[Soccerfan]

Most likely its the A/C drain tube getting disconnected. Had the issue in my Punto. they tied it with a plastic tie and the issue was solved. take the CAR to TASC.

[vasanthn21]

@ Muni, looking at your signature, you should not be worried about such things

[muni]

Originally Posted by vasanthn21

@ Muni, looking at your signature, you should not be worried about such things

Haha..nice one. Now am not since I know what the cause is.

The service guys have updated me that the rat might have chewed off the AC drain pipe. Not sure where this pipe is and how water can seep in.

There are two 4 wheelers parked in our building and have not seen any of them complain of rats.

Isnt it possible that the car had this problem from the stock yard itself. Donno what amount they are going to bill.

I have been getting calls from Pune about my service experience of my earlier visit to get the Linea armrest fitted.

[genesis]

Originally Posted by muni

Haha..nice one. Now am not since I know what the cause is.

The service guys have updated me that the rat might have chewed off the AC drain pipe. Not sure where this pipe is and how water can seep in.

There are two 4 wheelers parked in our building and have not seen any of them complain of rats.

A/C Drain tube slipping off/being choked is a perennial FIAT problem from 2002 Palio's onwards
Dont let them BS you or charge you. All they have to do is clean it and fit it back on the pipe

[vaisakhr]

IMO, leaky joints will be the reason for the problem. Check all the door gaskets. One can sit inside the car and observe the joints while some one else doing the washing with a some what powerful stream of water from outside. I had similar problem like this in my Indica, and this method helped me to find the leak. Inspect floor from inside and from the bottom. Tell the SC to remove the floor carpets and make it dry other wise there can be chances of rusting in future.

[muni]

Originally Posted by genesis

A/C Drain tube slipping off/being choked is a perennial FIAT problem from 2002 Palio's onwards
Dont let them BS you or charge you. All they have to do is clean it and fit it back on the pipe

Just now spoke to them and they are claiming that the Rat has bitten off the pipe and I will be charged for the same. The service guy yesterday told me that since the part was not there in stock, they had to use the Demo car's pipe. Now how on earth can they say that they are to charge for the replacement when they are replacing an used Pipe as original/new replacement.

The service guy says they have poured water and there is no leakage

I am maintaining that they cannot be sure that it happened when i had parked and it must have been there from day one when it arrived from the stock yard. I noticed it because I had not worn footwear while driving and it was a long drive continously for more than 3 hrs with AC on.

There are cars parked in my building and neighbours cats roaming around.

It is a possibility either this way(my parking) or that way( at the stockyard) if the rat theory is true.

Service guy said he will call me in some time. Am waiting.

[muni]

Update: The service guy says they will not charge me for the AC pipe replacement ( still curious how the old one looks and how it caused that leak) but will charge around 300Rs for the labor part which includes washing. Also found that they have just done superficial cleaning through vaccum cleaner to renove the mositure. They have not removed the body carpet and the thick damping to get rid of the moisture.

They expect me to keep the door open for a couple of days.

Mositure/water inside will only mean that it can initiate rusting in the body later on.

The service guy is saying that they have to remove the seats and then only can remove the carpet and the damping thing. This is chargeable they say.


what should I do.

[genesis]

Originally Posted by muni

Update: The service guy says they will not charge me for the AC pipe replacement ( still curious how the old one looks and how it caused that leak) but will charge around 300Rs for the labor part which includes washing. Also found that they have just done superficial cleaning through vaccum cleaner to renove the mositure. They have not removed the body carpet and the thick damping to get rid of the moisture.

They expect me to keep the door open for a couple of days.

Mositure/water inside will only mean that it can initiate rusting in the body later on.

The service guy is saying that they have to remove the seats and then only can remove the carpet and the damping thing. This is chargeable they say.


what should I do.

I would advise keeping the doors and windows open for a day or two in sunlight. It does work.
If they take off the carpet, they will have to rip off the damping....and things will never be the same.

Things do dry out finally. Spray some deodorizer to make sure there is no odor in the meantime.

[ACM]

Suggest you actually do keep the doors open in the sun and wait it out the smell and wet patch will go. If they undo stuff you will not get it fitted back on as well.

[muni]

Originally Posted by ACM

Suggest you actually do keep the doors open in the sun and wait it out the smell and wet patch will go. If they undo stuff you will not get it fitted back on as well.

Update :

Last friday got a call that they have dried the carpet and damping material and I can take the car any time. I went on staturday and was shocked to find that the car was in the same state I had left it in. They had done superficial drying( I doubt) and the Interior damping was just lying as it is. There was a lot of water even after 5 days at the service shop.

I got livid and got someone senior in the showroom to come and gave him a piece of my mind. They apologised and said that they will get it rectifed. Asked the new person designated to show where the A/C pipe is and where the water might have entered. What the service guy showed in the underbelly from a linea which was hoisted for service was not convincing enough.

The actual guy who did service on my punto was not be seen and a new guy was assigned.

The service guy removed a few screws and was able to take out that 1.5 feet X 1.5 feet damping material which was full of water under the carpet. They wrung out atleast 1 ltr of water from it and started to dry it with a hot air hand Blower.

Since the new service guy promised he will check and take care of it. I went home and came back around 4:00 P.M to take the delivery. They had washed it again and it looked alright to me.

Paid Rs328 and took the car home.

Overall, I feel the service was not upto the mark as I had communicated clearly. As many say, you have to muscle your way or have to be pretty vocal about getting service and not to mention a lot more patient and tolerant.

The Car is behaving alright now and am still not sure about how the water seeped into the cabin.

[autocrat]

Guys,

It happened in my 4 week old Linea :(

Last Saturday I drove from Bangalore to Hassan and back, and next day to Hosur and back.

On Monday when I started cleaning, I noticed moisture patches on the floor carpet. I took the car to Concorde and they promptly attended to it - a mechanic removed 2 bolts from the clutch foot rest, stuck his hand inside, and pulled out the drain pipe. He said it was blocked and cleaned and fit it back.

Car AC was left running for sometime and I could see that the drain pipe was ok - water started dripping under the car.

Never experienced this in my 6 year old Indica.

I am still figuring out how to dry the carpets. Its soggy and spoilt now. I dont know how good a job A$$ will do if I leave my car there.

My initial idea is to put some newspaper under the carpet, allow it to soak water and repeat till its sufficiently dry. Problem is, how do I remove the carpet

Edit: If you own a Punto / Linea, please check under the car once in a while that condensation water is indeed getting drained well. No water dripping down means trouble.

[Soccerfan]

Heard the same from my SA. he was saying that FIAT has redesigned the drain pipe now and all new Lineas are having issue with the drain pipe getting disconnected....

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by Soccerfan

Heard the same from my SA. he was saying that FIAT has redesigned the drain pipe now and all new Lineas are having issue with the drain pipe getting disconnected....

Soccerfan, thanks for this info! Will check with the SA at concorde.

After a 7 hour drive with 2 hours break, AC on all the time, I started getting mist from AC vents. Now I am thinking if this is connected to the drain pipe being choked.

Yesterday I removed the carpet, and vacuumed the insulation thoroughly. It was too much work, but the amount of water I got was astonishing - almost 15 liters!

I am sure it would have taken several months to dry out if it was not attended to immediately, as this area is not ventilated in any way.

[autocrat]

Sorry I missed the attachment in my last post. Sorry for b2b posting.

Can someone share Mr. Mangesh's email ID? I wish to share my experience with FIAT.