2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Electrical Problems

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.

NHTSA ID

11629949

Incident

Mar 8, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the horn was inoperable and there was no audible sound while depressed. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the horn failure was caused by an air bag clock spring failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet contacted regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 55,000.

NHTSA ID

11606816

Incident

Aug 1, 2024

Mileage

55,000 mi

I was driving on a very busy tollhighway and my gas gauge showed 3/4 of a tank left.all of a sudden while driving at 70 mph ,the car began to stall rapidly and the engine shut down.i was stuck in the far right lane of the highway which was I think 5 lanes.i couldn't roll or budge the car and had to pay for a flatbed haul to my apartment where a mechanic confirmed it was out of fuel.its happened again 3 weeks later at a 5 way intersection heavy congested on a Saturday which again caused me to pay a flatbed haul home.this is the same problem described in the recall that apparently my car isn't a part of.it cost me over 550.00 dollars and alot of stress to have it towed and it has less than 45,000 miles.also my sunroof is stuck half open half closed.it worked 2 times and then it stopped working leaving me to have a bad glare at certain times of the day from the direct sunlight.ive tried having dealership fix it but they claimed they had no time and I needed to schedule another visit.ughhh

NHTSA ID

11580871

Incident

Dec 11, 2023

Service Engine" and "Service Electronic Throttle" lights came on. The car/engine started shaking/stuttering pretty violently, so I quickly turned off the car. I waited about 2 minutes and started the car again, and same thing. I waited another 10-15 minutes to start the car again. This time, the car started fine without "Service Electronic Throttle" light, but "Service Engine" light was still on and the drive mode was stuck on N

NHTSA ID

11575235

Incident

Mar 4, 2024

The implementation of Intelligent Battery System (IBS) in the vehicle causes a constant state of undercharged battery even when the vehicle is driven daily. Due to undercharged battery, several safety components, such as heated exterior mirrors and rear window defroster do not work, which creates a safety issue. This is a widely reported problem by owners on Alfa Romeo forums. No warning lamps or messages illuminate to alert that the battery charge status is not adequate. I have recently experienced this issue, my rear window defroster stopped working and I wasn't able to see through the rear window. Recharging the battery will make the window defroster work for a while again.

NHTSA ID

11574196

Incident

Feb 27, 2024

I have now learned the hard way that there is a design defect with this car. It appears that water runs down the front cowl into an area near the fresh air intake. Particularly bad if you have the car running as it goes through a car wash, or if snow accumulates on the windshield and melts. Water is then sucked into the air intake and leaks into the passenger side footwell and gets into the electronics (including the area where the body control module is kept). Many owners have reported this issue on forums. Alfa Romeo needs to correct their design and should fix every Giulia that they have produced. Loss of electrical power or control of car can cause an accident or impact safety features.

NHTSA ID

11572870

Incident

Feb 18, 2024

When driving on a road, with speeds around 30mph, the car was failing to accelerate. The car had a warning "service electric throttle control". The car proceeded to have engine failure and stall at lower speeds when coming to a stop sign & when coming to a red light. This was a safety hazard, car turned off and was put in neutral when it should have stayed in drive. Other cars present on the road around, car could not accelerate in a busy intersection and was stalling in traffic.

NHTSA ID

11565108

Incident

Aug 31, 2023

Fuel pump seems to go out intermittently. I get the electronic throttle control warning light and auto start not available warning light and then the car cannot be turned back on. After towing it home and letting it sit for a couple of days it will start again. It shut down once on a highway entrance ramp and I had to quickly pull over to avoid getting hit. Has occured 3 times since I bought it three years ago. A dealer did read the code for fuel pump. Could not reproduce at the service center. Car has not been inspected by manufacturer or police. Warning lights and messages do appear and the car does not accelerate properly and sometimes turns off.

NHTSA ID

11564771

Incident

Jan 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia. The contact stated while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was jumpstarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the battery was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that upon pressing the Start button, the instrument panel lights illuminated, but the vehicle failed to start. The contact then pressed the Off button to turn off the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to turn off until the battery was completely drained. The vehicle was jumpstarted and taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The battery was recharged. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start the following day. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The dealer informed the contact that the battery needed to be recharged. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.

NHTSA ID

11548080

Incident

Apr 3, 2022

I was cut off by another vehicle without signaling, the road was slick I brakes but ended up hydroplaning and my brakes seemed to give out.

NHTSA ID

11521767

Incident

Apr 1, 2023

My BCM was shorted out from water damage from outside the car. The dealer says he can't repair it under warranty because Alfa Romeo will not authorize him to. I have to pay 1200 out of pocket for something that should be covered by warranty. The car will start, but the front headlights won't go out, the turn signals won't work, brake lights don't work right. Check engine light comes off and several functions are disabled. I'm not sure the backup camera, blindspot monitoring are working correctly.

