Fiat 500 - phonic wheel?
Discussion
Hoping someone can shed some light on this one. Other half has a 15 plate Fiat 500S with the 1.2 engine. Purchased brand new from the dealership with the service plan. Currently on 18,000 miles and has been serviced at the same dealership under the service plan.
About a month ago she got home complaining that the EML had started flashing on the motorway and went into limp mode. She was doing approx 70mph at the time. She managed to pull over, stop and start the engine again and the light cleared.
Took it into the dealership, they said the diagnostic code read cylinder missfire on 2. They said it was due a service in the next few hundred miles anyway and they would put new plugs in as part of it. We agreed and the work was done.
About 4 days later, exact same issue happened. EML flashing, limp mode on motorway. Took it back again and same code - missfire on cylinder 2. They decided to put a new coil pack in.
I was dubious at this point - I know what a miss-fire feels like and it wasn't miss-firing. However I went along with it.
Yesterday same issue again. Missus very upset at this point. Doesnt trust the car etc. Goes back the dealership in tears. Speak to the service manager who takes it in straight away. After waiting an hour, they said they've been on the phone to Fiat Technical who advise they need to do a phonic wheel relearn which they think may solve the issue.
Done a bit of digging myself - clearly this can only be done by the dealership which is fine, however I simply do not understand how a phonic wheel could be miss-aligned unless a cambelt or waterpump change was carried out and wasn't put back together properly. We have owned this car from new and it certainly hasnt had any work like that done.
So 'if' this does fix it (im still dubious) then what could have possibly caused this?
About a month ago she got home complaining that the EML had started flashing on the motorway and went into limp mode. She was doing approx 70mph at the time. She managed to pull over, stop and start the engine again and the light cleared.
Took it into the dealership, they said the diagnostic code read cylinder missfire on 2. They said it was due a service in the next few hundred miles anyway and they would put new plugs in as part of it. We agreed and the work was done.
About 4 days later, exact same issue happened. EML flashing, limp mode on motorway. Took it back again and same code - missfire on cylinder 2. They decided to put a new coil pack in.
I was dubious at this point - I know what a miss-fire feels like and it wasn't miss-firing. However I went along with it.
Yesterday same issue again. Missus very upset at this point. Doesnt trust the car etc. Goes back the dealership in tears. Speak to the service manager who takes it in straight away. After waiting an hour, they said they've been on the phone to Fiat Technical who advise they need to do a phonic wheel relearn which they think may solve the issue.
Done a bit of digging myself - clearly this can only be done by the dealership which is fine, however I simply do not understand how a phonic wheel could be miss-aligned unless a cambelt or waterpump change was carried out and wasn't put back together properly. We have owned this car from new and it certainly hasnt had any work like that done.
So 'if' this does fix it (im still dubious) then what could have possibly caused this?
Well we went back to the dealer last night. I mentioned about replacing the sensor, but their response was that if it was the crankshaft sensor at fault then the car wouldn't start.....
Anyway, they said they had performed a phonic wheel re-learn and double checked the alignment to ensure all is correct. Its had new plugs, HT leads and coil pack.
They drove it for 25 miles, combination of m'way and town driving and have not seen the fault re-appear. So we've taken the car back now and we'll see how it goes.
They did also mention they have applied new ECU software updates from Fiat which are normally applied at service intervals.
If anything changes I'll keep everyone posted!
Anyway, they said they had performed a phonic wheel re-learn and double checked the alignment to ensure all is correct. Its had new plugs, HT leads and coil pack.
They drove it for 25 miles, combination of m'way and town driving and have not seen the fault re-appear. So we've taken the car back now and we'll see how it goes.
They did also mention they have applied new ECU software updates from Fiat which are normally applied at service intervals.
If anything changes I'll keep everyone posted!
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