Fiat Ducato

These vehicles would have to be the worst ones on the road today in Australia. Had mine for 10 years now and it has been nothing but headaches and trouble for 10 continuous years now. Gearbox problems are its worse defect. The van has been on the road for 10 years and is currently on its third gearbox. And now the gearbox has broken… Read more

down again. This time it an 'Actuator' will cost $10 K and one has to wait 13 weeks for it to arrive from Italy and then pay $2 K to have it fitted. If its not the gearbox its the diesel injectors or the door keeping on alarming or a host of other problems. In 10 years it has been off the road for repairs for about 2 years of that time. Has cost me thousands in repairs......my mechanic is a happy man though. Conservatively has cost my business $150 in sales. As far as I am concerned ALL FIATS should be towed into a dealers yard ( well I would be surprised if it drove there ) then doused in petrol and had a match chucked on it......thats all they are good for......a giant candle. Well once bitten twice shy now I am wrecking a vehicle with 130 K on the clock has never been driven hard but is utterly useless. . And it will never see the road again. A WARNING TO ANY PROSPECTIVE BUYER......STAY WELL AWAY FROM A FIAT. THEY ARE COMPLETE AND TOTAL RUBBISH.

Later models are much better than older ones – I have no review but wanted to say that with 10 years of different models represented in this section there is no point aggregating a score. Later models are much better than older ones.

Fiat ducato 2.3 multijet – Had constant DPF problems that couldnt be fixed by dealership , it would sometimes blow white smoke on start up and other times not ,factory dealer mechanic couldnt fix it and just kept saying it was something else after $$ spent . Aircon unit fell out of engine and hanging on by hoses, flashing odometer . Starter motor failed twice , thermo fans… Read more

stopped working and needed replacing , front suspension stuts bushes needed replacing twice in 2 years , window winder switch stopped working , Only had 130,000km on it. Other than that i did like driving it and had good fuel economy and factory radio. Mine was a 6 speed manuel 2.3L, and went ok fully loaded. The main advantage for me was a genuine 2 ton carry capacity .A factory technician once told me you will spend more money keep it running than it cost new, get rid of it asap. I had a lemon but i know someone who had same van and he had no major problems.

Amazing! – The only problem we cannot solve is the navigation system. We have had navigation systems in other cars however we cannot for the life of us turn the volume down on it! We have read the book back to front but we can’t find out how to turn it down! It is so loud it almost blast us out of our seats! We are on our first trip and any help would be appreciated! Thanking you in advance! Greg Gander Show details

So far ,so good! 36,000km and not a problem! – The Ducato is a base for a 7.5m motorhome. I average about 12,000km a year and have 36,000km on the clock. It has been faultless and has been a joy to drive. It has travelled up North on 43degC days and the Victorian Alps on 1-3deg days. The secret is to treat it well with your driving habits and getting it serviced regularly by a competent… Read more

knowledgeable workshop. UPDATE 2/11/22: Just completed a "lap" of Oz(22,000km) over 6 1/2 months. Engine wise the Ducato ran perfectly and didn't miss a beat! Very impressed with its performance on mainly bitumen and some dirt roads. The only negative I would have, is that with a heavy motorhome build on top of the Fiat chassis it is relatively easy to get bogged in muddy conditions. I did get bogged but in saying that, 4 other vechicles(FWD,RWD & CARAVAN) got bogged in the same CP that day after heavy overnight rain. Fuel consumption on trip was 11.9l/100km @ 100kph.Overall I am very happy with the Ducato. Update2/5/2023: Now 64,000km and still running perfectly!

Great van – Had my old Fiat Ducato van replaced under warranty with a brand new 2017 series 6 model and I am very happy with it. Great Power, fuel economy, carrying capacity and load space. Bluetooth, handsfree, voice commands, steering wheel controls. Great to drive and handles well. Very happy with this one.  Show details

No one will do engine repairs out side of sydney I found someone that will do it locality Cardiff – problem with my fiat ducato motor home need to have it repaired. tried to call many mechanics no one will work on it except fiat artarman sydney $ I have an update I found a mechanic that serviced my motor home locally he is a heavy motor mechanic, and he done a excellent job Griffith truck mechanic at Cardiff. Show details

