Autotrail Apache 634L - Repeated Wheel WELD FAILURE

belka

Guest
Hello

I thought it may interest you to see the correspondence I sent to FIAT CUSTOMER SERVICES yesterday:-

Autotrail Apache 634L
Registration number NJZ 8889
VIN/Chassis/Frame No. ZFA25000001355036

We have a serious concern regarding the reliability of the wheels on our vehicle due to three separate “weld failures” in the past 16 month.
Our first problem was in October 2015 and we purchased a new wheel whilst travelling in Spain from a Fiat Main Dealer:-
Carrera Motor Santander.es costing 185.49 euro’s (£137.35)
After returning to the UK April 2016 we had a “weld failure” on the wheel we purchased in Spain. We purchased a new wheel from another Fiat Main Dealer:-
Lookers Fiat Stockport costing £110.21
Lookers processed a claim to Fiat and this cost was refunded to us on the 22nd June 2016.
Now in February 2017 we are once again on our Winter’s holiday in Spain and we now have a “weld failure” problem on another wheel.
Why does this keep happening? It it a known problem?
Can you help?

Maybe other Motorhome owners/drivers may have come accross this problem before.

Any input would be appreciated

Belka
Enjoying the sun in Spain...........................
 
How lucky you were to spot the fault before total failure, it is probably a batch of faulty wheels FROM the manufacturer would suggest all wheels are changed or checked by the dealer . I presume they are steel wheels ,any talk of you overloading the van . Any chance of posting a photo
 
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belka said:
Hello

I thought it may interest you to see the correspondence I sent to FIAT CUSTOMER SERVICES yesterday:-

Autotrail Apache 634L
Registration number NJZ 8889
VIN/Chassis/Frame No. ZFA25000001355036

We have a serious concern regarding the reliability of the wheels on our vehicle due to three separate “weld failures” in the past 16 month.
Our first problem was in October 2015 and we purchased a new wheel whilst travelling in Spain from a Fiat Main Dealer:-
Carrera Motor Santander.es costing 185.49 euro’s (£137.35)
After returning to the UK April 2016 we had a “weld failure” on the wheel we purchased in Spain. We purchased a new wheel from another Fiat Main Dealer:-
Lookers Fiat Stockport costing £110.21
Lookers processed a claim to Fiat and this cost was refunded to us on the 22nd June 2016.
Now in February 2017 we are once again on our Winter’s holiday in Spain and we now have a “weld failure” problem on another wheel.
Why does this keep happening? It it a known problem?
Can you help?

Maybe other Motorhome owners/drivers may have come accross this problem before.

Any input would be appreciated

Belka
Enjoying the sun in Spain...........................
Click to expand...

A strange one this,it's not a problem I have heard of before with the Ducato so 3 wheel failures in 16 months is unusual.Sorry but it's got to be asked....do you occasionally drive on any uneven surfaces or high kerbs at all and are you within the vehicle MGVW?
 
not a fault ive realy heared of ,weld fails on steel wheels as i believe there machine welded ,but i have heared of alloy wheels cracking , the beemer i had suffered from two such problems ,just showed up on the tire pressure monitor system as a slow puncture .but that was put down to the run flat tire they fitted . i also know of the problems with the cheap after market alloys even though there not realy cheap from china and other countries ,how they warp and buckle .not up to the job .
 
belka said:
Hello

I thought it may interest you to see the correspondence I sent to FIAT CUSTOMER SERVICES yesterday:-

Autotrail Apache 634L
Registration number NJZ 8889
VIN/Chassis/Frame No. ZFA25000001355036

We have a serious concern regarding the reliability of the wheels on our vehicle due to three separate “weld failures” in the past 16 month.
Our first problem was in October 2015 and we purchased a new wheel whilst travelling in Spain from a Fiat Main Dealer:-
Carrera Motor Santander.es costing 185.49 euro’s (£137.35)
After returning to the UK April 2016 we had a “weld failure” on the wheel we purchased in Spain. We purchased a new wheel from another Fiat Main Dealer:-
Lookers Fiat Stockport costing £110.21
Lookers processed a claim to Fiat and this cost was refunded to us on the 22nd June 2016.
Now in February 2017 we are once again on our Winter’s holiday in Spain and we now have a “weld failure” problem on another wheel.
Why does this keep happening? It it a known problem?
Can you help?

Maybe other Motorhome owners/drivers may have come accross this problem before.

Any input would be appreciated

Belka
Enjoying the sun in Spain...........................
Click to expand...
Are they steel wheels or ali,sounds a tad expensive for steel wheels.I have the Fiat alloy wheels and should I get them checked as visually they look ok. thank you.
 
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wakk44 said:
A strange one this,it's not a problem I have heard of before with the Ducato so 3 wheel failures in 16 months is unusual.Sorry but it's got to be asked....do you occasionally drive on any uneven surfaces or high kerbs at all and are you within the vehicle MGVW?
Click to expand...


