General Problems with automatics?

[adadof2]

I am still very interested in buying a Ulysse, despite a lot of the problems that I have read about on here. It is the 8 seater that I really want, and this market seems to be monopolised by the ex-Addison Lee fleet, primarily those sold by Fleet Sales in Leicester.

To find out a bit more about these cars, I spoke today to the fleet manager at Addison Lee, who told me something very interesting.

In the run-up to Christmas, they expect to be very busy, and hence are looking to keep as many cars on the road as possible, expanding their fleet if necessary. They will be looking to sell ex-fleet cars directly to the public once more in mid January.

However, they have had some serious problems with the automatics which seem to be constantly failing, resulting in repair costs at £3k per go. Addison Lee are currently looking to offload as many of the automatics as possible, but are so concerned at the reliability of these vehicles, that they refuse to sell direct to the public.

If anyone is interested in still picking one up at auction, their outlets are currently Mannheim, BCA, and Premier in Leeds.

Hope this of help to someone out there, I would also be interested to hear if anyone is experiencing troubles with their automatics.

 

[T14086]

The ulysee is a good looking mpv & good to drive but has way too many weak points/problems,maybe thats why Fiat have dropped it although I think peugeot/citroen are still selling their versions.I haven't come across any autobox problems to be honest.

 

[poggy]

I have had a petrol Ulysse Auto for 3 years and not had a problem other than a sensor for which gear it is in needing adjusting.

The only comment I would make is that the majority of private auto Ulysse are petrol and not the diesel, perhaps the torque from the diesel it too much for the auto box. On the Eurovan forum, I did notice a couple of private diesel versions had problems.

 

[adadof2]

Many thanks Poggy, I previously had no concept of the term Eurovan. Very interesting forum, I will spend some time going through it. It does make poor reading for those with, or considering an auto gear box.

This newspaper article is interesting:

http://motoring.independent.co.uk/features/article352510.ece

Particularly these paragraphs:

<quote>

Addison Lee had real problems with its cars. It chose the Fiat Ulysses people carrier but found it had to replace the automatic gearbox in 210 out of 240 models. It is now bringing 475 Volkswagen Sharans into its fleet this year, a £6m order, and is talking to Ford.

"They [Fiat] are absolutely useless," says Liam Griffin. "It cannot be overstated how poorly they have looked after one of the major customers. Their managing director is banned from our building."

<end quote>

 

[T14086]

Interesting article...however i'm sure I could find a equally daming article on the net about every major manufacturer.

Poorly looked after in what way?

As for Ford(galaxy?) & Volkswagons...you will still have many problems with them

 

[adadof2]

As for Ford(galaxy?) & Volkswagons...you will still have many problems with them

Too right, you have chosen a good example there. I have had a number of new Galaxies over the years, not without problem.

Four years ago I had a 2.3 Auto that stuck in 3rd at 1000 miles. None of the Ford dealers had the right diagnostics at the time as the gearbox was made by VW, and none of the VW dealers would touch it as it had a Ford badge. I was running up alot of miles at the time and put on 1500 (max 55mph, 20mpg) before it managed to fix itself.

My last Galaxy, this time a manual with only 4k on the clock, had a gearbox failure on the continent at Christmas.

However, a failure rate of 210 out of 240 is not good, the AL man also told me that some of these had had up to 4 new gearboxes!

 

[T14086]

Had years of experience with galaxies & your be hard pushed to find a truly satisfied customer.Back to Ulysee though please remember they are not a Fiat design,just Fiat badge.
Thing is why are Addison Lee (I used to drive bikes for you guys years years ago) having so many problems yet hardly no one else is? No disrespect to any of your drivers by the way,perhaps the strain of continual city driving taking its toll???
Not many folk at Fiat sad to see the Ulysee being dropped...however Stu has been 'fairly' happy with his so far

 

[poggy]

I think the Ulysse is great and a good indication is that I have kept it for 3 years, the longest I have ever owned a car and I intend to keep it for at least another two.

I had my fair share of problems in the beginning, but these were minor issues relating to electrics and false warning lights (pollution error, engine light etc). None of them stopped the car being driven, the only real disappointment was the front seat bases, which seemed to fall apart. However the replacement I have now seems to be fine as I think they have had a liner fitted to prevent it rubbing.

