[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by gp_fanatico

I have been recently observing the following in my car.

With one third tank of fuel, I can hear the fuel rush back and forth during braking ! As if i am carrying a big tub of water in my back seat . This is audible with the HU switched off. Though i have been driving my punto since 4 years, I am observing this only recently. The sound is significantly audible. I mostly drive alone with music switched off most of the time. I am wondering how this is audible only from past week or two ?

Have you guys experienced the same in your car? Is it normal?

Is it the fuel in tank or any possibility water logging areas in the rear part of the car? There is no water in the boot area or the rear seats.

This can be from the running board, water collects there, just get it removed by pulling out the rubber stoppers.



Pic Courtesy: Aniket

[CliffHanger]

Guys, I plan to add an USB port to my car's OEM head unit. Mine being active variant, doesn't come with it.

Is there any shop in Bangalore that can do it today?

[sriramr9]

This is a query about GP's suspension and ride quality. My GP is MJD 76HP, 2012 Jan model which has clocked 15,500km till date.

Talking about ride quality and suspension, require inputs as to how to diagnose issues in the same. Whenever i drive through rough patches and inverted speed bumps there is no way the car is absorbing the same and all that jerk and adjustments made by the suspension to stabilize the drive is passed on to the cabin making the drive uncomfortable along with the rattles that have creep ed up off late. I feel this problem is particular to the 2012 punto's where the GC was increased a bit there by making low speed ride not so good.(IMO).

I have not driven a Punto or a Linea back to back to compare the same. PL suggest what i need to get inspected from FIAT A.S.S. There are no squeaks or rattles when going on bumps as such.

Originally Posted by sriramr9

This is a query about GP's suspension and ride quality. My GP is MJD 76HP, 2012 Jan model which has clocked 15,500km till date.

Talking about ride quality and suspension, require inputs as to how to diagnose issues in the same. Whenever i drive through rough patches and inverted speed bumps there is no way the car is absorbing the same and all that jerk and adjustments made by the suspension to stabilize the drive is passed on to the cabin making the drive uncomfortable along with the rattles that have creep ed up off late. I feel this problem is particular to the 2012 punto's where the GC was increased a bit there by making low speed ride not so good.(IMO).

I have not driven a Punto or a Linea back to back to compare the same. PL suggest what i need to get inspected from FIAT A.S.S. There are no squeaks or rattles when going on bumps as such.

Saying just based on my experience owning a FIAT for 6 years. I havent seen/driven your car, so cant exactly comment on the exact issue.
- Fiat's suspensions are always on the harder side. Drive an i20/Etios, to understand what/how a softer suspension behaves on rough roads. Go to a Toyota or a Hyundai dealer and do a TD.
- A mixed kind of suspension could be found on VW Vento. Its isnt too hard as a FIAT and it isnt too soft like a hyundai.
- Enthusiasts prefer harder suspension setup's. some people prefer softer suspension which are often good for city runs. The choice is purely subjective.

I dont see any problem with your car.
A general test performed by mechanics is. Stop the car, Engage hand brake. Go to rear of the vehicle. try to push it down, If the suspension is good, the vehicle pops up fast. The same techinique is applied at front too... I am not sure whether this is the right way to test ones suspension + one should know how a good and a bad suspension behaves in this test for comparison.

[sbkumar]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

Guys, I plan to add an USB port to my car's OEM head unit. Mine being active variant, doesn't come with it.

Is there any shop in Bangalore that can do it today?

I believe not all the OEM HUs have the slots for USB/AUX connector and if there is not one in your HU you won't be able to do it IMHO. Not sure if that's what you had in mind. Please let me know if there is other alternative. I am tired of writing CDs ! You should be able to check this by pulling out your HU or most accessories shop should be able to do it. I tried adding the AUX port and then found that mine didn't have the slot. It's a delphi unit ( Oct 2010, MJD Emotion). Evo, Cambridge Layout had the accessory when I was looking for it.

Originally Posted by sriramr9

This is a query about GP's suspension and ride quality. My GP is MJD 76HP, 2012 Jan model which has clocked 15,500km till date.

