Alfa Romeo Stelvio SUV 2.0 Turbo 280 Veloce Ti 5dr Auto Owner Review

I bought my new Alfa Romeo Stelvio 2018 on September 17, 2020. I was told by the salesman that the Alfa Romeo vehicles are very reliable and that they hardly needed any servicing at all and that all that is required was to change the oil and other maintenance items. Well, if that were the case, I would say that’s great! However, my case does not resemble that at all. In fact, I have never experience these kinds of issues with any of my previous vehicles.

04-19-2021 Well the first year I only had to bring the car for recalibration of the sunroof because it wasn’t working as it was supposed to. I had to bring it in for recalibration several times. When I brought the car in for tire change winter/summer and summer/winter the service department had no record of this and I had to scan my purchase contract and provide a copy to the dealer as they were not able to look through their files.

12-10-2021 Then the service department discovered a leak and the radiator had to be changed, as it was leaking fluid. The tire air pressure sensor goes off whenever it gets too cold and displays different value each time. This shows up on your dashboard. And its a bit annoying! Apparently, this is a known issue. The sunroof had to be verified once again as it was not working properly.

05-10-2022 Then a message stating that the electronic throttle was not working showed up and the service engine light went off, the dash lights dimed and were hardly visible and this caused the immediate deceleration of the vehicle. Acceleration took forever and it was dangerous to drive the vehicle in this condition. The first time the service department said that they needed to update the computer system and that this should resolve the issue
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05-25-22 Fifteen days later the same issue happened again with the same results a message stating that the electronic throttle was not working, the service engine light lit up, and the immediate deceleration of the vehicle. This time when I brough the car in to the dealer, after checking they said that they needed to change the turbo part of the engine, and they had to order the part and that it would take a full day of work to do the job. So, it took almost two weeks before the work was completed.

06-13-2022 This lasted a couple weeks then one day when I started the car, it started shaking and a message saying that the Start/Stop was unavailable appeared. The Start/Stop is unavailable, means that the remote Start would not work. This is very inconvenient, as in the winter I use this feature to warm up the car prior to going out. The rear window defrost heater was not working, and the back window was all frosted up. This time the service manager said the cause of the start stop issue was a faulty wire that need to be changed. And the rear defroster needed to have a sensor replaced.

01-30-2023 Once again the car started shaking and the check engine light lit up, along with the Start/Stop message on the dash. The service department said that the fuel pump had to be replaced. I had to wait several days before this could be done as they didn’t have the part in stock and needed to order the part. I also told the service manager that the rear hatch door buttons to close the door were not working. And the fuel gauge was not working properly. The service Manager said that the buttons to close the door was replaced, and that the fuel gauge was verified and working properly.

02-2023 The car started shaking once again. The start/stop unavailable message came up again along with the check engine light and I had to bring the car to the dealer, once again. This time the service manager said that they had to change the air valve on the vehicle. I also told them that the rear hatched door had opened on its own a couple of times and that the fuel gauge was not working properly. It was showing different readings, with large differences in milage and fuel line on the gas tank gauge all within a short period of time. After filling the gas tank, the gauge was showing ¾ tank instead of full tank, and the km indicator was indicating different kms amounts available before reaching 0, with a difference in the readings of several hundred kms within a short period of time.

02-07-2023 The service manager said they had to reseal around the rear door buttons that close the rear hatch door, as water had apparently infiltrated the switch and caused the door to open on its own. This is the same switch that they had just changed only 2 weeks earlier. They also said they checked the gas gauge and that everything was working properly.

02-13-14-2023 I immediately noticed that the gas gauge was still not working properly. After I had filled the gas tank the gauge was showing only a ¾ tank even though the gas pump had shut off as if the tank was full. This value change to a full tank while driving and then back to ¾ tank once again. I called the service department to make an appointment and was told that the fuel gauge can fluctuate due to changing driving conditions. I disputed this claim and as my voice messages were not being replied too, I had to email the sales manager and service manager and finally managed to schedule another service appointment, but only several days later. I explained that in the over 2 years time I have driven the car that these readings had never happened before. I had to explain to the sales manager, that the service manager and the mechanic were both wrong. Finally, they checked the car, and I was told that the fuel pump that they previously changed had a floater defective arm, which was causing the erroneous readings.

It is clear to me that neither Alfa Romeo nor the dealer (Des Sources Alfa Romeo) that they have no solution on dealing with a defective product (Lemon) Alfa Romeo Canada called me to follow up, only to pretend that they cared, but when face with my case they were not willing to take any responsibility for a clearly defective vehicle. The dealership has a 3rd party company that does not identify themselves but are hired by the dealership’s owners, (Chrysler) in order to resolve issues with unsatisfied clients. This however is also just a sham to create a buffer between the dealer and disgruntled client. The fact is they do not actually have a solution nor do they want to actually take responsibility for a defective auto.

Finally Neither the Dealer nor the Alfa Romeo want to take responsibility for the defective product. Their only response is that is what the warranty is for. They are willing to sell me an extended warranty. I find this disgusting! I would never buy another Alfa Romeo. 03-21-2023 My car is in the garage again for the same issue fuel gauge is not working properly to the point where I do not know how much fuel is in the vehicle!!!

Stay Away from Alfa Romeo and DesSources Alfa Romeo Montreal.