Technical Fuel Pump Troubles

[Shingo]

Dear all Multipla owners,

I am a member of a Multipla owners club in Japan. About one fourth of all Mul owners in Japan, where only about 800 Muls are sold so far, belong to the club and share information.

I need your help. Up to now, some members of the club, maybe 10-20, have reported that their Muls’ engines suddenly stopped on the road and were towed into garages, where they were told that fuel pumps had broken and should be replaced with new ones. They had to do it, and pay for it because their warranties had expired for almost all cases.

Now we Japanese owners began to suspect that Muls’ fuel pumps had potential defects. Some of the members who suffered the trouble complained about it to a Japanese ministry and requested that Muls' fuel pumps be recalled.

So did anybody experience same trouble? Does this kind of trouble happen only in Japan? I browsed this site and found no related discussions. We the members love the Mul and want to drive them happily for a long time. Any comment will be appreciated.

Shingo, Japan

 

[Gary]

Welcome to the forum Shingo,
As far as i am aware i have not heard of this problem in the uk.

Are these mainly diesel or petrol models ?

 

[Flor27]

Are these mainly diesel or petrol models ?

Allmost (if not) all Multipla sold in Japan are 1.6 petrol models, as Mr. Oe one's :



;-)

 

[Shingo]

Thank you, Gary-san,

Fiat Auto Japan, the official importer, has imported only petrol-engine models (ELX or ELX Plus). And most of the club members have used only high octane gasoline.

By the way, yesterday I informed all the club members of this site. As a result is... Hi! Oe-san. He is a member of the club and his Mul is so cool. I hope that many Japanese Mul fanatics will join in this discussion.

Shingo

 

[T14086]

Never had problem or know of any with multiplas....are they being correctly diagnosed & have you ever seen a faulty pump or been shown the fault?

 

[edb]

Hi Shingo,
I am from Israel,
In 2003 - 2005, for 3 years, I was driving a 1.6 petrol multipla.
in 9-2005 and 10-2005, twice the fuel pump has broken and the car stoped,
on the road.
It took care by the lissing company, it was my work's car and not my car.
good luck,
edb.

 

[Shingo]

Thank you, T14086 and edb-san,

I have asked the members whether or not they saw the faults. But so far, I can say that nobody directly confirmed them. Maybe dealers can deceive most of Japanese, who believe that buying and repairing Italian cars, even Fiat cars, are more expensive than Lexus cars.

But it is facts that some Muls suddenly stopped on the road without any symptoms (some heard howling-like sounds from oil caps before the trouble ). And now, with edb-san's comment (Thanks), I am convinced that perhaps fuel pumps can be the cause of the stops.

So edb-san, you experienced the trouble twice.... I cannot imagine what the common features between Japanese and Israeli Muls are.... Were the both countries' Muls assembled in the same production line at the same period?

Shingo

 

[fazly]

Hi there, I`m a newbie from Malaysia.
Been reading the reply of the problem and maybe I can help you.
I`m using Mul 1.6 pet and had the same problem but luckily enough managed to change the pump before it get worst.
I sense something wrong when everytime driving, I can smell petrol from the back of the car.Thought its a temporarily and I ignored it. But it doesn't. So I went to the authorized Fiat service center and I`ve been told by them that the fuel pump head (I might say the cover) has cracked and thus emitting petrol from it.Basically, the petrol/fuel can been seen clearly underneath the car. The smell is cause by it and lucky for me, I changed a new one on time.

Hope this will help.

 

[Shingo]

Thank you fazly-san,

Your comments are very interesting, but nobody in this Japanese club members who experienced the trouble has reported such a smell sign and/or gasoline leakage. And each of the members was told by a garage mechanic that the pump failed, not broke. Anyway, I thank you.

By the way, recently, one club member experienced the same trouble. He had noticed some signs: (1) Fuel pump start-up “zee...” noise, which you can hear as soon as you turn the key on, had become very small, and (2) Sometimes there had been time lag when he pressed the accelerator. His Mul is a 2003 model and has run only 38000km so far. He complained to a Japanese ministry of the trouble.

He knows much about machinery and has cared of his Mul. So, I don't think the cause of the pump troubles is due to the mishandling of their Muls. Now I guess that is due to potential defects of the pumps.

So, I would like Fiat to recognize this problem and do some actions required. Many Japanese and I love the Mul and hope that we can drive them at ease as long as possible. Any help will be appreciated.

Shingo, Japan

 

[Cities95]

Hi

My fuel pump has just started making a noice (16v petrol) so I wish to replace it before it packs in completly.

Can anyone tell me if you can get to it OK, or do you have to remove the fuel tank (hope not).

Thanks