[gp_fanatico]

Hello all Punto Gurus,

Need you advice and technical assistance here !

I am the a proud owner of my Fiat G Punto 1.3 MJD since DEC 2009. I am done with my 3 free service at 30,000 Kms (But 2 Yrs not yet completed). Here are some issues I am facing.

1. Issue with the Turbo. I cannot feel the Turbo kick in at 2k RPM (In terms of pick up- Specifically 2nd Gear) ! Though I can feel the torque build up and the increase in the Engine growl but there is no punch like before when my car was new. Only by listening to the sound and looking at the RPM meter I have to now make out that the car has crossed 2K mark !
Though there is a noticeable increase in acceleration in 3rd Gear at 2K mark but not significant. What could be the issue?

2. Vibrations in the foot pedal (Vibrations due to the running engine) has significantly increased. After an Hours of drive, I switch off the engine and take my leg of the pedals and I can feel my feet are still vibrating for some time. Thats the amount of vibrations ! It increases upward of 2K RPM mark ! and more when A/C on !

3. During my 3rd Free service, I asked the SA (@Concorde, Dairy Circle) to replace the steering oil/transmission oil/gear oil/ brake oil/ ( As mentioned in the service manual). He denied as the vehicel was not yet 2 yrs old or run (60k Kms). I asked him to change the steering oil atleast as the steering was feeling really heavy latelty! but he said it was not required and it can wait till 2Yrs completion (Which is just around the corner).
I spoke to a SA (@Prerana, Kudlu Gate) to confirm the same. He said he replaces all the above mentioned oils/fluids during the 3rd free service, including the coolant also.

Gurus, Need some light on this !

For the Turbo issue, SA at TASS had no clue what to do, and I asked him to clean up the hoses connected to the Turbo. He did that, but in vain. For the Vibrations issue, I asked him to tighten the Mounting bolts, resulting in vain again. As usual, the SA's at TASS has only one answer to my issues. 'Punto nalli idu aste saar !. (Translated: This is normal in a Punto saar ) Its tough to live with it !

[Catalyst_delhi]

it sure looks like a plugged air filter or bad fuel filter.

You can try system D and a new fuel filter. Chances are that it may fix 50% of the issue. System D will take 2 tank fulls to work though.( check with your manual if this additive is allowed).

Also check the engine oil , for the turbo it is very important that eh engine oil is still good - hard to tell but a change is good.

cant rule out a weak clutch as well.

[DieselFan]

Turbo effectiveness issue is primarily due to one of the two below problems -

1. Engine Oil in Intercooler - Get the intercooler inspected and then cleaned
2. Blocked EGR value - If the intercooler is not an issue then the EGR value could be blocked and need to be cleaned of Soot.

Above two are the reasons for majority of the cases. Get these two checked and you should be back in action with the right turbo power.

[aqualeo2040]

Finally, someone else also raised the vibration problem.

I have the same vibration problem, but its only between 90 & 120kmph! Doesnt show up till 90 and goes off after I touch 120! However, thats the highway crusing range, at least on the GQ.

When I showed the car at Prerana motors, they told me that this could be because of the engine guard plate getting bent & touching the chassis.

There's one more additional cross beam which goes under the exhaust.
I will have to hoist the car again and check if the exhaust is touching the beam again.
Havnt heard anyone else complain of this yet though.

[gp_fanatico]

Originally Posted by Catalyst_delhi

it sure looks like a plugged air filter or bad fuel filter.

You can try system D and a new fuel filter. Chances are that it may fix 50% of the issue. System D will take 2 tank fulls to work though.( check with your manual if this additive is allowed).

Also check the engine oil , for the turbo it is very important that eh engine oil is still good - hard to tell but a change is good.

cant rule out a weak clutch as well.

Thanks catalyst. But the car was done with its 3rd free service recently. So can we rule out the bad air/fuel filter? Because both were replaced during the service including the engine oil. Regarding the weak clutch, how can I know if the clutch is weak?

Originally Posted by DieselFan

Turbo effectiveness issue is primarily due to one of the two below problems -

1. Engine Oil in Intercooler - Get the intercooler inspected and then cleaned
2. Blocked EGR value - If the intercooler is not an issue then the EGR value could be blocked and need to be cleaned of Soot.

