FR ST 180 lost all power

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
Don't get fobbed off and be prepared to get a refund and walk away if you have to.

Agree. Some cars are just never right. I talked to the manager of a Nissan dealership who had to take a Micra back because it had electronic issues that they could not get to the bottom of. Replaced every part but the fault was still there.

The problem is that it knocks your confidence in the car. That's one of the worst aspects of it.
 

JamesH85

Active Member
Feb 7, 2021
12
10
Yeah it does knock your confidence, however, the car has gone to Seat now, of it comes back fixed but the fault reoccurs a couple of months down the line, do you have the right to return the car or do you persist with warranty repairs.

I assume after a few attempts at repairing the car the garage will most likely tell me I can't return it and end up with an awful fight on my hands that I would rather avoid!
 

280jl

Active Member
Nov 20, 2015
162
59
Bromley
Due to how long you have had the car, you technically will have the right to return the car, but its a hassle... the best thing now is, the car is with a main dealer, assumingly they are covering the cost to fix it ?

For now, think positive that they will fix it with no cost to yourself, and the cost will be covered, the likleyhood of the " same fault " occurring again is very slim.

In one way, its annoying to have a fault this quick after getting a new car, but its much better now than 3 months down the line when the warranty company claim it as wear and tear and do not cover the repair
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
.. the likleyhood of the " same fault " occurring again is very slim.

You think?? Not in my experience. Dealers are hopeless at fault finding. Utterly hopeless. Everyone thinks that dealers must have the best mechanics. They don't.
 

JamesH85

Active Member
Feb 7, 2021
12
10
Hello chaps, quick update on my car.

The car is actually with SEAT now and has been for 2 days.

I have spoke to their service manage and he said no matter what they do they are unable to reproduce the fault I have been having..

This is starting to become concerning for me.

I have sent them a video of the car producing the fault and have been told they are going to look into it further.

Owned the car for 11 days now, only drove it for 6.
 

300bhpdaily

Active Member
May 26, 2020
1,245
565
You think?? Not in my experience. Dealers are hopeless at fault finding. Utterly hopeless. Everyone thinks that dealers must have the best mechanics. They don't.
Have a day off mate Jesus Christ. Your honestly a expert of giving people bad advise and always come across like someone who literally knows nothing about everyones situation. I honestly see you’ve posted and cringe that your gonna make a fool of yourself and everyone is too polite to tell you to shut up. You’ve made this poor guy feel even worse about the situation by talking absolutely BS yet again. I know your gonna get your knickers in a twist over this post and come back with some poor attempt of a come back but just keep quite if you don’t know what your talking about it’s simple.
I hope you get your car sorted mate if you need advise on warranty claims private msg me as I process them for a living and know the process and can advise you moving forward.
I’m not gonna reply to this post again so mrs pig shhhhhhhhhhhh
 

280jl

Active Member
Nov 20, 2015
162
59
Bromley
You think?? Not in my experience. Dealers are hopeless at fault finding. Utterly hopeless. Everyone thinks that dealers must have the best mechanics. They don't.


Think your being a but harsh generalising " dealers " , not sure if you mean every main dealer that exists, or just what you have experienced ?

You are right in one way, many main dealers are useless, but some have some very skilled technicians, it's just a matter of finding them, the main reason main dealers get a bad press, is they have to tell people news they don't want to hear, the truth and cost hurts.

To think positively, hopefully they witness this chaps fault and can fix it why he doesn't have to pay for it !
 

Ross6392

Active Member
Apr 30, 2020
22
5
We all have our fingers crossed for you mate!
Does it start again after cutting out? Given the cold weather recently it could be water ingested into the fuel system, especially if that car has been sitting on a forecourt for a while with not a lot of fuel in the tank and not being run regularly.
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
Think your being a but harsh generalising " dealers " , not sure if you mean every main dealer that exists, or just what you have experienced ?

Well you can't say all dealers are terrible at fault finding, because I don't know all dealers. Obviously some will be better than others, Master Technicians have to work somewhere. But my personal experience, and from what I've seen other people go through, is that they're usually hopeless at fault finding.

These kinds of faults are relatively rare and dealers typically sell new and newer cars which are more reliable. They don't need to employ specialized techs as the bulk of their work is routine servicing. You're not going to pay a Master Technician to do oil changes all day.

I knew a guy who was a Vauxhall Master Technician, he's the service manager for a haulage company now, and he said you're better going to a good independent specialist.

By the sounds of it the OPs dealer is taking it seriously at least but if they don't find it, I'd be getting rid of the car. Lot of cars out there. Really no need to keep one you don't have confidence in.
 

martin j.

Active Member
Feb 11, 2007
1,996
889
Fife
I worked in a Kia dealership and we were required to have one master tech employed and another technician who did many of the courses the master tech attended as a back up, it was also possible to enter problems on a Kia technical site and follow the work of others who have had similar jobs in, surely Seat must be the same?
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
I worked in a Kia dealership and we were required to have one master tech employed..

It probably depends on the size of the dealership etc? The dealer our cars came from does not have a Master Tech, they need to get one in from Seat. Which they can do but seem very reluctant to. The Vauxhall guy I knew went round different dealers. He said that he was the guy they called when no one else could fix it.

He also slated dealer servicing in general. He said it's all about money. The mechanics get a set time to do the job and they don't have the time to really do the job right and look at any other issues they might spot while working on the car. Get the box ticked, get it out the door.
 

JamesH85

Active Member
Feb 7, 2021
12
10
Alrite chaps!

Update on my car, so Seat have had my car for over a week now.

They have been unable to reproduce the error that i experienced and have said the car has not cut out at all, they have had it running every day.

What would you guys do? I don't know where i stand or what to do.
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
Legally, you can reject the car. Their argument will be that there is no fault but if you and the dealer are reasonable they should be happy to exchange it or take it back.

I'm actually in a similar situation right now. I identified a noise when I test drove the car. Dealer agreed to fix it and I bought the car. After two attempts, they didn't fix it and don't know what it is. I took it to an independent who narrowed the noise down but couldn't know what it was without talking the area apart, and I can't sanction that when the thing is still under Seat warranty.

Dealer has agreed to buy the car back. Exactly how that might play out I don't know yet. I don't want to get rid of the car until the shops are open and I can buy another one. It's got the Seat warranty and dealer says he'll sort it if anything bad happens so I'm not worried.

But like you, I'm not confident in the car and not comfortable not knowing what is wrong. If I can't get the noise sorted the car will be going. It might be nothing but I'm not taking the chance. I've been here before with cars. Sometimes you need to trust your gut. I've also known others who had Friday cars that were a nightmare. That fault might never recur but every time you drive the car you are going to wonder if this will be the day it does. No, I just don't want that in my life.
 

JamesH85

Active Member
Feb 7, 2021
12
10
Ok second update, had a phone call from Seat, and THEY HAVE FIXED MY CAR!!!!

Absolutley over the moon, turned out to be a relay that was blown, causing one of the control units to work intermittently.

So so happy!
 

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Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
Great news! And by the sounds of it they clearly have identified the fault. Not much chance of it recurring.

Happy days. Enjoy your car :0)