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New giuliette, some issues

6K views 73 replies 14 participants last post by  66kegsti 
#1 ·
Hi to all

Just bought a few days ago a used Giuiette 2011, 2.0 from a dealer in the UK. Test drove it, seemed to be ok.
Obviously if something comes up it HAS to be after you drive off.
The next day I realized that it seems the AC not to be working. It can get the air warm but can not get it cold at all. What are the chances that it just needs gas and how likely it is that there is a more sinister damage to it?

Day after that noticed the mileage flashing thing (I am not sure if it existed from the day I got it, but it would be hard to understand at the moment that the flashing had a diagnostic component to it). I tried to do a lot of reading about it. And I probably tied it to a blue&me issue. The "window" and "telephone/bluetooth" buttons don't seem to respond (initially I thought the buttons were just fubared), the aux/usb buttons light up and are usable, and the rest of the buttons seem to work ok. Does that mean that the blue&me unit is just malfunctioning and needs a replacement? If so how do I do it? I spent a fair amount of time today to find any schematics, video or anything but not luck whatsoever. Also the AM radio channels seem to work but the FM not at all. Only today when I was in a different town I was able to locate ONE station. Related?

Also as an aside, I noticed a random cable that plugs into the cigarette lighter, I traced it and I saw that it goes towards the glove compartment, then underneath the plastics on the borders between the windscreen and the passenger's door and from there going upwards to the roof. (didn't follow it any further as I don't wanna take something out that I might not be able to put back the way it is). Plugging that thing or not hasn't made a noticable difference. It is obviously a modification and not something official but what the hell could it be?

Anyone has any idea of some of these issues as least to guide me in the proper direction of what could be going on?
 
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#2 ·
Hi welcome. If its from a dealer take it back asap and ask them to fix the issues you have mentioned, they should resolve the issues for you.

You could try to disconnect the battery for 30 mins to reset the radio. I know how to on ths uconnect but not the older system.

Dont mess with it express your concerns to the dealer and I'm sure they will sort it.

Brilliant choice though ?
 
#4 ·
I ll try to contact them and see how they respond. They were a bit rude when I was at the dealership so I doubt they will be much helpful. For the bluetooth I don't really mind thaaat much but it would be nice to have as at the end of the day it was advertised as having one. But the ac is gonna be an issue if something like the compressor is busted. What would be ny options if they fail to comply with addressing any of the issues? (I ve only recently moved to the UK which makes things a bit more difficult if you aren't from around here)
 
#7 ·
Honestly if you bought it from a dealer and not some guy who sells cars on a grass corner you should be able to get them to sort it out. It may seem awkward but persist keep phoning them or if there local drive down.

I bought a 306 way back when I passed my test 15 years ago. Wiper motor failed the next day. Was a struggle but they replaced it.

Where abouts in the UK are you?
 
#5 ·
The random cable could be power for a dash cam is my guess. behind the rear view mirror is there a cable with a plug there thats not plugged into anything either. Have a feel at the front of the roof lining where it meets the windscreen, it could be tucked in there out of the way. I think you can put your finger in there and run it along to see if you can feel anything.
 
#6 ·
As said above you should go back to the dealer. You have legal rights but you must not try to fix it yourself before giving the dealer the opportunity, as that would allow them to argue that you caused the problem.

Be prepared for them to say that you should have noticed any fault before buying, but I think you can argue that it’s unreasonable to expect you to check everything.

The Consumer Rights Act gives 30 days in which you can return the car for a refund if you’re unhappy. A local Citizens Advice Bureau can give more detailed advice.
 
#8 ·
I did contact them and they were fairly willing to help. They said to take it to any garage I know to have a look and if it is something worse going on to let them (dealer) know and to take care of it. I ll take it to some ac specialists nearby me over the weekend and have them check the ac and have a look at the bluetooth as well. I live in Kettering by the way.

This is the "weird" wire.

I appreciate your advices.
 

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#23 ·
I would take it back to the dealer you bought it from, if you use anyone else and inform them of it you may be waiving their obligation to supply something fit for purpose. The flashing mileage indicator will require more than disconnecting the battery to reset it. It will require some sort of software to perform a reset, and an EOBD scanner will not reset that as it can usually only clear MIL light errors. If you still have no joy from the dealer I might be able to help you next weekend as in 9 days away as I have the software to do the checks.

The weird wire? That is the exact same route my dashcam power supply goes so I think as others have already said it will probably end with a micro usb plug at some point near the mirror.
 
#9 ·
Looks like they have tapped into the 12v cigarette socket to run a dashcam rather than feeding a fuse tap from the fuse box.

Can you take a picture of the 12v cigarette socket? Interested how they have wired it up.

Or is it just a plug that goes into the socket?
 
#24 ·
It just plugs into the socket. It has the standard type 12V connector.

Looks like a dash cam lead as well. Just tuck it away and forget about it. Take it back to the dealer with the list of faults, give them 1 chance to fix them then reject it.

What G is it, age, mileage, price?
2011, 2.0 140HP, Diesel, 120K, 2500GBP

It’s a 2011 car. When I was 47 years old I bought a new 2011 Giulietta.
I’m now 55 so I don’t think that car is “new”!
Obviously in this context "new" was meant to imply new in possession to me. I am under no disillusion of the car's age.

