Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio... reliability
Discussion
Not water ingress, this is concerning the ECU fitted near the windscreen scuttle.
The issue with Redmax's car sounds like the turbo bypass valve connection issue due to the wiring harness being too tight. The connectors can come loose as the engine moves about.
Following PDF shows where the valves are (there are 2, one for each turbo):
https://www.forgemotorsport.co.uk/?download_id=292
The issue with Redmax's car sounds like the turbo bypass valve connection issue due to the wiring harness being too tight. The connectors can come loose as the engine moves about.
Following PDF shows where the valves are (there are 2, one for each turbo):
https://www.forgemotorsport.co.uk/?download_id=292
Edited by BlackPorker on Monday 27th January 13:03
Redmax said:
First unreliability event in the Giulia QF for me today (1 month in, 2500 miles), apart from the bloody alarm still going off 
Accelerating down a slip road this afternoon, car went into limp mode. Once I got home the recovery guy was there within an hour, after a while he found a disconnected plug in the turbo/wastegate circuit, deep in the engine bay. I guess the plug was never quite installed properly and has vibrated loose. Good work by the chap to find it I reckon, although I did ask him to reduce the alarm sensitivity whilst he was talking to the ECU and he clearly forgot in all the excitement...
Limp mode happened again tonight, again under enthusiastic acceleration Accelerating down a slip road this afternoon, car went into limp mode. Once I got home the recovery guy was there within an hour, after a while he found a disconnected plug in the turbo/wastegate circuit, deep in the engine bay. I guess the plug was never quite installed properly and has vibrated loose. Good work by the chap to find it I reckon, although I did ask him to reduce the alarm sensitivity whilst he was talking to the ECU and he clearly forgot in all the excitement...
It looks like the root cause is that the clip on the plug that came off last week is actually broken so doesn't secure properly. The recovery chap who came tonight has cable-tied it up so hopefully it'll last until its first service when we can get the plug replaced. Worst case I can stick it back on myself if it happens before it goes for its first service. Place your bets on whether they'll just replace the plug or replace the entire engine bay loom (with probably a 12 week leadtime from Italy ) I don't think the broken clip is due to the engine loom being too tight, there's a decent amount of slack in there I would have thought.
Annoying of course but fair play for another quick assistance response. This chap didn't have sufficient functionality on his ECU plug-in thingy to desensitise the alarm so we've still got that issue
It's still lovely when its working
Redmax said:
Limp mode happened again tonight, again under enthusiastic acceleration It looks like the root cause is that the clip on the plug that came off last week is actually broken so doesn't secure properly. The recovery chap who came tonight has cable-tied it up so hopefully it'll last until its first service when we can get the plug replaced. Worst case I can stick it back on myself if it happens before it goes for its first service. Place your bets on whether they'll just replace the plug or replace the entire engine bay loom (with probably a 12 week leadtime from Italy )
I don't think the broken clip is due to the engine loom being too tight, there's a decent amount of slack in there I would have thought.
Annoying of course but fair play for another quick assistance response. This chap didn't have sufficient functionality on his ECU plug-in thingy to desensitise the alarm so we've still got that issue
It's still lovely when its working
This week's callout event is for the DNA dial not working and start/stop having become inactive It looks like the root cause is that the clip on the plug that came off last week is actually broken so doesn't secure properly. The recovery chap who came tonight has cable-tied it up so hopefully it'll last until its first service when we can get the plug replaced. Worst case I can stick it back on myself if it happens before it goes for its first service. Place your bets on whether they'll just replace the plug or replace the entire engine bay loom (with probably a 12 week leadtime from Italy ) I don't think the broken clip is due to the engine loom being too tight, there's a decent amount of slack in there I would have thought.
Annoying of course but fair play for another quick assistance response. This chap didn't have sufficient functionality on his ECU plug-in thingy to desensitise the alarm so we've still got that issue
It's still lovely when its working
There aren't any lights on the DNA dial and I can't change the modes. It's not in limp mode this time nor do I have any warning lights/messages. This is officially the least reliable car we've ever had Redmax said:
This week's callout event is for the DNA dial not working and start/stop having become inactive There aren't any lights on the DNA dial and I can't change the modes. It's not in limp mode this time nor do I have any warning lights/messages. This is officially the least reliable car we've ever had
That’s what happens when you run the fuel low in dynamic mode. You need to go through 2-3 start ups and it will be ok again. There aren't any lights on the DNA dial and I can't change the modes. It's not in limp mode this time nor do I have any warning lights/messages. This is officially the least reliable car we've ever had Did you run on low fuel - eg when it’s red?
