[Iamcarnovice]

I had a really lucky day yesterday!

While downshifting (2nd to 1st gear) to climb a speed breaker, my clutch suddenly felt like it was broke and I managed to stop the car without much fuss!

After some time the FIAT roadside assistance team, towed down my car to TAFE reach Service Center, Chennai and the engineers this morning updated that the "CLUTCH SUB-CYLINDER" was broken!

Reason: The clutch sub-cylinder in Punto was Faulty and FIAT is changing the part as and when customer reports some problems with it. But, it is not being done on ALL Punto's that are there!

Service advisor told me that the part was made of PLASTIC which was causing the problem and now it is replaced with more SOLID part!

The car is just about 1.5 years old and this problem has got me in creeps!

Any suggestions on what else I should get checked before getting the car back?

-ICN

[Iamcarnovice]

Since I am getting my car back on Wednesday, it would be great if there are any suggestions from TBHP on my case!

Is it normal for a Fiat like car to have such problems?

Pl suggest!

[dsr_rpm]

check the numerous ownership threads on puntos with cluth cylinder upgrade. u can ask the question in one of those threads.

[kaush666]

Originally Posted by Iamcarnovice

My new Punto Active 1.2 has been a dream so far. It is my first experience behind the wheels and has really really great!

I started to drive around in the neighbourhood during late evenings and slowly slowly migrated to city traffic. Yesterday, I just finished a short-trip to Vellore from Chennai (150km approx. one way) and feeling much confident as a driver.

Now comes the issue part. During my initial days of struggling I found that during lower speeds (typically first and second gears) in heavy traffic the brake suddenly becomes rigid. Try pressing it and it doesnt budge a bit. Try pumping it, nope, nothing. Finally depress the clutch fully, reduce the speed to near zero and try again it shows signs of stopping not definitely braking. All this in a brand new Punto out of the showroom within first 2 months!

Once as an elderely woman chose to trust my driving ability and started to walk across the road and the brakes desert me! Through jitters and nerves I had the sense to reduce the speed and pull the hand brake!
The issue never really worsened than this again, but occured randomly but at slow speeds!

Come first service. I religiously followed the 90 days calender and took the car to Concorde Motors, Ambattur. The service experience was OK. The service executive took my complaint and while delivering he said
"the fluids in the brake assembly was not properly flooded and we have corrected it now sir. You wont get any problem". I promptly made a call to Fiat and asked the reason and they said "IT happens sometimes sir, we are very sorry!"

Not really convinced I tried finding similar problems in T-BHP and google and couldnt come up with anything that I can relate to. I, then began to believe that the executive was right and I should be happy!

Yesterday, I again faced this issue and the brakes are now not as responsive as they used to be. I have to stamp consiously now to stop the car to halt. Planning to take the car back to Concorde tomorrow as there is also a Fiat free checkup arranged!

I am not really sure whether this issue is due to the car or because of my overly-concious clutch handling. ( I observed that, I press the clutch completely to change gears and control speed within city by pressing the clutch). I realize this is a bad habit, coming from my biking experience!

I need suggestion on what cud be wrong with the brake, my driving or minor issues in brake assembly orrrrrrrr is it something real bad?
Help!

Rgds,
Bala

Hey bala,

I also own a Punto 1.2 Emotion. I took delivery of the car on the 27th of April. I was not able to drive the vehicle from the showroom to my house. The vehicle had a problem with the belt already when it was being delivered and after giving Concorde Motors, Velachery a piece of my mind they agreed to take the vehicle the next day and rectify the issue. I also faced the problem of the brake going rigid at low speeds. At first I thought it was my mistake or illusion, but two other relatives drove my car and they were scared to death when the brakes went rigid. I took the car to VST motors, Mount Road for checking on the brakes as I was about to go on a long trip after that. The SA Mr.Karthikeyan told me that this was the issue with all Petrol Puntos and that they had power braking system. It was more like he was asking me to adapt to driving with brakes like that. On inquiring whether the diesel Puntos had the same issue he told me that they had different brakes. I had some work so I left without asking him for the technical mumbo-jumbo.

