[schitre05]

My friend has a Palio MJD october 2008 and has clocked 27000kms
Yes the fan is loud, infact very loud. He doesnt need a horn to sound his arrival.
His steering column was changed under warranty
His speedometer console was changed under warranty
His fuel pump was changed under warranty
but
No abnormal tyre wear
and yes! he is happy with the car.
cheers!!

[akbaree]

Originally Posted by schitre05

My friend has a Palio MJD october 2008 and has clocked 27000kms
Yes the fan is loud, infact very loud. He doesnt need a horn to sound his arrival.
His steering column was changed under warranty
His speedometer console was changed under warranty
His fuel pump was changed under warranty
but
No abnormal tyre wear
and yes! he is happy with the car.
cheers!!

So many components changed under warranty. Surprisingly steering column which hardly needs to be changed in any car at such a low mileage. But then it doesn't matter as far as one is happy with the car. May be he is more happy to get things replaced under warranty rather than the car itself. I am just kidding.

Originally Posted by WanderNomad

Well no offence to any Fiat lover (there are many on the forum), I have always consciously stayed away from Fiat.

Recently when a friend was seeking suggestion on a diesel in 5 - 6L category, I told him to be miles away from Fiat.

Again I dont wish to hurt anyone's sentiments but lack of spares availability, poor reliability as well as low resale is what keeps me away.

There's a constant struggle between what's wise and what's not.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

What am I doing? Taking it back regularly and monitoring levels every second day. The car otherwise doesn't heat and drives like a dream so I don't give a rat's ***. I'm not seeing that perspective in your posts. In a way, I should be pissed that MSIL cannot fix a bloody clamp well over 45 days, but what to say, $hit happens. The GM's doing his best - so are his boys. But the clamp still leaks. or maybe the morons filled in excess coolant to begin with.

The key difference with Fiat being - if one is stuck with a moron, one has to travel 200 kms and still find another moron. With swift there are plenty of ASC and if one is a moron it is okay to go to another. I am just trying to say that Fiat owners have much less options where they can get their cars serviced. Only having a few cities where the car can get serviced decently is not good enough.

[clevermax]

Somehow, I like the Tornado effect in my 1.2 though it happens not so often. I think the fan goes to its max speed when a/c is on and engine is really heated up. I don't think it is that loud like an MJD, after reading the experiences from MJD owners here.

It is more a problem in dusty roads in Blr but not so much in Kerala roads.

[Trust_In_Thrust]

@gemithomas : With no offence but could kindly post some hard evidence like service station invoice , emails , photos etc.
A.)The tornado effect is in Indica , Hyundai , Skoda also .
As someone said here with so many trucks passing by i wonder why only the Palio was the eye sore.
B.)Regarding fuel pump yes they can fail if you get the bad quality/wrong fuel filled up.
C.)Also if fuel pump is not working fine you will have rough idling i.e your start stop problem.
D.) Ice formation is not major problem just the thermostat has gone wrong simple 5 minute replacement job.

Regards

[jyobeb]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Yaar,

If this tornado issue is known - weren't you guys insensitive in parking it wrongly knowing fully well how it behaves? Anyone sitting by the roadside faces hundreds of trucks passing by but it takes a Palio's tornado fan to ruin the poor man's stock. Excuse me now as I get a massive urge to cough!

Have you seen this fan in action? Everyone person covers their face when I approach on a dirt road. I can't switch of my ac for that, can I?
Your comments are totally off, specially when you have not seen the kind of dust storms these fans create. My palio generates more dust than even our school buses.

[architect]

Ok... I'll try to be objective and put in what I know and have experienced. I happen to have got my MJD delivered within 10 days of its launch and it was the second car on TBHP, so in a way I have spent more time with it than anyone.

First @ aaggoswami

1. MJD fuel pumps- one or two? Answer coming in by tomorrow, a quick call to Elegant Cars / Samyak will fix this issue for good. I don't expect them to be wrong on that one. As far as i know, it's only one, because I have seen only the pod for the fuel gauge under the tank, but will check again.

Fuel pump failing on any CRDI is not bad but terrible news. I have no clue of the price but suspect it could run into 20,000-50,000 bucks or so. Thank God the car's in warranty. (Damn now I am worried of my extended warranty which finishes in 14 months!).

2. Tornado Fan The second fan is very loud and does blow up dust when it comes on. I have, however, never been abused for it's dust blower capability. The noise is noticed by everyone in summer. In winters, the second fan almost never goes on. If you can't live with it, then its bad design, but so is the Logan LHD wiper, which is dangerous as well.

