Faults:

Catastrophic engine failure caused by a derailed fan-belt becoming lodged under the timing belt at 24000 miles.

Spare part ordered seven months ago has still not arrived.

Reversing lights have never worked -due, I am told, to faulty wiring.

Interior lights don't switch on and off when doors open/close.

Tyres were grossly over-inflated upon delivery.

Alloy wheels need a hammer and block to remove.

Seat-belts do not retract properly and frequently the metal ends get trapped in the doors on closing.

General Comments:

It's the same old story, I'm afraid. A brilliant concept poorly executed. Fiat customer service is the worst I've ever encountered. This is my forth Fiat and in the past I've convinced myself that all those problems of poor quality have been solved. They have not. What is worse, it seems that Fiat have no desire to solve them. This is my last purchase of a Fiat.

Faults:

Clutch failed with very little warning. I was at a junction with the clutch down and covering the foot-brake when my car decided to move in to oncoming traffic.

On contacting the Fiat dealer I was told this was a common fault due to clutch cylinder failure.

Evidently this is quite an expensive fault. As the car was eventually stuck in first gear in the middle of the road and couldn't be pushed or rolled to somewhere safe, let alone a garage, I also had to pay to have it picked up and taken to the garage.

General Comments:

I recommend that if you own a Multipla, you have the clutch cylinder checked as you could find yourself seriously stuck and possibly in a very dangerous situation.

Faults:

The blanking plate above the passenger sunshade was loose from the car was bought. The dealer (Main Dealer in Belfast Northern Ireland) has been unable / unwilling to get a replacement in 3 years.

The fabric covered dash is very hard to clean.

The alloy wheels always stick to the wheel hub making a wheel change very difficult. I carry a hammer and a block of wood in the boot to enable removal in case of a puncture. Although this happens on other cars with alloy wheels, twice mechanics (one from AA) have commented to me that these wheels are particularly difficult to remove) I have had possibly associated difficulties with the wheel nuts as well sticking badly, even when they have only been tightened manually. The wheel brace is of very poor quality and has broken.

The locking wheel bolts and keys for the alloys are in my opinion of poor quality, the dealership confirms that they frequently have to remove them.

The wheel carrier mechanism failed on the third use. (one month after 3 year warranty expired) It would not wind down the spare and there was no alternative means of removal except brute force. Very worrying as this combined with the sticking wheel nuts, sticking wheel and poor quality wheel brace could lead to you being seriously stranded.

The Belfast dealership basically do not care about problems with the car. They simply refer you on to Fiat's Customer service department who are next to useless.

General Comments:

The Fiat Multipla is great fun to drive, the six seats accommodate my family perfectly while still leaving reasonable boot space. I get pretty good petrol mileage from it and it is comfortable to drive. With the rear seats removed it has proved excellent for transporting large objects and those end of summer runs to the local Dump.

HOWEVER the car is let down badly by the poor after-sales support. I will never buy any Fiat again due to the frightening faults with the wheel change procedure and equipment. This is one area that I believe there is no excuse for shoddy workmanship in, and I no longer trust Fiat in this respect. If you do buy one make sure that you check the wheel bolts, locking keys and the operation of the wheel carrier regularly and especially before any long trips. Buy yourself a proper wheel brace and above all at each service tell the Dealership to check all these items also as they are not currently on their check-lists.