Recently our friends at IndianCarsBikes have spotted the 2012 Fiat Linea sedan and the Grande Punto hatchback testing at Ranjangaon, Pune with new timing chains for their new 1.3 liter, 90 Bhp Multijet diesel engine models. In India, there have been failures in 90 Bhp variants of Fiat’s Multijet engine. The issue of timing chains snapping or getting loose due to which the engines get noisier have not got enough attention due to the small number of diesel variants of Fiat Linea and Grande Punto 90 hp running in India.
According to the source, the authorized service stations of Fiat across the country are replacing the timing chains of the diesel variants of the Fiat Linea and Grande Punto 90 hp at 40,000 kilometers only. The timing chains involve big tariffs and can easily run at least 100,000 kilometers without requiring any kind of maintenance so changing them so early in their life is very unusual.
The cars like Ford and the BMW family have engines with timing chains that can run at least Rs. 200,000 kilometers without a hitch; some can even go a lifetime without a replacement. With timing chains being so efficient the company’s decision of replacing these so early in the 90 Bhp-1.3 liter Multijet engine diesel cars is a bit surprising. There are engines in which the timing chains have been working without an issue in India, this includes the lower spec 1.3 Multijet diesel engine delivering 75 Bhp power and also the Maruti SX4 that is powered by the same 90 Bhp, Multijet diesel engine; but with Suzuki Powertrain Limited producing the engine.
It remains to be seen if the Tata Manza, which also uses the 90 Bhp, 1.3 Multijet diesel engine is affected by timing chain issues. But as of now, there are only Fiat Linea and Grande Punto 90 hp diesel cars that have experienced problems with timing chains.
Also see – Fiat India launches 2012 Linea sedan at a price of Rs. 6.83 lakhs
Fiat India launches 2012 Grande Punto at a price of Rs. 4.81 lakhs
Source – IndianCarsBikes
