider them as plastic/fibre.

Cheers

PS: I think you should put up a review on your experience of a year.