Palio 1.2 cooling fan failure and experience with roadside assistance

Dr.AD · 28th April 2010, 18:42

Hello everyone,

My 2002 Palio 1.2 ELX has done about 61000 kms. Since about a couple of months ago, the radiator cooling fan was making very loud whining noise. During a routine service last month, the service adviser warned me that the fan was about to die, and soon I would need a new fan.

And he was right! Today morning, the fan failed. The fan got jammed on its axis. I had to call the roadside assistance and they towed the car to the service center and now I will need a new fan. I hope they have a fan in stock (I will know tomorrow morning). If they have, it should be a simple (although expensive) job, else I will have to keep searching and waiting for a new fan.

I also remember a couple of other threads here mentioning about fan failures on Palios about 50 to 60 K kms. So is this a common problem for Palios? Anyway, I think any critical component such as radiator cooling fan should have a life of much more than 60 K kms. I was told that this is pretty much the life of the fan and it is 'normal' to expect this failure. I find it a bit weird. I feel a well-designed and robust car should be capable of running at least 100 K kms without any "expected failures" (excluding normal wear and tear items and accidental/unexpected failures) . What do you guys think?

By the way, this was my first time trying to use the FIAT roadside assistance since I got enrolled in this last month. I had a very bad experience on this. Basically they refused that I have enrolled for this when in reality I have paid the fee to the service center and got a SMS confirmation as well. I was told (when I called Fiat 24x7 toll-free number) that Palios are not even eligible for roadside assistance program (even paid programs), so I need to figure out what program I paid for. Do guys know anything about this? Has anybody got enrolled into FIAT roadside assistance for Palio by paying the annual fee and did it work?

Thanks,
-AD

ravikn · 29th April 2010, 10:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Hello everyone,

I was told (when I called Fiat 24x7 toll-free number) that Palios are not even eligible for roadside assistance program (even paid programs), so I need to figure out what program I paid for. Do guys know anything about this? Has anybody got enrolled into FIAT roadside assistance for Palio by paying the annual fee and did it work?

Thanks,
-AD

Hi AD,

very sad to hear that Palios are not part of the road side assistance. I own a palio and I have not used the TATA-FIAT Alliance to a good extent. I get my work done all the time from a very competent mechanic Venkatesh(9379192193) from Gowri Automobiles. They provide the road side assistance too which I have used couple of times. Their response is good and will reach in less than 2 hrs anywhere in bangalore. If you find more problems in getting the new FAN fixed. call these guys and they might be helpful to you.

Dr.AD · 29th April 2010, 10:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravikn

Hi AD,

very sad to hear that Palios are not part of the road side assistance. I own a palio and I have not used the TATA-FIAT Alliance to a good extent. I get my work done all the time from a very competent mechanic Venkatesh(9379192193) from Gowri Automobiles. They provide the road side assistance too which I have used couple of times. Their response is good and will reach in less than 2 hrs anywhere in bangalore. If you find more problems in getting the new FAN fixed. call these guys and they might be helpful to you.

Thanks for the information, ravikn. At this time it looks like a new fan is available, but if I face any problems, I will call the guys you are recommending.

Thanks,
-AD

Soccerfan · 29th April 2010, 21:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

By the way, this was my first time trying to use the FIAT roadside assistance since I got enrolled in this last month. I had a very bad experience on this. Basically they refused that I have enrolled for this when in reality I have paid the fee to the service center and got a SMS confirmation as well. I was told (when I called Fiat 24x7 toll-free number) that Palios are not even eligible for roadside assistance program (even paid programs), so I need to figure out what program I paid for. Do guys know anything about this? Has anybody got enrolled into FIAT roadside assistance for Palio by paying the annual fee and did it work?

Thanks,
-AD

Our very own BHPian clevermax had used fiat RSA when his Palio was stranded about 100km from the showroom. So i think its available for Palio also but payable per assistance

arun1100 · 29th April 2010, 21:14

Regarding a mechanic in Bangalore for Palio, try Premier Land in Jayanagar. They are very good in Fiat Cars.

Dr.AD · 29th April 2010, 22:16

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Actually the car got fixed today. The fan was available in stock and everything went well with the repairs. And the whole thing took less than a day. I was scared due to all these stories of Fiat spare parts not being available, and it was a relief that a new fan was available immediately.

Also, the Service Adviser said that there was some mistake somewhere regarding Fiat denying me the roadside assistance, and they have fixed it now. He even waived the towing charges that originally they had asked me to pay. But once they accepted my RSA contract, they waived the towing charges.

So overall, a good service experience from Tata/Fiat!

phamilyman · 29th April 2010, 23:09

Kudos. That is indeed a GOOD experience. Can the mods pls update the thread title?

gemithomas · 29th April 2010, 23:20

Make sure your service advisor is telling the truth. Please send in a mail to FIAT and tell your experience. Hope the next time something happens they dont say the same thing.

ghpk · 30th April 2010, 01:32

Hope "All is well " now,
so how much did the fan Cost ?

amitverma · 30th April 2010, 17:07

@Dr.AD: how much did the fan cost. my palio is also making weird fan noises (sometimes). when i say weird, i mean it gets all loud and shriek-y sometimes. should i be expecting a similar issue? :scared-look:

Dr.AD · 30th April 2010, 18:07

Quote:

Make sure your service advisor is telling the truth. Please send in a mail to FIAT and tell your experience. Hope the next time something happens they dont say the same thing.

