Headlights, fuel system and engine issues among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
As a luxury sedan, the 2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia is meant to provide an executive feel with plenty of power. The automaker claims that newer models are “primed for performance,” but customers are struggling to agree. In fact, this model seems to deal with a defective engine, malfunctioning fuel system and troublesome exterior lighting.
For a car to be focused on performance, the engine must be potent and reliable, but that’s not the case with this Alfa Romeo sedan.
One NHTSA complaint states, “Engine suddenly stopped working while driving and it prompted me to get the engine serviced. I couldn’t even shift the gear after the vehicle stopped. Worth mentioning, before the vehicle completely broke down, I can’t enter the Apple CarPlay screen even though the option as shown. Besides this, the infotainment system reboots itself every now and then.”
This seems like a major defect for the luxury model. However, this wouldn’t be the first significant fault. Take a look at NHTSA Campaign Number 19V148000, which talks about nearly 20,000 vehicles could be equipped with a defective Brake System Module (BSM) that might prevent deactivation of the ACC, which could lead to a crash.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Engine | |
| Air Bags | |
| Electrical System | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Exterior Lighting | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | |
| Power Train |
For an engine to work as intended, the fuel system must be reliable and functional, but that seems to be trouble with the Alfa Romeo sedan as well.
Here’s another NHTSA complaint worth reading. “(Vehicle is 2019 with 7404 miles recorded on date of incident). Morning of 18th Aug 2020. The car sat overnight so was ‘cold’ when I started it. I immediately selected Reverse and began backing up (exact speed unknown, but ‘slow’). Approx 10 secs after starting the engine the very strong odor of gasoline entered the cockpit – I immediately shut off the engine. Exiting the vehicle I could see a trail of fluid 10 ft long on the concrete driveway and the scent identified it as gasoline. I lifted the hood and gasoline was over the top of the engine and dripped down off the underside of the hood. Looking closer I could see pools of gas had collected anywhere there was a depression in which liquid could collect on and around the engine. Several liters of gasoline had been ejected over the engine. Car was towed to the nearest Alfa Service Dealership. The dealership replaced a broken/split fuel hose on the passenger side of the engine under warranty. They verbally told me the part was sent to Alfa Corporate and I should contact them to follow the investigation. I contacted Alfa Corporate and through email exchanges, discovered that Alfa Corporate will not be investigating this safety issue at all.”
Aside from this fuel system defect, there’s also an electrical system recall that affects the fuel components. NHTSA Campaign Number 19V551000 states that more than 21,000 vehicles could have been built with a defective Body Control Module (BCM) that indicates a higher fuel level than what’s actually present. This higher reading could cause the engine to stall, which increases the chance of an accident. Whether owners are running out of fuel or having gasoline pour out over the engine, it’s very difficult to experience the “performance” Alfa Romeo promises with this sedan.
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A final look at the exterior lighting reveals even deeper issues with the Alfa Romeo Giulia.
This NHTSA report states, “Exterior lamps (headlamps/tail lamps) do not turn on when windshield wipers are on. As both the exterior lamps and windshield wipers are usually set to automatically turn on and off as appropriate (using dusk and rain sensors), it’s quite probably the driver will forget to turn on the exterior lamps when the wipers turn on, for instance. Furthermore, most all cars I have driven with both rain sensors and automatic headlights, across numerous domestic and foreign brands, do have functionality which turns on the exterior lamps (headlamps/tail lamps) when wipers are activated, further complicating the issue with Alfa Romeo – it is the drivers expectation for exterior lamps to toggle on and off automatically in all situations, based on previous experience and also the expectation that automatic lights will automatic turn on and off when necessary.”
The automaker hasn’t issued any information about this defect. Instead, it has left customers to figure out the problem and solutions on their own. Basically, the Giulia can only be driven in the rain or dark, but not both at the same time. It simply can walk and chew gum at once.
Think you have a lemon? Sit back and let the experts work out your lemon case at no cost to you. The law makes Alfa Romeo pay legal fees. You may be able to get your lemon out of your life. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners like you.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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