Who doesn't drive on uneven surfaces with the state and size of some of the potholes on our roads. Its unavoidable at times.
 
£110 for a wheel? Ouch. Must be ally's at that price. £50 for a steel VW wheel. Alloy wheels cracking at the valve hole isn't uncommon.
 
Thank you for all the replies here is some more information:-

The Wheels in question are Steel.

All three failed on the rear of the vehicle whether that mean s anything I don't know.

We adhere to the maximum payload and don't drive wrecklessly.

The weld that has failed each time was one of the four welds that attaches the rim to the hub.

The wheels are 15 inch which we have been told are "light" commercial and if we fitted 16" inch which are "Commercial" we wouldn't have this re-occurring problem (comments from Motorhome engineer".

Lets see what Fiat come back with...................I have also copied AutoTrail for their input.

Thanks everyone
Belka
 
The tyre pressure gradually kept going down we replaced it with our spare wheel. We check the tyre for nails etc then inflated the tyre we poured water over the weld and could see air bubbles showing that's where the air was leaking from. Previously we submersed the other wheels in water but this time we didn't need to we found the leak from the weld quite easily.

Belka
 
caledonia said:
£110 for a wheel? Ouch. Must be ally's at that price. £50 for a steel VW wheel. Alloy wheels cracking at the valve hole isn't uncommon.
Click to expand...

110 quid for an ally wheel ,believe you and me thats a cheap after market thing .i had a crack in 2 of my last bmw 525d wheels ,50 quid each to repair at my local garage . guess what ,replacements they were about 400 quid each if i remember correctly ,and lets face it you dont fit after market alloys there not up to the job realy ,they warp and buckle within no time ,and second hand ones you just dont know if there any good .
 
Update

UPDATE AND CLOSURE
Are first enquiry was sent to Fiat Customer Service on the 27th February
A chasing request was sent on the 2nd March
A Text was received from Fiat on the 3rd March quoting Case number 35073281
A further request was sent:-
Today is the 7th of March and we still have no assistance with our problem.
We are in Spain with a "wheel" problem and no one appears to be wanting to help?
Fiat replied by email:-
7th March 2017

Dear Mr Jackson,

Case Reference: 35073281

Re: Fiat Ducato Motorhome NJZ8889

Thank you for contacting Fiat Professional Customer Relations

We were sorry to lean of the concerns that you experiencing with the wheels on your Fiat Ducato motorhome.

Whilst we have noted your comments, we must advise that we are not aware of any issues relating to the quality of the wheels for your vehicle.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience incurred due to the situation.
Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Relations team from Monday to Friday between 9:00 and 18:00 and Saturday from 08:00 - 17:00 on our toll free number 0080034281111 choosing option number 2.
Kind regards,
Julien Ardin
Customer Relations
Fiat Professional
A further request was sent:-
I am very unhappy regarding your reply. This does not give us any advice or suggestions as to our next step. What should we do?


Fiat replied by email:-
17th March 2017
Dear Mr Jackson,

Case Reference: 35087591

Re: Fiat Ducato Motorhome NJZ8889

Thank you for contacting Fiat Professional Customer Relations.
Whilst we were sorry to learn of your disappointment with our previous response, we must confirm that the issue that you have experienced with your vehicle's wheels is definitely not an issue of which we are aware. We understand that you are concerned and under the circumstances can only suggest that you have your vehicle's wheels checked by an authorised Fiat Professional dealership in Spain.
Kind regards
Julien Ardin
Customer Relations
Fiat Professional

THIS WAS THE LAST CORRESPONDENCE WITH FIAT!!!
We took our motorhome to have the wheels aligned to ensure everything was in order and everything was found to be ok no problems found.
We then purchased another NEW WHEEL so we can continue on our trip carrying a good spare.
I just hope we don’t experience any further “Weld Failures” Thank you.
 
The van being 8/9 yrs old how long do you expect Fiat to cover wheels with a warranty.
 
witzend said:
The van being 8/9 yrs old how long do you expect Fiat to cover wheels with a warranty.
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Would expect a bit better than the response they gave ,(safety related ) what if the wheel sheared and God forbid the result was a fatality?
 
I wouldn,t have though Fiat could be held responsible after all this time many things break springs, ball joints,hinges, door locks, brakes fail, we are responsible for our vehicles maintence
 
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The van being 8/9 yrs old how long do you expect Fiat to cover wheels with a warranty
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whilst that is a valid point but how long are wheels expected to last, are they to be regarded as a service item?
I have never heard of a wheel failing for no obvious reason (like hitting something HARD) and for three to fail must be quite exceptional I would have thought that Fiat would have at least been interested - although maybe they are and are just playing it cool to avoid an expensive recall
 
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