Fiat Ducato fuel filter failure/MB&G Warranty (1 Viewer)

May 14, 2015
15
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Wrexham, North Wales
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Just had and expensive few days. First trip out this year last weekend in our Scout/Fiat Ducato 40 Maxi 160 M-Jet, 17k miles and serviced last June. When wife asked what the puddle was I confidently said it was the air con....wrong. The fuel filter housing had failed and was pouring out from the top of the casing. Took it to my local Fiat dealer as the its 40miles to where we bought it. No problem as I have the Gold MB&G warrantee. Few days later and it was replaced but cost me £413. £216 for the new one and £128 labour (+VAT). Just seen all the posts re this problem and not impressed as it seems to be quite common. I asked if it was something I could do myself and was told not as the system needs re-repressurising after fitting. The dealer then also told me to stay clear of supermarket diesel as they have a high bio matter content and this will multiply in the filter when not used for a time, then freeze (cold snap last week!) expand and bingo.....never heard of this! To cap it all MB&G warranty refused to cover it as small print states 'CASINGS - if any parts included fails and this damages the casings, they will also be included'. As there were no parts (mechanical or electrical) that failed, just the casing...it wasn't covered. What a liberty...talk about small print get outs.....One plus, glad we took it out for quick trip as we're planning a trip to Germany next month.
 

Techno

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No it does not need re pressurising. The system is self priming after filter change,just turn it over 5 seconds then another burst and it will fire up. Who is feeding you this rubbish?
I only use ASDA diesel or cheaper if abroad.
It is something of a topic on forums to find the cheapest whatever :LOL:
 
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Techno

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You simply got stiffed by the garage on the unit price of the filter which you can buy for £80. Put it down to experience and buy a spare for out on the road.
£128 plus VAT labour for 30 minutes including driving it in and out.

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Jul 13, 2008
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£415 for a fuel filter housing! Daylight robery.
 
Jul 13, 2008
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How long did it take to replace? 1 hour max I reckon.
 

Chris

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Am I right in thinking that this fault has been rectified by Fiat now?
 

Phillybarbour

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Feb 2, 2013
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Yes this a job you can do this yourself if your handy with tools as its only a bolt off bolt on replacement. Can be fiddly to get at but that's all.

The latter model with the 180 engine have a completely different fuel filter type, i.e. It's a canister type not a filter type as on the earlier 160, this makes replacement a doodle but the part is a bit more expensive on the newer version.

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Dec 23, 2014
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Dionysus, sorry to say you were had. If you have a complete new filter housing it can be changed in about 10 mins. No tools needed. The cost of a spare / replacement on ebay is about £80. Best advice get a spare for your European trip, although they have the same fault over there and spares are easily available.
 
Nov 30, 2009
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Am I right in thinking that this fault has been rectified by Fiat now?

We have a late 2014 Peugeot Boxer on the new face lift and that has the same troublesome Filter :(

Mark @driving sold me his spare filter and gasket with the removal tool (y)

Never realized the housing could split though :eek: Must get a spare one.
 
Apr 9, 2014
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I would recommend that anyone who has this issue and drives their van with the leak, that they wash the under carriage of the vehicle fully. Diesel is corrosive and it is not a good idea to leave it lying around on the plastics and bonding agents.

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Lenny HB

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Oct 18, 2007
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Well stitched up and shows how insurance warranties aren't worth the paper they are written on.
I thought they changed to the new designed filter around 2012.
 

Puddleduck

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I think a call to trading standards is in order.

It might also be worth a call to FIAT themselves as this is a well known problem. They probably won't offer you cash but may well offer a discount on your next service at a FIAT service centre. :)

The VOSA (or whatever they are now called) may also be interested. Possible recall???
 
Nov 30, 2009
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I'm lead to believe, that you also need the removal and fitting tool.
( fuel filter removal kit)
You wouldn't just be able to do it at the side of the road without it.
I've got one just in case.
 

