The Hulk - My 500L not-a-project project
Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2020 9:58 am
So funny story, I crashed my wife's Lexus GX470. While shopping for a replacement I presented the idea that a 500L met all of our needs, loads of space, good fuel economy and I knew the drive train so maintenance will be easy. My wife wasn't sure, but she was also indecisive so I took the opportunity to surprise her with this beautiful green 2014 Fiat 500L Trekking edition.
The other car guys in my neighborhood have nicknamed this new car as "The Hulk" and it stuck immediately.
The car had a couple of minor issues to address. Firstly there was a message that said "Service Engine", which I mistook as meaning that it wanted an oil change. So we changed the oil (Motul XS 5W-40), oil filter and installed a GFB DV+, because we were in that area. The Service Engine message wouldn't go away, so eventually I hooked up an OBD2 code scanner and saw this.
It's interesting to me that the 2014 500L doesn't have a check engine light, just the service engine message at start up. Lesson learned.
We changed the knock sensor and that still didn't cure the issue. Checked all the wiring and the resistance and everything checked out. That suggested it was the PCM had an issue. Fortunately that is under warranty (Federal emissions 8 year/80k). So off to the dealership, the happiest place on earth.....
The dealership said the new knock sensor was bad, crushed during install was their thought, so they charged me for that again. That apparently cured one code but not the others, so they replaced the PCM. The car is now DTC code free.
The other issues are that the rear passenger window can't be operated from the driver's door switch, and the sun visors are hanging a bit low. Also the radio antenna was missing.
The cause of the window issue became apparent the first time I drove it in the rain. The door seal has a big chunk missing, and it leaks right onto the window control switch. I have a new seal that I need to install soon.
I bought a stubby antenna to replace the missing part. It was then I noticed that the antenna base was loose. This was further exacerbated by me washing the car, which caused the headliner to start falling down. I'm wondering if the visor issue is related to someone trying to fix these leak issues before (and failing).
So you may ask how does my wife feel about The Hulk. I wish you wouldn't though. To say she is not thrilled with it would be fairly accurate. I see it in her look of disdain every time we talk about the car. The fact that we're entirely a FIAT family now does not seem to sway her at all.
I chose poorly with the car and possibly the wife.
To remedy this I've promised to find my wife something less FIATy, and let one of the FIATs go.
Which one will it be? Will it be less emotionally stressful to let my wife go? Stayed tuned!
The other car guys in my neighborhood have nicknamed this new car as "The Hulk" and it stuck immediately.
The car had a couple of minor issues to address. Firstly there was a message that said "Service Engine", which I mistook as meaning that it wanted an oil change. So we changed the oil (Motul XS 5W-40), oil filter and installed a GFB DV+, because we were in that area. The Service Engine message wouldn't go away, so eventually I hooked up an OBD2 code scanner and saw this.
It's interesting to me that the 2014 500L doesn't have a check engine light, just the service engine message at start up. Lesson learned.
We changed the knock sensor and that still didn't cure the issue. Checked all the wiring and the resistance and everything checked out. That suggested it was the PCM had an issue. Fortunately that is under warranty (Federal emissions 8 year/80k). So off to the dealership, the happiest place on earth.....
The dealership said the new knock sensor was bad, crushed during install was their thought, so they charged me for that again. That apparently cured one code but not the others, so they replaced the PCM. The car is now DTC code free.
The other issues are that the rear passenger window can't be operated from the driver's door switch, and the sun visors are hanging a bit low. Also the radio antenna was missing.
The cause of the window issue became apparent the first time I drove it in the rain. The door seal has a big chunk missing, and it leaks right onto the window control switch. I have a new seal that I need to install soon.
I bought a stubby antenna to replace the missing part. It was then I noticed that the antenna base was loose. This was further exacerbated by me washing the car, which caused the headliner to start falling down. I'm wondering if the visor issue is related to someone trying to fix these leak issues before (and failing).
So you may ask how does my wife feel about The Hulk. I wish you wouldn't though. To say she is not thrilled with it would be fairly accurate. I see it in her look of disdain every time we talk about the car. The fact that we're entirely a FIAT family now does not seem to sway her at all.
I chose poorly with the car and possibly the wife.
To remedy this I've promised to find my wife something less FIATy, and let one of the FIATs go.
Which one will it be? Will it be less emotionally stressful to let my wife go? Stayed tuned!