Giulia TI sport AWD went limp, 3 hours after leaving the dealership

9466 Views 43 Replies 18 Participants Last post by aromeo123, Mar 21, 2018

aromeo123

Discussion Starter · Mar 10, 2018 (Edited)

After weeks of contemplating whether to go ahead and get a Giulia (and not another audi), I finally leased a Giluia TI sport AWD 2018 with all the possible packages (i could find) and left the dealership happy as can be this Friday evening. After driving for about 35 miles, which included highway driving (did great), parking at a restaurant and having dinner, and then driving back home. Aftwr reaching home, I decided to drive around in the neighborhood a little (you know, new car and all). This was at night time and it was about 32 degrees outside. After not even a mile into a slow drive on the streets around my house, the car gave me a check engine, service throttle, Auto stop not working warning and went "limp". This happened right after a red light stop (or perhaps a stop sign). Luckily I was close to my house so I drove it right back, barely able to do 25 miles an hour. After reading all the forums, checked the gas cap, it was fine, checked the hood, it was properly closed, turned the engine on and off several times but still all the warnings came on. I noticed I could reverse the car much more easily but it was still in the "limp" mode when trying to drive forward. The DNA mode was also not working. I did notice the "battery" light was also coming on.

Before reading the forums, and noticing other people have had similar issues, I called Alfa support team and the car scheduled to be towed to the dealer in the morning. I was hoping to drive it to another city in the morning before all this happened. This is indeed very frustrating. I hope it is just a software issue or something that can be actually fixed quickly and for good (hope the dealership doesn't keep the car for weeks)
To have this kind of problem, literally 4 hours into a new lease!

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Eagle7

· #2 · Mar 10, 2018

Welcome to the forum, and sorry to hear you're having this issue right away. Might be low battery; this car is awfully finicky about battery charge levels. Hopefully the dealer will figure it out quickly and get it fixed so you can enjoy your new car.

jjt440

· #3 · Mar 10, 2018

Welcome! Sorry to hear about your trouble. I feel your pain. I had a very similar issue, except my car right after purchase went into "safe" mode and not "limp" mode. I was able to continue on my road trip, but the steering and throttle response was limited.
Turned out to be a short in the wiring harness. Picked her back up yesterday and all seems ok so far. Get a loaner and keep on top of them. Contact costumer care ASAP and explain your situation. Make it known you just picked it up and you are "not" happy. My dealer had the car for 22 days before getting it back. I hope your experience is far shorter. All I can say is keep positive! Very easy to make yourself crazy and be upset. Best of luck to a speedy outcome!

Reactions: 1

hkfears

· #4 · Mar 10, 2018

Eagle7 said:
Might be low battery; this car is awfully finicky about battery charge levels. Hopefully the dealer will figure it out quickly and get it fixed so you can enjoy your new car.

I have been waiting 4 days for a battery from my dealer. They told me the battery has to come from Michigan.

ALFATECH

· #5 · Mar 10, 2018

^Batteries are now on backorder, I found this out yesterday as I needed another new battery since the first new one I put in was worse than the original, lol. Apparently they fit Durango, Grand Cherokee and AR, so there is a significant demand for them, especially now since there are so many lease specials on FCA cars, we have been moving them like crazy.

Desmorider804

· #6 · Mar 10, 2018

aromeo123 said:
After weeks of contemplating whether to go ahead and get a Giulia (and not another audi), I finally leased a Giluia TI sport AWD 2018 with all the possible packages (i could find) and left the dealership happy as can be this Friday evening. After driving for about 35 miles, which included highway driving (did great), parking at a restaurant and having dinner, and then driving back home. Aftwr reaching home, I decided to drive around in the neighborhood a little (you know, new car and all). This was at night time and it was about 32 degrees outside. After not even a mile into a slow drive on the streets around my house, the car gave me a check engine, service throttle, Auto stop not working warning and went "limp". This happened right after a red light stop (or perhaps a stop sign). Luckily I was close to my house so I drove it right back, barely able to do 25 miles an hour. After reading all the forums, checked the gas cap, it was fine, checked the hood, it was properly closed, turned the engine on and off several times but still all the warnings came on. I noticed I could reverse the car much more easily but it was still in the "limp" mode when trying to drive forward. The DNA mode was also not working. I did notice the "battery" light was also coming on.

Before reading the forums, and noticing other people have had similar issues, I called Alfa support team and the car scheduled to be towed to the dealer in the morning. I was hoping to drive it to another city in the morning before all this happened. This is indeed very frustrating. I hope it is just a software issue or something that can be actually fixed quickly and for good (hope the dealership doesn't keep the car for weeks)
To have this kind of problem, literally 4 hours into a new lease!

