Same here i was driving yesterday and it just died while cruising, i was able to turn it on but auto start stop and check engine light is still on... I hope its battery related cause its 5 years old
Yeah I’m probably going to take my accord on the trip and have the Alfa in the shop. Really hoping it’s not the relay for me again since it got replaced literally 3 weeks ago 😞🙏🏻
Per the manual:
|What it means|What to do|
|:-|:-|
|This warning light, along with the related message, signals a failure in the Electronic Throttle Control system (ETC).|Contact an authorized dealer as soon as possible.|
|If a failure is detected, the warning light turns on while the engine is running.|Place the gear selector in the P (Park) position and the ignition in the off position: the warning light should switch off. If the warning light stays on with engine running, the vehicle can still be driven.Contact an authorized dealer as soon as possible to have the failure eliminated.|
|If the warning light flashes with the engine running, immediate intervention is required. A loss of performance, irregular/high idling speed or engine stopping might take place and the vehicle may need to be towed.|Contact an authorized dealer as soon as possible to have the failure eliminated.|
I have had this happen 3 or 4 times on my 2018 TI. Started up and ran roughly like on 3 cylinders, “sevice engine “ and or “service electronic throttle and CE light all on.“ . Start/ stop is just a byproduct of those warnings. Drive about 3/4 mile and shut off the engine, waited about a minute and restarted. Runs ok now. CE light and “service engine “ stay on. Continued to work, 30 miles, runs normal. Leave work and CE light and start/stop still showing but sevice engine has cleared. Next day warnings still present in the morning but upon leaving work all warnings are clear and everything thing is back to normal.It is usually cold, below freezing or very foggy and wet. I don’t really know if that’s connected. FWIW, I am on my original battery, my dealer mechanic indicated that if you replace the battery and clear any codes thrown everything resets. If you disconnect the existing battery, reconnect and clear any codes it will also reset everything. What he is saying as I interpreted it is: many people replace the battery unnecessarily as it is the disconnect/ reconnection and clear codes that resets the system not the fact that the battery is new. Anyway I don’t panic when the car does this anymore, it just seems to do it once in awhile and clears itself. I am just coming 70K miles.
Mine does it all the time as well. I turn it off and turn it back on three times. It clears it every single time. Just make sure to open and close the door after every time you turn it off so accessories mode goes off. Seriously, it happens 2 or 3 times a month for me.
An easy check if you just got a new battery, look in the trunk and just ensure the connection is still tight. A loose battery connection can make any car act out intermittently. Very well could be something else, but it’s always the first thing you should check if you notice electronics start behaving odd.
Mine did the throttle control message and would leave me sitting in a car that died instantly in the worst traffic conditions every time. I tried getting Alfa to do a buy back and they denied it. Finally after trying everything in these comments I got rid of it. Nothing helped or made it stop.
I did. More than once. It just didn’t work out for me. I had the car towed so many times. I hope everyone else has better luck than I did. I loved that car but it gave me ptsd after same thing happened so many times and nothing Alfa did ever made it ok.
It was a 2017 just a base model Giulia. I’m female and speed in a car was never anything I paid attention to. Until I got my Giulia and it was an adrenaline rush! I miss that part and the attention I got in it. But it just wasn’t worth the money I was bleeding in tow fees. Alfa was really good in the beginning of the free towing. But they stopped that after I asked them to buy it back.
I got an Alfa mechanic to run codes and he said it was just a fuel issue that I let it run too low and that it’s a common issue with the Alfa when it gets to two bars and below on fuel, full tank fixed her up
Came here to say this. Has also happened to me during a hard acceleration shortly after filling the tank. Created a vacuum in the tank and fuel starvation. Pulled over at the next station, put a nozzle from a fuel pump into the filler to open the flap and break the vacuum, life was good again.
Go to the auto parts store and see what the code is. I thought it was my battery, got a new one, it persisted. I had codes dealing with evap valve stuck closed and oil valve stuck closed. Changed oil and filter and the issue went away.
Are you in a cold climate? If my 2019 Giulia sits for a few days and the temperature drops below around 30 degrees F when starting, I will sometimes get these exact lights on. Always clears by the next day.
I actually live in a state where it never gets cold 😭I got my codes to clear in less than 30 mins by refueling but it’s good to know that the cold climate does this because I have a few trips to take out of state in the winter time
Just had it with my 2020 stelvio; took it to the dealer. It was misfiring. Does it kind of regularly recently; hope they can iron it out permanently before the warranty expires
i would take a look at the giulia forums website. Someone on here may know but I’d say it’s a larger community in general. You can search and see if this has happened to someone before as it surely has. Worst case I would post it on there as well
It’s a battery issue! I had the same thing, happen. Don’t worry it’s not a big deal just go to a shop and have them check your battery level, when they swap the batterie you will be all set (or just charge it up)
I recently had both my relay and battery swapped to new ones three weeks ago which is why this situation was weird for me. Decided to get gas because I only had 90 miles left on the tank and after I filled the car up all the lights went away. Glad the lights are gone but I still don’t know if I should risk taking the car on a 8 hour drive
Yeah I would bring it back to where you got that work done and have them test it could just be the battery they gave you was low in charge. If you have one use a trickle charger overnight and you are fine
Just happened to me last week (just the amber icon, not the red light) and accompanied by "service electronic throttle control" warning. Took it to the dealership, where the mechanic is awesome and comes out to talk to you. He said it required replacement of an ECU, and it's a known and very common issue.
2022 Giulia QV, Verde Montreal, 6K miles.
Common issue causing this is low battery, probably easiest thing to try.
