Technical help

[donna261967]

i hate being such a girl, but can anyone advise me as to how much it costs to fix my abs light as my fiat stilo has just failed its mot. thanks donna x

 

[bozzy]

Have you taken it to a dealer or garage to have the code read? I had this on a Vectra and that too had an ABS light on. I got it read by a vauxhall dealer who said either ABS unit or ECU so about £900.

I replaced the ABS unit from a breakers yard for £70 and it worked straight away. I am certain that had I just bled the brakes first the light would have gone out anyway; worth a go. Good luck whatever you decide to do and welcome to the forum.

 

[donna261967]

thank you for your idea. took it to fiat dealer who had a quick look and said it was a loose wire, ye right. said he would need a full day to take it apart to look for the problem and the labour would cost the most. im not a happy bunny. its true garages see a woman coming and make up any sort of waffle. just dont want to get ripped off. thanks again. donna x

 

[bozzy]

The diagnostics will give them a good idea of where the fault lies so saying it will tak a day should ring alarm bells. Enquire tomorrow as to the fault codes and then you can get a second opinion prior to them making any further changes/investigation.

There's some Fiat tech guys on here and I am sure they will offer some real help shortly. What car/age/model is it?

 

[donna261967]

hi again. its a fiat stilo 1.3 active. 52 plate, its been a pile of pants since i bought it to be honest. tyres wear faster than i change my pants. i've only had it a twelve month. some kids outside my house jumped up onto the bonnet then the roof n off the other side causing £500 worth of damage. since then things keep going wrong. also its been recalled twice to have things fitted. im not impressed at all. had a hyundai accent before this for 5 years never failed an mot and only had one set of new tyres. i appreciate your time in getting back to me. thanks again x

 

[bozzy]

No problem, here to help if we can. Funny you mention Hyundai; I'm going for one next as the five year warranty is worth it to me. If the cars a bag of shoite get rid once the ABS is sorted out.

 

[dan-the-man]

when my dealer replaced rear stub axle they had to cut the ABS wire??? resulting in an ABS fault.

like bozzy said get the codes read, doesn't have to be a FIAT dealer. and take it from there

 

[badkilla]

hi again. its a fiat stilo 1.3 active. 52 plate, its been a pile of pants since i bought it to be honest. tyres wear faster than i change my pants. i've only had it a twelve month. some kids outside my house jumped up onto the bonnet then the roof n off the other side causing £500 worth of damage. since then things keep going wrong. also its been recalled twice to have things fitted. im not impressed at all. had a hyundai accent before this for 5 years never failed an mot and only had one set of new tyres. i appreciate your time in getting back to me. thanks again x

Hi, I can exactly relate to this. Also own a 52 plate Stilo which failed its MOT today due to something with the suspension arms, and im not exactly very mechanically minded so unsure of how much I should be paying for parts and labour but seems to be one thing after another with the Stilo and being a student, its bleeding me dry but I made the choice in buying the vehicle so gotta live with it Id guess. On previous experience, I would say take it to your local dealer to run a diagnostic and then identify the problem, but might be worthwhile seeing if there are any other places that can solve the problem. I also had a Hyundai Accent a while ago and while I had no problems whatsoever, I saw a Stilo as a step up. As for the charvvies that jumped on your bonnet :bang: :bang: :bang:

 

[dan-the-man]

My mum has a Hyundai Coupe it needs new steering rack, water pump and CV joint I reckon. plus It's the smallest car in the world inside, like being born trying to get out.

 

[donna261967]

good luck wi the hyundai, mine was fab. would so love to get rid of this one but got 4 years finance left yet lol. xx

 

[donna261967]

thanks for that. i appreciate any advice i can get. x

 

[donna261967]

bless. im no student but yes mines taking all my cash too. just wish i knew someone honest to give me an honest answer and do the job. not too much to ask.x

 

[minimad99]

Sorry,
replied on your other thread then found this one, LOL
How long has the light been on?
Have you had any work done on the car prior to it coming on?

 

[donna261967]

hi the lights been on and off since i had some repair work done in march. some kids jumped on bonnet then onto roof and off the other side. its been perminantly on since august. id be grateful for any advice. donna x

 

[Deckchair5]

Here's something to try. Simply disconnect, clean with contact cleaner and reconnect each of the ABS connectors, one to each wheel.

The front ones are quite easy, 2b here is the sensor

follow the cable up from the wheel and you'll find them high up in the engine bay



and the rear ones aren't that difficult either. It could quite simply be a bad connection there and often is, especially if it's intermittent

 

[LoBsTeR]

Now see I bought a pig. I got a real cheap car with faults and spent the money on it to bring it back to A1. The result....a superb FIAT Stilo. I rekon I saved about £500 on book price getting things sorted myself.

You can find problems with any make or model and I still maintain that the quality of my Stilo is far better than anything Vauxhall produced at the time.

So, Donna the problem started when you got your car repaired? Its likely that the repair shop dislodged a wire somewhere. I would take it back to them.

Also, you should have a quick word with the lads that damaged your car in the first place and kindly inform them that I am on my way over with a 9mm pistol to make them understand the real values of life.

 

[Big Black Stilo]

i know of 2 people who had Hyundai accents and the sumps had to be replaced as they rotted inside to out. Both cars were about 3 years old.

The only hyundai im tempted with is the coupe V6. yum.

 

[donna261967]

thanks to everyone who have offered advice on my abs light on my fiat stilo. its booked in to be looked at tomorrow and ill let you all know the outcome. hopefully it'll be fine and not too costly. donna x