As for the gearbox, it is a AL4 unit which is used in many models across various ranges and manufacturers. It has been on the market for a long time and is still in production. If it was so bad they would have withdrawn it as it would cost them far too much money in warranty repairs.

The only thing I would say is that the Fiat dealers weren't prepared when the Ulysse MkII was launched, they struggled with diagnostics and getting parts. However this improved as they got used to the car, it seems a real shame to have pulled the plug on the model in the UK.

 

[Stu DemonD]

Not many folk at Fiat sad to see the Ulysee being dropped...however Stu has been 'fairly' happy with his so far

Indeed - I still feel now, after 3 years, that I made the right choice of MPV; granted, I would have maybe specced it slightly different with the options, but nothing major. It has had it fair share of problems, but as long as the dealership tries its best and doesn't fob me off, I don't mind.

 

[apis]

I have 2.0 JTD and the auto gearbox underwent a "renovation" after 25K miles (under warranty).
I don't know if this poor lifespan is typical or my particular one had a malfunction.

Regarding the 8 seat configuration, It is very spacious, even at the back, but if you plan to remove the rear bench frequently for cargo, etc. it is very heavy and two persons are needed to handle it.
On other hand, it can slide forward to make more room for luggage, and even fold. Make sure that these controls work freely on the particular car you want to buy.

 

[ATAKK]

I would like to add my bit to the gearbox dicussion. I bought a Fiat Ulysse about 6 months ago and have been experiencing automatic gearbox problems fir the last 2 months or so. There appears to be no kick-down and it feels as if the clutch is slipping and the engine rev's high up. This not always happen but the (second) main dealer is now looing into it and someone from Fiat is coming to inspect the gearbox on Monday. I recently bought an extended Fiat Warranty and so hopefully it is covered.

Has anyone else had these kinds of problems?

Thanks

AT

 

[jamesant]

When I first got my 2003 2.0 petrol auto ulysse the auto box failed after about 4 weeks the first replacement from italy also failed straight after fitting and they had to fit a second so the cost under warranty was close to £7k but my dealer did say that early autos had a known to fiat fault and that is why they fitted the second without a second thought since then the auto gear box has been fine never had a problem but can you amagine if it fails outside the warranty that is one of the main reasons I have just ordered an s-max that and all the electrical problems that have started over the last few months here are just a few. All the airbags have failed the replacement parts have taken over two months and still havent arrived the trip computer button on the wiper arm has stop working awaiting part the driver seat foam fell apart and when the dealer replaced it they broke the lumber support so need that fixing the rear windows have started leaking water the wheels are wearing wrong and the radio keeps dropping out.
But over than that it has been a good car when it has not been in the dealership lol.

 

[Flinty]

Just to fill you with the joys of spring.
A mate of mine has had his S-Max for 3 months now and it's only broken down twice! Good news is that it was the autogearbox only one of those times .
Have fun.

 

[jamesant]

Cheers Flinty I always seem to rush in and buy a lemon. I buy with my heart and not my head dam all that crome and sporty seats lol I had a good look around before ordering the s-max but it is one of the nices cars they rest like the zafira where just to small the s-max is the same size as the old galaxy so suits me perfect. I only started looking on the web after ordering the s-max and thats when i found out this car also has faults from day one. One thing flinty are you sure he has an s-max and not a c-max auto as I tryed to ordred one and the ford dealer said they where not an option as yet my be early 2007.
All the best james

 

[Flinty]

Pretty sure it's an S-Max, I think he may have gotten it abroad.
It really doesn't matter what you buy you are guaranteed to have some problem.
I once had a new Ford Modeo as a company car. Over the 6 months that the company had it, it spent 5 weeks in the dealers being repaired. By the end they were even repairing their own repairs.:bang: Even had both CV joints go. In the end they took the car back and gave us a new one.

 

[Hippo]

Some of yopu should listen to yourselves. It's obvious that a Diesel Ulysse shouldn't be mated to an autobox.

Sharan/Galaxy... a lot more of them on the road.

 

[inchhigh999]

i have a 2004 2.0 jtd auto which has the same symptoms as ATAKK above. it drives fine but have noticed the "slip" when pulling away quickly however it seems to pull ok!!. Also when motorway cruising, on changing lane and flooring it there is no kickdown. The auto has the manual selector so am i supposed to do it myself? not sure i am but is there a fix for this?
Thanks
Nick