alfa 159 non cancelling indicators

[dingocooke]

My recently inherited company car is an Alfa 159 JTDM sportwagon and has indicators that regularly dont cancel, my local dealer Beechdale Alfa in Derby are really nice and very helpful, but they say this is normal!

To be honest I think its a real hazard, you dont always notice theyre still on, and sometimes people pull out in front of you thinking youre turning left; you can hardly blame them!

Just wondered if anyone had a fix for this?

I have to say its a bit of a shock how fragile the car is after years of well built german cars but Im sure Ill get used to it....I own a Ducati 916 so Im used to Italian idiosyncrasis, but Im still searching for that elusive Alfa 'soul'!!

Any help gratefully accepted.

Steve

[Menguin]

You mean after turning they don't go back? Can't you just move them with your finger?

[jamieboy]

dingocooke said:

My recently inherited company car is an Alfa 159 JTDM sportwagon and has indicators that regularly dont cancel...

To be honest I think its a real hazard

Sometimes my left-hand indicator doesn't cancel, but only if it's been a really gentle left-hand turn - if you have any amount of lock on at all, then it cancels when you unwind it.

Is it a real hazard? Not sure - mine makes a noise when the indicator is on, and a warning light flashes on the dashboard....

dingocooke said:

I have to say its a bit of a shock how fragile the car is

Mine's been pretty much rock-solid in the year I've had it. What 'fragility' have you had?

[h19ney]

i've got a 159 ti 58 reg and i have the same problem with the cancelling, But it's such a small price to pay as the rest of the car is outstanding!!!
After the first few time's i just got use to flicking them off......... Or if you don't fully engadge the indicator down, a lighter push on the stick it will give you 3-4 flash's for smaller turns and auto cancell.

[dingocooke]

jamieboy said:

dingocooke said:

My recently inherited company car is an Alfa 159 JTDM sportwagon and has indicators that regularly dont cancel...

To be honest I think its a real hazard

Sometimes my left-hand indicator doesn't cancel, but only if it's been a really gentle left-hand turn - if you have any amount of lock on at all, then it cancels when you unwind it.

Is it a real hazard? Not sure - mine makes a noise when the indicator is on, and a warning light flashes on the dashboard....

dingocooke said:

I have to say its a bit of a shock how fragile the car is

Mine's been pretty much rock-solid in the year I've had it. What 'fragility' have you had?

I think its a hazard, you driving along come to a traffic island, turn left and it doesnt cancel, if you dont notice the warning light, somebody could pull out of a junction and who would be at fault?? To me thats a hazard, but more to the point Im amazed alfa cant make a car do something this simple!

Ref fragile, Ive had both trims fall off both front seats (from underneath) (and Im hardly a lard ass at sub 12 stone), rear parcel shelf roller dissemble itself, rear luggage acc socket flap fall off, rear light internal access hatch moulding falls out all the time, rear tailgate unlocks itself fairly regularly, front acc socket blown a few fuses(I only have a simple mobile charger or a tomtom plugged in never both), fairly rapid front tyre wear (again a known fault according to Beechdale Alfa who again are great), failed aircon (pipe burst).Sometimes when I start it up it sounds horrendous (youd swear it was running backwards, but kill it and re start and all ok (its the 20litre diesel and otherwise goes like a train)
I find myself waiting for the next bit to drop off!!
OK all minor faults, but only had it 9 weeks and a bit surprising on a 2007 car?
It's certainly not been a great 'ownership' experience yet!!

On the plus side I like the cabin styling, and the exterior styling is funky too.

[jamieboy]

dingocooke said:

Ref fragile...

Doesn't sound like you've had much luck. As a company car, I wonder if it had a hard life before you got it?

For the tyre wear, Alfa revised the recommended settings for the front wheels (I think from fairly aggressive toe-out to parallel) and that seems to have made a big difference for a lot of people. Worth checking anyway.

Is it the 2.4 you meant?