Talking about ride quality and suspension, require inputs as to how to diagnose issues in the same. Whenever i drive through rough patches and inverted speed bumps there is no way the car is absorbing the same and all that jerk and adjustments made by the suspension to stabilize the drive is passed on to the cabin making the drive uncomfortable along with the rattles that have creep ed up off late. I feel this problem is particular to the 2012 punto's where the GC was increased a bit there by making low speed ride not so good.(IMO).

I have not driven a Punto or a Linea back to back to compare the same. PL suggest what i need to get inspected from FIAT A.S.S. There are no squeaks or rattles when going on bumps as such.

IMHO Punto is one of those cars where the suspension set up is spot on. It's slightly on the harder side as gemi_kk said but it should never make the ride uncomfortable. I had to replace the shock absorbers around 20K kms if IIRC. It was kind of getting rough and there was a faint noise too. Again mine is 2010 Emotion MJD, so I don't really know how different it is with the 2012 set up. But this is something I believe you can ask the SA to check.

[sriramr9]

Originally Posted by gemi_kk

Saying just based on my experience owning a FIAT for 6 years. I havent seen/driven your car, so cant exactly comment on the exact issue.
- Fiat's suspensions are always on the harder side. Drive an i20/Etios, to understand what/how a softer suspension behaves on rough roads. Go to a Toyota or a Hyundai dealer and do a TD.
- A mixed kind of suspension could be found on VW Vento. Its isnt too hard as a FIAT and it isnt too soft like a hyundai.
- Enthusiasts prefer harder suspension setup's. some people prefer softer suspension which are often good for city runs. The choice is purely subjective.

I dont see any problem with your car.
A general test performed by mechanics is. Stop the car, Engage hand brake. Go to rear of the vehicle. try to push it down, If the suspension is good, the vehicle pops up fast. The same technique is applied at front too... I am not sure whether this is the right way to test ones suspension + one should know how a good and a bad suspension behaves in this test for comparison.

Thanks for the info. I am not sure if i am good enough to do and judge is myself now. But i am sure to eliminate this thing from my mind and make sure i do not waste time.

I have not test driven hyundai cars but have traveled in fluidic verna which was so soft on the potholes, inverted speed bumps, so soft & plush that it was so contrasting on Punto where every thing on road is felt by me inside more worse is i travel alone most of the time. When four on board the complaint i said above is less pronounced though not completely eliminated.

In the 15500kms i have changed tires in X factor once, have not hit any big pot holes in high speed.

Originally Posted by sbkumar

IMHO Punto is one of those cars where the suspension set up is spot on. It's slightly on the harder side as gemi_kk said but it should never make the ride uncomfortable. I had to replace the shock absorbers around 20K kms if IIRC. It was kind of getting rough and there was a faint noise too. Again mine is 2010 Emotion MJD, so I don't really know how different it is with the 2012 set up. But this is something I believe you can ask the SA to check.

Can you please tell me the symptom you faced and how did you corner it to be suspension, i am exactly looking for how the rough feel was, because my wife feels the ride hard when going over bumps sometimes feel violent. 2012 Punto has a higher GC which tends to make the rear wheel really jump when driven over speed breakers when traveling alone.

[sbkumar]

Originally Posted by sriramr9

Can you please tell me the symptom you faced and how did you corner it to be suspension, i am exactly looking for how the rough feel was, because my wife feels the ride hard when going over bumps sometimes feel violent. 2012 Punto has a higher GC which tends to make the rear wheel really jump when driven over speed breakers when traveling alone.

I did not figure out the issue on my own. I felt the harsh jerks while going over those semi filled cuts on the roads ( for laying pipes, cables etc) in my area or even smaller potholes or those small plastic kind of speed breakers they have in my company campus. I could feel the jerk at the steering as well as the whole car body. It happened over a period of time gradually and hence I guess I took some time to realize it. I had to go for a body work at the time and hence reported the issue to the SA. They replaced the shock absorbers under warranty. I wasn't expecting that as I had run only around 20K at the time IIRC. That's the reason I asked you get it checked by the SA. I don't think higher GC should result in such issues. Also the rear wheel jump is due to the stiffer suspension set up in Punto. I face it in mine too even now but that should not result in harsh ride otherwise. If that's the only issue then you don't have to concerned too much IMO.

