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-   -   Defective A/C in the pre-PDI stockyard FIAT T-JET (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/109637-defective-c-pre-pdi-stockyard-fiat-t-jet.html)

I am in the process of buying or making a decision about FIAT Linea T-JET.

I will post a detailed narration of the whole shebang later .. but I've a specific question to ask the forumers.

I am working with VST Motors, The test drives went well, and I knew this is my car. Have been to the stock-yard twice, as of now.. looking at the cars that have not been through their official PDI yet.

Checked 3 cars of different colors, with varying month of manufacture from March to May.

In all of them the AC was not working. Turn it up, and wait for several minutes .. still blowing hot air. The salesperson swears thats so untypical of FIAT, and esp. the improved TJET PLUS.

On further probing, found that the pressure of the refrigerant was low.. a boy in the stockyard pushed a pin at the lowside and saw the discharge was low pressure.

The same happened for 3 cars. And, I was told that they could fix it. I was not happy, I mean, if it leaks over the time .. and I know this is a tricky car issue and this gas leak could happen in a few places..

The manager was indicating that this would have been detected in the PDI. But my point still stands,.. is'nt the company assembled A/C system supposed to be fully functional? If its leaking ..its indicative of more problems to come.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

AFAIK, these cars have a feature wherein the compressor does not turn on when the car is critically low on fuel. And I believe this is the case here. Chill! Enjoy ur jet.

DRIV3R is right. And usually the stockyard cars are dangerously low on fuel (2-3 ltrs at the max)

That was some useful piece of information. Thanks!

I was about to put up this problem in my ownsership thread. My AC Compressor seal conked off 2 weeks back. The AC stopped cooling. This happened to one more friend of mine who owns T-Jet.

The AC got repaired anyways for no cost, but I am totally doubtful about the Fiat quality control.
God only knows when will they start working on it.

Wow!

Thanks DRIV3R. I didn't know about this feature on the Fiat at all.

And this instance more or less sums up the state of Fiat in our country. A well thought out feature on the car becoming a hindrance for the sale itself.

I am not blaming the customer here. I am sure 'wannabe-elite' would have been delighted to hear about this from the Fiat guys themselves and he would have taken the T-Jet home with pride.

People in sales should know their products well. Most times, they try to act smart and beat around the bush if they can't handle a question. What's the problem in checking with the correct sources and getting back to the customer with the actual fact? And it is to everyone' benefit here. And this is true across all brands.

And Fiat India will do well to train their sales team thoroughly. As far as I have seen, the Linea and Punto have a lot of features in them which are not marketed and are not realized by the customers even after long usage.

I feel bad.

If the low fuel level theory is true,then the Compressor will not turn on;but the refrigerant pressure should be normal,right? how is it that pushing the low pr side pin showed lo pressure?

Thanks to DRIV3R & vigsom, and others who chimed in.

Yes, the fuel level was precariously low.. as in most stockyard cars. I am surprised the rep did'nt offer to put some .. although I did'nt particularly ask him to. But just wondered why they are so low.

And, it is true that I did'nt hear any discernible compressor "sound" on looking under the hood.

And, it is true that the gas level was low.

And, the person who I asked to chekc the gas level also suggested "compressor won't turn on when gas is low".


So, we have a couple of scenario

1) Low fuel prevented compressor turning ON - if this is true and can be proven then I've no problem looking at the vehicle again
2) Compressor was running but was too noiseless for me to hear it, but the gas is too low causing no cooling
3) Low refrigerant/gas level prevented compressor turning ON

If 2) or 3), whats the root cause of the low gas level ... hvac casing leaks or hose leaks? I cannot imagine that the car did'nt have enough gas pumped in. A stockyard guy suggested this, and it seems an improbable ... how would this have passed their final inspection at the assembly?

Would the best way to test the AC be to top up the fuel and take a test drive or test the AC itself. Surely the dealer can afford it. Is this feature only Fiat, does it apply to other brands too coz I remember doing the PDI for Fiesta in the stockyard and the AC was working.

Thanks DRIVR, this is news to me, will have to try it out sometime on my T-Jet.

Wannabe, if the above is true, the salesperson should have been aware of it and if not him then the technician. This does not bode well for the sales outlet, if they are so unaware of this shortcoming/feature then they really need to pull up their socks. You might want to look at another Showroom which is better informed.

I can understand one car having an AC problem, but 3 cars with A/C failure is something I can't understand. Strange...

Since all the three are at the stockyard they must be low on fuel and as Driv3r pointed out to the feature of Fiat the AC would not work in either of them.

Golden rule: Never peep into a restaurant's kitchen...and a dealer's stockyard lol:.

Forget the A/C and enjoy the torque of the T-jet.

but when its fiat is whats cooking, every customer becomes a health inspector armed with a microscope and team-bhp manuals :D

I have never heard of this anywhere even in expensive cars. Can you please elaborate on the source. manuals etc. This is news to me and most of the members here.