[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by scofield

The exclusivity one feels while driving just takes you to another level of happiness.

Yes. An interesting event happened today, due to the exclusivity factor. People do take notice, and I have to admit - something like Swift would not have got half the attention. Will pen down the incident later on, probably tomorrow.

Originally Posted by blueblooded

@CRAZY DRIVER ,Take my belated congrats and keep us posted through your journey with fiat

Originally Posted by Ricci

@CrAzY dRiVeR : congrats, I wasn't such a fan of white most cases, but the BNW Grande Punto is beginning to grow on me.

Thanks guys! @ Ricci: BNW brings out the lines in the car, IMO. Here's something dedicated to you. Taken with my camera phone while I was trying to kill time waiting for someone.


Attachment 904855

Originally Posted by gemithomas

I only have one small request to you all. Please do not visit the a.s.s for any of the minor niggles you may have during your initial ownership.

Unfortunately - my post ends on a very sad note.

My car will limp back to FIAT service tomorrow. (Most probably - Kulathungal motors TVM, as recommended by FIAT helpline). Some major 'thud' sounds from front suspension developed today around evening (No, its not the occassional ones reported in earlier pages.) and seems to be getting worse by the time i reached back home in limp mode.

It would be a big understatement to say that it has caused a big heartburn. Hopefully - Its something TATA-FIAT service can fix tomorrow. Else - its going to be disastrous.

A quick question to TVM FIAT'ians - Kulathungal/ Mohandas?

[nkg77]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

My car will limp back to FIAT service tomorrow. (Most probably - Kulathungal motors TVM, as recommended by FIAT helpline). Some major 'thud' sounds from front suspension developed today around evening (No, its not the occassional ones reported in earlier pages.) and seems to be getting worse by the time i reached back home in limp mode.

It would be a big understatement to say that it has caused a big heartburn. Hopefully - Its something TATA-FIAT service can fix tomorrow. Else - its going to be disastrous.

A quick question to TVM FIAT'ians - Kulathungal/ Mohandas?

Hey looks like your car's link rod is loose, it takes 15 - 30 mins to get it fixed. Take the car to the service center nearest to you. In case you need any intro at Mohandas, I can help you.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by nkg77

Hey looks like your car's link rod is loose, it takes 15 - 30 mins to get it fixed. Take the car to the service center nearest to you. In case you need any intro at Mohandas, I can help you.

Mohandas is the nearest service center.

Tried FIAT helpline - and they asked to contact one number - which turned out to be kulathungal. They asked to bring it in, at 9am.

Any idea if Mohandas will attend to it quickly - if I go there without service booking? Its very urgent for me, since we need to get a lot of things done for marriage, this coming sunday. And cannot afford to spend a lot of time at the service center at this last moment.

[blueblooded]

@Crazy driver ,
I can very well relate to your predicament ,hopefully it is resolved soon to your satisfaction
regards
praveen singh

[parimal_g]

My brother has Punto 1.4 Emotion Pk, last weekend drove his Car from Lonawala to Pune, Including Saturday traffic Jam at Lonawala, Max speed done was 90 Km/Hr and very light on throttle and the Punto returned mileage of 24.5 Km/lit.
Attached are the Snaps.
So if driven carefully its not difficult to extract good mileage from this beast.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by nkg77

Hey looks like your car's link rod is loose, it takes 15 - 30 mins to get it fixed.

Originally Posted by blueblooded

hopefully it is resolved soon to your satisfaction

It has been resolved. My first experience with TATA- FIAT service, and for this time, they have exceeded my expectations.

nkg77 was bang on target in identifying the issue. Big thanks to him for helping with the right contacts at Mohandas Motors. It was a loose link rod.

Went to Mohandas Motors, instead of kulathungal as mentioned earlier. Reached there at 8:35am (I guess 9am is when they officially open). Car was taken inside at 9:10 am. Was given back at 9:35am.

Note to FIAT: I know from personal experience that FIAT personnel (atleast some) read this thread. I guess this link rod issue is common with Punto. Why not direct the dealers to check it during PDI? Its not a happy experience to have an issue with the new car 10 days after taking delivery.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by parimal_g

My brother has Punto 1.4 Emotion Pk, last weekend drove his Car from Lonawala to Pune, Including Saturday traffic Jam at Lonawala, Max speed done was 90 Km/Hr and very light on throttle and the Punto returned mileage of 24.5 Km/lit.
Attached are the Snaps.
So if driven carefully its not difficult to extract good mileage from this beast.

24 Kmpl on the 1.4 . Wow, thats some mileage you have achieved. The max I have achieved on the 1.4 is about 14-15kmpl on the Mysore - Bangalore highway, of course with regular driving. But to get 24 I guess you must be a very patient man to be driving the 1.4 with such a light foot.

[hiren.mistry]

Its still early days with my 2012 Punto Emotion and I'm still getting acclimatised to the car. Thusdfar I've done a shade over 1100 kms in 3 weeks and I can feel that the engine has become a lot smoother after clocking in these kms.

The car does exactly 2500 RPM at 100KMPH, I feel this is too high a RPM for a diesel engine. But I guess this is due to the extra short gearing. I wonder how the Swift fares at 100 kmph.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by parimal_g

My brother has Punto 1.4 Emotion Pk, last weekend drove his Car from Lonawala to Pune, Including Saturday traffic Jam at Lonawala, Max speed done was 90 Km/Hr and very light on throttle and the Punto returned mileage of 24.5 Km/lit.

Few months back, I wanted to check the best FE that I could extract out of my 1.2.
I didn't cross 80kmph on the flat and straight Bangalore-Chennai Highway.
After all this I could get 16.5kmpl.

