[PhillyAlf]

I'm really enjoying my Alfa White Sport (see pic) and am impressed with the quality and general design of the car, but there are a few design details - mostly electronic in nature - that make me scratch my head. I don't want to start a rebellion, but I wondered if anyone else feels the same. Since most of these might be resolved with a change in the car's computer programming I thought it might be good to start a "Suggestions" thread. Maybe the factory folks are paying attention and they'll do some updating.

1. The Parking Sensors stay on even after the car is in Park. It makes no sense that the function keeps buzzing and muting the radio after you've pulled into the garage or a space and might want to sit there for a few minutes listening to the radio or finishing up a phone call. You shouldn't have to manually disable it each time. (someone else mentioned this too).

2. The rear wiper does not have a Single Wipe or Intermittent mode.

3. The brightness of the dash lights do not adjust automatically between day and night. I find myself manually turning up the brightness during the day and dimming it at night. I don't have to do that in my other cars.

4. My brand new LG V20 phone does not connect reliably to the blue tooth. I have to reconnect manually approximately 30% of the time.

5. The system also does not download my phone book or display incoming texts (it did this one time). Maybe this one is my fault, but I don't think so.

6. It would be nice to be able to permanently disable the Auto Stop/Start, but I don't think that will happen. Otherwise, they can't claim the 1 MPG better mileage that it supposedly delivers (BS!)

7. As has been discussed, where is the Android Auto and Apple Car Play. My dealer (D'Ambrosia in Fraser, PA) said it was coming. I've read elsewhere that it may be coming, but can't be upgraded on existing Stelvios. What is the truth?

8. The AM radio has HORRIBLE reception. The HD setting is a joke. It constantly cuts in and out.

9. The Clock is too small on most screens of the infotainment system.

Do I sound like I love my car. I DO!!!

 

[bzohn]

I'm with you -- love the car but needs some tweaking. I will second the parking sensor thing -- it should deactivate in park.

Also, not that it matters much but, occasionally, I seem to miss Drive and it stays in Neutral. You should be able to go from Neutral to Drive without having your foot on the brake if the car isn't moving or only going ~1 mph.

Mine behaves differently all the time. Sometimes the radio will come back on to the station I was last tuned to, sometimes not. What is displayed on the screen is totally random also. It should show whatever was on there when I turned it off. Sometimes the parking brake turns itself on, sometimes not.

This is along the point of your Auto Start/Stop thing. That function doesn't actually bother me so I don't turn it off often but if you turn it off, it should remember. As is true with heated seats and anything else you set. If they were active when I turned the car off, they should be active when I turn it back on. Especially if I use remote start -- if I start the car to warm it up and it's cold enough to have use seat warmer going when I turned it off, then I want the seat warm when I get in the car too!

Also, I still haven't quite figured out the heated mirrors. I think they come on when the defrost is on (guess I should check the manual) but I think they should have their own button. There have been times the windows have been completely defrosted but the mirrors still need some heat to burn off the morning condensation.

The voice commands are hit and miss too. Sometimes they work, sometimes not. Sometimes it will just say I can't do that or I don't understand. One of the commands is supposed to be Serius XM -- that one never works.

One thing is does very consistently is drive awesome. Such a pleasure to drive anywhere.

 

[PhillyAlf]

Forgive me if some of theses responses may be obvious!

It will shift into Neutral first if you don't push the button on the stick. It will skip Neutral if you do push the button.

I think the radio can be programmed in the Settings Screen to start with the same station every time. Maybe you need to change the setting.

I think most cars won't keep the Start/Stop deactivated because the government won't let them claim the fuel savings it supposedly provides if it isn't on by default. Can someone confirm that?

You're absolutely right about the heated seats and remote start. That's the whole point on a winter day. My jeep (another FCA product) works the way you describe.

I haven't tried to master the voice commands yet, so no comment on that.

 

[Marco]

In general Italian Car makers are famous for their feel good cars as well as being horrible in all things electrical. They surely have a reputation for both extremes in Europe. Any car dealer in Europe will tell you that yeah its Italian so small things go wrong with it all the time BUT it feels great to drive. As a former Alpha owner i experienced that here in the U.S. as well.

Knowing all this, i still want one. I am waiting for apple carplay.

My concern is that the break system is also electrical and i dont know what safety precautions have been taken in case of an electric failure. My SA told me that there was a mechanical back up system on board but that sounds suspiciously wrong. I mean if you go to an electric system to save on weight, then how would it help to keep the mechanical system as well.

