Fiat Linea 1.4 FIRE Emotion Pack (Petrol) - My Dates with the RED Beauty !!!

VahanPujari · 3rd April 2009, 20:32

I did the PDI of my Flamenco Red Linea Emotion Pack FIRE at Dealer stockyard. Thanks to tbhp, I had a PDI checklist - downloaded the checklist which 1 bhpian had posted. Checked everything & found ok.

Got VIN no. & struggling to decode it. Googling for a VIN decoder site. Anyone knows it pls PM me.

Would like experts advise on following-

- How should I do the run-in? My usual travel is 30 km from home to office & 30 km back. All in Mumbai traffic taking 1.5 - 2 hours one way. at this rate, i can finish 1500 km run-in in a month.
Should I do the run-in in the above route or should I go for a long highway trip? which is a better run-in?

- in this car, should normal petrol be used or speed/ premium petrol? I heard, for diesel fiat recommends normal diesel

amtak · 3rd April 2009, 21:00

There you go :

VIN View /// AnalogX

VahanPujari · 3rd April 2009, 22:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by amtak

There you go :

VIN View /// AnalogX

i tried it earlier also

but when i click decode button it tries to download a file named cgivin.exe

should i download it & run it

VahanPujari · 5th April 2009, 19:23

got it. i could open the site on my laptop. The 1st 2 letters of VIN/ Chasis No. MC refers to India. the 3rd letter "A" may be referring to Fiat.

Last 3 digits CQZ means mfd in March, 2009 (C means March, QZ means 2009)....Thanks to amit_mechengg for decoding this

The tyres given are Goodyear tyres with mfg date Feb'09. Like to ask you guys - How're Goodyear tyres?

Am getting delivery on 8th apr, wednesday & will write initial review then.

BTW, saw many many cars in dealers stockyard. Could see all colours on Lineas in broad sunlight. Have to say Minimal Grey Linea was looking stunning. Since my current car is silver coloured, I went for a different colour else, MInimal Grey is THE colour oin Linea.

drashkum · 6th April 2009, 08:10

cool. i have also booked a linea emotion pack petrol in chennai. waiting to get it delivered this week. congrats. do write a review.

VahanPujari · 9th April 2009, 13:18

Will be going to dealership to take delivery today evening

will post pics & review then

downsouth · 9th April 2009, 14:01

Hey Vahanpujari,

Congrats and welcome on board. Waiting for the pics and report.

harry10 · 9th April 2009, 14:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

Will be going to dealership to take delivery today evening

will post pics & review then

Congrats Amit.
Post the pics and review asap.

9th April 2009, 15:26

congrats on the new ride. enjoy.

rudrah · 9th April 2009, 17:27

Congrats Vahan for a guaranteed admiration!

well as per FIAT, there is no need of a run-in period for their cars. There is also no need for the extra stuffs like anti-rust for lower body.

Also using regular fuel would do a better job!

Cheers~

neoonwheels · 9th April 2009, 23:38

Congrats buddy. Upload pics asap.

VahanPujari · 12th April 2009, 20:38

Here are a few pics
Surprisingly, Blue & Me Sticker is not there on rear glass eventhough its emotion pack & Blue N me feature is very much present in the car. will have to ask the dealer the reason !

VahanPujari · 12th April 2009, 22:55

Friends,

I got the delivery of my Linea Emotion Pack FIRE on 9th apr, thursday. this was about 3-4 days later than it was expected & planned.

wanted to take delivery during daytime & asked dealer to hastenup & be ready by 4.30 pm. but got into an urgent meeting at work & could reach only by 6.30 pm. first checked all dox with the checklist i carried. then asked the dealer exe to explain everything about the car. well, he was not quite well versed with the car features, he seemed to be an accounts/ backoffice guy as all regular sales guys would have left for the day. also i has understood everything earlier during PDI at stockyard. have asked him which petrol should i use - premium or regular. he said premium. when i queried that for diesel cars fiat recommends regular diesel, he still insisted (along with another guy) that one should use premium petrol or premium diesel. looking at his ignorance i did opposite. left dealership at around 7.30 pm & got regular unleaded petrol filled at nearby pump. (ODO shown 28 kms when i did PDI at stockyard & 123 km at the time of delivery).

(got to know later at night from owners manual that for petrol cars, fiat recommends unleaded petrol with minimum 91 octane. Guess which petrol is this? I googled it & found that IOC's ExtraPremium petrol is 91 octane petrol. BPCL's Speed is not though it is a premium version with additives.)