(It is a pain, but avoidable once you know)
I'm not sure about Mrs Redmax but I've never had the fuel light on dynamic or any other mode. It seems an odd feature to disable anything on the car for something so common and trivial...
It got recovered on Sunday and as of yesterday afternoon nobody seemed quite sure where it is! Hopefully it'll make its way to Motorvogue in Northampton before too long - we'll get them to look at the broken plug in the engine bay and desensitise the alarm whilst its there, along with fixing the DNA/start-stop issue.
It got recovered on Sunday and as of yesterday afternoon nobody seemed quite sure where it is! Hopefully it'll make its way to Motorvogue in Northampton before too long - we'll get them to look at the broken plug in the engine bay and desensitise the alarm whilst its there, along with fixing the DNA/start-stop issue.
Fuel gauges on these are a bit crap for the bottom quarter, doesn't help it's a digital gauge with just a finite number of segments.
The range estimation is also not to be trusted, goes from 100 miles you're fine, to 30 miles or so.
You're fine you're fine you're fine, you're gonna run out!!!
That's my experience anyway
The range estimation is also not to be trusted, goes from 100 miles you're fine, to 30 miles or so.
You're fine you're fine you're fine, you're gonna run out!!!
That's my experience anyway
Redmax said:
This week's callout event is for the DNA dial not working and start/stop having become inactive There aren't any lights on the DNA dial and I can't change the modes. It's not in limp mode this time nor do I have any warning lights/messages. This is officially the least reliable car we've ever had
But the important question is, is it worth it? There aren't any lights on the DNA dial and I can't change the modes. It's not in limp mode this time nor do I have any warning lights/messages. This is officially the least reliable car we've ever had 
Krikkit said:
But the important question is, is it worth it?
I can't remember..! Sitrep: the car got recovered to our local dealer on Tuesday. By last Friday the DNA fault had been fixed apparently, not sure what the root cause was as yet. I've rung up twice to ensure they replace the broken engine loom plug (that's caused the first two issues and is currently cable-tied up to keep it connected) and to desensitise the alarm - from the interactions I've had I have limited confidence they've actually fixed those issues as they seem 'new' requests every time I talk to the service guys.
Whilst the DNA issue has allegedly been fixed, we're not allowed to take the car home yet - they say there's been a safety recall and the required parts need to come from Italy. Will be at least another week before we get it back. So we're looking at three callouts, a recovery, and two weeks in the dealers. On a 6-week old car.
Awesome
My advice to anyone reading this and contemplating a left-field alternative to the usual BMW, Audi, Mercedes - avoid, avoid Alfa like the plague. I say this having had most brands over the years and having had some pretty nice cars. This is utterly ridiculous and so deeply, deeply disappointing.
Redmax said:
Krikkit said:
But the important question is, is it worth it?
I can't remember..! Sitrep: the car got recovered to our local dealer on Tuesday. By last Friday the DNA fault had been fixed apparently, not sure what the root cause was as yet. I've rung up twice to ensure they replace the broken engine loom plug (that's caused the first two issues and is currently cable-tied up to keep it connected) and to desensitise the alarm - from the interactions I've had I have limited confidence they've actually fixed those issues as they seem 'new' requests every time I talk to the service guys.
Whilst the DNA issue has allegedly been fixed, we're not allowed to take the car home yet - they say there's been a safety recall and the required parts need to come from Italy. Will be at least another week before we get it back. So we're looking at three callouts, a recovery, and two weeks in the dealers. On a 6-week old car.
Awesome
My advice to anyone reading this and contemplating a left-field alternative to the usual BMW, Audi, Mercedes - avoid, avoid Alfa like the plague. I say this having had most brands over the years and having had some pretty nice cars. This is utterly ridiculous and so deeply, deeply disappointing.
I started this thread a year or so ago and now done 18000 miles in my 2019 qv, apart from one issue it’s not missed a beat, way better than the 3 Audi’s I’ve owned and just an amazing daily car for me .
firethorne said:
What year is your car?
