ALFA ROMEO Complaints

Coolant leaked into the air conduits, from the heater core, causing a midst and smoke of hazardous vapors be deployed into the cabin. Current odometer reading is 60,289.

ABS module doesn’t work and only 2 wheels out of 4 have brakes. The car has only 55,000 miles! All 2019-2021 Alfa Romeo Stelvios have open recalls about ABS module, but mine is 2018, although the installed ABS is manufactured 2018-2023 (what includes 2019-2021 that have Recalls!). I was driving and almost killed a man who was running across the road because my brakes didn't work!!! I can't drive a car without brakes and feel safe! The problem was indicated by few independent service centers. Alfa Romeo dealer knows about this COMMON issue but doesn’t want to take responsibility for it! I’ve got warning lamps right after my brakes were broken. Not even before! The car was fully serviced on time in the dealership! BRAKE, ESC, AST, P! Also can get an invoice from the repair center if needed!

The contact owns a 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

My engine shut off and I was entering my driveway. All the electric was fine. The vehicle would no longer start. I towed it to the dealer and was told that the fuel pump and a module for the fuel pump would have to be replaced. The dealer cannot find the part anywhere because it is on back order. Apparently this is happening a lot. This should be investigated for a safety recall due to it happening while I was driving.

When traveling at approximately 40 mph, the vehicle displayed a service electronic throttle control warning. Turned on the engine light, then after 1 second the vehicle shut off while in motion with no warning. This disabled all power including brakes and power steering. After clearing engine code vehicle worked for around 20 minutes before repeating while idle in my driveway. Engine code displayed is p008a. (Low fuel pressure)

On November 23, 2024 at around 12:20. While at a complete stop at a stoplight with my foot on the brake, my car literally launched/thrusted forward with such momentum I thought I was rear ended by another car. The thrust was so significant it sent the car three to four feet forward. My son and I were in shock, it scared us to death. This could have resulted in a crash. I immediately reported the issue to Alfa Romeo Customer care and the service department as a critical concern. The car was towed into Alfa Service department to investigate and resolve along with number other issues with the car however, their response to this critical issue was “we can’t replicate the issue” therefore can’t fix it! They also refuse to buy back my new 2024 Stelvio as a “lemon” stating there’s no safety issue and the other issues can’t be replicated! This issue is critical and needs addressed, I’m afraid for my safety.

I was pulling into a parking space and started to apply the brake to stop before reaching the parking curb. When I gently pressed the brake the vehicle lunged forward, so I fully depressed the brake pedal. At that point the vehicle accelerated, jumped the parking curb and continued forward although my foot was still pressing on the brake. Since my wheels were turned to the right, I missed hitting a tree and drove off the paved area of the parking lot, into a hedge, and continued into the swale separating the street from the parking lot. There was a FORD F-250 XLT parked on the swale perpendicular to the parking lot. I hit the F-250 on the front passenger door with enough force to move the front end of the truck almost 2 ft., even though the truck was less than 10 ft in front of my car. The collision with the F-250 is what stopped my vehicle’s acceleration and forward movement. During the accident the brake pedal was actually accelerating the vehicle. I was not hurt due to the confined area in which the accident occurred. The vehicle sustained severe damage and was towed to the dealer collision center. I contacted the manufacturer (Stellantis, Alfa Romeo) and filed a claim. They sent BOSCH to retrieve the EDR data. Stellantis is claiming the crash was not their responsibility but have refused to share the EDR data/report or cooperate in any way. They told me to have my insurance pay to fix the car and continue to drive it. If the vehicle malfunctions again I may die or kill someone. I have contacted over a dozen attorneys, but since I was not injured, they are not interested in taking my case. The proximity sensors did not alert, the collision avoidance system, and autonomous braking did not engage or even give a warning. Stellatis (manufacturer), Rick Case Fiat (Dealer), Rick Case Honda Collision (Repair shop), BOSCH (EDR data collector), and Allstate (my insurance) are all aware and yet will put the car back on the street.

Vehicle has a known issue with fuel pump which causes it to randomly turn off. Mine stopped in the middle of a busy service road and I had to get towing and police to help with getting the car off the road and diverting traffic. The car has turned off several other times as well, but the incident on 8/8 was documented via tow receipt.

Alfa Romeo Giulia (and Stelvio) models have an exposed powertrain ground strap under the vehicle body. Because of the exposed position of the ground strap it is prone to corrosion which causes the fine wire braid of the ground strap to become brittle and break. Breaking of the strands of wire is further accelerated due to the acute 90 degree bend in the ground strap routing resulting in wire fatigue. When the ground strap fails it is typical the vehicle may not start. With continued attempts to start, alternate grounding paths may be sought by the current from the starting circuit. This results in substantial and expensive damage to other wiring and electrical components within the engine bay. Alfa Romeo is aware of design flaw of exposed ground strap and the resulting damage from their choice of placement (and lack of protection of the ground strap). Both my 2018 Giulia nd 2023 Stelvio Quadrifoglio have this exposed ground strap design. My 2018 Giulia has failed ground strap. Alfa Romeo will advise that washing the underside of the vehicle is required to keep ground strap free of corrosion. This is not a solution and underbody rinses are typically one spray bar in the car wash and this is insufficient to clean the woven ground strap braid. Alfa Romeo should be forced to issue a recall and remedy this design oversight.

At a red light in a busy city, my car auto-stopped the engine. When trying to auto-start as the light turned green, the car started smoking and wouldn't move. When towed away and taken to the dealership, they said that the ground strap of the vehicle had corroded, shorted out, and melted a number of wires within the wiring harness. It is available for inspection upon request. This easily could have been a full electrical fire within the car, putting us in further mortal danger had we not shut the car off immediately. We also were in a highly congested area, and could have been hit while jumping out of the car for fear of smoke/fire. We could have been rear ended by traffic behind us as well. The dealership said that this is a common problem that I did not cause nor could have anticipated or prevented. I did my own research and have found many accounts of this exact same issue happening with this make and model of the car (2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio). There are accounts online that Alfa Romeo has since switched out the part in later makes of the car for one that is more protected and not prone to corrosion - it is clear that they know and have quietly acknowledged the issue. This is a common and reproducible problem. The car has only been inspected by the mechanics at a local repair shop and then at an Alfa Romeo dealership. The insurance representatives said that because this is a mechanical failure, it is not covered by insurance and therefore they have no need to inspect it. There were no symptoms prior to the failure of the ground strap and melting of the wires within the wiring harness. The car was functioning as normal up until this incident. It was well taken care of with regular maintenance and only had 48,000 miles on the odometer. It had never had any prior issues, mechanical or otherwise.