[dingocooke]

jamieboy said:

dingocooke said:

Ref fragile...

Doesn't sound like you've had much luck. As a company car, I wonder if it had a hard life before you got it?

For the tyre wear, Alfa revised the recommended settings for the front wheels (I think from fairly aggressive toe-out to parallel) and that seems to have made a big difference for a lot of people. Worth checking anyway.

Is it the 2.4 you meant?

No not a very good experience, my first Alfa, and, on current experience, my last!
Re the previous user he had taken good care of it; and to be fair to him my problems with the car would not really be affected by hard use in any case; yes its running the revised tracking, but even Fiat Leasing admitted on the phone that the 159 range has cost them a fortune in tyres on vehicles with full maintenance.

[ZesPak]

dingocooke said:

jamieboy said:

dingocooke said:

Ref fragile...

Doesn't sound like you've had much luck. As a company car, I wonder if it had a hard life before you got it?

For the tyre wear, Alfa revised the recommended settings for the front wheels (I think from fairly aggressive toe-out to parallel) and that seems to have made a big difference for a lot of people. Worth checking anyway.

Is it the 2.4 you meant?

No not a very good experience, my first Alfa, and, on current experience, my last!
Re the previous user he had taken good care of it; and to be fair to him my problems with the car would not really be affected by hard use in any case; yes its running the revised tracking, but even Fiat Leasing admitted on the phone that the 159 range has cost them a fortune in tyres on vehicles with full maintenance.

I've heard that the standard Bridgestone Potenza's are the problem, they are way to soft, very sticky but not durable.
Furthermore, your 'non-cancelling' indicator isn't normal, and sounds to me like your dealer doesn't want to say how much it would cost to replace them (and that's a lot on current cars).

To say the car was well kept is a lot if all of that happend in such a short time is a lot, don't you think?

Edited by ZesPak on Monday 27th July 15:37

[dingocooke]

ZesPak said:

dingocooke said:

jamieboy said:

dingocooke said:

Ref fragile...

Doesn't sound like you've had much luck. As a company car, I wonder if it had a hard life before you got it?

For the tyre wear, Alfa revised the recommended settings for the front wheels (I think from fairly aggressive toe-out to parallel) and that seems to have made a big difference for a lot of people. Worth checking anyway.

Is it the 2.4 you meant?

No not a very good experience, my first Alfa, and, on current experience, my last!
Re the previous user he had taken good care of it; and to be fair to him my problems with the car would not really be affected by hard use in any case; yes its running the revised tracking, but even Fiat Leasing admitted on the phone that the 159 range has cost them a fortune in tyres on vehicles with full maintenance.

I've heard that the standard Bridgestone Potenza's are the problem, they are way to soft, very sticky but not durable.
Furthermore, your 'non-cancelling' indicator isn't normal, and sounds to me like your dealer doesn't want to say how much it would cost to replace them (and that's a lot on current cars).

To say the car was well kept is a lot if all of that happend in such a short time is a lot, don't you think?

Edited by ZesPak on Monday 27th July 15:37

Well all I can say is Ive had the problems listed, and the guy who had the car before me is well known for being quite fastidious, and Im pretty much the same.
The indicator non cancelling issue is (apparently) well known on the 159, and my colleague has the same problem (turning left is the problem not turning right!). Talking to him , he's had recurring problems on his 159 JTDM saloon, and his list is even longer than mine, sat nav that sets itself to France repeatedly (dealer cant fix), excessive tyre wear; like me he says he wouldnt have another Alfa..
Footnote, my front tyres now worn to illegal limits on inside yet rest of tyre got 4mm; dealer says they got new, new tracking settings from Alfa 6 weeks ago so getting more new tyres fitted and having tracking done same day.
Sorry but thats the facts.

[jamieboy]

dingocooke said:

Well all I can say is Ive had the problems listed, and the guy who had the car before me is well known for being quite fastidious, and Im pretty much the same.

