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159 brake failure

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brake
3K views 24 replies 6 participants last post by  Kenny7 
#1 ·
my wife had a concerning incident with the car went to use the brakes but nothing there had to pump brakes to get any response this has happened on 2 occasions both times just after starting up thankfully at low speed and having presence of mind to pump the brakes she describes it as the brakes feeling spongy no problems since . any ideas? :( :(
 
#2 ·
Glad to hear that your wifey wasn't involved in an accident due to that !! :)

Have a searchy in this lounge for that subject matey ;)

Or have a look at threads started by Hunter ;)

EDIT: This one I mean :eek: :(
 
#3 ·
thanks nomad now i am worried i hope i get treated better than hunter did phoned nearest alfa dealer they want to see the car asap only trouble is 250 mile trip i guess thats what you get for living in the remote highlands . needs looked at and first contact with the garage is favourable but watch this space!!
 
#4 ·
just back from the garage they are suggesting that it is a servo problem wanting the car back in for 2 days they seemingly need to take part of the dashboard out to get at it. im no totally convinced it is a servo problem (very limited mechanical knowledge) but i thought if it was the servo the brakes would go solid, the only problem is after driving of initially once you are on the move and the brakes warmed up they work perfectly . dreading them taking the dash board out if its not needed hope its not a hit and miss judgement . anyone got any words of wisdom ?:(
 
#6 ·
Ouch - only just seen this thread.... :eek:

I thought, no, hoped that all these cars had been picked up by now.:mad:

You're the 8th I know of on AO with the same serious safety problem.

Has it been fixed already :confused: Have they done a decent job :confused: Who was the dealer :confused: Who sold you the car :confused: Please tell me its not DU56YJL... the evil devil car! :eek:

If your car has already had a service (18k or 36k) without this being fixed, you are well within your rights to kick up a major stink.

Alfa KNOW which 159/Breras have these dodgy brake manifolds and SHOULD have put a marker on that car so that when it went in for service, it got seen to immediatley!!

This is a serious safety issue. If you want, PM me and we can discuss this elsewhere.
 
#7 ·
rest easy hunter its not the devil car ,im actually taking the car to be fixed tomorrow cars got 33k on the clock bought it privately in doncater 6 months ago.
garage so far have been good the delay in getting it seen to has been my fault because of work comittments ,its going to a dealer in inverness tomorrow so well see what happens .
very happy with the car but this problem should not be happening break downs happen but this problem is as dangerous as it gets .
 
#8 ·
Ok, good. Let us know how you get on.

When I had mine done, the whole dash had to come out (plus seats) and the dealer ruined the car. Please check everything works before you drive away after the repair.

Such a pity that your car slipped through the net. :( I was promised that this was such an isolated case, but now it seems there were many more than they would admit to. :tut:

Even Honest John now has an update on his page warning of this failure:eek:

Car review: Alfa Romeo 159 (2006 - )
 
#10 ·
I really don't want to cough up old news again F, but this one really grates with me - as I'm sure you can understand.;) I know how it feels, how **** scared I was and how dangerous it actually was :eek:

This is the 8th (plus me) of owners just through AO that had this issue. We all know that AO is a small, perhaps biased (but significant) drop in the ocean.

Yes, it was a short build time that these defective parts were fitted. I don't know how many cars were affected F, but a fair proportion.

When I had a conversation with AR head of technical he admitted that the 1st wave of 159/Brera's had this defective part fitted and they knew which ones they were - allegedly. Some brake manifolds/cylinders worked, others didn't, some fail over time I guess?

In the OP's case, for a car that has covered 33k and had at least 1 full service (plus a pre-del inspection), it should have been picked up and rectified BEFORE the brake failure ever happened, private owner or not. :(

I just hope for the OP's sake that the work is done well and no more 'first wave' 2.4's appear on AO with the same issue. :(
 
#11 ·
FYI another new AOer from Australia has emailed me this morning saying they have exactly the same issues of brake failure.
I've asked her to start a thread here, asking for AR contacts in OZ to try and sort her issues out.
 
#12 ·
what is worrying is my car according to honest john did not fit the criteria for a recall and we still had these brake problems .
just back from leaving the car with the dealers told to return on friday , got a replacement fiat punto to run around in ,really does make you appreciate what you have got.
i feel like the wifes left me :( :(
 
#13 ·
So far, nearly all reported brake failures have occured on early 2.4JTDm engined 159 and Breras, so your car DOES fit the pattern :(
I'm assuming yours is either an 06 or a 56 plates 159, right :confused:
 
G
#15 ·
Hunter, could you please remind us of what the cure is for the fault from your first hand experience(your old thread is massive!). The Honest John site referrs to the vacuum pump whereas you referred to a brake manifold.A vac pump failure would just lose servo assistance not give total brake failure as in these cases.
The Honest John revue info is virtually useless on all counts on this IMHO. A fault like this needs to have very accurate info supplied, lives are at stake after all.
 
#16 ·
Erm ok... i'll try my best to summerise it in one post! ;)

My 1st of now 3 159's in mid 2007.
  • Car's brakes failed time and time again. Symptoms as OP - total loss of retardation. Scary.
  • 3 visits to dealer found nothing wrong and couldn't replicate it.
  • Eventually forced their hand. They undertook to replace manifold, master cylinder and other braking components with ARUK underwriting repairs - not exactly as Honest John writes.
  • Car was off the road for ages and when it was ready for collection I nearly crashed ~1mile up the road from the dealer. Steering wheel was on wonky, clutch pedal assembly snapped, leaving me stuck in gear and I had to stop the car on the handbrake.
  • ARUK swapped the car for 2nd 159 of equal value and spec (another hell story but with no brake related issues)
I am happy to say that my current 159Ti is a real gem. I'm so very happy with it in nearly every way (save tyres and fuel consumption) and so different from the lousy quality in the first two vehicles.
:D
 
G
#18 ·
I'm still not sure what they mean by "manifold" in relation to brakes other than the ABS unit perhaps. If all that work didn't fix your nightmare car it should been crushed but iirc it went straight onto the forecourt. Lets just hope its cured now and doesn't hurt someone:eek:
 
#19 ·
just driven the car back from dealers gave the brakes a good testing very pleased with the outcome everything seems fine ,seems night and day compared to how hunter was treated.
a lot of negatives have been reported about alfa dealerships with justification,but on this occasion its been positive:)
 
#20 ·
Great! :thumbs:;)

Pleased to hear it.

What exactly did they do :confused:
 
#24 ·
Yes, Fraser's correct :)
 
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