It’s an Italian thing. Maybe it was just a little tired yesterday and didn’t quite realize that it has been placed in service. The scary thing is that you might go out today and the car is fine. I don’t know how much of a hands on person you are but do you have a multimeter? Did you check battery cables?

hkfears

· #7 · Mar 10, 2018

ALFATECH said:
^Batteries are now on backorder, I found this out yesterday as I needed another new battery since the first new one I put in was worse than the original, lol. Apparently they fit Durango, Grand Cherokee and AR, so there is a significant demand for them, especially now since there are so many lease specials on FCA cars, we have been moving them like crazy.

Is there a problem with the battery or is there another issue? I have a daily driver with a 30 minute daytime commute. The car (and battery) is less than 5 months old.

ttaidapos

· #8 · Mar 10, 2018

Do some research and get your own. I have found out from brands like Honda and etc. that they don't necessarily put in a the right battery for every temperature scenario. Yes they are rated for low/high temps and have just enough CCA but once in a while they go shitty. Do some research and get a good battery, especially in the temps you are living. I'm in Chicago so we get both extremes.

Reactions: 1

aromeo123

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 10, 2018

Thank you, everyone. I am not tech savvy, esp when it comes to cars. The tow tr duck will be here in a few minutes (I hope it doesn't get scratched on the way to dealership that will reeally make me mad). I did go and check it this morning. Same thing. Works fine in reverse, but limp going forward and all the warning signs popping up. I just looked at the battery (superficially) and it seems hooked up okay. I would just wait for the dealership to look at it. The whole planned trip today got totally ruined because of this. I hope the dealership knows what to do with it (worried as they may have limited experience). At least from what I have read on these forums, I will be able to give my two cents at the dealership too, so maybe they can diagnose the problem faster.

Desmorider804

· #10 · Mar 10, 2018

Which dealership are you having it towed to? Maybe someone here has used them and can shed some light on their experience level. As you know not all Alfa dealerships are create/run equal. Good luck, and hope they get you up and going soon. The car is a joy to drive.

John_K_348

· #11 · Mar 10, 2018 (Edited)

Rats. It would have been helpful if the tow truck could have jumped you to test the battery. I Had to jump my Baby Beast because I left the dome light on the night before. After warming her up, DOH! Safety terminals up front work great. Red hatch for positive, bare metal stud for negative. Both marked on left front side under hood of the Quad.

It may be that the battery was low so now the computer is getting wonky signals from all the sensors, especially the hood sensors, throttle and brake, and auto start. I pray it's not the harness. It can be fixed but is a lot of work.

This is true on Ferraris, especially with the F1 system. The pump, gearbox, computer, g sensors, abs sensors and attitude sensors. My car actually had a charger/power supply installed on it and I didn't notice before the alternator job (under the glove box). I think FoNE actually put my top up with MY power supply before it rained. (Schumacher!) Car was out for more than 2 weeks so now I keep it charged. The F1 pump runs to prime the system every time you open the car door. Oh and I have and aftermarket stereo and subs too

Ferrari stock Becker sucks ha-ha.

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aromeo123

Discussion Starter · #12 · Mar 11, 2018

So the dealership kept the car as they apparently don't have the techs that work on the Alfa Romeos on Saturdays. They believed it would likely be a software issue as they might not have applied all the updates to the car. The owner of the dealership gave me a new Stelvio (his personal) as a loaner so I am happy about that. I hope the car is fixed on Monday and this never happens again. I know I really can't do much at this point in trying to ensure whatever caused this issue never happens again but it really brings the reliability factor to the bottom if something like this happens again (especially on a highway).

Thank you everyone for your insight and replies.

Reactions: 1

FNM

· #13 · Mar 11, 2018

welcome and good luck! Please let us know what the issue was once it's resolved. Finger's x'd for a battery as annoying as it is.. and IF it is, get them to take one out of another on the lot and not wait for one

Insist on a Giulia loaner too (as a minimum) if they need to keep it.

lockem

· #14 · Mar 11, 2018

aromeo123 said:
So the dealership kept the car as they apparently don't have the techs that work on the Alfa Romeos on Saturdays. They believed it would likely be a software issue as they might not have applied all the updates to the car. The owner of the dealership gave me a new Stelvio (his personal) as a loaner so I am happy about that. I hope the car is fixed on Monday and this never happens again. I know I really can't do much at this point in trying to ensure whatever caused this issue never happens again but it really brings the reliability factor to the bottom if something like this happens again (especially on a highway).

Thank you everyone for your insight and replies.

