I have a Fiat Bravo which after a 26 degree heat now has a blisterd leather steering wheel. (never seen leather melt)

The car is 2 years and 5 months old.

Dealer wants £396.93 fitted as the car is out of manufacturers warranty.

Customer services offered me £100.00 as a gesture.

I am not willing to pay £296.93 for a steering wheel that may melt.

This is my second Fiat, the first not giving me any problems at all. Had it for 3 years and 60,000 miles.

I was planning to get a Bravo sport in April of next year, but looks like build quality and warranties is not quite there yet.

Hyundai or Kia look good.

To any Bravo owners, may be wothwhile keeping something in the car to cover the steering wheel when it is sunny. 

 

If you are not willing to buy a new steering wheel (yet are considering buying a new car) then buy a wheel cover, tenner on ebay.

A wheel cover is an option.

My argument is that at 2 years 5 months old the steering wheel should not be blistering.

As it has blistered I am expected to pay nearly £300.00 to resolve, ( + £100.00 goodwill gesture from Fiat)

 At nearly £400.00 the steering wheel has a quality product price, not a quality finish.

 I have found that a Fiat warranty is really only 2 years, the 3rd year is full of get out clauses.

I look after the car, so in the end I will probably end up paying the £400.00 as the blistering is right at the top of the wheel and will really bug me. (need to keep it covered when sunny)

I really like my Fiat Bravo and was all set to get another one, but after this experience it will not be a Fiat.

hi

ref warranty ,i don't know if you have or not ,though if you check your warranty book ,it should gice you a guide to what and what isn't covered,generally with a 3 year warranty ,( can only generalise ,as theysometimes  do  special offers like 5 years etc ) so back to the 3 year ,the first 2 years are covered by fiat, the 3rd year is usually a dealer warranty ....if so ,it is good of fiat to offer £100 ,though personally if it is a dealer warranty ,i'd be bending their ears

hope that's been of some help

phil

Hi Phil,

 When you speak to a salesman when buying the car there is no mention of dealer warranty, I bought the car at a year old, so was told that it still had 2 years warranty left on it. Not 1 year manufacturer 1 year dealer.

The Fiat web site also boasts,"Our three-year warranty gives you total peace of mind. You're protected from almost every vehicle problem that might arise". "You'll find details of what is and isn't included in the vehicle service and warranty booklet and letter that's provided in the glovebox of your car"

 Both customer services and dealer are adament that this damage is not covered by dealer warranty.

£100.00 offer is good in the sense that they do not have to offer me anything if the above is true.

I suppose if I have learnt anything from this it is, buy a Fiat from new and get rid of it after two years

Hello

It is a shame Fiat won't replace the wheel. My Bravo spent 3 weeks in italy last year in temps up to 41deg in full sunlight and nothing has been affected i'm back off to Italy next month for a week with the car and i'm sure there won't be any probs this time either. I'm sure there were some complaints about leathers steering wheels on grande puntos some where on this forum 

Cheers

Allen

Hi Alan,

I have seen the complaints about the leather steering wheels for the Punto's.

It looked like they may have had the same issue as me. If you claim before the end of the two year warranty dealer gets it replaced under manufacturer warranty without any hassle, otherwise tough. 

I did notice that one person said the replaement steering wheel was of a much better quality, so may be a known issue.

Is your steering wheel leather?

I hope all goes well in Italy and you have no melting issues.

I am off to South of France next week, hope the hire car is not a Fiat. 

This is for Fiat, just looked on the web site and when you hover over the Bravo car a message is displayed "Packed with quality".

Melting leather steering wheels are not quality.

Hope the cows that the leather is sourced from are not from a hot country.

 

Re the melting "leather", my 06 Grande Punto has similar problems, leather is blistered and wrinkled and is gradually disintegrating. Car is out of warranty(obviously). Talked to local dealer who has identified that the part number of the steering wheel has been superseded. My dealer talked to Fiat UK to see if they would provode some assistance as to replacement but to no avail as it is cosmetic !!. 