Last weekend I had a trip to Tirupati where my car got banged twice because of the brakes. I couldn't stop towards an unexpected speed breaker and the LHS underbody got a BIGGG scrape. Next when I was taking my car out of the hotel's rather steep basement parking I had to stop suddenly as the watchman suddenly ran in front of the car. The car came to a halt when I banged the brakes but after about 5 seconds the car continued to move backwards without any action from the brakes after repeated pumping. Luckily I hit the handbrake and no one was injured. Took the car and shouted at my sales person at Concorde and he has asked me to drive the vehicle for a couple of days more and then give the car to the service center if issue persists. This spells trouble for me and I have lost complete confidence in the car. I will never advice anybody to buy a FIAT product again. I haven't had any response from Fiat either despite of the many mails sent to them via the grievance box in their website. If someone could direct me to the higher officials of Fiat it would be extremely helpful.

[nkg77]

I have a Punto MJD EPack and I have not faced any issues related to brake, in fact Punto's brake is really good in bumper to bumper traffic. Please take your car to the service centre and get it checked.

[Ragul]

How callous of the sales rep to ask you to drive the car around for a few days and report if the problem still persists?

What if you kill somebody or get killed?

To the OP of this thread, this must be a real confidence breaker for a new driver with a brand new car!!

My sincere advice to anyone is - Please do not drive the car until it is rectified.

--Ragul

[kaush666]

Originally Posted by nkg77

I have a Punto MJD EPack and I have not faced any issues related to brake, in fact Punto's brake is really good in bumper to bumper traffic. Please take your car to the service centre and get it checked.

The service guys have been called to come and take the vehicle tomorrow. I am too scared as it is a threat on the road.

Originally Posted by Ragul

How callous of the sales rep to ask you to drive the car around for a few days and report if the problem still persists?

What if you kill somebody or get killed?

To the OP of this thread, this must be a real confidence breaker for a new driver with a brand new car!!

My sincere advice to anyone is - Please do not drive the car until it is rectified.

--Ragul

Exactly the same thought struck my mind. I asked the sales rep the same question and he didn't have any reply. The service guys are taking the vehicle tomorrow. I don't want to drive the vehicle on the road

[julupani]

There seems to be an issue with the brake fluid not recirculating after repeated or hard braking attempts. This leaves the braking mechanism useless casing the brake pedal to feel like it is rigid as all power assist from the hydraulics is lost. May be as simple an issue as low brake fluid level.

Should not be that complicated an issue to solve. Nothing much to worry about.

[Iamcarnovice]

Originally Posted by kaush666

I also faced the problem of the brake going rigid at low speeds. At first I thought it was my mistake or illusion, but two other relatives drove my car and they were scared to death when the brakes went rigid.

The car came to a halt when I banged the brakes but after about 5 seconds the car continued to move backwards without any action from the brakes after repeated pumping.

Kaushik,
Very sorry to hear about your experience. This is turning out to be a real deal breaker for the Punto. Braking at low-speeds in close traffic while engaging the clutch is a pain in Punto. I have repeatedly tried to move to a higher gear, accelerate a tad and apply the brakes, thankfully the pickup isnt earth shattering , for me to get into danger!

Originally Posted by kaush666

Last weekend I had a trip to Tirupati where my car got banged twice because of the brakes. I couldn't stop towards an unexpected speed breaker and the LHS underbody got a BIGGG scrape.

This does give me the creeps! At higher speeds, my brake works perfectly well. Even after the idiots at TAFE, Chennai over bled the brake assembly and made the brake feel spongy, the braking at higher speeds have NEVER failed me.
I strongly suggest that you talk to FIAT and get this sorted out at the earliest. Keep us posted!

P.S: This sub-cylinder issue is turning out to be a real serious issue for the FIAT owners. My friend's car stalled in the middle of the road and he is waiting for the past 3 days to get a retrofit part for the sub-cylinder assembly. Some serious problems here with Punto here.