I started this thread a year or so ago and now done 18000 miles in my 2019 qv, apart from one issue it’s not missed a beat, way better than the 3 Audi’s I’ve owned and just an amazing daily car for me .
It’s essentially brand new - got it just before Christmas. 69 plate, we’re the first owners. I started this thread a year or so ago and now done 18000 miles in my 2019 qv, apart from one issue it’s not missed a beat, way better than the 3 Audi’s I’ve owned and just an amazing daily car for me .
Redmax said:
I can't remember..!
Sitrep: the car got recovered to our local dealer on Tuesday. By last Friday the DNA fault had been fixed apparently, not sure what the root cause was as yet. I've rung up twice to ensure they replace the broken engine loom plug (that's caused the first two issues and is currently cable-tied up to keep it connected) and to desensitise the alarm - from the interactions I've had I have limited confidence they've actually fixed those issues as they seem 'new' requests every time I talk to the service guys.
Whilst the DNA issue has allegedly been fixed, we're not allowed to take the car home yet - they say there's been a safety recall and the required parts need to come from Italy. Will be at least another week before we get it back. So we're looking at three callouts, a recovery, and two weeks in the dealers. On a 6-week old car.
Awesome
My advice to anyone reading this and contemplating a left-field alternative to the usual BMW, Audi, Mercedes - avoid, avoid Alfa like the plague. I say this having had most brands over the years and having had some pretty nice cars. This is utterly ridiculous and so deeply, deeply disappointing.
It’s not a Quad, but I’m just coming up to 2 years & 21k miles in a Giulia Veloce from new and it’s been pretty dire from a quality & reliability point of view. I’ll be happy to see the back of it very soon. Sitrep: the car got recovered to our local dealer on Tuesday. By last Friday the DNA fault had been fixed apparently, not sure what the root cause was as yet. I've rung up twice to ensure they replace the broken engine loom plug (that's caused the first two issues and is currently cable-tied up to keep it connected) and to desensitise the alarm - from the interactions I've had I have limited confidence they've actually fixed those issues as they seem 'new' requests every time I talk to the service guys.
Whilst the DNA issue has allegedly been fixed, we're not allowed to take the car home yet - they say there's been a safety recall and the required parts need to come from Italy. Will be at least another week before we get it back. So we're looking at three callouts, a recovery, and two weeks in the dealers. On a 6-week old car.
Awesome
My advice to anyone reading this and contemplating a left-field alternative to the usual BMW, Audi, Mercedes - avoid, avoid Alfa like the plague. I say this having had most brands over the years and having had some pretty nice cars. This is utterly ridiculous and so deeply, deeply disappointing.
Regarding the alarm sensitivity - I’ve had mine ‘turned down’ which did nothing to alleviate the problem. The dealer then fitted a brand new, updated alarm module - the problem is still exactly the same and the alarm goes off 3/4 times per week. Ridiculous and just one of a long list of issues for me.
However, I do hope you get your car sorted so you can at least enjoy some time with it as mine has been mostly driveable. Good luck.
Redmax said:
It’s essentially brand new - got it just before Christmas. 69 plate, we’re the first owners.
Still no sign of getting the car back, it's still awaiting parts from Italy. So in about 8 weeks of ownership we've had three recovery callouts, and for two weeks and counting it's been with the dealer. The recall is for a fan apparently, it can fail and overheat the engine.
TTmonkey said:
generationx said:
3 years 27,000 miles
Software recall during first service
Replaced key battery
That’s it
4 years 60,000 miles. Software recall during first service
Replaced key battery
That’s it
zero problems. Nothing broken, everything working as it should do. Not a single warranty claim.
Still, it’s a 4 series BMW so there you go.
Haha. That’s exactly what I’ve gone to - a 440i. There’s more quality in 1 click of the iDrive controller...MarkJS said:
TTmonkey said:
generationx said:
3 years 27,000 miles
Software recall during first service
Replaced key battery
That’s it
4 years 60,000 miles. Software recall during first service
Replaced key battery
That’s it
zero problems. Nothing broken, everything working as it should do. Not a single warranty claim.
Still, it’s a 4 series BMW so there you go.
Haha. That’s exactly what I’ve gone to - a 440i. There’s more quality in 1 click of the iDrive controller...
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