Fully agree with other comments that this should not happen, and has Fiat recognised this problem and modified the steering wheel to sort out the issue, noting the provision of a new part number item, I have e-mailed Fiat UK to find out.

 

   

Hi,

 I have not had any joy from my dealer or Fiat.

Dealer keeps pointing me to Fiat, they keep telling me that is not covered by the 3rd year warranty.

I have resigned myself that Fiat sell a stylish, but not a quality product.

I don't think they realise that something that would be expensive for a customer to resolve but trivial for them has such an impact.

I have already spoken with two friends who were looking to purchase new cars and were considering the Punto.I mentioned that the 3rd year warranty is not a manufacturer warranty and the experience that I have had with the so called top end of the range model. The Punto was scored off the list. One bought a new Renualt Clio the other a Ford Fiesta.

I think they know that there have been quality issues with the first off the line cars and have since resolved on the newer ones, but we are left to pick up the cost of replacing the defective parts.

It is driving me nuts looking at the damage to the steering wheel. I have decide I will not replace the steering wheel and will just get rid of the car next April.

I will be looking to replace with a car that comes with at least a real three year warranty. 

 

 

I have found a quote from Andrew Humberstone who is Fiat UK Managing Director

“The Bravo was a new beginning for Fiat when we launched it last year, and immediately we could see the way it was turning heads and impressing customers and industry commentators,” says Andrew Humberstone, managing director, Fiat Group Automobiles UK Ltd.

“And now, 10 months on, we want more people to discover what they have been missing; so we have brought together a bold plan to give customers the help and peace of mind they need when buying a new car. I’m proud of this package and I know our customers are going to be delighted with it too.

The Fiat Bravo Provides Great Package

“Our message will highlight to the market the Bravo’s high standards of build quality, and our newly-launched 48-hour test drive offer will give our customers the chance to experience this wonderful car to the full. Coupled with our five-year warranty, we think it’s an unbeatable package.”

My leather steering wheel melted so the comment regarding build quality may have been a bit optomistic.

Wondering if anyone got a 5 year manufacturer warranty on a Fiat Bravo?

Hi, have got the same problem with my Punto Grande.

I have not bothered to try and get it replaced or repaired as yet.

But come the end of the day, the steering wheel may have reached temperatures far higher than is mentioned due to the magnification aspect of the windscreen glass.

Being from a dead animal the leather does not sweat to cool down.  Probably this is an act of god 

Paul.c

 

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Paul.c

fiat sell cars to countries with much hotter climates than ours without this problem.I had the same problem on a car and put it down to aftershave on my hands hence i brought a cheap wheel cover. i also seen one of those air freshners that you stick in the air vents break and it leaked overnight and literally melted and distorted the vent and dash underneath it.

My previous car had a leather steering wheel and was high quality when it was put in and of the same quality 8 years later when I sold it.  I have had my Fiat 500 for just over 2 years and I have the same blistering and wrinkeling others have mentioned.  I can't believe it is due to hand cream etc that has been suggested before as I havent been using any or anything different to wash my hands etc. The bubbling is everywhere not just where the sun hits and I havent heard of anyone complaing of the same problem on the leather seats so it sound like another rubbish excuse. If you are designing a steering wheel you know people are going to put their hands all over it and it sits in the front of the car under the windscreen, so design it so it can handle these conditions, especially if you want to charge +£300 for a replacement!  I have gone for the steering wheel cover angle as well, but basically it looks awful, nothing matches the cream leater Fiat has used.  If anyone knows where I can get a half decent one please let me know as it really upsets me looking at this mess I paid £10K for!

you could always go to your local upholstery company ,there are specialist automotive ones ,who could probably do your steering wheel ,and you could probably get to choose the leather ,only issue is the steering wheel removal ...if you know someone in the car trade then they could remove and refit ,as you need to be careful with airbags

 phil