I also feel that you could achieve this since you drove from Lonavala to Pune, you descended from 624mts (2050ft) to 560mts (1840ft) above MSL.
This means that in many places you would’ve got opportunities to lift your leg off the pedal.
In such cases if you change mode to Instant consumption mode you’ll see that the MID shows 50kmpl.

Anyways, 24.5kmpl with a 1.4...Unbelievable!!!
Even Some diesel Puntos will be jealous of these figures.

[SankalpDesai]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Yes, common in cars with disc brakes although the quantity of brake dust differs across various brands.
Yes. FIAT Punto/Linea's brake pads are made of softer material. Hence, the brake pad dust is more in Punto and Linea.
No.

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

Yes exactly! Precisely it offers more friction than a harder material disc and thus offers better stopping power. But on the downside, the disc is more prone to wearing because of the same soft factor.
(This is like the soft compound Vs hard compound debate for the tyres!)

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

Discs dont wear out. Its the brake pads that wear out quickly.

The brake pads are supplied by Galfer Brakes, one of the best brake pad manufacturers.

Stopping a 1200kg car in such a short distance is because of the good brake pads. But the life is bit less. It will suffice till 20k-35k max depending on your usage.

Thanks for clearing my doubt.

I do use a heavy foot for both - the accelerator and the brake, so I think my Punto's brake pads will last only for about 25-30K kms. But that's alright. The fun of driving it at high speeds and confidence of it stopping where I want it to, is far higher.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Note to FIAT: I know from personal experience that FIAT personnel (atleast some) read this thread. I guess this link rod issue is common with Punto. Why not direct the dealers to check it during PDI? Its not a happy experience to have an issue with the new car 10 days after taking delivery.

I think the dealers know the issue, probably in your case the PDI was not efficient enough. A friend of mine had the same experience with his 90HP Punto on the very day he took delivery (and that was the least of his troubles with the car). Luckily for him, he hadn't gone too far from the service centre.

[sriramr9]

My White Punto was scrapped by Indica's bumper on a hit and run case in a turning and there was deep scuff marks on both the doors.

As a result of the incident, the front door sounded tinny. Hence I Got the door inspected @ Tafe Reach and Concorde Chennai. The outcome is a reaper or beam or reinforcement channel that comes inside the door placed either in cross angled or diagonal fashion and spot welded along with the door has been cut off due to the strike by the other car's bumper.

Their claim was, they have no expertise to handle this weld job (spot weld or something) and suggested me to go for door replacement through Insurance instead.

I am just surprised/rather shocked how come a bumper scrap cause a spot weld to come off, as a result the door quivers without support when shut and causes a painful clank. the door looks stable from outside but actually i feel it's not as good as the Linea's or the Palio's.

It looks and sounds solid but it actually is not solid IMHO..

You think this issue is solvable without the door being replaced ?

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by hiren.mistry

Its still early days with my 2012 Punto Emotion and I'm still getting acclimatised to the car. Thusdfar I've done a shade over 1100 kms in 3 weeks and I can feel that the engine has become a lot smoother after clocking in these kms.

The car does exactly 2500 RPM at 100KMPH, I feel this is too high a RPM for a diesel engine. But I guess this is due to the extra short gearing. I wonder how the Swift fares at 100 kmph.

i have noticed this too Punto does 100 at 2.5K RPM.
The Linea does it at a shade under 2.5K that is 2.4K
Not sure of about swift.

[sridharj]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Unfortunately - my post ends on a very sad note.

My car will limp back to FIAT service tomorrow. (Most probably - Kulathungal motors TVM, as recommended by FIAT helpline). Some major 'thud' sounds from front suspension developed today around evening (No, its not the occassional ones reported in earlier pages.) and seems to be getting worse by the time i reached back home in limp mode.

It would be a big understatement to say that it has caused a big heartburn. Hopefully - Its something TATA-FIAT service can fix tomorrow. Else - its going to be disastrous.

A quick question to TVM FIAT'ians - Kulathungal/ Mohandas?

I was the guy who was complaining about the small thud sound in my Punto. It occurs frequently even there is a small jerk while driving. Just got my Punto checked by VST and it's a loose link rod rectified in 15 mins. Now the problem has gone.

No worries Crazy Driver, it should be fine

[parimal_g]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

24 Kmpl on the 1.4 . Wow, thats some mileage you have achieved. The max I have achieved on the 1.4 is about 14-15kmpl on the Mysore - Bangalore highway, of course with regular driving. But to get 24 I guess you must be a very patient man to be driving the 1.4 with such a light foot.

Thanks, But if you use light foot its achievable my bro is getting 15 Km/lit in Pune City, but it was fun, we were targeting 20 and 24 was real surprise for us also.

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Few months back, I wanted to check the best FE that I could extract out of my 1.2.
I didn't cross 80kmph on the flat and straight Bangalore-Chennai Highway.
After all this I could get 16.5kmpl.

I also feel that you could achieve this since you drove from Lonavala to Pune, you descended from 624mts (2050ft) to 560mts (1840ft) above MSL.
This means that in many places you would’ve got opportunities to lift your leg off the pedal.
In such cases if you change mode to Instant consumption mode you’ll see that the MID shows 50kmpl.

Anyways, 24.5kmpl with a 1.4...Unbelievable!!!
Even Some diesel Puntos will be jealous of these figures.

You did quick calculations man, but still i had B to B traffic for 2-3 Kms in Lonawala City and a stop at toll booth, also the other factor is Engine has done 25k, so it has opened up very nicely, and its fun to take such challenges, now we will see how to improve on this.