[ALFATECH]

Joined the Giulia forum a few weeks back, it was suggested I join here as well so here I am.
Yes, I am an Alfa tech, working at a dealer in Ontario, Canada. I will do my best to help with anything I can but please be patient as I won’t be here all the time. If you have a specific issue that you don’t want posted you can pm me directly, but posting an issue is better IMO because others may have the same issue.

 

[tipo949]

liftgate fix?

Joined the Giulia forum a few weeks back, it was suggested I join here as well so here I am.
Yes, I am an Alfa tech, working at a dealer in Ontario, Canada. I will do my best to help with anything I can but please be patient as I won’t be here all the time. If you have a specific issue that you don’t want posted you can pm me directly, but posting an issue is better IMO because others may have the same issue.

Thank's for joining!

I'm experiencing an intermittent problem. Once in a while, I approach the car with my key in my shorts and I press the switch on the tailgate. Then it goes up maybe 1 -2 inches then it stops. I have to manually close it then try again with the switch inside the car. Then it starts working again like nothing was ever wrong. I have no further problems that day. I have approx 3300 miles on my car.

Any fixes that you've seen at your dealership?

Are there any FCA/Alfa Romeo service bulletins on this?

 

[zvezdah1]

welcome to the forum alfatech! We're still early days on the forum but we're growing quickly.

We'll be glad to have your expertise and insights here!

 

[ALFATECH]

Thank's for joining!

I'm experiencing an intermittent problem. Once in a while, I approach the car with my key in my shorts and I press the switch on the tailgate. Then it goes up maybe 1 -2 inches then it stops. I have to manually close it then try again with the switch inside the car. Then it starts working again like nothing was ever wrong. I have no further problems that day. I have approx 3300 miles on my car.

Any fixes that you've seen at your dealership?

Are there any FCA/Alfa Romeo service bulletins on this?

No fixes or bulletins but I have seen it before, the outside handle connection isn’t weatherpacked and has contact issues due to water intrusion. There is no updated handle/wiring or seals, so honestly you’re best off to eliminate the connection and just hard-wire it with a good solder connection and shrink wrap with sealing glue. Your dealership may do that for you if you specify it, otherwise if they just replace the handle and wiring they should use a large shrink wrap around it to seal out moisture.

This is all I’ve seen, may not be your problem especially being in CA, but it affected one of our customers cars here in Canada, the connector was actually showing a green connection, the handle took two weeks to arrive.
The fix involves removing the inner panels and the outside lower portion of the hatch.

 

[CalgaryStelvio]

Thanks for joining our forum, welcome!


Has there been any word/ acknowledgement from Alfa about features not functioning as described in the user manual?
One specific example is the remote start function automatically turning on climate control and heated seats in cold weather which does not work

 

[lost1750GTV]

but you liked the lexus 400 boat haha
good to see you here.

 

[DFW Atch]

Phone connectivity stays on

After I turn the car off and go into the house, my phone sometimes remains connected to the car. I'm talking on the phone and I don't hear anything but realize it's connected to my car. It doesn't happen all the time and it's usually intermittent.

Thanks for being here!

 

[LC_LC]

Thanks for joining our group.

 

[ALFATECH]

but you liked the lexus 400 boat haha
good to see you here.

Actually I loved it, and it wasn’t nearly as big as my Crown Vic, remember it was a 1st Gen model. And not really a boat, either, had great road manners and handled quite well for a bigger car, there was no “listing” in the way it drove, like the Buicks/Caddys/Lincolns of the era.

To those asking about infotainment/hvac issues I will check tomorrow if there are any software updates.

 

[lost1750GTV]

my in laws have had one since new, they are a good car.
except it's hard to find the starter motor

 

[ALFATECH]

I googled it and apparently it’s under the intake, probably toug to do on an old car though, brittle wiring, seized fasteners, etc.....part of the reason I sold mine was I didn’t wanna work on it, lol. It had well over 300k on it though, and I abused it pretty hard for two-three years before I sold it. I miss it.