The drive from dealership to residence is around 40 kms with about 2.5 hrs in mumbai peak traffic.

When I did the TD, I did not feel engine to be underpowered at all. however, i must say that in my 1st drive in my linea, I "felt" it underpowered in 1st & 2nd gear. 2nd gear particularly is "felt" awful. The reasone I put quotes surrounding felt is because fiat's clutch ply is long & I have to get used it it first. probably after 4-5 days when I'm used to fiat's way of clutch-accelerator/brake/gear combine with all 4 fully synchronised, I'll be able to judge it better.

y'day I noticed that steering wheel is not centre-aligned but is tilting just a little towards right hand side (around 5-10 degrees) when car is going straight line. When I align steering to exact centre, car slightly goes to left. called sales exe, he said its ok, its only a little permissible margin. not satisfied & called again that i want it to be corrected. took their service station manager no. & spoke to him. told him that i would be coming tom i.e. today sunday. he said perfectly ok & though he won't be there, he'll instruct his assistant. another reason for service sation visit was i noticed impressions of water drops all over the cars. its like water was sprayed on the car & someone forgot to wipe so drops left impression when dried. i tried to clear it, but they were too stubborn even against mild soap. on chrome when i rubbed persistently on a small area, it got cleared but didnt want to take chance on colored body.

So, today went to service station around 1 p.m. my overall impression of it is they have good intentions, their ability on fiat products would take some time to develop expertise. i got a good reception & treatment there. advisor-1 took a drive of my car & got convinced on the issue. While i waited in their comfortable AC room reading owners manual, another advisor-2 came after 10 minutes, he also just understood the problem & went. Then I met that Assistant, he said the manager did instructed him to take care of my vehicle! They all excused for half an hour as it was lunch time 1.45 pm. Then during lunch hour assistant came & said he wanted to understand all issues. so, we went driving the car to show the steering issue. Coming back I also shown him the interiors plastics which was quite dirty for a fresh car & told him that PDI was not done properly. He promised to complete everything in half an hour. after 45 minutes he came back & said the work is done, we went on a test drive again, i was not satisfied as there was not much of a difference.

So, again he took the car inside & returned with the steering issue corrected. They also cleaned the interior with car interior solution. Regarding the water drop impressions, they tried everything. 1st they washed the car, it didn't go. then they washed the car with diesel, the impressions got fainter but still didn't go. then he said he'll do 3M polish & buffing & tried to call 3M guy who went off without telling him! well, that 3M guy could not come in so he very politely requested me if i can come again day after. I left at 4 pm.

One more thing - as I mentioned in previous post, though my car is emotion pack & has blue n me, the blue & me sticker is not there on the rear glass. am not particularly interested in the sticker but want to know the reason as may be PDI was not done properly. in that case, thinking of getting everything checked on tuesday when I go back again

VahanPujari · 12th April 2009, 23:05

have yet not added any accessories. will add the following:

- mats & mud flaps
- car cover (thinking of buying linea official)
- art leather seat cover (liked SSN & Prash covers - combi of biege & black) with neckpillow

need advise on following - should i go for it & if yes, which brand?:

- sunfilm ? (earlier cars, i was comfortable without sunfilm as sunfilms limits the visibility thro' windows especially while driving in evening & night
- safety system - steering lock?
- Reverse parking sensor?
- teflon coating? (read on tbhp that its not advisable & was not going to do it but last 2 days experience especially water drop impressions made me thinking for teflon)

drashkum · 12th April 2009, 23:35

Quote:

sunfilm ? (earlier cars, i was comfortable without sunfilm as sunfilms limits the visibility thro' windows especially while driving in evening & night
- safety system - steering lock?
- Reverse parking sensor?
- teflon coating? (read on tbhp that its not advisable & was not going to do it but last 2 days experience especially water drop impressions made me thinking for teflon)

sunfilm - vkool vk-50 for windows and rear and vk70- for front windsheilds

best are v-kool and llumar. please dont buy garware. i have seen it peel off in my sumo and omni

steering lock- i have no idea

reverse parking sensor- xenos ( costs 3.8k for 4 sensors for back with clipon mirror with buzzer and display. please dont go for front parking sensors its useless. and please ask them to paint it to body colours)

