New to all this so please bear with me. I have a Grande Punto reg 11.2006. On day 2 I had to call out AA re gearbox fault problem. Towed to Fiat garage. Apparently over sensitive sensor. In 2008 I had a Fiat garage check out the gearbox because it seemed to be racing and not changing smoothly anymore. They said perfectly normal. I took car into Fiat again 3 weeks ago because gear would not always be recognised. To be fair they changed the gears 10 times while I was there and there wasn't a problem. Last week whilst driving the gearbox warning light came on, the gear wouldn't change up from 2nd and then switched to neutral as I pulled over. Gearbox fluid is shown in the warning panel. The car is now back with Fiats. The 3 year warranty ran out 12 weeks ago. There appears to be a recurring dualogic problem, and as I have reported problems before then surely Fiat should accept responsibility. Any comments from other happy customers.

hi reg

just so happens my sis also has the dual - logic version of the grande ...which appears to have the same issues as yours does...which is now out of warranty ,but like you the fault was first reported with in the fiat warranty ..and the dealer  3rd year warranty does not cover  electrical faults ....if you have proof that the fault was first reported whilst  veh was under fiat warrany ,they should cover it ....with my sisters car  technical was involved ....and technical suggested replacement of a internal part ,i'll check what it was ,it wasn't a major repair .....not sure if it has fixed the issue (the dealer had previously  replaced sensors ,and to be honest ,they couldn't  fit a nut on a bolt never mind fix a car ) i am in the trade  ,so i know incompetence when i see it ....i really wish fiat would get a grip of the dealers as their training is excellent ....sis has now lost confidence in the fiat brand and has traded  her grande in for a new merc a class ...though their auto isn't much better ...

with a mate i have who works with fiat ...a fiat instructor admitted they have a prob with the dual-logic that they can't repair ,but fiat deny it ...wether the instructor exaggerated the prob i don't know,,maybe he made a comment not realising  it may become  public ...

hopefully something i said may be of use 4phiul

Phil

Thanks for that. They've now referred the problem to a gearbox specialist. I'll let everyone know the outcome.

Reg

Apparently there is some sort of pressure relief vessel in the gearbox that has a hairline crack in it. Awaits part from Italy

Gearbox specialist charged £275. Worth it to get it done though. Another little quirk is leaves in the blower. Apparently they get sucked in the air ducts. Garage says it happens all the time with Puntos. Anyone got any bright ideas aprt from chicken wire.

hi reg

was it fiat that diagnosed it and repaired your gearbox...or was it sn outside agency

 

phil

Phil

outside gearbox specialist

Hi Reg

 I thought I would ask you, my car was in the fiat garage today for the recall on the steering shaft and I got it back all done but tonight the car beeped and said check transmission see handbook but I cant seem to find my handbook, what would be your advice ? would you say leave until it happends again or take it in now ?

 

Thanks 

Hi Reg

 I thought I would ask you, my car was in the fiat garage today for the recall on the steering shaft and I got it back all done but tonight the car beeped and said check transmission see handbook but I cant seem to find my handbook, what would be your advice ? would you say leave until it happends again or take it in now ? I am also not happy with the car it seems to make a  weird noise when at high speeds, did you get that too ?

 

Thanks 

I'm no expert in all this but if it was me I would certainly let the garage know and ask the question, just in case it comes back to bite later on. 

gearbox finally sorted and all was well apart from the oil dripping on to my drive. Car now back with garage.

gearbox apparently has some sort of microswitch that does something or other. This is now leaking and that's whats caused the oil leak. Just another £120 that's all. Fiat are you listening to all this. 12 weeks out of warranty and a bloody nightmare.

hi reg ..glad you got the box repaired ,sorry about the leak ...i may be going out on a limb here ,as i don't know how far they had to strip your gearbox to effect the repair ,but ,being in the trade ,and it may be a coincidence ,i was thinking maybe the leak is due to the repairer ...i wouldn't say it's incompetence on their part as these things happen ..though if it is due to something they have done ,then it should be repaired free as ,repair due to faulty workmanship ..difficult part is proving it ....though ,you never had any leaks prior to the repair ..do you know if the switch is internal or external???  £120 seems expensive  ,but  most of it will be labour ..i imagine the switch is external ,which would take a whole 10 mins to change ...if possible reg ,get them to show you where the leak was from and if they have changed parts ,request the old parts ....

glad you got your power issue sorted  with the EGR valve ....is good to find out  what the cure was ..it helps others

 

phil

Phil

 

There's no labour. Man says that the switch and seal come in 2 parts. One's £30 and the other £70. He offered to replace the cheaper bit to see if that would solve the problem but recommended having both bits done, rather than having to do it all over again. He reckons it will take a couple of hours to fix. He said that the part of the gearbox they worked on was the other side to the switch thing, and the whole thing was pressure tested before it left them, and checked by a 2nd fitter as well.   !!!!!!! and left them with no leaks.

sounds as though they have did all the testing ....car autoboxes are my weak point ...i am ok with manuals ,as i strip and repair truck boxes ,i also do truck auto boxes,but in the 8 years we have used auto's in the brand i work on ,i have only had 1 auto box ,with an internal fault !!! have heard of 1 other dealer with an internal fault ,and only due to the fact ,the tech helpline told them to call me  lol

i will admit i am a very suspicious person and trust no one  lol...my sis has got rid of her grande auto and got a A class auto merc ..dont know why as she had 1 before and it's box was worse than the grande