Above two are the reasons for majority of the cases. Get these two checked and you should be back in action with the right turbo power.

Thanks Diesel Fan. I will go back to Service center for the third time after my 3rd free service and get the inter cooler inspected. Even I have a hunch that the problem could be with the intercooler.
During the service, I had given a complaint regarding the turbo and the SA said he has cleaned the EGR valve and that turbo will work fine. But I haven't seen any significant difference.

Originally Posted by aqualeo2040

Finally, someone else also raised the vibration problem.

I have the same vibration problem, but its only between 90 & 120kmph! Doesnt show up till 90 and goes off after I touch 120! However, thats the highway crusing range, at least on the GQ.

When I showed the car at Prerana motors, they told me that this could be because of the engine guard plate getting bent & touching the chassis.

There's one more additional cross beam which goes under the exhaust.
I will have to hoist the car again and check if the exhaust is touching the beam again.
Havnt heard anyone else complain of this yet though.

Again, based on my complaint during the service, SA said that the silencer was touching the Engine guard due to a bend on the latter, and that he has rectified it. Vibrations hasn't lessened even after it. I haven't checked the cross beam though. I too will get that inspected. Aqualeo, let me know your findings.

[Peter]

Originally Posted by gp_fanatico

Hello all Punto Gurus,

Need you advice and technical assistance here !

1. Issue with the Turbo.
2. Vibrations in the foot pedal (Vibrations due to the running engine) has significantly increased.

Mate I had the very same issues though not in a Fiat but in my SX4D , I believe the engines are similar, anyways have a thread for my issue as well.

The car was hardly run If I remember correctly for around 7K kms I think when I started experiencing the exact 2 issues .

What I did was added System D after which the performance was restored , this was later on related to Fuel adulteration , so please confirm if you use System D first and try and check for changes , after this if you find any then you would at least know where to start considering the fact that you have tried a couple of possibilities already.

Cheers,

[epicenter.rulez]

my bet is the egr valve.
get it cleaned and you should be back to normal.
the diesel additive will also help.
drive safe, always wear a seatbelt.

[aqualeo2040]

Originally Posted by gp_fanatico

Again, based on my complaint during the service, SA said that the silencer was touching the Engine guard due to a bend on the latter, and that he has rectified it. Vibrations hasn't lessened even after it. I haven't checked the cross beam though. I too will get that inspected. Aqualeo, let me know your findings.

Aha. So, Surendra is using the same template(which is obviously not the case). The catch is, if the exhaust tube is touching the guard/beam, why does the vibration only show up between 80 & 120?
I have checked the exhaust mountings as well and they are pretty taut too.

First of all, we need to isolate the factors which come into play at that speed only.Will have to do a bit of experimentation this weekend.

[sagarpadaki]

For the lack of turbo kick issue, first suspect is bad fuel. I had the same problem in my I20. Fill up from a reputed pump atleast twice full tank to remove all the old bad fuel and check for performance.

[vivek_pinkoo]

Hi,
I am not sure whether I should write here or some where else but I would like to mention my two points regarding my Punto (Multijet 1.3) which has just completed 300 KMs so far and I seek expert help in this regard

1. The car is pulling left side when the speed touches 40 KM/H and above

a. Is there alignment issue with a car completed just 300KM?
b. Any suspension related issue

2. When should I change engine oil (as per manual it should be changed once car completes 5K km) where as I am thinking to change after 1000K. Please suggest what should I do.

[.sushilkumar]

Originally Posted by vivek_pinkoo

Hi,
2. When should I change engine oil (as per manual it should be changed once car completes 5K km) where as I am thinking to change after 1000K. Please suggest what should I do.

Are we sure about first engine oil change at 5 K . i could n;t find it written in my manual. asking because i got my first service done Y;day and was not asked for oil change. I thought it's at 15 K service. As usual a call to Customer care was returned with " Pls check with service center" . these buggers don;t have the details of things service center does in free services

As for left pulling goes, could be alignment one. I too faced it in first 1000 Km;s than it suddenly corrected itself .

