I purchased a new Alfa 156 T Spark in November 2000, through an import company.
During the first year I had various problems that were dealt with by the manufacturer's warranty.
One persistant problem was the 'slapping ' of the windscreen wipers on the side of the windscreen.
I took the car to CD Bramells of Plymouth (my nearest Alfa Dealer) who tried on two occasions to cure the problem, stating that they were having this problem with the 156.
Eventually they said the only way to 'reduce' the problem was to remove the 'deflector blades' or the things attached to the wiper blade to push it onto the screen.
This they did, and it alleviated the problem, though the wiper travel was still excessive and the blades still caught the surround of the screen on occasions.
I could live with this and made no more of it.
In October 2001 I took out the two extended dealer warranty for the vehicle which covered the 'main components' of the vehicle.
In February 2003 whilst out driving my wipers packed up and I took the vehicle to Bramells who stated that the wiper motor was defective.
It would cost £157 to replace and as there were none in the country it would take a month to get one in. Also it was not covered by the warranty.
After some phoning around they found that if I replaced the motor and the wiper linkage/assembly then they could source one in seven days but it would cost me £20 more. Obviously I had to accept as my car was off the road.
Seven days later job completed and I am back on the road.
I spoke with Bramells who stated that they were not aware of a problem with the wipers, I spoke with another dealer who stated that there had been a problem and that was why there were none in the country and also that the 156 wiper set up had been changed in 2001.
My questions to you are,
? Was the original fault a design fault on Alfa's?
? Was it contributory to my wiper motor packing up?
? Were the wipers changed because of this fault?
? Should Alfas have covered the cost of replacement or at least made a contribution?
Any help you can offer would be much appreciated.
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Hi there,
I had a 156 1999 1.8TS, and I didnt have any problems with the wipers, although I did note that they very nearly touched the surround, especially at speed.
I would not think that this would contribute to wiper motor failure, as removing the deflector would actually lessen the work of the motor??
As for the warranty, they are insurance based, so tend to very specific as to what is covered, you`d have to check if it was listed.
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