teflon - a strict no no

3rd April 2009, 20:32	#1
VahanPujari BANNED Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,308 Thanked: 8 Times	Fiat Linea 1.4 FIRE Emotion Pack (Petrol) - My Dates with the RED Beauty !!! I did the PDI of my Flamenco Red Linea Emotion Pack FIRE at Dealer stockyard. Thanks to tbhp, I had a PDI checklist - downloaded the checklist which 1 bhpian had posted. Checked everything & found ok. Got VIN no. & struggling to decode it. Googling for a VIN decoder site. Anyone knows it pls PM me. Would like experts advise on following- - How should I do the run-in? My usual travel is 30 km from home to office & 30 km back. All in Mumbai traffic taking 1.5 - 2 hours one way. at this rate, i can finish 1500 km run-in in a month. Should I do the run-in in the above route or should I go for a long highway trip? which is a better run-in? - in this car, should normal petrol be used or speed/ premium petrol? I heard, for diesel fiat recommends normal diesel
	() Thanks

3rd April 2009, 21:00	#2
amtak Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai - The city of Sea Link!!! Posts: 2,914 Thanked: 899 Times View My Garage	There you go : VIN View /// AnalogX
	() Thanks

5th April 2009, 19:23	#4
VahanPujari BANNED Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,308 Thanked: 8 Times	got it. i could open the site on my laptop. The 1st 2 letters of VIN/ Chasis No. MC refers to India. the 3rd letter "A" may be referring to Fiat. Last 3 digits CQZ means mfd in March, 2009 (C means March, QZ means 2009)....Thanks to amit_mechengg for decoding this The tyres given are Goodyear tyres with mfg date Feb'09. Like to ask you guys - How're Goodyear tyres? Am getting delivery on 8th apr, wednesday & will write initial review then. BTW, saw many many cars in dealers stockyard. Could see all colours on Lineas in broad sunlight. Have to say Minimal Grey Linea was looking stunning. Since my current car is silver coloured, I went for a different colour else, MInimal Grey is THE colour oin Linea.
	() Thanks

6th April 2009, 08:10	#5
drashkum BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: chennai Posts: 226 Thanked: 206 Times	cool. i have also booked a linea emotion pack petrol in chennai. waiting to get it delivered this week. congrats. do write a review.
	() Thanks

9th April 2009, 13:18	#6
VahanPujari BANNED Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,308 Thanked: 8 Times	Delivery Today Will be going to dealership to take delivery today evening will post pics & review then
	() Thanks

9th April 2009, 14:01	#7
downsouth BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: 0.1933333, 32.58333 Posts: 357 Thanked: 23 Times	Hey Vahanpujari, Congrats and welcome on board. Waiting for the pics and report.
	() Thanks

9th April 2009, 15:26	#9
capri_cap Posts: n/a	congrats on the new ride. enjoy.
	() Thanks

9th April 2009, 17:27	#10
rudrah BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 644 Thanked: 47 Times View My Garage	Congrats Vahan for a guaranteed admiration! well as per FIAT, there is no need of a run-in period for their cars. There is also no need for the extra stuffs like anti-rust for lower body. Also using regular fuel would do a better job! Cheers~ Last edited by rudrah : 9th April 2009 at 17:29.
	() Thanks

9th April 2009, 23:38	#11
neoonwheels Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 2,064 Thanked: 1,875 Times View My Garage	Congrats buddy. Upload pics asap.
	() Thanks

12th April 2009, 20:38	#12
VahanPujari BANNED Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,308 Thanked: 8 Times	Here are a few pics Surprisingly, Blue & Me Sticker is not there on rear glass eventhough its emotion pack & Blue N me feature is very much present in the car. will have to ask the dealer the reason ! Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Rehaan : 24th May 2009 at 23:14. Reason: Replacing pics w/ blanked out plates - on request.
	() Thanks