And. What does your external temp sensor read? If it's reading wrong the air con won't work.

Sent from my BBB100-2 using Tapatalk
Seems to give more or less the expected ambient temperatures during various points of the day.

I would take it back to the dealer you bought it from, if you use anyone else and inform them of it you may be waiving their obligation to supply something fit for purpose. The flashing mileage indicator will require more than disconnecting the battery to reset it. It will require some sort of software to perform a reset, and an EOBD scanner will not reset that as it can usually only clear MIL light errors. If you still have no joy from the dealer I might be able to help you next weekend as in 9 days away as I have the software to do the checks.

The weird wire? That is the exact same route my dashcam power supply goes so I think as others have already said it will probably end with a micro usb plug at some point near the mirror.
I've been in contact with the dealer through e-mail and I have in writing his "advice" to seek my own garage or someone he can refer me to, to have the car checked out. In theory that should be ok, right?
 
#10 ·
Not good news but yesterday I had the condenser replaced on my 2011 Giullietta. The A/C had stopped working and it was found to be a leak in the condenser. This is vulnerable to stone damage being in the very front just behind the grille. The Indie (Independent Alfa Specialist) that did it said that at 8 years old he was not surprised and that it is not rare for this to happen. As Cue2 says if it has merely lost gas through age then a regas will fix it. Mine was regassed two yeas ago and everything was fine until last September. Didn't need it through the winter so left it until the service in June. When it was regassed the leak was apparent (the dye they inject with the gas shows up under UV light) and while it worked initially it had stopped within two weeks just in time for that hot spell we had at the end of June :grumpy:
 
#15 ·
Come come. There's not that much difference between 47 and 55. Surely you are not feeling your age that much. After all Eighty is the new Seventy so you have a quarter of a century to go before you are old.

I agree though that an eight year old car is not new, but it is not old. However back in 1981, when, I assume you learnt to drive, cars did not last as long as they do today and eight would have been considered getting on to banger stage but today my eight year old Giulietta that I bought, ex demonstrator with 2,300 miles, has just passed 88,000 miles and is going strong having had a multiair transplant and a new a/c condenser as the only major items of none routine maintenance work and it seems as if it could go on for at least the same again.
 
#17 ·
The condenser doesn't have a clutch that is in the compressor. It is suspected that my condenser sprang a leak after being hit with a stone although there was no real visible damage at that point although other stone damage could be seen. Comes of being mounted at the very front just behind the grill. Hopefully the compressor will continue to perform as it is at present
 
#31 ·
Yeah I am, that's kind of you thanks but hopefully I ll have things figured out by then.. Or close to it.

By the way I noticed underneath one of the car seats one of those buttons that are from the dash (that control auto start/stop, fog lights etc) that probably was broken and came off. All 5 of them are present on the dashboard, I was wondering is there any other place that a similar button exists that could relate to (if not then I guess one of the main ones broken on the dashboard and was subsequently replaced but the faulty one was just not dumped off very far)
 
#34 ·
HELP!!!
I got up today to go to work. Start the car, warnings galore... Power steering error, hill assisy error, vdc error.. tried to move and yes power steering not working. Small heart attack settling in. Switched it off. Back on again and it was back to normal.

What the hell was that all about? An incidental thing or an omen of terrible things to come?????
 
#41 ·
I had this once on my old car, I think the comments above about low battery voltage are pretty to close the reason.
I also thought it could be a communication fault on the CAN bus, caused by a device starting up slowly.

In either case, check battery voltage, and if the problem doesn't repeat, just ignore.
If it repeats 3 time (my rule of thumb), then hand the car back and leave the seller to solve the issue.
 
#37 ·
Something that could be related. There's only one place in my daily commute that sometimes the start and stop system works. At one specific set of traffic lights for whatever reason. At some other instances it comes up as a start/stop unavailable. Could that be because it wants to stop but can't which could relate to an additional hint being something wrong with the battery?
 
#38 ·
From my 10000 hours of research into the stop/start issue on the Giulietta (Joking haha)!!! Ive come to the conclusion its very hit and miss. My 2014 is on the original battery, is 100% perfect and within voltage but stop/start has not worked since I bought the car. Its a very poor system if you ask me. Mine is a diesel so not sure if the petrol suffers the same.

A bad ground could cause the issue, check for a loose negative on the battery terminal, could be corroded or on its way out. Maybe try a multimeter and check the voltage and again when cranking if you can, maybe a dud battery.
 
#39 ·
After 18 months of ownership and around 18k miles my start-stop is now pretty reliable. As far as I know I’m on the original battery and in the past it has needed to be charged at home a couple of times - not because it wouldn’t start, just because s-s didn’t work. The battery must be at least 80% charged for s-s to work.
A couple of weeks ago I did a 350 mile round trip in one day, and since then it’s been perfect. Before that it was very hit and miss, stopping for a few seconds if at all or just giving the ‘unavailable’ message. I put it down to a good long run clearing out the dpf etc and charging the battery. We’ll see how long that lasts.
The Giulietta is well known for not tolerating discharged batteries - there are many threads covering it - so I would either charge it or replace it before going looking for other faulty components.
The HDC/hill holder/steering errors all come up when the battery has been disconnected, and there is a procedure in the manual to cater for this, including resetting the window switch stops.
 
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