Fair enough - it's just that broken bits of trim aren't an issue that crop up very often on the owner's forums, and I'm sure you'd agree that it is the kind of thing that can happen through careless use.

dingocooke said:

Footnote, my front tyres now worn to illegal limits on inside yet rest of tyre got 4mm; dealer says they got new, new tracking settings from Alfa 6 weeks ago so getting more new tyres fitted and having tracking done same day.
Sorry but thats the facts.

I'd try another dealer. This was a problem, but the revised settings seem to have fixed it for pretty much everyone else who was experiencing it - i.e. first set of tyres lasted ~8,000miles, then got the revised settings and the second set lasted ~20,000. I know that's no help to you right now, but it's really not the case that "they all do that".

Regardless, it's a shame if it's put you off ever having another.

[ZesPak]

jamieboy said:

dingocooke said:

Well all I can say is Ive had the problems listed, and the guy who had the car before me is well known for being quite fastidious, and Im pretty much the same.

Fair enough - it's just that broken bits of trim aren't an issue that crop up very often on the owner's forums, and I'm sure you'd agree that it is the kind of thing that can happen through careless use.

dingocooke said:

Footnote, my front tyres now worn to illegal limits on inside yet rest of tyre got 4mm; dealer says they got new, new tracking settings from Alfa 6 weeks ago so getting more new tyres fitted and having tracking done same day.
Sorry but thats the facts.

I'd try another dealer. This was a problem, but the revised settings seem to have fixed it for pretty much everyone else who was experiencing it - i.e. first set of tyres lasted ~8,000miles, then got the revised settings and the second set lasted ~20,000. I know that's no help to you right now, but it's really not the case that "they all do that".

Regardless, it's a shame if it's put you off ever having another.

Well, look at it this way: he'll have another A4/3series and we can have our (in comparison) rare, good-looking car .

[dingocooke]

ZesPak said:

jamieboy said:

dingocooke said:

Well all I can say is Ive had the problems listed, and the guy who had the car before me is well known for being quite fastidious, and Im pretty much the same.

Fair enough - it's just that broken bits of trim aren't an issue that crop up very often on the owner's forums, and I'm sure you'd agree that it is the kind of thing that can happen through careless use.

dingocooke said:

Footnote, my front tyres now worn to illegal limits on inside yet rest of tyre got 4mm; dealer says they got new, new tracking settings from Alfa 6 weeks ago so getting more new tyres fitted and having tracking done same day.
Sorry but thats the facts.

I'd try another dealer. This was a problem, but the revised settings seem to have fixed it for pretty much everyone else who was experiencing it - i.e. first set of tyres lasted ~8,000miles, then got the revised settings and the second set lasted ~20,000. I know that's no help to you right now, but it's really not the case that "they all do that".

Regardless, it's a shame if it's put you off ever having another.

Well, look at it this way: he'll have another A4/3series and we can have our (in comparison) rare, good-looking car .

LOL :-) Im not biased towards any make, Ive always been brutally honest about the cars and bikes Ive owned or had custody of, and Ive had plenty! Ive never suffered the 'I bought one so it must be great' syndrome, only to then reel off problems after Id moved onto better things!
I was really looking forward to the Alfa, intrigued by the mystique, legend even, and realistic enough to know that, like my Ducati (s), it would be an 'Italian' experience!!
Im not a BMW or Audi only enthusiast, far from it Ive had dozens of different makes of car, and a few kit cars too; all Im doing is reporting my experiences and asking an honest question!

P.S Just so you know Im not immune to good looking cars, here's an example of one of my favourites (sold it two weeks ago sadly)...have fun whatever you drive!!!

[RicksAlfas]

Oooo that looks good!


Sorry to hear you haven't enjoyed the 159.

[jamieboy]

dingocooke said:

Ive always been brutally honest about the cars and bikes Ive owned or had custody of

It's the only way to be.

dingocooke said:

Ive never suffered the 'I bought one so it must be great' syndrome

Like you, I try not to. I also try to avoid the "Mine has some faults so they're all rubbish" syndrome.

