Team-BHP - Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by tud (Post 4100249)

Last night, I pulled over my car (2011 Punto Emotion Pack) to park at a relative's. The parking place had a bike standing there, I got down to move it and when I got back and pulled my door handle, the car locked itself.

The car engine, music, ac were running. The headlamps were 'on'. Luckily my house was 6 kms away so I was able to go and get the spare key and unlock the car.

What happens is, whether the engine is running or not, whether the key is in the ignition hole or not, if I pull the driver side outside door handle, the car locks itself. This does not happen with any of the other outside door handles.

I have got down from the car multiple times in these 5 years with the key still in the ignition and the engine 'on' and this issue has never cropped up before. What could be the issue here? Has some spring on the outside handle gone bad and is acting cranky?

Any advice, inputs from you guys on this issue will be great.

BHPian h14 faced same issue in his Linea, this was due to a malfunction in the locking system.

Let's hear from him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRIV3R (Post 4100277)

BHPian h14 faced same issue in his Linea, this was due to a malfunction in the locking system.

Let's hear from him.

Yep, same issue. But it was on the FL door for me. The issue would be either with the actuator or the latch itself. Both these would cause this issue. Check and replace the part accordingly.

Lucky you had the duplicate key nearby, I unfortunately didn't and had to break open :(

More on my incident and the fix are in here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post4037694

Quote:

Originally Posted by tud (Post 4100249)

To me, it looks like a very minor issue.

I had faced a similar problem couple of year ago. The lock was acting crazy and used to lock and unlock according to its whims and fancies. The service centre guys took it out, gave it a nice bath in WD40 and it was ok. After that, the issue has not resurfaced.

Quote:

Originally Posted by h14 (Post 4100288)

Yep, same issue. But it was on the FL door for me. The issue would be either with the actuator or the latch itself. Both these would cause this issue. Check and replace the part accordingly.

Thanks h14. The issue seems ditto. For me, the morning I did a similar step out and step in - things were just right. Evening, it decided its going to act up.
I'll see what the SC guys have to say now. I'll be taking it to RDC.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand (Post 4100291)

Thanks hemanth for the WD40 pointer. I'll take this to SC and see how I can repair and use this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gp_fanatico (Post 4196341)

Hello Punto owners,

Why is there no activity on this thread? Anything new from the Avventura and Abarth owners?

My Punto MJD 2009 is still going good after 1,20,000 Kms. The suspension upgrade has has helped a lot to the car young.

clap:

Not a Avventura or Abarth owner, I have a 2011 Punto MJD, still going strong @ 80,000 kms. The suspension is still brilliant on bad roads and highways, the paint quality of this car is superb and has aged very well. While there were a few rattles from some of the internals, one good service has fixed most of it. The car overall has been an absolute pleasure. I got bumped into from the back by an Innova at a signal:Frustrati about 3 months back, while it left a big ugly dent on the boot door, it's fixed now and life goes on without any complaints.

Spare parts are a pain to source coupled with the fact that Fiat dealerships keep getting closed down. I've found myself a trusted local service center and get all my work done through him. I plan to keep this car for another 2-3 years easily. It's a hassle free ride and I have no regrets of owning this vehicle, maybe the only one will come when I try to sell it (but that's not happening soon)

Great example of a brilliant product in the hands of the wrong people.

Same here. Driven it for 75k kms now and it's been a great experience. It's built like a tank. Still solid after almost 8 years. The Fiat service center near my place, Okhla kashyap Fiat shut down so now I've decided to maintain it with the help of my trust FNG. Can anyone tell me the Engine oil that is used in Grande Punto Petrol 1.4?

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolkurt (Post 4198296)

Great going dude! Me in the same boat- oops! Tank :) @7.5 years and 68k it has been a great run. Just cant find a better replacement nor in a mood to do so.
Engine Oil: it is Selenia 5W-40 (semi synthetic) that is written in the manual for Petrol engines and used by the FASS.
This time though just for experimenting it, I opted to get a better oil (synthetic : Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40) and did the oil change along with other yearly service tasks (parts sources over the counter at FASS itself) at an FNG here. The garage is specialized in previous gen Fiat cars like Palio and others also, adds to the confidence on being taken good care.

I am another one of those satisfied customers with the Punto. Mine is a Oct 2009 vehicle, clocked 77000 kms so far and the car is a gem. Did not even think about replacing the car after close to 8 years. It is behaving as good as when i bought it. Recently changed the tires from Bridestone Potenza to Yokohoma Earth I tires. This years service is due in Aug 2017. Planning to go for the GC Kit upgrade during service as I plan to use the car atleast for three more years.

Hello folks
Is there any change in the engine oil supplied by Fiat service centers for 1.3 MJD? On my last service, the service adviser mentioned that they are now using fully synthetic oil rather than the Selenia semi synthetic. But I could not make out the name of the oil he mentioned stupid:
Anyone has any information on similar lines?

Gents, A query related to Punto.

My Punto is due for service in second week of June 2017. This will be the 4th year service. The odo reads 48539. Should the timing chain be replaced during this service or wait till the odo reads 60K kms. If the workshop gives me an option to get it done during this service, what will the criteria be for deciding the replacement, what should I be looking at?

Any Punto owner faced any issue with warranty related items when dealing with Europa/FASS during the extended warranty period? This is my last year of warranty on the Punto.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghodlur (Post 4208270)

If it's a 90hp punto then get it changed on 60,000 n if it's 76hp then it can be done on 1,00,000.
The timing chain will start giving out a sound if it needs to be replaced (as told by FASS)
I don't think you should get it replaced before schedule, if it's working fine, as it is more of a precautionary measure to replace on prescribed odo readings, else it might break anytime after that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghodlur (Post 4208270)

Should the timing chain be replaced during this service or wait till the odo reads 60K kms. If the workshop gives me an option to get it done during this service, what will the criteria be for deciding the replacement, what should I be looking at ?

Replacing the belt or not, can be decided only after looking at the condition it is currently in. Read the manual and determine the age/kms at which replacement is needed, if you want to inspect the belt then you can check the following:

1. Cracks on the belt, both underside and upwards. Worn out edges which indicate a misaligned pulley/tensioners.

2. When your belt has lost flexibility, the inside teeth become shiny.

3. While running the engine any extra noise/vibrations that were not present before.

4. The belt no longer sits tight around the teeth, means that it has expanded and sits loose between the pulleys/tensioners.