Yes, good advice. Thanks. I will confirm this with Fiat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghpk

Hope "All is well " now,
so how much did the fan Cost ?

Yes, all is well now. The fan cost (part cost) is about Rs. 6,500 plus VAT. Then the labour charges are about a Rs. 1,000. Including service tax, vat etc., the total bill was about Rs. 8,500. I had had to also change the fan fuse because when the earlier fan died, it probably overdrew the current and the fuse also failed. Fuse cost is negligible and included in the above figure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitverma

@Dr.AD: how much did the fan cost. my palio is also making weird fan noises (sometimes). when i say weird, i mean it gets all loud and shriek-y sometimes. should i be expecting a similar issue? :scared-look:

See the cost mentioned above. Yes, I had the exact same symptoms as you are mentioning. In my case, the fan was loud and shrill for about six months or so. Suddenly over last month, the sound became really bad (loud shrill), and then it died day before yesterday. I guess you are having same issue. By the way, the new fan is significantly quieter than the earlier one.

I was actually wondering last month if I should proactively change it, given that I knew it would have to be changed soon anyway. I am glad the failure did not happen when I was on some road trip outside of the city. In a way, I was relieved when the fan failed well inside the city and when I was right next to my office. It was more annoying to live with the constant fear of impending failure than to face the actual failure of the fan! So I am happier now.

28th April 2010, 18:42	#1
Dr.AD Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bangalore/Pune Posts: 1,803 Thanked: 18,628 Times	Palio 1.2 cooling fan failure and experience with roadside assistance Hello everyone, My 2002 Palio 1.2 ELX has done about 61000 kms. Since about a couple of months ago, the radiator cooling fan was making very loud whining noise. During a routine service last month, the service adviser warned me that the fan was about to die, and soon I would need a new fan. And he was right! Today morning, the fan failed. The fan got jammed on its axis. I had to call the roadside assistance and they towed the car to the service center and now I will need a new fan. I hope they have a fan in stock (I will know tomorrow morning). If they have, it should be a simple (although expensive) job, else I will have to keep searching and waiting for a new fan. I also remember a couple of other threads here mentioning about fan failures on Palios about 50 to 60 K kms. So is this a common problem for Palios? Anyway, I think any critical component such as radiator cooling fan should have a life of much more than 60 K kms. I was told that this is pretty much the life of the fan and it is 'normal' to expect this failure. I find it a bit weird. I feel a well-designed and robust car should be capable of running at least 100 K kms without any "expected failures" (excluding normal wear and tear items and accidental/unexpected failures) . What do you guys think? By the way, this was my first time trying to use the FIAT roadside assistance since I got enrolled in this last month. I had a very bad experience on this. Basically they refused that I have enrolled for this when in reality I have paid the fee to the service center and got a SMS confirmation as well. I was told (when I called Fiat 24x7 toll-free number) that Palios are not even eligible for roadside assistance program (even paid programs), so I need to figure out what program I paid for. Do guys know anything about this? Has anybody got enrolled into FIAT roadside assistance for Palio by paying the annual fee and did it work? Thanks, -AD
	(1) Thanks

29th April 2010, 21:14	#5
arun1100 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,087 Thanked: 5,577 Times View My Garage	Regarding a mechanic in Bangalore for Palio, try Premier Land in Jayanagar. They are very good in Fiat Cars.
	() Thanks

29th April 2010, 22:16	#6
Dr.AD Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bangalore/Pune Posts: 1,803 Thanked: 18,628 Times	Update: Problem solved Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Actually the car got fixed today. The fan was available in stock and everything went well with the repairs. And the whole thing took less than a day. I was scared due to all these stories of Fiat spare parts not being available, and it was a relief that a new fan was available immediately. Also, the Service Adviser said that there was some mistake somewhere regarding Fiat denying me the roadside assistance, and they have fixed it now. He even waived the towing charges that originally they had asked me to pay. But once they accepted my RSA contract, they waived the towing charges. So overall, a good service experience from Tata/Fiat!
	() Thanks

29th April 2010, 23:09	#7
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,968 Thanked: 4,642 Times	Kudos. That is indeed a GOOD experience. Can the mods pls update the thread title?
	() Thanks

29th April 2010, 23:20	#8
gemithomas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,366 Thanked: 143 Times View My Garage	Make sure your service advisor is telling the truth. Please send in a mail to FIAT and tell your experience. Hope the next time something happens they dont say the same thing.
	() Thanks

30th April 2010, 01:32	#9
ghpk BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ghaziabad Posts: 870 Thanked: 211 Times	Hope "All is well " now, so how much did the fan Cost ?
	() Thanks

30th April 2010, 17:07	#10
amitverma BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: New Delhi Posts: 426 Thanked: 141 Times	@Dr.AD: how much did the fan cost. my palio is also making weird fan noises (sometimes). when i say weird, i mean it gets all loud and shriek-y sometimes. should i be expecting a similar issue? :scared-look:
	() Thanks