[ZesPak]

That's a nice car! Why did you let go of that?

Oh and +1 on:

jamieboy said:

dingocooke said:

Ive always been brutally honest about the cars and bikes Ive owned or had custody of

It's the only way to be.

dingocooke said:

Ive never suffered the 'I bought one so it must be great' syndrome

Like you, I try not to. I also try to avoid the "Mine has some faults so they're all rubbish" syndrome.

I haven't got my 159 for long, and probably won't see it turn 4y old, but I already love it to bits (not the way you love yours to bits tough ). I've "done" the 3 series and A4 (German counterparts) and while the 3 series is a better drive, I couldn't live with the looks. While the A4 looks ok, inside and out, it doesn't look half as good as the 159, altough it's probably (from your experience) better screwed together.

But, I have to admit, to quote JC in one of his moments of brightness:

"If BMW made a car that looked like the 159, we'd never have to use our legs again, ever."

[anonymous-user]

The stalks in the 159 and Brera do seem to be pretty cheap and flimsy, compared to the rest of the controls. Though, if it's any consolation, it's not just Alfa that have these problems. In the 12 months that I owned my old Escort the indicators never once self cancelled.

[RicksAlfas]

Symbolica said:

The stalks in the 159 and Brera do seem to be pretty cheap and flimsy, compared to the rest of the controls.

I think the stalks are a step down over the previous 156 ones.
They're ugly and not particularly well thought out.
Not had any problems with self cancelling though.

[sixpot]

Whilst I am a huge Alfa fan, I too am a little annoyed by some of the 159's odd little habits. my 1.9jtdm has suffered the tyre wear issue and some of the other problems referred to on this thread and all of which in just 5 months of ownership. I have owned a 156 in the past and whilst I could never proclaim the 156 to be better built than the 159, because it just isn't in the same league, the 159 has definitely lost some of the soul/passion (that's £2.00 in the swear box) synonimous with the Alfa marque as a consequence.

It's a shame about these niggles, because it just reinforces the age old stereotype, but that's just fine by me........I love the fact that you don't see an Alfa on every street corner and that people think you are mad for owning one. I especially love the fact that buying a BMW/Audi makes people feel in some way better than I am. To me, that just makes the whole experience better. I wouldn't change my 159 for all the Beemers and Audi's in the land......but I would change it for a 2.4 Ti in Alfa red. In the words of JC "Nice people buy Alfa's"

[ZesPak]

sixpot said:

Whilst I am a huge Alfa fan, I too am a little annoyed by some of the 159's odd little habits. my 1.9jtdm has suffered the tyre wear issue and some of the other problems referred to on this thread and all of which in just 5 months of ownership. I have owned a 156 in the past and whilst I could never proclaim the 156 to be better built than the 159, because it just isn't in the same league, the 159 has definitely lost some of the soul/passion (that's £2.00 in the swear box) synonimous with the Alfa marque as a consequence.

It's a shame about these niggles, because it just reinforces the age old stereotype, but that's just fine by me........I love the fact that you don't see an Alfa on every street corner and that people think you are mad for owning one. I especially love the fact that buying a BMW/Audi makes people feel in some way better than I am. To me, that just makes the whole experience better. I wouldn't change my 159 for all the Beemers and Audi's in the land......but I would change it for a 2.4 Ti in Alfa red. In the words of JC "Nice people buy Alfa's"

+1 spot on!

I think his exact words were "Alfa males buy BMW's, Alfa's are for nice people".

I too think the controls on the stalks are a bit "fuzzy" and the stalks aren't the best in the business, but it's like saying a supermodels' hair is too short. i could forgive the 159 a LOT, just because it's so damn beautiful (DDG as we say).

[RicksAlfas]

ZesPak said:

but it's like saying a supermodels' hair is too short.

Yes, but you don't want one of those skinny girls with a boy's haircut do you?
That's just wrong on too many levels.