l have a 54plate punto and is fine when driving around but when stationary or in slow moving traffic it starts to overheat did hear the fan come on very loud but then went off and temp went up. on a previos occasion it went all the way to the red until l began to drive it then came back down? all help would be very much appreciated

how oftern do you check oil/coolant levels?

after all it is a fiat (fix it again tony)

Several possibilities:

Low on coolant
Plugged up radiator
Stuck thermostat
Obstruction in front of radiator
Broken head gasket
Cracked head
Slipping fan belt
Damaged fan blade
Engine timing retarded
If it has an electric fan maybe it does
not turn on. If u leave it ideling in the driveway the fan should come on after a few minutes. That could be caused by a bad fan motor, a faulty temp. sensor, or fan relay.

Good Luck

You are sure the fan is working all the time when it should? Or was it/ is it seized?

If your car over-heats put the interior blower motor on full speed hot to try and dissipate heat.

Check engine coolant levels, check operation of fan and if still unsure, take to a good (local) independent garage/ mechanic and seek their opinion.

Mhmmm, Well if ur fans work they should really do the job to keep it cool, But just check that your fans are not blocked with any leaves. l had the same problem with a fiat car.

Hope this helped :)

l have a corsa that is exactly the same over heats if in slow moving traffic as long as Ur fan kicks in l do not think u have anything to worry about l always have my heater on the middle and on number two this normally helps it and it does not over heat as much!!!

Hi Jamil.
Sounds like a garage job to me, the fan is not kicking in properly. Most likely the switch is faulty, which is a cheap job.
The root of it is probably the coolant. Check it before u drive off in the morning & see what level it is at. These cars need a good all-year round coolant mix, u cannot just top them up with water - water boils off too quickly.
If there is a leak, that will cause this too. Check for this when the engine is hot, so when u get home after a longish drive do not switch off, just pop the bonnet & get down to ground level - u will soon see a drip if there is one.
DO NOT drive for more than a few minutes with the needle in the red, this will damage the coolant system & may end up costing u a new radiator & hoses. Worse then that, if u persist in the red then the cylinder head gasket will blow & the engine itself could warp, all of which r big money.
Good luck, Steve.

These engines are a bit like rovers (Longbridge kettles)
Crap headgaskets and buggers for overheating.
My experience with them is once they have overheated to the red then the head warps and gasket leaks.
They are also a bitch to bleed any air in the cooling system so get it to a garage and hope for the best.
Sorry.

As typical in the car section u get smarties blaming car design for bad owner service.

The Fact is , Fiats r NOT prone to overheating any more than other cars.
Fiats do NOT have bad head gaskets or cylinder heads that easily warp.

Simply put , these problems , when u hear of them r from user abuse , NOT from design or manufacture.


In ur case , make sure the fan is working.
It should be ON & stay ON at any time the temp needle is above normal range.

If the fan does stay on , the next step is to assume the radiator is blocked inside , & that is caused from not changing the coolant at specified service intervals.

If u have continued driving while the engine is overheated , then u can expect that there may NOW be damage to other engine parts.