Team-BHP - The Fantastic Fiat Linea 1.4 (Remapped / AIR)

My baby is back after the 4 th service. The first petrol Linea on TeamBHP to do so? :rules:

Got every single point addressed to satisfaction as mentioned in my list which I had jotted on a large piece of paper.

I am very happy with the overall service today and the bill .

I think only a Fiat car can have a bill of such a nominal amount for a major service and my car is as good as new @44250km .

The following work were done as per my list :
Clutch Slave Cylinder New Steel Design - REplaced
Wiper fluid tank broken - Replaced in warranty
Dinitrol anti rust treatment - To be done next visit
Oil change - Done
AC UPGRADE - NEW AC Kit fitted in warranty . ( was a half day process )
Clutch bleeding - Done
RHS Head light focus alignment - Done
Wiper spray nozzle alignment - Done
replace wiper blades - Postponed to June
Check boot light - Done
Driver side vanity mirror coming off - Replaced
Passenger side visor broken - Replaced F.O.C in warranty
Obd cover (fuse box) clips - Will have to get it in next visit.

Only task pending was anti rust treatment which I have a 5 year warranty for. Since I got my car late evening, this was pending. Will get it done when I visit next

Also, the fusebox clips could not be done. But, this again is gonna be closed soon.

Wiper blades replacement postponed to June .

Now for the work done part :
1. AC upgrade - drove only 6km from service centre to home at 8pm, so nothing yet to comment on the cooling. The noise thing , I think is blown out of proportion. Inside,I felt it is so quiet, in fact overall my car is more silent now. Ofcourse with new air filter and all. But the ac fan noise is not increased as much as was reported by some. I did try to observe after I stepped out of the car and there is a slight noise which is not worth being worried about.

2. Clutch slave cylinder (steel) - got the new one in warranty

3. All fluids replaced. Power Steering Oil, Transmission oil, brake oil etc. Engine Oil. Major cost being Coolant which was replaced for the first time in 23 months. This was recommended in manual. Also replaced was Fuel filter, Oil Filter , Air Filter.

4. I was suggested a brake overall check (front pads and rear drum linings etc. with a cost of Rs. 650/- which I refused as my brake pads are replaced recently and the manual states the inspection of rear brakes and lining only at 60000km. This I showed to them on the manual and they resigned to the fact that i know these things .

I got some discounts on account of a gold membership coupon I had got for being part of a rally in navi mumbai for fortune cars almost a year ago. Never realised I had this booklet in my car. Used them today. The surprise was that they said though its only for tata customers, we are doing it specially for you. I did not argue and took whatever discount I got

Iam very happy and satisfied as all went as per plan today and I take fresh guard with my Linea for many more miles to go.....

The pictures atached is of the bill for the service , the New AC kit can be seen in the picture of the engine bay , got new set of Mats ; for Boot too :)

HAving done 65000km and getting ready to face the mumbai monsoon, i planned to visit TASS to get my routine Dinitrol Anti-Rust Treatment done.

As is customary , i always take off the AIR Intake and put back the Stock Air Filter before the beginning of monsoon.

Having performed the above task , i visited TASS a week back to also top-up my Engine Oil as there was a dip in the Oil level too.

But , as is a Jinx always after i visit TASS , the next morning my car started with "Check Engine" light glowing. The engine felt noisy and there was knocking with loss of Power. I phoned up TASS and immediately took car to Fortune Nerul (about 8 km form my home) . The immediate diagnosis was Rats have chewed into my Fuel Injector Wires.

They take my car next week Monday morning as per appointment. When the Chief Technician goes to Spare PArt Room , they say Injector Wires not in Stock and to come after 4 days.

I convey my Anger in the Loudest manner to the Idiots . There is no way i m postponing this work with the "Check Engine" Lights ON . Meanwhile . i contact my fellow FIAT owners for their respective dealers for checking availability of parts. During all this i also had my Anti-rust treatment to be done so left the car inside the workshop. While waiting in the Customer Lounge i saw the GM Mr. Mahesh Hatti who i have a good Rapport with. I walk upto him to update him of my ordeal since morning at the hands of the Team. He pushes the guys to check again. I walk in again to the Spare PArts Room with more assertive way to ask for the Spare PArts (as if i m getting all work done Free by TASS)

This time after keeping me waiting for some time the Spare PArts Boss Mr. Anna ( a nincompoop) asks ..haan what do you want? I ask him for the Injector Wires for Linea . He says ..Shayad hai woh StockRoom mein... He claimed that earlier he thought they were asking for Injector and was not aware you wanted wires.

All this after spending more than an hour in frustration and disturbing 2 fellow Fiatians and calling few people in 2 other dealerships

The cost for the PArt is Rs. 5300 as told to me . I feel like i have got a Great Gift from God that at least i m getting the part and my car worked upon today. Thank you TASS ..You guys are God

Got Car back same evening with Wires Replaced and my car feels as peppy and Silent to drive as before. clap: Total Bill with Labor - Rs.7200/-

Linea is the 3 rd Car i have bought since 2002 and the one that i have Clocked most of my Miles in - 73300 Km to be Precise.

The earlier 2 Cars i had clocked 18000 Km (Indica in 18 months) + 66000 Km (Marina in 5 Years) . So , I can boast that i have Driven for over 1,50,000 km in 3 different cars. Recently , a year back , i added a FIAT Palio 1.2 to my Garage which is driven by my Wife.

I have had a relatively uneventful year with my Linea in 2012. I clocked the least in the 4 th year of my Linea Ownership. My Android Car App shows that i have clocked 13,959 Km Last year from January 1st ,2012 till December 31st, 2012.