3. Rattles do exist And the "flimsy' Swift DDIS is 5 kg heavier than the "tank" Palio MJD. The Swift may have flimsier body panels and tinny sounding doors but I am sure both cars are equally robust underneath.

4. Engine has a slight "swing" (a lateral swaying movement) when cranked. In my opinion it is NOT SO NOTICEABLE (on my car atleast) that it could be a deal breaker. CRDI clatter is loud when the engine is cold but after its warmed up its not significantly louder than its other MJD cousins.

This car was a stop-gap before the GP and Linea came along and it was quite clear, whatever anyone says. I bought it because it was the cheapest Diesel Hatch with a CRDI engine apart from the Indica Dicor and with a reasonable waiting period. And I am convinced that it is better than the Indica Dicor, closely experienced by me with the Rs 1-lakh+ worth of warranty replacements to the engine of my friends' Indigo Dicor. period. Post Vista, things have changed, but is parts quality still better than the Fiat? don't have statistics to prove it, but AFAIK, the Vista is not entirely trouble-free either. I have been told that the Vista has worse handling than the Palio and that was a major priority for me.

5. Ice formation the AC can be corrected. If Prerana Bangalore can do it, why not anyone else?

6. The Palio has an adjustable toe setting but a non adjustable caster and camber setting. I don't know much about caster but the camber can create uneven tyre wear. My camber settings went off when I drove into a manhole. The only solution was to take the bolt on to the lathe and create some "play" in it by re-threading it. I did not do it while hundreds of Palios run on this arrangement. I prefer to do toe alignment only, after which the camber is just out of acceptable limits. And so far, with rotation, tyre wear has been acceptable.

@Others: There are two primary issues here:

a. Bad parts and build quality by Fiat: yes, guilty. To a certain extent I was aware of it, but I chose to gamble on it rather than go for the Indica or wait for the Swift for 6 months or spend another lakh and a half for the Getz (also because I was getting the Poland built engine and gearbox as the first 100 cars had them). I

b. bad Service Support In the NCR,you have 10 ASC to go to: Some good, some so-so, some moronic. By and large, regular parts like filters etc were a problem only in the first three-four months, not since then. I will leave others (esp Tortoise-n-Hare) to comment on the other parts of the country. Yes, finding somebody to do trouble shooting with a Fiat can be painful and I wonder what I shall do if Elegant Cars were to close down.

As far as recommendation ins concerned, I try and never recommend any car to anyone. I just put forward its positives and negatives across. If the person still can't decide, I ask him to buy any Maruti within his budget

[bullock-Car]

Originally Posted by architect

a. Bad parts and build quality by Fiat: yes, guilty. To a certain extent I was aware of it, but I chose to gamble on it rather than go for the Indica or wait for the Swift for 6 months or spend another lakh and a half for the Getz (also because I was getting the Poland built engine and gearbox as the first 100 cars had them). I don't have statistics to prove it, but AFAIK, the Vista is not entirely trouble-free either.

As far as recommendation ins concerned,. If the person still can't decide, I ask him to buy any Maruti within his budget

I had test driven Linea and Punto,
After test driving Linea, which hardly had done 10k, the rubber beading was very uneven on drivers side, so i thought it it must be an exception so went on inspecting all the other doors. To my horror all the 4 doors the beadings were very uneven and irregular, when pointed to Sales person, he just shrugged (not his fault though).
FIATS build quality sucks.period.
Between Maruti and Fiat, Maruti is a sensible choice by any standard.

[architect]

Originally Posted by bullock-Car

To my horror all the 4 doors the beadings were very uneven and irregular,
FIATS build quality sucks.period.

Depends on your definition of build quality. I would rather live with a mis-aligned beading than a turbo or a fuel pump conking off. Unless the misaligned beading is an indication of poor QC with the turbo as well.

Originally Posted by bullock-Car

Maruti is a sensible choice by any standard.

Totally, which is why I always recommend the "sensible" choices to others and have gambled on the risky one myself. Had the Maruti dealers not behaved as if they were doing me a favour by giving me a Swift VDi in less than six months (while claiming all the while that it would come in 2-3 months), I would have been a driving a "sensible" Swift VDi-ABS myself now.

[neosmart]

I have been a silent reader too lazy to writer in team-bhp for 2-3 years and a very few threads provoke me to actually write down. but this thread is something after reading which I am having hard time keeping my figures away from keyboard.

==============

I see this thread being blown out of proportion. I would suggest your friend to work with Tata A.S.S. to resolve these tiny issues. yes, I do consider these issues tiny.

These days customer service do call for feedback after 2-3 days of each visit to service station and do follow up things. I have experience it consistently for last 4-5 visits to service station. Please use such opportunities sensibly and take benefits. It is really good if the local Tata service station is not upto the mark.


