The power loss on our summer trip has been hanging over us for months, so it felt good to finally have something approaching an answer, even if we cannot confirm it until we get back to warmer climates. Add in a Halloween festival weekend at Statfold Country Park with no kids in tow, a 43-foot American RV tour, a converted school bus, and Lyndsay judging children’s fancy dress, and this turned into quite a video.
The power loss mystery: what page 217 of the manual says
If you watched the summer trip videos, you will know we had a recurring power loss problem as we were driving around the south of Spain. The van would lose performance noticeably, we took it in for an engine update, and we have been waiting to see if that fixed it. What we could not tell you at the time was whether we actually had the answer, because honestly, we did not.
Then the comments section did something brilliant. A viewer spotted something in the Fiat base vehicle manual, page 217, that neither us nor, apparently, any of the mechanics had flagged. The gist of it is this: for specific markets and hot countries, the van is equipped with an automatic engine protection feature. During prolonged driving in high ambient temperatures, particularly when the fuel level is low, the fuel temperature can rise above 70 degrees Celsius. When that happens, the system automatically reduces engine power output to protect the engine and fuel system. The fix, according to the manual, is simply to refuel, even before the low fuel warning light comes on. Topping up lowers the fuel temperature and restores full performance.
My money is very much on that being the culprit. When you map it back to when the problem occurred, it lines up: we were driving in high heat, around the bottom of Spain, and the issue disappeared completely once temperatures dropped after Barcelona. It has been perfect ever since. We are not going to know for certain until we head back somewhere genuinely warm, but that explanation fits everything we experienced far better than the EGR valve suggestions or the AdBlue theories, however well-intentioned those comments were.
One thing worth saying: a lot of you were frustrated that we did not address this sooner, and I completely understand that. What I should have explained better is that the videos, although they went out week by week from the moment we left, were banked well in advance. We were shooting two videos a week and scheduling them to last all the way through to October. So what felt like months of waiting to you was actually about a three-week window for us. We wanted the story to unfold as part of the road trip rather than parachuting in an answer mid-series. In hindsight, probably worth flagging the timeline a bit sooner.
If you drive a Fiat-based motorhome and you are heading somewhere hot this summer, it is worth knowing about this feature before you end up in a similar situation. Keep the fuel topped up in high temperatures, do not let it run low on long drives, and if you do lose power, that might well be why. Everyday is a school day, as they say.
Statfold Country Park: genuinely one of the best days out we have been to in a while
We were there for a Halloween festival weekend, which is what brought us to Statfold in the first place, but the venue itself is something else. I will be honest, I was not expecting much. And then we got properly into it and I kept thinking, the kids would absolutely love this place, which is a slightly odd feeling when you are there without the kids.
The miniature railway alone is worth the trip. Lyndsay rode it five times. The oldest engine they run is from 1884, a French engine, and there is one they use as Thomas, though I am not confident enough in my lip-reading skills from the transcript to confirm the real name. There is a full National Fairground Museum on site, with dodgems dating back to around 1928, a derby, all of it restored and running. There are workshops for the kids, a zip line, a sandpit area, food vendors (we had fish and chips, predictably), and a jump scare maze that I had absolutely no intention of going near. The Halloween decorating competition for the vans was brilliant, and Lyndsay was handed the job of judging the children’s fancy dress, which she handled by essentially giving everyone a prize, which is exactly the right call.
It is also where we met Dave, who has been living full-time for two and a half years in a converted school bus: 11 metres long, 10 tons, a 7.6-litre straight-six engine, 26 countries, and a little Honda moped on a wheelchair lift in the back for getting around when the bus cannot. He has a YouTube channel called London to Tin, which is a fantastic name. Go and find him.
We also had a good nose around a 43-foot American RV belonging to Rob, who was generous enough to let us in for a proper look. And it is impressive: slides out on both sides, a full kitchen, domestic fridge, washer-dryer in a cupboard, two bathrooms, a bedroom with a bed that size. The woodwork is very much of its era, and as Brits we have probably moved on from that particular aesthetic since the 1980s, but the space and the layout are genuinely something else. The prime pooping position in there, for the record, is excellent. Elbow room and everything.
Questions people ask
What was actually causing the motorhome to lose power on the summer trip? Based on a comment pointing to page 217 of the Fiat base vehicle manual, the most likely cause is an automatic engine protection feature designed for hot climates. When ambient temperatures are high and the fuel level drops, the fuel temperature can exceed 70 degrees Celsius, triggering a system that reduces engine power output. Refuelling before the warning light comes on is the stated fix. Steve says his money is on this being the problem, though it cannot be confirmed until they return to a warmer climate.
Has the problem occurred since leaving Spain? No. The van has run perfectly since the temperatures dropped after Barcelona. The issue was confined to a roughly three-week period driving in high heat around the south of Spain.
Is Statfold Country Park worth visiting even outside of an event? Steve and Lyndsay both thought so. The miniature railway, the National Fairground Museum, the zip line, the food vendors, and the various activity areas are all permanent features of the venue. Steve called it one of the best days out for kids he had been to in a while, and that was without his own children there.
What is the Wolfbox G900 Pro dash cam like in a motorhome? Steve fitted it before the summer trip and calls it one of the best gadgets he has ever put in a motorhome. It has a 12-inch touchscreen, 4K front camera, 2.5K rear camera, voice control, and a clip specifically designed to work with motorhome blinds, which slide across without removing the camera. A Black Friday deal was running from the 16th of November with up to 38% off; check the link in the video description.
If you drive a Fiat-based motorhome and you are planning a hot-weather trip, it is well worth having a read of our motorhome breakdown abroad guide for the broader picture on what to do when things go wrong on the road. And for the full weekend, the van tour, Lyndsay’s fancy dress judging, and Dave’s remarkable school bus, the video is linked below.
Watch the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5OenKf7SJA