I don't know if i got it all wrong or if i don't get the logic, so can someone shed some light on this?

 

[1265]

I'm really enjoying my Alfa White Sport (see pic) and am impressed with the quality and general design of the car, but there are a few design details - mostly electronic in nature - that make me scratch my head. I don't want to start a rebellion, but I wondered if anyone else feels the same. Since most of these might be resolved with a change in the car's computer programming I thought it might be good to start a "Suggestions" thread. Maybe the factory folks are paying attention and they'll do some updating.

1. The Parking Sensors stay on even after the car is in Park. It makes no sense that the function keeps buzzing and muting the radio after you've pulled into the garage or a space and might want to sit there for a few minutes listening to the radio or finishing up a phone call. You shouldn't have to manually disable it each time. (someone else mentioned this too).

2. The rear wiper does not have a Single Wipe or Intermittent mode.

3. The brightness of the dash lights do not adjust automatically between day and night. I find myself manually turning up the brightness during the day and dimming it at night. I don't have to do that in my other cars.

4. My brand new LG V20 phone does not connect reliably to the blue tooth. I have to reconnect manually approximately 30% of the time.

5. The system also does not download my phone book or display incoming texts (it did this one time). Maybe this one is my fault, but I don't think so.

6. It would be nice to be able to permanently disable the Auto Stop/Start, but I don't think that will happen. Otherwise, they can't claim the 1 MPG better mileage that it supposedly delivers (BS!)

7. As has been discussed, where is the Android Auto and Apple Car Play. My dealer (D'Ambrosia in Fraser, PA) said it was coming. I've read elsewhere that it may be coming, but can't be upgraded on existing Stelvios. What is the truth?

8. The AM radio has HORRIBLE reception. The HD setting is a joke. It constantly cuts in and out.

9. The Clock is too small on most screens of the infotainment system.

Do I sound like I love my car. I DO!!!

1) already asked to engineering maserati to fix

2) the rear wiper works in sync with the front when you push down the right lever

3) agree

4) wait for next upgrades, the marelli easynav is really versatile

5) read 4

6) asked to maserati

7) I can't discussed about this but, alfa isn't stupid, possible good news

8) in italy we use fm and dab, no problems at all

9) agree but little issue

 

[bzohn]

I don't want it to start with the same station every time. I want whatever station it was last tuned to like every other car I have ever driven behaves. But the crazy part is that sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

While I'm at it though, there is something else I find to be a complete nuisance. Once you choose a station on the Serius XM and you want to browse to a different station it goes back to the top of the list every time. I have always hated the way most Serius tuners work because there are a zillion stations and seems like there is never a convenient way to just browse -- even by genre. But this is WAY worse. If I choose a station way down the list, listen for a minute and then decide to go to next station. I have to scroll all the way down again unless what I want to browse is a favorite. The stations are usually grouped in a way that makes sense (news, sports, comedy, music) It should let you browse from where you are and, actually, it should just go right to the browse menu without having to select that every time too!

And I understand how the trans gets into neutral (usually because what I really want is reverse but I push the wrong way and then fumble. Point is, why do you need to step on the brake to shift from neutral when the car is not moving or barely moving? It will let me go from reverse to drive without stepping on brake with the car still drifting backwards...

My XC60 is a 2013 so it was right before the Auto Start/Stop but I had a major problem with it once and had a loaner for almost a month -- another XC60 with auto start/stop. Honestly, it was more annoying than the Stelvio because the startup was more abrupt but the point I was gonna make is that you could turn it off and it would stay off even after you shut the car off and turned it back on so I don't think that is mandated by govt.

 

[PhillyAlf]

I don't want it to start with the same station every time. I want whatever station it was last tuned to like every other car I have ever driven behaves. But the crazy part is that sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

While I'm at it though, there is something else I find to be a complete nuisance. Once you choose a station on the Serius XM and you want to browse to a different station it goes back to the top of the list every time. I have always hated the way most Serius tuners work because there are a zillion stations and seems like there is never a convenient way to just browse -- even by genre. But this is WAY worse. If I choose a station way down the list, listen for a minute and then decide to go to next station. I have to scroll all the way down again unless what I want to browse is a favorite. The stations are usually grouped in a way that makes sense (news, sports, comedy, music) It should let you browse from where you are and, actually, it should just go right to the browse menu without having to select that every time too!

