2005 Fiat Scudo JTD 2.0 diesel from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Toughest van Fiat ever made

Faults:

Mostly wear and tear, the van was super reliable. The expected parts were replaced over high mileage (brakes, suspension, exhaust, etc).

Oil leak.

Rust on door sills.

Alternator failed - this was its only breakdown. But it was cheap to fix.

General Comments:

We had a couple of these early 2000's Scudo vans at our work in the electrician business. They were always very reliable and did us well for many years and miles.

Cheap to buy and run, they did the business proud. We have to this day never had vans replicate how good these vans were, and we have had them all (Ford Transit, Vauxhall Combo, VW Caddy, etc).

The Scudo was huge inside and always got plenty equipment in. If I am being really picky, the dashboard plastics felt cheap and flimsy, but they still stood up to daily use just fine.

Not the most refined, a bit noisy on motorways at 70 mph, where it spent most of its time up and down the UK.

It was OK to drive but very, very slow (0-60 mph in 16 seconds!) but with around 40 mpg from the diesel 2.0 JTD engine even when loaded, it was an economical tough engine. Do the oil changes on time and change any belts as applicable and it will do you good for around 200,000 miles!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th December, 2025

2005 Fiat Scudo jlx 2.0 turbo from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Poor build and after sales make this the worst vehicle purchase I have ever made

Faults:

Brake discs required replacement after 8300 miles

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Floor covering in drivers foot-well worn out completely in 3 months

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Interior light broken. requires auto electrician to repair!

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Drivers front electric window requires auto electrician to repair!

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Drivers seat starting to collapse.

General Comments:

The vans performance is quite good. The turbo engine pulls very well and maintains great motorway performance and economy.

Load space is almost tar dis like.

The build quality is poor throughout. Seals fell away from day one and we have resorted to super glue and double sided tape to fix them in position.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 11th January, 2007

9th Oct 2009, 15:14

Like you we have suffered some serious brake problems. Now on third set of pads and second set of discs. Fiat settled a contentious claim just out of warranty when it lost all brakes due to master cylinder defect. No recall!

Tyres wear out on front LH after only 10,000 miles. Brakes always squeal.

Also had brakes seized on and burnt out RH front disc.

As ours has a specialised body, it is very difficult to replace, and the loss of brakes means it's off the road until safe. Very worried and it's common.

26th Jan 2011, 15:02

Fiat Scudo 2006 2.0 JTD has an fuel cooler hanging off the nearside front chassis outrigger, why??? To keep charging good money for replacing the ones that get knocked/damaged/leak after hitting anything over 10" high (snow /ice have all caused leaks). Don't pay to replace it.. Pay to bypass it, Simples. Do you do much driving in? Saudi Arabia? Sudan?? Sahara??? Where it MAY help stop fuel boiling. Another useless add on for us donate more money to next service (it's damaged because of stones on the road, will stop its cooling effect have to replace it???) What crap. One of the most blatant dealer (stealer)cons.

In reply to 26th Jan 2011, 15:02

31st Aug 2013, 14:32

Was getting a depollution fault light, and the engine cutting out. The garage was blaming poor quality diesel. To be fair, the diesel sample from the car looked very pale.

Turned out to be caused by dirt on the diesel cooler, which turned to clay when wetted on road. So, instead of a diesel cooler, I now had a clay "insulator", which caused hot diesel to be returned to fuel the tank, which cools and condenses... Give it a few thousand miles and watery diesel = depollution fault. Car cuts out when the fuel level in the tank is low, and you end up with water in the diesel filter.

Simple cure. Take off the protective cover, and wash it when washing the car.