Did they check the state of charge of the battery? There clearly have been problems with new cars both with low batteries and with bad batteries. [email protected]$%ing start-stop non-sense demands a "high tech" battery. All those electronics in the car tend to discharge the battery during shipping and on-lot storage.

aromeo123

Discussion Starter · #15 · Mar 11, 2018

No, they didn't even attempt to check the problem because they said they would just have the Alfa techs look at it Monday. I had to leave for a trip across the state so I took the Stelvio and was on my way. I am hoping it gets fixed on Monday and there are no lingering issues! (it has a total of 60 miles on it, of which about 35 are from me). What puzzles me is why would it even run fine for those 35 miles and then start doing all this stuff? Weird as there was nothing unusual about my short time driving it. No rain, or bumps on the road etc. The start/stop mechanism might have triggered it all. I don't even remember for sure.

lockem said:
aromeo123 said:

So the dealership kept the car as they apparently don't have the techs that work on the Alfa Romeos on Saturdays. They believed it would likely be a software issue as they might not have applied all the updates to the car. The owner of the dealership gave me a new Stelvio (his personal) as a loaner so I am happy about that. I hope the car is fixed on Monday and this never happens again. I know I really can't do much at this point in trying to ensure whatever caused this issue never happens again but it really brings the reliability factor to the bottom if something like this happens again (especially on a highway).

Thank you everyone for your insight and replies.

Click to expand...

Did they check the state of charge of the battery? There clearly have been problems with new cars both with low batteries and with bad batteries. [email protected]$%ing start-stop non-sense demands a "high tech" battery. All those electronics in the car tend to discharge the battery during shipping and on-lot storage.

Eagle7

· #16 · Mar 11, 2018

The demand on the battery is minimal while the car is just sitting on the lot. Once you start driving it, the demands on it's charge state obviously increase considerably. If the battery isn't charging properly, it can reach a point where the available power isn't enough for what the car needs and it starts letting you know.

It could very well be a software update, and/or a combination of that and the battery. Those are both totally fixable issues that once fixed, will be good from then on.

RyanC883

· #17 · Mar 12, 2018

aromeo123 said:
Thank you, everyone. I am not tech savvy, esp when it comes to cars. The tow tr duck will be here in a few minutes (I hope it doesn't get scratched on the way to dealership that will reeally make me mad). I did go and check it this morning. Same thing. Works fine in reverse, but limp going forward and all the warning signs popping up. I just looked at the battery (superficially) and it seems hooked up okay. I would just wait for the dealership to look at it. The whole planned trip today got totally ruined because of this. I hope the dealership knows what to do with it (worried as they may have limited experience). At least from what I have read on these forums, I will be able to give my two cents at the dealership too, so maybe they can diagnose the problem faster.

Hope this turns out well for you. Sounds like either a battery or wiring issue from what I've read around the forum. Make sure they give you a loaner. Let us know how it turns out. Best of luck. When you get the car back, you'll find out that despite how temperamental it is, it drives much better than an Audi (had an Audi prior to the Giulia myself).

nyca

· #18 · Mar 12, 2018

Does this car use an AGM battery? They are very finicky. Dealers have alot of inventory on these cars, and they sit on the lot for a long time until they are sold, and I imagine many are going out with bad batteries. It happens on other brands as well, BMWs were/are notorious for eating up these AGM batteries.

aromeo123

Discussion Starter · #19 · Mar 12, 2018

Yes, they gave me a new Stelvio as a loaner. I am not sure what kind of battery it has. Also, I had noticed the fume smell inside the cabin after leaving trhe dealership as soon as I turned on the heat in the car. I have read on the forums that this is a common occurrence with these cars, at least for the first several days. The car's temperature did not go up (at least the sensor was reading normal). When I was making sure the hood was properly closed after the car went into limp mode, I also smelled the same burnt fuel smell coming out from the front of the car (I am assuming this is "normal" for these this early on). I did check to see if the engine was overheating then too but the sensor was still at normal (hopefully it wasn't a defective sensor).

I will call the dealership tomorrow to make sure they are paying attention to the battery's charge level too and not just updating the software. Will also tell them about the burning smell. I really don't want this happening again. Nothing craps your style more than your car going limp on you while it's still shiny and new and you are driving around with a big grin on your face.

And I agree with the statement that these cars are staying on the lot for a long time before leaving with someone (proven by the fact that I have only seen about two others in my city and I have been here a couple years - seen more Lamborghinis here than these

.

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Alfaholico

· #20 · Mar 12, 2018

Don't sweat it...these cars are GREAT...it's probably something stupid like the level of charge or a software update...

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