Heap of CRAP – Only 8 year old, 167,000 on the clock when purchasing. 2 years of driving, 10 breakdowns, multiple issues, paint work pealing, transmission issues, lack of power, too many electrical issues, mind bogling for mechanics and difficult to source parts. Extremely expensive and painful upkeep, will NEVER purchase another Fiat ever again.... Show details

gear box and paint work – i purchased my fiat ducato in 2021 second hand from original owner who purchased from new in 2012 who had full maintenance logs the first instance was the gear selection would jump out in 3rd gear after getting gear box inspected by fiat nominated specialist , it showed cir - clip had let got which created a gear box oil leak and $11,000.00 later… Read more

we were back on road only to find paintwork was de-laminating ,after much dealing with fiats dedicated service centre , Peter Warren motors ! and getting nowhere i contacted fiat australia with costing to repaint van they refused as in previous year (2019)they paid out to have motor bonnet re-done , the new delaminating is all of roof , gutter rails and around rear doors . Fiats reply after many hours on phone with there customer service rep and the sending of photos and quotes , it was said because the the motor bonnet had been paid for there is no more acceptance of faulty paint work, and van was to old

This is a vehicle I could live without – When is the company fiat, going to rectify these and more problems, cant believe it now a air bag failure...I personaly would not recommend at this point to buy a fiat ducato rv... Show details

A total disaster – Covid 19 reminded us that we had never taken the holiday of a lifetime we had dreamed about for 25 years. Hired a 2019 Fiat Ducato from a local company here in Auckland, with 14,500kms. Right from the moment it was driven out of their yard, the CV stalled while going through a roundabout, and at the corners. It malfunctioned going into our… Read more

driveway, jumping forward and collecting the side of our gate. What a start to a holiday! Fortunately we had taken out the top level insurance at $55 a day. We thought that perhaps we were at fault. But, that was just the beginning of three days of anxiety, with the vehicle constantly stopping at roundabouts and slowing down to turn corners, or in the middle of the road after making a turn, even going uphill it stopped! Contacting the company, we were told to look for a switch by the glove box, and reset it. There was none. We were then told to switch the engine off for ten minutes and start it up again. We did that multiple times.

By day three of our intended 10 day holiday, our anxiety level had sky rocketed and we felt totally unsafe. Contacted the company and told them. come pick your Van up. (5 hour drive). We refused to carry on any further, the holiday in our opinion had been totally ruined. We ensured the vehicle was parked up safe at the airport, filled up with diesel, cleaned and ensured that it was left in a clean state. We had to hire another vehicle to get back home to Auckland. On meeting with the representatives of the company, we were shocked to hear that a rep had flown down to pick up the vehicle and had no problems at all during the (7) hour drive. We told them that we found that very hard to believe. They had taken it to the Fiat company and they said that yes it was obvious that problems had been experienced, but it was minor? Fortunately after some haggling we managed to get back $700. Understandably, We forfeited the bond deposit of $500. We were charged $384 for the reps air fare from Auckland to Napier. Charged $20 for the airport parking charge, and the cost of a taxi from the reps place to Auckland airport, as well as the gas required to get the vehicle back to Auckland. We were asked to pay $1200 for half the damage to the vehicle. (Gate post) when reminded that we had taken out the top rate of insurance they withdrew their demand. They told us that it was our fault that we didn't give them a chance to rectify the situation, and that all their vehicles were thoroughly tested in their workshop. When asked about the 7 days of insurance costs to be reimbursed, @ $55 a day, we were told that it was all part of the contract. We asked about a refund of the costs of the Wifi service, that too was forfeited.

On checking out online reviews, I came to this page, and was pleased to find reviews that supported our experiences. My biggest gripe is the safety aspect, it is dangerous and life threatening. To know that large numbers of these vehicles are being brought into the country with (potential) serious safety issues. We will be taking this further, and making contact with the relevant Govt agencies.

changed clutch twice in 11month – I'm in despair. I purchased Fiat Ducato from the Fiat dealer as Demo(Used) in late 2018. it is manufactured on the June 2017 model but it was stopped on the road in October 2019 so it was towed to the factory. And changed all clutch and had many service work as followed their document of service history. In September 2020, 11month later after… Read more

changing the clutch, 38 months after manufactured this van, It has the same problem on the road and put it to the factory again. But, the Fiat car service guys told me it is not under a warranty period and more, there is no part warranty even they changed the main parts 11month ago. and they told me, they need an inspection to get to the bottom of this. and they need 7 hours for take-off gearbox with $1,040 +gst, only for inspection, on 25th September.

Also, they told me if Fiat company will not cover this case under the warranty, I should be paying this and all the cost! Unbelievable!

there is no any accident with that van. it is just a quality problem for this brand. But they pushing this issue to another part. dealer push this to the company, the company pushes this to the service center, they pushing this to the company again.

even they told me they need 7hours for inspection, and I agreed to process it 8days ago, they did not any feedback.

Same as another trade man, I need a van for my business every moment.

I take a rental car (I paid) but that cost is not small to me and not the perfect size for my business.

I'm in despair.

I will update all the detail and procedure of this soon.

