Fiat Punto 2007/2008

[ajnluv69]

Hi everyone.. I'm planning to buy a used Fiat Punto 2007/2008 petrol tiptronic car. Despite that there is no second-hand value I just want to know the maintenance cost and any other issues.. Got to know that this is good on fuel and more comfortable than a Japanese vehicle. One person told me that there is a gearbox issue with tiptronic gearbox. Pls enlighten me with this issue. Thanx everyone.. :-)

[Crosswind]

My apologies for coming down harsh... must vet the new Italian buyers... Lost of posers here. You have to be a hardcore petrol-head to even consider an Italian as a daily runner...

Gtam is the resident Italian guru, think even his toilet seat is off an Alfa or a Fiat...

At one point I had 2 Italians as daily runners. sadly had to let one go, but there are some plans in the horizon, as soon as I sort out a small matter of parking space.

BTW Was it your Punto that was in AL Classifieds recently?

[VVTi]

BTW Was it your Punto that was in AL Classifieds recently?

Nope, trust me, wife has no plans on selling it. She said it's a keeper.

[GTAm]

GTAm when you say IPS, you mean the electronic Power Steering?

Yeah sorry. I meant EPS. Wasn't even drunk

[Crosswind]

Nope, trust me, wife has no plans on selling it. She said it's a keeper.

Good to know that.

(not th fact that u r not selling the punto. But the fact that u r such an obidient husband:-))

[john cooper]

Ur right.. But I've settled my mind on a Punto and just wanted to know whether there is a GB problem. if there is the best place I should go to get it sorted. Now I know there is a possibility of facing that GB problem.. yet I don't know where to go and how to get it fixed.. Coz I had enough and more bad experiences.. if my doubts are cleared I would definitely buy the Punto.

Don't drive the car with the broken mind, if you not comfortable or trust your car to drive 500-600km in 1 shot pls change your mind mate, coz the this problem always in your mind and you always think twice before a long trip but you may never ever get any issue with this cars.

I had few Worst cars(i would never say so) in here, (Alfa 156 T.Sprk with selespeed gear, peugeot 206 1.4cc) This 2 cars with 300+ on the clock but never had any issue

or if you just wana go from A to B get a Maruti

Edited October 16, 2013 by john cooper

[VVTi]

Good to know that. (not th fact that u r not selling the punto. But the fact that u r such an obidient husband:-))

I don't tell her what to buy and drive, and she lets me do what I want with my choice of cars...

It's a Win-Win situation.

[VVTi]

Yeah sorry. I meant EPS. Wasn't even drunk

The reason stated for failure of the EPS is the constant use of the City Mode Steering. Puts a lot of load on the motor and causes premature failure. Also low voltage on the battery is another culprit.

[ajnluv69]

This turnout to be a great discussion.. thanks for the great advices everyone.. Punto's are hard to find.. Looking for a black one though..

[VVTi]

This turnout to be a great discussion.. thanks for the great advices everyone.. Punto's are hard to find.. Looking for a black one though..

I thought you already had one sussed out. There are 2 advertised in AL itself.

[ajnluv69]

Yeah.. I saw that.. But looking for a black one..

[YALA]

The reason stated for failure of the EPS is the constant use of the City Mode Steering. Puts a lot of load on the motor and causes premature failure. Also low voltage on the battery is another culprit.

i always preferred to drive without the EPS the steering was more firmer and responsive sif the car spoke back to me through the steering...ahh good times

[Komisiripala]

10,009 for a gearbox fix is a steal. Just buy it! We are all convinced you'll love it!!

[GTAm]

The reason stated for failure of the EPS is the constant use of the City Mode Steering. Puts a lot of load on the motor and causes premature failure. Also low voltage on the battery is another culprit.

Ah that makes sense. Most Sri Lankans must have it on City mode permanantly! And yes many will miserly replace the battery with a lower voltage cheaper one.... Anyway we've had quite a fe Jap cars (Tiida, Hybrids from both brands) with premature EPS failure and the Jap population at our place is very low.

[GTAm]

I had few Worst cars(i would never say so) in here, (Alfa 156 T.Sprk with selespeed gear,

That's brave of you mate. Even I would avoid a Selespeed unless very it's a late model....