As with the Fuel pump change taking time; I see no need to be impatient, Tata is not the first auto service company in india taking time to replace fuel pump or similar parts nor it is last such auto company. (sorry, I have no link to share .. browse through team-bhp for it)

As with tyres getting worn out in 8000 Kms. The owner should have claimed for warrenty replacement like many others. I don't see any point now clamoring when the "bus" is missed. Try it to get a in warranty refund but don't expect much.


In the end, I see this as just one problem, fuel pump replacement taking time. May be that;s the reason he now bugged up our dear Gemi so much that my favorite Gemi is really disappointed.

I won't stand by the act of going 200 km for just servicing. getting a local machanic is just as good or going to local Tata A.S.S. and standing by his car during all the time wile servicing might have helped much more than that.


I would suggest your friends to work with Tata A.S.S with realistic expectations.

For, fuel pump failure, Remember little things like running a car in reserve or low fuel for long also screws up a fuel pump. as much as a bad quality fuel. 15K/2.5 years is enough to make damage in such cases


As for tornado effect, I suggest your friend to get a sump guard or fix a temporary fiber/soft board sheet to check it if helps. There is no point beating the bush around for these things.



I am a Palio Fan .... and I hope, I am as loud as the Fan fitted in Palio.


-Pankaj
Palio 1.2 ELX- 56K Kms
Palio 1.6 GTX - 42K Kms

Disclaimer: I don't work with Fiat and infact didn't even paid them for the cars . Got my cars as pre-owned. Thanks to PUG and Team Bhp. :P

[Trust_In_Thrust]

Originally Posted by bullock-Car

I had test driven Linea and Punto,
After test driving Linea, which hardly had done 10k, the rubber beading was very uneven on drivers side, so i thought it it must be an exception so went on inspecting all the other doors. To my horror all the 4 doors the beadings were very uneven and irregular, when pointed to Sales person, he just shrugged (not his fault though).
FIATS build quality sucks.period.
Between Maruti and Fiat, Maruti is a sensible choice by any standard.

Any car can have misaligned rubber beading on the if not fitted correctly.
The beading would have come perfectly from FIAT but once the service , accessories guys remove it to fit central locking , stereo etc they often do not align/press it properly.

Regards

[greenhorn]

neosmart, the tass gemi is posting about is being discussed here
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...um-kerala.html
From my experience with them over 2 years as a tata vehicle owner. My money would be on them screwing up, despite your, as well as Fiat's best efforts. I too was charged (even though it was done under extended warranty) for a Fuel pump which was absolutely fine, and even after the repairs, the issue was not fixed. And 2 months later, despite the involvement of a customer service manager from Tata, and checking with them regularly, I've still not gotten my money back. I'd suggest you walk a few miles in his shoes before dismissing his issues as trivial.

[architect]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

From my experience with them over 2 years as a tata vehicle owner. My money would be on them screwing up, despite your, as well as Fiat's best efforts.

Greenhorn, if that is the case (and Kulathankal is quite popular out here), I suggest you guys can see if you can help Gemi's friend sort out his issues. Even if we concede that Fiat has the worst quality levels, it doesn't help the unfortunate MJD owner in anyway except make him feel worse.

We can continue the healthy discussion out here.

[greenhorn]

If kulathunkal is among the better ones, I can't imagine how the bad ones are. I can't even get my own issues sorted out, despite help from above, pretty much like the situation he is in now. I can only empathize with him!

[architect]

Oh dear, I was asking you to rate Kulathankal as Good / Average / Moronic as I was always pretty convined they were average if not moronic, especially after your paint job and FIP incidents! Now you tell me "if they are one of the better ones!"

[JayD]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

@JayD - Given your recent anti-Fiat posts (to my memory), this current post isn't surprising in its exaggeration. If this tornado issue is known - weren't you guys insensitive in parking it wrongly knowing fully well how it behaves? Anyone sitting by the roadside faces hundreds of trucks passing by but it takes a Palio's tornado fan to ruin the poor man's stock. Excuse me now as I get a massive urge to cough!

Mr phamilyman, knowing your overall fanboy attitude towards the brand, i'm not surprised by the lack of thought in your post. The tornado fan issue is not something i made up. Look at what the actual users have posted on this very thread! Another thing is, my friend was unaware about this problem, till the issue i mentioned happened. This is not something one expects in a new car is it? Also, if u still do not believe me, you are free to contact me, anytime u are in cochin. I can give u a live demo, provided u take care of the 'incidents' that will follow it.

Please Mr phamilyman, lets not make this into another fiat bashing thread, any further problems which you face regarding my post can be taken up on PM.