[aqualeo2040]

Originally Posted by vivek_pinkoo

Hi,
I am not sure whether I should write here or some where else but I would like to mention my two points regarding my Punto (Multijet 1.3) which has just completed 300 KMs so far and I seek expert help in this regard

1. The car is pulling left side when the speed touches 40 KM/H and above

a. Is there alignment issue with a car completed just 300KM?
b. Any suspension related issue

2. When should I change engine oil (as per manual it should be changed once car completes 5K km) where as I am thinking to change after 1000K. Please suggest what should I do.

1. Definitely alignment. So much for the QA done at Fiat. Go get it checked by any good wheel alingment center (not the A.S.S) and you will be surprised to see the report.

2.Depends on how long you take. First oil change is scheduled within 3 months. The current crop of mills are pretty well built and I wonder if you will find any metal filings in your oil bath. However, if you can manage to finish 5k earlier than that, its much better. For some unknown reasons, the MJD mills open up after 5k. So, a quick service at that point would change your entire perspective! (No wonder we love this car )

[nkg77]

Originally Posted by vivek_pinkoo

Hi,
I am not sure whether I should write here or some where else but I would like to mention my two points regarding my Punto (Multijet 1.3) which has just completed 300 KMs so far and I seek expert help in this regard

1. The car is pulling left side when the speed touches 40 KM/H and above

a. Is there alignment issue with a car completed just 300KM?
b. Any suspension related issue

2. When should I change engine oil (as per manual it should be changed once car completes 5K km) where as I am thinking to change after 1000K. Please suggest what should I do.

Originally Posted by .sushilkumar

Are we sure about first engine oil change at 5 K . i could n;t find it written in my manual. asking because i got my first service done Y;day and was not asked for oil change. I thought it's at 15 K service. As usual a call to Customer care was returned with " Pls check with service center" . these buggers don;t have the details of things service center does in free services

As for left pulling goes, could be alignment one. I too faced it in first 1000 Km;s than it suddenly corrected itself .

First oil change for Punto MJD is 15k kms or 1 year which ever is earlier. For car pulling left, please check the wheel alignment from a competent wheel alignment center.

[gp_fanatico]

Originally Posted by Peter

Mate I had the very same issues though not in a Fiat but in my SX4D , I believe the engines are similar, anyways have a thread for my issue as well.

The car was hardly run If I remember correctly for around 7K kms I think when I started experiencing the exact 2 issues .

What I did was added System D after which the performance was restored , this was later on related to Fuel adulteration , so please confirm if you use System D first and try and check for changes , after this if you find any then you would at least know where to start considering the fact that you have tried a couple of possibilities already.

Cheers,

Thanks Peter. I will try it out to rule out the bad fuel possibility. Is System D same as fuel additive from 3M? If yes then I have tried it, but it was before these issues surfaced. I also used the 3M engine oil flush just before dropping off the vehicle for service/oil change. Anyway when i used the 3M fuel additive, I did not find much difference in performance. Even otherwise I will try to get my hands on System D (Haven t seen it any stores here in Bangalore). A clean fuel is always better for the engine.

[gp_fanatico]

Originally Posted by aqualeo2040

Aha. So, Surendra is using the same template(which is obviously not the case). The catch is, if the exhaust tube is touching the guard/beam, why does the vibration only show up between 80 & 120?

For me vibrations appear beyond 2k RPM (at any speed). More with the A/C ON .

But yes, Surendra seems to be stereotyping the issues without proper checks !

Just a possibility to look into. The vibration (@ 80-120 kmph) may be due to improper Tyre wear in the front or problem with wheel alignment/balancing. Check them out to rule out the possibility.

Due to improper alignment, One of my front tyre's inner thread had worn out (during 20K Kms range). I replaced the worn out tyre with the 5th stock tyre. Due to the improper thread wear, there was this similar vibrations/wobbling at high speeds. Then I replaced both front tyres with new ones, then did the wheel alignment and balancing. The issue then dissapeared.

So before your experimentation this weekend, get your wheel alignment and balancing checked before hitting the road. just a suggestion