12th April 2009, 22:55	#13
VahanPujari BANNED Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,308 Thanked: 8 Times	Iniitial experience & Service Station Visit Friends, I got the delivery of my Linea Emotion Pack FIRE on 9th apr, thursday. this was about 3-4 days later than it was expected & planned. wanted to take delivery during daytime & asked dealer to hastenup & be ready by 4.30 pm. but got into an urgent meeting at work & could reach only by 6.30 pm. first checked all dox with the checklist i carried. then asked the dealer exe to explain everything about the car. well, he was not quite well versed with the car features, he seemed to be an accounts/ backoffice guy as all regular sales guys would have left for the day. also i has understood everything earlier during PDI at stockyard. have asked him which petrol should i use - premium or regular. he said premium. when i queried that for diesel cars fiat recommends regular diesel, he still insisted (along with another guy) that one should use premium petrol or premium diesel. looking at his ignorance i did opposite. left dealership at around 7.30 pm & got regular unleaded petrol filled at nearby pump. (ODO shown 28 kms when i did PDI at stockyard & 123 km at the time of delivery). (got to know later at night from owners manual that for petrol cars, fiat recommends unleaded petrol with minimum 91 octane. Guess which petrol is this? I googled it & found that IOC's ExtraPremium petrol is 91 octane petrol. BPCL's Speed is not though it is a premium version with additives.) The drive from dealership to residence is around 40 kms with about 2.5 hrs in mumbai peak traffic. When I did the TD, I did not feel engine to be underpowered at all. however, i must say that in my 1st drive in my linea, I "felt" it underpowered in 1st & 2nd gear. 2nd gear particularly is "felt" awful. The reasone I put quotes surrounding felt is because fiat's clutch ply is long & I have to get used it it first. probably after 4-5 days when I'm used to fiat's way of clutch-accelerator/brake/gear combine with all 4 fully synchronised, I'll be able to judge it better. y'day I noticed that steering wheel is not centre-aligned but is tilting just a little towards right hand side (around 5-10 degrees) when car is going straight line. When I align steering to exact centre, car slightly goes to left. called sales exe, he said its ok, its only a little permissible margin. not satisfied & called again that i want it to be corrected. took their service station manager no. & spoke to him. told him that i would be coming tom i.e. today sunday. he said perfectly ok & though he won't be there, he'll instruct his assistant. another reason for service sation visit was i noticed impressions of water drops all over the cars. its like water was sprayed on the car & someone forgot to wipe so drops left impression when dried. i tried to clear it, but they were too stubborn even against mild soap. on chrome when i rubbed persistently on a small area, it got cleared but didnt want to take chance on colored body. So, today went to service station around 1 p.m. my overall impression of it is they have good intentions, their ability on fiat products would take some time to develop expertise. i got a good reception & treatment there. advisor-1 took a drive of my car & got convinced on the issue. While i waited in their comfortable AC room reading owners manual, another advisor-2 came after 10 minutes, he also just understood the problem & went. Then I met that Assistant, he said the manager did instructed him to take care of my vehicle! They all excused for half an hour as it was lunch time 1.45 pm. Then during lunch hour assistant came & said he wanted to understand all issues. so, we went driving the car to show the steering issue. Coming back I also shown him the interiors plastics which was quite dirty for a fresh car & told him that PDI was not done properly. He promised to complete everything in half an hour. after 45 minutes he came back & said the work is done, we went on a test drive again, i was not satisfied as there was not much of a difference. So, again he took the car inside & returned with the steering issue corrected. They also cleaned the interior with car interior solution. Regarding the water drop impressions, they tried everything. 1st they washed the car, it didn't go. then they washed the car with diesel, the impressions got fainter but still didn't go. then he said he'll do 3M polish & buffing & tried to call 3M guy who went off without telling him! well, that 3M guy could not come in so he very politely requested me if i can come again day after. I left at 4 pm. One more thing - as I mentioned in previous post, though my car is emotion pack & has blue n me, the blue & me sticker is not there on the rear glass. am not particularly interested in the sticker but want to know the reason as may be PDI was not done properly. in that case, thinking of getting everything checked on tuesday when I go back again
	() Thanks

12th April 2009, 23:05	#14
VahanPujari BANNED Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,308 Thanked: 8 Times	Iniitial experience & Service Station Visit have yet not added any accessories. will add the following: - mats & mud flaps - car cover (thinking of buying linea official) - art leather seat cover (liked SSN & Prash covers - combi of biege & black) with neckpillow need advise on following - should i go for it & if yes, which brand?: - sunfilm ? (earlier cars, i was comfortable without sunfilm as sunfilms limits the visibility thro' windows especially while driving in evening & night - safety system - steering lock? - Reverse parking sensor? - teflon coating? (read on tbhp that its not advisable & was not going to do it but last 2 days experience especially water drop impressions made me thinking for teflon) Last edited by VahanPujari : 12th April 2009 at 23:12.
	() Thanks