Major Malfunction under 30 km Back to the Dealer for repairs – Picked up the Motor home with Fiat's Latest Ducato Chassis & Check Engine Alarmed almost immediately after only 30 km driven .... Drove back to Fiat Dealer for repairs & will await advice .... Lasted less than an hour .... Could be some time in the workshop before a fix is forthcoming as this new model it seems is causing some head scratching ????

Trouble – Seems like the same problems as others ;this is why I’m reading these reviews , it keeps going into N as we drive this started with just reverse but now it’s happening at traffic lights; very upsetting,just do not know we’re to start . With only 30,000 was owned from new ;Replaced front tires, front battery. Only just retired only had a few trips… Read more

was hoping to have many in this van , as it is we will not be able to Do it .Because off the expensive repairs looking at other reviews it’s not good.

Fiat ducato 2019/2020 please read this before you buy – Purchased a fiat ducato lwb auto March 2019. It started gear issues at around 15000km. lost gears 25 times. You will loose gears when crossing intersections and in roundabouts (you will be stuck in traffic) you will also experience the the vehicle taking off on its own when the gears start to fail.. its very SCARY. Vehicle was towed back to… Read more

dealership 4 times and has now spent 5 months in total time in a workshop. Thats not all !!! please read on, vehicle is now 30000km. clutch failed/catalytic converter failed/robotics for the amt failed/turbo failed /upper and lower catalytic replaced again. Numerous other parts current costs are now at approx $50000..

I also have a work colleague with the same model at only 12000km and has the same issues and $25000 in repairs and counting.. we now have another friend with the same issues as well and has failed more than 20 times im unsure of the costs on this one. I have reported this vehicle as unsafe to the dept of transport and infrastructure and i would like to encourage any other fiat ducato owners out there to do the same. I have asked for a refund under the Australian Consumer Guarantees. I have requested call backs/texts and emails asking for an update and timeframe but have had 1 call from customer care asking what i wanted and was then told they would call back. (they didnt) until 9 days later i got a text from the head of customer care which said i will call you in a couple of hours (but didnt). So this is what you can expect from fiat customer care.

motorhome Hire – hired a Fiat motorhome in New Zealand manual box lost some holidays clutch went it had done 150,000, so I donot think I would purchase a motorhome with this setup. we all know 150,000 is nothing for these vehicles Show details

Lemon – Owned 2 Fiat Ducato motorhome.Purchased both new.Major mechanical issues with both.Fiat unable to keep their own vehicles mechanically sound and reliable.First vehicle had 33,000 klms second 68,000 klms.Absolutely no support from Fiat or Winnebago.Great big expensive lemon. Show details

Terrible,so many problems and fiat won’t help us , don’t buy a fiat for God’s sake DONT – Did love it Now it’s a money pit and still cannot use it, fiat won’t help us and east west fiat haven’t a clue and keep changing things for the hell of it Show details

Have had my van at Peter Warren Warwick farm with gearbox problems bean on a tow truck twice with ge – Dave had my van at Peter Warren Warwick farm for two months know with gearbox problems bean on a tow truck twice with gearbox problems still waiting for them to fix it they told me the parts have to come from Italy might be here in two weeks never again an auto never again Peter Warren had two manuals both have done 350000 both had a clutch at about 320000ks can put up with that never again a fiat auto  Show details

Unable to get replacement parts in a reasonable time – Purchase new Fiat Ducato Motorhome October 2017, the vehicle has developed a suspension issue January 2018 in the front RHS strut and needs replacement parts, Fiat will supply under warranty but have no stock and have ordered parts from Italy, I was told today will no be available until April, I find this unacceptable for the vehicle to be off the… Read more

road for 3 months. I am also waiting for an oil filter again no Stock in Cricks Mansfield. I think I am being reasonable to expect basic consumable parts to be in stock. Its unfortunate to have these issue because the vehicle is very well appointed and good to drive.

Piece Of Junk. Transmission Failure – We change our fleet of 4 Vehicles with new Fiat Ducato. Initally they went OK as soon they turned to 150000 KM. All started with transmission issue. Check transmission lights on all the time and glow plug sign on, spend so much money still one of the van sitting in Service Cente from last 3 months. Unable to diagnose the issue and still no answer when they will return my van. Very very bad experience. Wouldn't recommend anyone to buy.  Show details

Clutch slave failures x8 in Ducato 2011 long wheelbase 160 – Hey Rick what model did you have we have 2011 its had 8 clutch failures. How did you get it replaced under warranty Fiat dealership can't/won't give any answers as to why it keeps blowing the slave clutch. We are to point where it is beyond ridiculous this last one did 270km and blew out. The motor is strong and never given any trouble, the… Read more

paintwork is now starting to peel in a few places and has faded badly but the major issue is the clutch. Has anyone else had this same issue and how many times.