Chris

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Well stitched up and shows how insurance warranties aren't worth the paper they are written on.
I thought they changed to the new designed filter around 2012.

That's what I thought. Isn't it steel or something now instead of plastic or rubber?

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Nov 30, 2009
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Mines still plastic. But mines a new Peugeot . Think I'll look into buying a steel one. Anyone got a link ?
 
Dec 23, 2014
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I think a call to trading standards is in order.

It might also be worth a call to FIAT themselves as this is a well known problem. They probably won't offer you cash but may well offer a discount on your next service at a FIAT service centre. :)

The VOSA (or whatever they are now called) may also be interested. Possible recall???

Sadly probably a waste of time. I went through the process with a FIAT HQ expert checking my vehicle under the supervision of VOSA or whatever they are called now. The net result was that they were able to wriggle out from under by saying that the garage that had serviced my filter had fitted a non FIAT spare filter with a badly made seal. The fact that they had fitted the filter after the problem occurred was ignored.

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Techno

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Fiat do not make the filter and its not a FIAT issue as I've said before the same UFI filter is used by Peugeot Citroen and a whole host of other manufacturers
 

Techno

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Two links to fitting and servicing the UFI filter.
Bear in mind that the subject vehicle is left hand drive so access to the filter is difficult! This does not apply to right hand drive vehicles as all the braking equipment is on the other side

http://bfriendsofrapidouk.runboard.com/t4
 
Dec 23, 2014
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Fiat do not make the filter and its not a FIAT issue as I've said before the same UFI filter is used by Peugeot Citroen and a whole host of other manufacturers

I don't understand your point?

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Techno

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I don't understand your point?
Everyone slags Fiat off as though it is theirs and only their problem. IMHO the filter housing is fine and in most cases suffers leakage down the line because a garage did not service it with the correct tools or use a torque wrench.
More recently they changed the filter assembly completely (back to the metal canister type) to overcome bad servicing over which they have no control and it is impossible to evidence
 
Dec 23, 2014
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Everyone slags Fiat off as though it is theirs and only their problem. IMHO the filter housing is fine and in most cases suffers leakage down the line because a garage did not service it with the correct tools or use a torque wrench.
More recently they changed the filter assembly completely (back to the metal canister type) to overcome bad servicing over which they have no control and it is impossible to evidence

I appreciate that the same or similar filter assembly is used on other vehicles, also experiencing the same problems. However Fiat and others chose to use that component in their design and whilst the supplier that took your money is legally responsible for failures during warranty or under the Sale and Supply of Goods Act, Fiat are responsible for the integration and for ensuring the components are fit for purpose, taking their suppliers to task if required.

In my case an untouched from new filter assembly started to leak profusely for no apparent reason and I had no choice but to get it fixed immediately. A local garage fitted a new filter element with a new O ring using the proper tool to torque the cap. It failed about 500 miles later and I got Fiat and VOSA to do an investigation. Fiat agreed that the unit had been correctly reassembled and that the cap had been torqued properly. Unfortunately I did not know that the garage had used an aftermarket element and O ring and Fiat blamed that for the failure. Frankly in my case I agree with them as the new O ring was slightly too large and much too hard. This gave Fiat and VOSA the opening to sweep away the fact that the original failure was of original equipment as the evidence had gone. In my view the plastic variety of filter assembly is not fit for purpose and is not tolerant to the use of anything but genuine Fiat / UFI spares and even then is questionable. Integrators, including Fiat, using this unit should step up to the mark and get it sorted out.
 
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Feb 16, 2013
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In all this , how can anyone defend these filters, what was wrong with the simple ones that had worked for fifty years.

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Dec 23, 2014
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Andy is it a major task to fit the new "metal can" to a van with the plastic version. Is it just a bit of fuel pipe line rerouting and a strategic screw or two to "upgrade" ?? ;)

After the problems I experienced I asked Fiat about this. They said it was not possible; something to do with the electrical connection and different characteristics of the different filters.

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