[john cooper]

That's brave of you mate. Even I would avoid a Selespeed unless very it's a late model....

Personally i don't like Selespeed too

Edited October 17, 2013 by john cooper

[Alfisti]

If you buy a car like punto second hand, i don't think you have to worry too much about the resale value as the value is already dropped by quite a margin. i managed to make a profit out of my first car actually. bought the Alfa 156 for 1.4mil and sold it for 2mil. now which jap will giv you such a margin even if you keep aside the driving pleasure?

[ajnluv69]

Thats a great deal.. Looking for a Punto and couldn't find one yet.. A black one is more preferred.

[Devinda_Z]

I don't tell her what to buy and drive, and she lets me do what I want with my choice of cars...

It's a Win-Win situation.

it's as good as having a wife who insists on owning & driving non sluggish manuals exclusively

[rover]

Hi all,

Bringing back this old thread to get some advise on my 2007 Punto.

The odometer reading on the MFD keeps on flashing since I bought the vehicle few days ago.Also the "Blue &me" bluetooth function is not working. I searched a few Fiat forums elsewhere and according to them it needs a software update.

Will Indika be able to do this or is there any other Fiat dealer in SL?. Been once to Indika's workshop and I'm not 100% satisfied with the way they fixed a door lock problem.

Also one time the gears refused to change when I tried to start in the morning and after disconnecting/reconnecting battery terminal it was sorted out. Should I be concerned? Experts please advice.

Cheers!

[VVTi]

The flashing Odometer symptom can be remedied by connecting it to the Fiat Scanner and clearing the data. Indika has it and he did that once. But remember if you disconnect the battery you need to reset everything again. Euros do not like the battery being disconnected for no reason.

If the GB does not engage initially, switch off the ignition, pull out the key and redo. I noticed that this happens if you leave the car in gear and switch off. Always have your foot on the brake before you start.

[ajnluv69]

Just check ur blue & me unit is working.. its the unit where the usb ports located. If not you have to replace it coz i couldn't find a place to fix it. If it is ok, do an IP alignment from a vehicle scanner.. this will sort ur problem ..

[VVTi]

Our GP's Blue and Me never worked from Brand new.... I read in a forum somewhere that the new phone Bluetooth is not compatible with the older versions installed in the car. They ahd a list of compatible phones in that. Look it up. We never bothered with it.

[ajnluv69]

Really .. well mine was not working too.. but it's a used car.. but before i bought this; i checked few cars and my phone was compatible with one or two cars where blue & me was working. My phone was a xperia z about 1 year ago and had the latest blutooth version. Do a software upgrade if ur car is brand new and the unit is working ..

[Harry (aq)]

I had no problems with the Blue and Me thus far. works fine and it is annoying when passengers are there :-)

@rover - Even I had the GB issue. it is due to an oil pump which gets triggered with the opening driver's door before the start. this pump is supposed to stop with in 5 sec but the problem is that it does not stop at that time. I was advised by the mechanic at Euro Motors to open and closed the front door twice before starting which will stop this pump. I had the clutch failure and I got my gear oil changed with the repair and I rarely come across the problem now.

Further, I make sure that I wait little bit more before starting the car after turning on the ignition. I wait for about 2 second after all the lights go off on the dash and then start.

Another trick which I use when the gear box does not engage is as follows. (I do this after the 1st start)

Step 1 - Switch off the engine on Neutral and take the key out

Step 2 - Turn the ignition on again, with the foot on the break take the gear into drive position and switch to manual and switchback to auto. Put the gear on to neutral and turn off ignition. take the key out.

Step 3 - Try starting again with waiting abt 2 seconds after the indicator lights go out on the dash after ignition.

It works for me all the time.

Hope this helps.

[ajnluv69]

@ Harry

True.. it's all depends on the pressure of hydraulic pump and the accumulator. You should really take care of the pump specially when using oil.

@ Rover

What Harry said was true. The pressure of the hydraulic pump of my GP is going down. In time to come probably i have to change it. Its quite costly though, but willing to do that coz this is such a nice car to drive. :-)