Faulty paint work on most vans – This is my 3rd fiat ducato motorhome and i can't believe my paint work is falling off.. I now have spotted over 12 motorhomes with the same problem and i have finally met a person that fulled me in. Fiat is aware of the major problem and will repair it if pushed as the fault is well known. This guy received a full paint job after going to fiat. … Read more

We all should contact 2gb if fiat stats that they won't re spray the vehicle..

I will be on the phone tomorrow to get the ball rolling regarding my crapy stray job.

March 23rd 2017 Update: Faulty paint work on most vans.

I own a 2007 fiat Decato motorhome.

About a year ago i noticed my paint dropping off the van.

Travelling up and down the coast, i noticed more and more with the problem.

I contacted fiat and they took the photos and applied under the good will of the van and received a full respray.. The fiat dealer told me that they are aware they used the wrong paint and hasn't heard of anyone being knock back.

The word needs to be put out ..

APART of that i find the van great.

My sister's 2014 motorhome also has now received a full respray .Both Resprays cold fiat $6700.00 each so if you spot your piant falling out ! GO to fiat and complain under the good wills act and you will recieve a free respray.

the worst van I ever drive! – junk,junk,junk....the engine warring lights staying on from new,,then loosing power for good 15-20min,been in dealer workshop so many time ,still not fixed ,every time they replace something, obviously not for free.cost my boss a lot of money.the dealer run of idea what caused the problem. STAY AWAY OF FIAT DUCO!!!!!!  Show details

Junk junk and junk – Electric issues all over the shop, Tin can for a clutch problems two many issues to list stay away from them crap box vehicle. One clutch at 110000 now looks like another at 27000 starter motor went twice whipper motor replace twice. Now looks like the glow plugs have never work in it.  Show details

never out of the workshop – have had similar probs air conditioner leaking fuel alternator failure electrical failure particulate filter failure egr failure at present the vehicle has been out of action for over one month and fiat cannot find the fault also be aware that the spare wheel will cannot be lowered (the mechanism has been replace twice to no avail)  Show details

Bought a Sunliner motorhome new in 2010 and chose to have it put on a Fiat Ducato – The Sunliner part of the motorhome has been reliable, not so the Fiat. We did a radiator fan under warranty and since then an electro valve and electrical problems , repeated problems with air conditioning a cable harness a water pump, a diesel leak and now we are homeless while the gearbox has been removed with a transmission problem , maybe the… Read more

clutch? The air conditioner is patched up as we also need another cable harness for that which is in excess of $2,000! Oh and the paint peeled off the cabin too. We had huge difficulties in getting any response from Fiat for the last two years until December 2015 when we were recompensed some of the money we had paid out as a good will gesture. We certainly need some good will after letters and emails remained unanswered We felt at least listened to. We had planned to live in the van for several years and travel but can't afford to keep getting it fixed so will sell it when it is fixed .

A wonderful vehicle – Excellent driving experience. The paint peeled off the roof in 3 years, I had the roof coated with Therma Shield paint which has proven to be excellent. The vehicle has gone into limp mode three times recently and I now have to turn the ignition key 3 times before it will start. I have done 150,000 km. It handles very well. I get 10km to the litre. It is now 12 years old.  Show details

Motorhome-Talvor Hayman on a 2012 Fiat Ducato 160 multi jet – Quality at its best. We purchased a 2012 Talvor Hayman mid en-suite with Fiat Ducato cab on a Al Ko chassis 26 ft long. We have traveled 42 000 km so far in all sorts of conditions from Gold Coast to Perth then onto Tassie brrr for a month before arriving back home. May I say in absolute comfort without a hiccup. The ride is divine. It is so… Read more

comfortable you arrive at your destination almost refreshed. We had our first service while in Perth.

Front springs needed an upgrade to a King spring (made in Tas) as it bottomed out occasionally. We have set up to flat tow our Suzuki Grand Vitara now with a Road Master Tow system with Invisi Brake installed. The fuel economy is 10/12 liters per 100ks and isn't much different when towing. We have found when towing we feel a little more secure with reversing camera on as we can't feel the Suzuki behind us. Invisi-Brake is worth its weight in gold.

We love the Fiat it has heaps of grunt and is superbly comfortable and well designed. Looks great as well! We have had no problems with the Fiat being a front wheel drive as the traction control is awesome. It has got us out of some sticky situations with minimal effort.

10 out of 10 for us. The Talvor Hayman ticks all the boxes, ultra modern, clean lines, well designed, quality build, great appliances and plenty of storage outside and in. We are very happy with our purchase. A great team at Talvor in the service department. Steve M is a gem.

Fiat Ducato – Paint work is not satifactory does not last three years on roof and just had ringing back and forth to fiat to get it done they kept telling me it was out of warranty but is not till august 2015 . I am not the only person that has paint problems with this vehicle  Show details