 

[tipo949]

occasional liftgate situation

No fixes or bulletins but I have seen it before, the outside handle connection isn’t weatherpacked and has contact issues due to water intrusion. There is no updated handle/wiring or seals, so honestly you’re best off to eliminate the connection and just hard-wire it with a good solder connection and shrink wrap with sealing glue. Your dealership may do that for you if you specify it, otherwise if they just replace the handle and wiring they should use a large shrink wrap around it to seal out moisture.

This is all I’ve seen, may not be your problem especially being in CA, but it affected one of our customers cars here in Canada, the connector was actually showing a green connection, the handle took two weeks to arrive.
The fix involves removing the inner panels and the outside lower portion of the hatch.

Well, that's informative - thank you, Alfa Tech!

I'll reprint that an hand it over to my Service Advisor and see his reaction when I go for my first oil change.

You are right. Not a lot of rain living here,. We've had maybe 3 days of rain since late October, BUT - I do go to a do it yourself, hand car wash at least once a week. Sometimes even 2 times a week depending on my OCD levels.

Each wash stall has a high pressure wand and the car really gets soaked. Maybe that is why there might be a bit of moisture in that area. That would explain things.

 

[kpupadhyaya]

Joined the Giulia forum a few weeks back, it was suggested I join here as well so here I am.
Yes, I am an Alfa tech, working at a dealer in Ontario, Canada. I will do my best to help with anything I can but please be patient as I won’t be here all the time. If you have a specific issue that you don’t want posted you can pm me directly, but posting an issue is better IMO because others may have the same issue.

Thank you for doing this.
so I have my Stelvio for around 2 months. I took it to the car wash today. nothing that I remember out of the ordinary happened during the car wash but when I came out, the "service engine" light was on and the automatic on/off switch was showing in the cluster board as disabled!
I will call my dealer tomorrow but not sure why this happened! As far as I can tell, the car seems to be running ok. drove only a few miles since the light came on.

 

[ALFATECH]

Happy to be here and thanks for the warm welcome. We have had very few issues with these cars, been pretty good considering they are a new launch.

Car wash could definitely cause it, the plastic lower portion of the hatch is not well-sealed to the main hatch, and that’s where the connection is, it should have been weatherpacked (weather-proof connection, like under the hood, under the car).

 

[1265]

welcome alfatech from italy

 

[Scalewoodman]

What a great asset to have you here, Alfatech! Thanks!

Related to the thread after washing Stella, I do notice excessive dripping from the tailgate area, seems to be running out below, something to check into the next warm opportunity in the driveway but a clue could be water management.

 

[Scalewoodman]

Just to note: I don't love the auto stop feature but am committed to living with it except in traffic where it is a distraction.

There is an inclinometer in there somewhere that inhibits it when stopped on a slope (obviously to prevent rolling back at restart) which reminds me how much engineering has gone into the design. My presumption is updated software at the time of the first service (gratis, as discussed before) will refine its operation a bit.

 

[Black Stallion]

Welcome Alfatech and thanks for joining!! You are greatly appreciated.

 

[moparbrian]

ALFATECH

Glad you made it to the stelvio forum. Your knowledge and expertise will be greatly appreciated.

 

[ALFATECH]

Just to note: I don't love the auto stop feature but am committed to living with it except in traffic where it is a distraction.

There is an inclinometer in there somewhere that inhibits it when stopped on a slope (obviously to prevent rolling back at restart) which reminds me how much engineering has gone into the design. My presumption is updated software at the time of the first service (gratis, as discussed before) will refine its operation a bit.

If it really bothers you and you’re a bit handy here’s a solution someone found on a Giulia, likely will work on the Stelvio as well, won’t know until you try.

Permanently disabled stop/start - success! - Alfa Romeo Giulia Forum


With regards to the tailgate handle/water intrusion, IMO that is an engineering/design failure and is inexcusable, should be common sense to anyone involved in the process.