[julupani]

@Iamcarnovice

The clutch cylinder on older Puntos were an issue,and started developing problems on some cars depending on usage pattern of the cars. Thus the plastic cylinder is being replaced by steel ones, as and when a customer complains about it. We had it replaced at our first service a few months back, even though we did not have any issue with the clutch.

[kaush666]

Originally Posted by Iamcarnovice

Kaushik,
Very sorry to hear about your experience. This is turning out to be a real deal breaker for the Punto. Braking at low-speeds in close traffic while engaging the clutch is a pain in Punto. I have repeatedly tried to move to a higher gear, accelerate a tad and apply the brakes, thankfully the pickup isnt earth shattering , for me to get into danger!




This does give me the creeps! At higher speeds, my brake works perfectly well. Even after the idiots at TAFE, Chennai over bled the brake assembly and made the brake feel spongy, the braking at higher speeds have NEVER failed me.
I strongly suggest that you talk to FIAT and get this sorted out at the earliest. Keep us posted!

P.S: This sub-cylinder issue is turning out to be a real serious issue for the FIAT owners. My friend's car stalled in the middle of the road and he is waiting for the past 3 days to get a retrofit part for the sub-cylinder assembly. Some serious problems here with Punto here.

No one from Concorde has even called me regarding the vehicle today. No response from their side even if I call. I am still unsure on what to ask them to replace.

@Iamcarnovice, is this an issue with the brake booster? should I get the system flushed/bled as suggested by others?

Also as suggested by @juluplani, I will check the brake fluid level.

Cheers,
Kaushik

[Iamcarnovice]

Originally Posted by kaush666

@Iamcarnovice, is this an issue with the brake booster? should I get the system flushed/bled as suggested by others?

As was suggested to me, it is not a brake booster issue but a power brake feature!. Continuous braking without pumping causes the brake go rigid and lets it loose! What you have to do is while you start to feel that the brake is going rigid, give full clutch AND ACCELERATE (needless to say, your foot is off the brake!)

The problem is there is no one who can actually diagnose the problem at the garage accurately. Though it is good to have a regular maintenance done, over-doing might further frustrate you (I have bled the braking and my brake now feels spongy).

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by Iamcarnovice

As was suggested to me, it is not a brake booster issue but a power brake feature!. Continuous braking without pumping causes the brake go rigid and lets it loose! What you have to do is while you start to feel that the brake is going rigid, give full clutch AND ACCELERATE (needless to say, your foot is off the brake!)

The problem is there is no one who can actually diagnose the problem at the garage accurately. Though it is good to have a regular maintenance done, over-doing might further frustrate you (I have bled the braking and my brake now feels spongy).

I did not get you. You mean to say that just before braking we need to press the accelerator(with full clutch)? And why cant this problem be solved? You mean to say your dealer is not good enough?

[kaush666]

Brake fluid is not the culprit here. I don't suspect booster as well since braking at high speeds is simply astounding to say the least. Still, I shall have it replaced under warranty. Will not stop until this problem is solved. There should be a solution. Otherwise court is the way to go. This is life threatening. During a panic situation one will definitely not have the mind to press the accelerator. Everyone will look to brake in a panic situation rather than hitting the accelerator and trying to avoid the object/person ahead. I am planning to sue Fiat if there is no permanent solution to this.

I have had damage to the body because of the poor brakes and Concorde hasn't agreed to repaint the portion. They want me to pay for the damages. I have no problem in paying but they should at least accept the fact that the brakes have a problem. Two test drivers drove the vehicle and they say its PERFECT! I am not the only one with the same complaint. A couple of other friends who drove the vehicle immediately pulled over and gave the vehicle back and the commented that it was terrifying. Also I am not the only one facing this issue. Even @iamcarnovice has had this issue for the past year I guess and all they have provided is a workaround rather than a proper solution. Too bad from FIAT.

Cheers,
Kaushik

[Minardi]

My dad has a Punto 1.2 active for almost one year now. Till now no complaints, but now we are taking it on a long trip (1500 km). Am a bit scared after reading all this.