[CliffHanger]

Originally Posted by sbkumar

I believe not all the OEM HUs have the slots for USB/AUX connector and if there is not one in your HU you won't be able to do it IMHO.

I think I read it here that it is possible.

Even I'm bored of listening to same set of songs 100 times owing to the difficulties in burning CD. The player is very finicky and only picks up songs that are Nero burnt. With other writing softwares, I only get errors ending up wasting the CD and the effort to write on it.

Any other options anyone aware of?

[DRIV3R]

If you have Blue&Me, no AUX can be enabled.

[sriramr9]

Originally Posted by sbkumar

I did not figure out the issue on my own. I felt the harsh jerks while going over those semi filled cuts on the roads ( for laying pipes, cables etc) in my area or even smaller potholes or those small plastic kind of speed breakers they have in my company campus. I could feel the jerk at the steering as well as the whole car body. It happened over a period of time gradually and hence I guess I took some time to realize it. I had to go for a body work at the time and hence reported the issue to the SA. They replaced the shock absorbers under warranty. I wasn't expecting that as I had run only around 20K at the time IIRC. That's the reason I asked you get it checked by the SA. I don't think higher GC should result in such issues. Also the rear wheel jump is due to the stiffer suspension set up in Punto. I face it in mine too even now but that should not result in harsh ride otherwise. If that's the only issue then you don't have to concerned too much IMO.

Thank you, once again. Have placed an appointment request and shall attend to it shortly. by driving through rough patches, inverted speed brakers and potholes to assess root cause. Shall post update on this thread.

One offshoot question had in mind about a mild accident we avoided today.

I have question on effect of MJD (engine transmission side and connecting gear cogs)engine's internals due to an abrupt shutdown of engine while driving, caused due to inconsistent clutch/brake inputs. Today during a test drive session my friend started driving the car and gained speed. In Toral darkness out of no where a buffalo from its herd drfited towards the car. My friend tried to avoid and in the process did apply brakes and claims to have depressed clutch, but inconsistent inputs were evident and car came to a jolting stop with head lights on and engine turned off, with the oil lamp and battery lamp on (FI lamp was turned off).

My primary concern is apart from turbo what will be the effect of internals especially about the beating that the drive shaft would have taken along with the associated gear engaged with clutch released half way when
vehicle was in motion (25 kmph). I did drive the car after that and did not feel any difference in play/ pickup/ strange noise from engine compartment or while applying gear. Is there any other way where one can look/ inspect the transmission side for any mechanical aberrations. In the last 15000 km that the vehicle had clocked, this is the first beating that the engine had taken as part of physical abuse. Counting on your replies .

[rkhare]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

If you have Blue&Me, no AUX can be enabled.

OMG is this true? What bout USB

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by rkhare

OMG is this true? What bout USB

USB comes with Blue&Me.

[CliffHanger]

Any place in or near E.City Bangalore, where I can get Bosch wiper blades for Punto?

[avira_tk]

Has anyone faced the twin warnings of the immobilizer(lock symbol around car) and a text warning on the MID saying ABS is not functional(not the exact message but something similar), the ABS warning happened only once, the immobilizer light is more frequent . My car is a Feb 2011 MJD Punto with about 51k on the odo.

The battery is not supposed to be in such great shape, I have a long trip coming up, can anyone explain the lock symbol?

[RSR]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

The battery is not supposed to be in such great shape, I have a long trip coming up, can anyone explain the lock symbol?

90% of the time you have a persistent lock symbol while driving a Fiat MJD engined car, it is caused by a weak battery that is on its last legs. It's not just with Fiats, but Maruti Suzukis too. I presume it holds good for Tata and GM cars with the MJD and immobiliser as well, though this has to be confirmed.

The battery may last for some more time, but you can never be sure when it would give up on you. A battery check and a replacement, if necessary, is recommended.