I continue to Drive with the Very Powerful and Efficient AIR fitted that Superbly Compliments the Remap i had done earlier.

I had 2 Service Visits to TASC in 2012. First was for 60000Km Major Service in February 2012.

Next was 72000 Km on December 7, 2012

72000km Service Update:

First time took my car to TCRS , Worli for my Scheduled Service .

1. My car was feeling a bit sluggish so asked the SA to do a Throttle Body Cleanup.
2. The Engine A Mount had worn out and was causing some minor Vibrations which were not noticeable till the SA at TCRS pointed it out. Was REplaced Part + Labour about Rs. 1000/-

3. I had reported Excessive Oil consumption to TASS at Fortune Nerul a number of times but was told that its a common phenomenon and that my Cars Oil consumption of about a Litre in 15000km was absolutely normal for a Petrol car. In fact , after persisting with them , they changed the Oil separator in my 60000km Service and asked me to observe the Oil Consumption. Unfortunately , there was little difference.
At TCRS, Worli , which i visited primarily because of very positive feedback from Fellow member MihirC who is a Regular at TCRS and knows people there, the problem was immediately diagnosed as there was a Air Vent Pipe that had a huge crack. I am very hopeful the oil consumption issue is taken care of now.

4. I had a Very good Experience at TCRS, Worli , especially with the SA Mr. Prakash , who took care of each of the issues pointed out to him and returned my car the same day with every concern taken care of.

My Linea had a 1 Week Rest at TASC from 10th - 16th Jan 2013. (8 Nights and 7 Days) . What had happened ? ....

I was driving from Navi Mumbai towards Kalyan near Thane on a Open Road around 4PM on Wednesday 9th JAn . Suddenly , the steering felt heavy and the accelerator wont respond with any Power. I slowly Steered the car to the left of the Road and Parked my car . My Quick reflexes and Cool composure helped as it was a busy Road and i was driving at Over 80 Km/ Hr.

I had reported this suspicion that the fuel pump needs a checkup to SA at TASC Worli during my last service . However, they brushed it aside saying that they didnt see any Errors and Fuel Pump seemed OK. So, i didnt bother.

I called FIAT RSA . Got very good Service promptly by the Person on the Phone - Mr. Murli. He noted my Location and there was a Person working on my car in about 45 minutes. He diagnosed it to be a Fuel Pump Motor Failure.

He advised that i have 2 options -

1. Replace the Motor which he had in stock for about INR 3000/- and drive away within an hour

2. Get the car towed to nearest TASC and get Fuel Pump replaced (Costs INR 11000).

I and my friends in car were tempted to take short-cut and get motor replaced and move on . So, the technician (Dinesh) removed the Fuel Pump and rode back to his garage to get it repaired. In about 15 minutes, i got a call from Dinesh who told me that RSA Call centre guy called him saying that the Car be towed to TASC and Fuel Pump Replaced as the car is in warranty. So, he said now he wont repair the Motor then. I agreed.

The Flat-bed took about 45 minutes to reach. My Linea was loaded onto the Flat-bed and was taken to Balaji Cars, Kalyan. I took a cab back home.

The REst of the week went by as follows:

Thursday - Morning of Thursday, i waited for some communication from Balaji. However , after waiting till noon i called their numbers i got from their website. No one answered. About half an hour later i got a call from a SA named Shrikant. He asked what was the problem with my Linea. I related the entire story and asked him to focus on just replacing the Fuel-Pump and to let me know if any issues he faces in getting the New Fuel Pump . He assured me that he will initiate the Warranty Claim Process and parallely also Raise a Request for a Fuel-Pump.

The next 5 days were not easy.

Friday - When i call Shrikant , i got the message that Balaji is closed on Friday and to check next day with him.

Saturday - I call Shrikant . His Response - No Progress on Warranty Claim as the Systems were down on Thursday and Friday Balaji was closed . However , he confirmed that they now have couple of Fuel Pumps and one of them will be fitted on my car. But, the sad news was that Saturday and Sunday Fiat Global Admin is closed for any movement to happen on the Warranty Claim. So, i just said OK. Monday , i want my car . He was Positive.

Sunday - I just waited for Monday .

Monday - Shrikant didnt pick up call couple of times. Called me back around afternoon and said that he will have a positive Reply on the Warranty and PArt fitting in a couple of hours. Till evening, no further response. Finally, i got a call from Shrikant at around 445 pm telling me that the Warranty Claim is approved but the Fuel-Pump is not available and it will take 5 More days to get my car back .
I just lost my cool. All this despite the fact that , on Day One i had told him to let me know if he has any issues in getting the Spare PArts as i can arrange it. I just gave him a mouthful and told him that he will not get any call from me now but surely from some serious people in TATA and FIAT shortly.

NExt, Some Really Long mail goes to the relevant people in FIAT and TATA and simultaneously i check with TCRS , Worli and they confirm that they have Fuel-Pump in stock. I communicated the same to my friend in FIAT and got the rest going.

Tuesday - Shrikant calls to tell me that the Fuel Pump is arranged from TCRS and i will get car as soon as the Spare part reaches their Workshop.
I wait Patiently. Also inform him that the Wheel needs alignment to which he assured that it will be taken care of.

Wednesday - Fuel-pump finally reaches Balaji and i get my Car back in the evening on wednesday

The Wheel Alignment and some Smoothening of the Clutch were some Positives to the 7 day Ordeal as Balaji guys did a good job with the Servicing and Washing of the car to compensate for the Delay .

I drove out of the Workshop after paying Rs. 600/- for the Wheel Alignment and some Wuerth Spray etc. they mentioned in the Bill and a New Fuel-Pump .

Over all , Satisfied and Enjoying my Drive as ever