NHTSA ID

11489975

Incident

Oct 1, 2022

The light flashes warning ⚠️⚠️ the whole time while it's driving

NHTSA ID

11479184

Incident

Aug 14, 2022

The airbag light keeps flashing over and over like it was in an accident but the car is brand new

NHTSA ID

11479183

Incident

Aug 14, 2022

When driving on the I-10 the ATV light came on the christmas tree lights cycled and the car rapidly came to a stop and shut off.

NHTSA ID

11461341

Incident

Apr 17, 2022

Vehicle presenting significant life-threatening system-wide failures while driving. These catastrophic system failures result in the vehicle becoming immediately undrivable without warning placing passengers at significant risk, particularly when traveling at high speeds (e.g., interstates). The following summarizes system-wide failures in the 2018 Giulia and failed attempts to correct this defect by Alfa Romeo and dealer: •11/30/20: One (1) day of service after complete multi-system failure while driving locally. Returned same day by service department but failed to repair (see following service report). •11/30/20 – 12/4/20: Five (5) days of service. Vehicle presented to dealer service department immediately after pick-up from aforementioned service to correct 2nd systemic failure which subsequently occurred promptly after departing the dealership. Resulting system failure produced highly dangerous operating conditions in which vehicle became immediately and unexpectedly incapacitated while attempting to merge into interstate traffic at accelerating speed. •1/25/21 – 2/5/21: Twelve (12) days of service following 3rd system failure. As per dealer service reps, an Alfa Romeo service agent stated there was a defect in in the molds used for creating engine / engine blocks in the Giulia and the resulting defects can cause an oil leak while in operation which, based on its location, can result in entire operating system collapsing unexpectedly when said leak occurs. As documented in the service record, metal shavings were found in the oil and oil pump of vehicle and per the guidance of the Alfa Romeo service agent, dealer replaced the entire engine •12/10/21: On 12/10/21, the 4th catastrophic system failure occurred during interstate travel in the rain while attempting to accelerate and pass a slow moving vehicle. Vehicle became unexpectedly incapacitated causing seriously life-threatening conditions. Vehicle available for inspection currently.

NHTSA ID

11446308

Incident

Dec 10, 2021

Components that failed were both the rear brake warning sensor, rear brake rotors and on further inspection by Benson Alfa Romeo dealership, the front brake rotors had failed even though the front sensors triggered the visit to the dealer for routine service. The full failure of the rear brake rotors that is occurring (as I live in the mountains) would have been catastrophic. The dealership diagnosed the problem and replaced all four rotors, pads and sensors. The event was reported to Chrysler and filed as a warranty issue but ask that I pay as Chrysler declines to cover these items. The system alerted and I called the dealer Benson Alfa and took the first available appointment as it appeared as a routine warning, not a catastrophic failure. Even under full warranty for another two years, Chrysler declined to cover this event citing their worn part warranty provision of 12 months and 12,000 miles.

NHTSA ID

11431717

Incident

Aug 6, 2020

2018 GIULIA QV BUT IT HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP IN PENSACOLA FOR OVER 7 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS AND THEY STILL HAVE NOT FIGURED OUT WHAT'S WRONG. UNDER ACCELERATION AND LEFT HAND TURNS THE SERVICE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE LIGHTS UP AS WELL AS VARIOUS OTHER LIGHTS. WHAT'S SCARY IS THE POWER STEERING TEMPORARILY STOPS, YANKING THE WHEEL HARD RIGHT AND I HAVE TO MUSCLE IT TO KEEP IT FROM RUNNING OFF THE ROAD. NOTHING SHORT OR DANGEROUS. I HAVE HAD A CASE OPEN WITH ALFA CARES AND HAVE TRIED TO ESCALATE WITH NO RESULT.

NHTSA ID

11395071

Incident

Dec 18, 2020

Mileage

20,000 mi

SERVICE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL AND CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON. CAR DIED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND TOOK SEVERALLY ATTEMPT TO RESTART CAR. *TR

NHTSA ID

11331256

Incident

May 14, 2020

Mileage

6,400 mi

THE CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM HAS MALFUNCTIONED SINCE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. HOT AIR BLOWS OUT THE DRIVER'S SIDE REGULARLY, AND ALFA ROMEO, AND THE DEALERSHIP I ACQUIRED IT FROM, J STAR MOTORS IN ANAHEIM, CA., DON'T APPEAR INTERESTED IN CORRECTING THE PROBLEM, EVEN AFTER FOUR VISITS. THE ISSUES IS MORE OF A COMFORT ONE, THAN A SAFETY ISSUE, BUT ALL THE SAME, A RECALL MIGHT BE IN ORDER. MY CONTACT AT AF HAS STATED THAT SHE HAS DEALT WITH THIS ISSUE A NUMBER OF TIMES.

NHTSA ID

11184945

Incident

Mar 7, 2019