And I understand how the trans gets into neutral (usually because what I really want is reverse but I push the wrong way and then fumble. Point is, why do you need to step on the brake to shift from neutral when the car is not moving or barely moving? It will let me go from reverse to drive without stepping on brake with the car still drifting backwards...

My XC60 is a 2013 so it was right before the Auto Start/Stop but I had a major problem with it once and had a loaner for almost a month -- another XC60 with auto start/stop. Honestly, it was more annoying than the Stelvio because the startup was more abrupt but the point I was gonna make is that you could turn it off and it would stay off even after you shut the car off and turned it back on so I don't think that is mandated by govt.

I agree with all of your comments about the radio. Hopefully, it is an easy programming/upgrade fix. One nice feature is that it I've been able to favorite as many channels as I want. I do 90% of my browsing on my favorites list, so the scrolling isn't too bad - but I agree that it is annoying that it starts at the top each time.

 

[Marco]

Rubbing my calf on the outer edge of the door sill every time i get in or out, has got to be my biggest gripe!

 

[bzohn]

So this morning, I drove to the office, parked the car, pressed the start/stop button to turn it off and proceeded to get out of the car. I shut the door and pressed the button on the handle to lock the doors like I always do. Car made the noise, locked the doors, tucked the mirrors and the lights eventually turned themselves off. As I walked around the car, I could hear muffled sound of the radio. I went back to the driver door, opened it and, sure enough, radio is still on. I hit the start/stop button again with the door open which immediately kills the radio. I am 100% certain I did not press the button a 2nd time before I got out and I KNOW I pressed it because the engine turned off. Just weird!

 

[PhillyAlf]

So this morning, I drove to the office, parked the car, pressed the start/stop button to turn it off and proceeded to get out of the car. I shut the door and pressed the button on the handle to lock the doors like I always do. Car made the noise, locked the doors, tucked the mirrors and the lights eventually turned themselves off. As I walked around the car, I could hear muffled sound of the radio. I went back to the driver door, opened it and, sure enough, radio is still on. I hit the start/stop button again with the door open which immediately kills the radio. I am 100% certain I did not press the button a 2nd time before I got out and I KNOW I pressed it because the engine turned off. Just weird!

Strange! Hopefully - because it would be best - it was operator error, but keep us posted.

 

[lost1750GTV]

Marco, my understanding is the electrical brake operation was primarily to cause consistent pedal pressure, so the driver does not have to push the pedal harder if there is brake fade from heating, and that, yes, there is a mechanical backup.
Personally I think I would rather be aware that my brakes were getting hot, and take it as a signal to slow down.

I agree, how much weight could it save?

Perhaps Marzio has better insights/information than I do.

 

[1265]

The continental mkc1 ibs system have a hydraulic fallback solution in case of electrical failure

 

[1265]

Continental mkc1 save about 4 kg in a car and have only 1 component.

 

[smunger4]

I agree about the radio reception....it sucks. Really irritating. Guess no vehicle is perfect. I do not have the HK stereo, maybe it is better?

 

[Scalewoodman]

Continental mkc1 save about 4 kg in a car and have only 1 component.

Pretty cool (and leading edge) - see article from SAE: Continental focuses on faster braking with electrohydraulic system - SAE International

 

[Scalewoodman]

I agree about the radio reception....it sucks. Really irritating. Guess no vehicle is perfect. I do not have the HK stereo, maybe it is better?

Reception in ours is on par if not better than my U-Connect (previous Jeep) and others, even AM in the standard stereo. I would call it excellent in fact. So it could be a software reflash or possibly another issue.


In another thread, I will see if there is a simple way to improve dynamics more in line with the HK unit, the one- and ONLY ONE- option we didn't get in our Stelvio that I would have spec'd in a perfect world.

 

[1929]

Anyone have the HK system and can comment. I'm afraid it won't live up to my needs - coming from Bose and Bang and Olfsen systems.

 

[TrevStelvio]

I find the HK good I don't have great hearing but it sounds good to me aas good as the Meriden system in my Fpace .
The Radio is excellent especially the DAB.

 

[1929]

I find the HK good I don't have great hearing but it sounds good to me aas good as the Meriden system in my Fpace .
The Radio is excellent especially the DAB.

Thanks..is there bass? I've heard the meridian system in the LR's...

 

[tipo949]

radio reception?

I agree about the radio reception....it sucks. Really irritating. Guess no vehicle is perfect. I do not have the HK stereo, maybe it is better?

The car has FREE Sirius for 1 year and I had zero problems with that.