Fiat Punto

Inactive

sleepystar1975 wrote: »

I had an old M-plate punto, and never had a problem with my brakes, not that I remember anyway. I loved that old car. (I bought it when it was 4 yrs old) The head gasket went after 2 years, but apart from that, it didn't really cost much above the basic maintenence. I had to get rid of it after my (boy racer) brother borrowed it for a few months, and trashed the gearbox!
I would happily own another similar Punto.
I'm looking at a Stilo now (well, Dh is) and I am hoping it'll be the same in terms of reliability.

So you had a car that needed a head gasket and I presume a new gearbox and you would happily buy another of the same make?


Some folk are easily pleased, is all I can say.

sleepystar1975

Inactive wrote: »

So you had a car that needed a head gasket and I presume a new gearbox and you would happily buy another of the same make?


Some folk are easily pleased, is all I can say.

The head gasket went after it was almost 7 years old, and I blame the gearbox going on the driving style of my brother-he obliterates anything he drives (didn't realise then, but do now, and I wouldn't let him drive a scalectrix!)

custardy

sleepystar1975 wrote: »

I had an old M-plate punto, and never had a problem with my brakes, not that I remember anyway. I loved that old car. (I bought it when it was 4 yrs old) The head gasket went after 2 years, but apart from that, it didn't really cost much above the basic maintenence. I had to get rid of it after my (boy racer) brother borrowed it for a few months, and trashed the gearbox!
I would happily own another similar Punto.
I'm looking at a Stilo now (well, Dh is) and I am hoping it'll be the same in terms of reliability.

sadly not
bit of a mixed bag
notice that Fiat dropped the Stilo name and returned to the Bravo!
numerous electrical faults/bugs
snapping springs
avoid the selespeed gearboxes
avoid the 5 cylinder engines
however,get a good one and its a lot of toys for the money

bigjl

A Punto has to be cheap, and make sure it has the red key, or at least it used to be red.

No red key and a flat battery means a new ECU.

custardy

bigjl wrote: »

A Punto has to be cheap, and make sure it has the red key, or at least it used to be red.

No red key and a flat battery means a new ECU.

utter utter nonsense
Ive pulled out ECUs on red key cars and had them sitting for months
the Red key is required to get copies from the dealers
the ECU is 'paired' to the keys
lose all your keys and you have a problem
however nowadays you can get blue keys cloned for under £50
the newer key sstems did away with the red key.however it means it can be around £200 for a new key

bigjl

custardy wrote: »

utter utter nonsense
Ive pulled out ECUs on red key cars and had them sitting for months
the Red key is required to get copies from the dealers
the ECU is 'paired' to the keys
lose all your keys and you have a problem
however nowadays you can get blue keys cloned for under £50
the newer key sstems did away with the red key.however it means it can be around £200 for a new key

The red key is the master key, which is required when ever the battery is disconnected, yes you can get the blue key copied, and you always could, there is nothing new there, as that isn't the red master key.

You can't get a new red key, hence why a Fiat breaker has matched sets of red keys and ECU's on the shelf, ready for the next punter that has lost the red key then changed the battery.

Don't know much about the newer Fiats as I would never buy a new one, but the red key issue is well known.


Feel free to Google "lost fiat red key", and you will get page after page of information.

Or have a read of the fiat owners forums.

I am surprised that you talk about taking ECU's out of Fiats but you have no knowledge of such a widespread problem.

I think even HonestJohn has threads about this, it has been an issue for over ten years.


Not sure what you are talking about when you say you have had red key ECU's on the shelf for years, as an ECU doesn't have a battery, the battery I was reffering to was the car battery.

If you have a flat car battery then you need the red "master" key to start the vehicle.

Why not go down to a mate that has a Punto with a red key, throw the red key away, then disconnect the battery and try to start it with the blue key.

Note that due to this being a security measure even Fiat can't get you a new red key, they will sell you a new ECU and a new red key to go with it.

Now go and do some research on the subject before saying other posters are speaking "utter utter rubbish".

The fact that Fiat may have changed the system recently doesn't affect the accuracy of my post.

mikey72

They changed the red key system in 1999, so the 2001 model has a different system.
Some of the older ones locked if you left the battery off for a while, the post 1999 system is programable to a new key without the old master key the earlier system needed.

bigjl

That is handy information mikey, and different to what I was led to believe, though somebody did tell me once that the red key system remained on all Bravo/Brava models, and the Punto had it for another few years afterwards.

Interesting to note that all the blokes I know that are still in the trade full time still won't touch a Fiat without the red key, for the reasons I have stated, orthey will ifthe price of an ECU is knocked off.

Sometimes a bad reputation is difficult to shake off, bit like a Lancia.

mikey72

It's been cracked now anyway, supposedly.

Code 1 system can be retrieved (sometimes) alledgedly for one example

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/datarecall/

or an unlocked box
http://www.ecutesting.com/fiat_common_key_code_problem_-.html

Diesels are a lot easier from that age though.

bigjl

Found this on the Fiat website, appears to be a letter to a customer.

Hi
This vehicle is fitted with a “Code 1” immobiliser system.
It comes supplied with one Master key (usually red) & a number of slave keys (usually blue).
Only one master key is supplied with the vehicle and it is needed to store the codes of other keys in the memory in the event that you lose or damage a key or order copies.
No repairs can be carried out on the Fiat code system or genuine additional keys added, if the master key is lost.
If a fault happens with the immobiliser system, without the master key, you will likely have to replace your engine control unit, code/immobiliser control unit & a full production lock set.
It can be repaired but at a greater cost.
Kind regards
Fiat Marketing
Search "Fiat UK" on Facebook. Follow Fiat_UK on Twitter. Need some help? Call Ciao Fiat on freephone 00800 3428 0000.


Though I would assume that much in the same way as the software in digital speedos can be hacked then the software on these systems can be hacked, as soon as the demand and therefore profit margin is there. Though from what I was led to believe,one reason for reasonable insurance groups for Fiats was this system.