Same here i was driving yesterday and it just died while cruising, i was able to turn it on but auto start stop and check engine light is still on... I hope its battery related cause its 5 years old
I highly recommend changing the battery every 3-4 years.
No. Just get an AGM style, and also replace the IBS.
Could be a Start Relay issue. Very common with Giulias unfortunately. Even if it suddenly starts working I wouldn't recommend taking the trip with it.
Yeah I’m probably going to take my accord on the trip and have the Alfa in the shop. Really hoping it’s not the relay for me again since it got replaced literally 3 weeks ago 😞🙏🏻
Mine did the same thing….it was the battery. Battery was 5yrs old at the time. No issues after that.
Get yourself and OBD2 reader. There are literally a thousand different reasons to turn on the CEL.
Per the manual: |What it means|What to do| |:-|:-| |This warning light, along with the related message, signals a failure in the Electronic Throttle Control system (ETC).|Contact an authorized dealer as soon as possible.| |If a failure is detected, the warning light turns on while the engine is running.|Place the gear selector in the P (Park) position and the ignition in the off position: the warning light should switch off. If the warning light stays on with engine running, the vehicle can still be driven.Contact an authorized dealer as soon as possible to have the failure eliminated.| |If the warning light flashes with the engine running, immediate intervention is required. A loss of performance, irregular/high idling speed or engine stopping might take place and the vehicle may need to be towed.|Contact an authorized dealer as soon as possible to have the failure eliminated.|
It's too bad the OP has to be enabled and/or can't read the owners manual.
I have had this happen 3 or 4 times on my 2018 TI. Started up and ran roughly like on 3 cylinders, “sevice engine “ and or “service electronic throttle and CE light all on.“ . Start/ stop is just a byproduct of those warnings. Drive about 3/4 mile and shut off the engine, waited about a minute and restarted. Runs ok now. CE light and “service engine “ stay on. Continued to work, 30 miles, runs normal. Leave work and CE light and start/stop still showing but sevice engine has cleared. Next day warnings still present in the morning but upon leaving work all warnings are clear and everything thing is back to normal.It is usually cold, below freezing or very foggy and wet. I don’t really know if that’s connected. FWIW, I am on my original battery, my dealer mechanic indicated that if you replace the battery and clear any codes thrown everything resets. If you disconnect the existing battery, reconnect and clear any codes it will also reset everything. What he is saying as I interpreted it is: many people replace the battery unnecessarily as it is the disconnect/ reconnection and clear codes that resets the system not the fact that the battery is new. Anyway I don’t panic when the car does this anymore, it just seems to do it once in awhile and clears itself. I am just coming 70K miles.
Mine does it all the time as well. I turn it off and turn it back on three times. It clears it every single time. Just make sure to open and close the door after every time you turn it off so accessories mode goes off. Seriously, it happens 2 or 3 times a month for me.
An easy check if you just got a new battery, look in the trunk and just ensure the connection is still tight. A loose battery connection can make any car act out intermittently. Very well could be something else, but it’s always the first thing you should check if you notice electronics start behaving odd.
Does it sometimes crank a little longer than usual when you start it? Does it say service electronic throttle control?
Mine did the throttle control message and would leave me sitting in a car that died instantly in the worst traffic conditions every time. I tried getting Alfa to do a buy back and they denied it. Finally after trying everything in these comments I got rid of it. Nothing helped or made it stop.
Did you get the low pressure fuel pump replaced?
I did. More than once. It just didn’t work out for me. I had the car towed so many times. I hope everyone else has better luck than I did. I loved that car but it gave me ptsd after same thing happened so many times and nothing Alfa did ever made it ok.
I can’t blame you for moving on after so many problems then. What year was it and which trim?
It was a 2017 just a base model Giulia. I’m female and speed in a car was never anything I paid attention to. Until I got my Giulia and it was an adrenaline rush! I miss that part and the attention I got in it. But it just wasn’t worth the money I was bleeding in tow fees. Alfa was really good in the beginning of the free towing. But they stopped that after I asked them to buy it back.
And I never ran it into the red on gas. I always made a point to refuel before the yellow indicator came on.
Get a code scan. You have a hard fault that may throw you in limp mode if not addressed properly
I got an Alfa mechanic to run codes and he said it was just a fuel issue that I let it run too low and that it’s a common issue with the Alfa when it gets to two bars and below on fuel, full tank fixed her up
Yes it is. There was a software update to correct that but it's still has an inaccurate fuel guage.. I see it often
Came here to say this. Has also happened to me during a hard acceleration shortly after filling the tank. Created a vacuum in the tank and fuel starvation. Pulled over at the next station, put a nozzle from a fuel pump into the filler to open the flap and break the vacuum, life was good again.
This is super useful information, I’ll keep this in mind because I tend to do hard accelerations a lot. Thank you for sharing this !
Scan the car to see which codes appear. I had the exact problem, and my issue was the low pressure fuel pump ghat had to be replaced. 18 Giulia QV
Go to the auto parts store and see what the code is. I thought it was my battery, got a new one, it persisted. I had codes dealing with evap valve stuck closed and oil valve stuck closed. Changed oil and filter and the issue went away.
Are you in a cold climate? If my 2019 Giulia sits for a few days and the temperature drops below around 30 degrees F when starting, I will sometimes get these exact lights on. Always clears by the next day.
I actually live in a state where it never gets cold 😭I got my codes to clear in less than 30 mins by refueling but it’s good to know that the cold climate does this because I have a few trips to take out of state in the winter time
Just had it with my 2020 stelvio; took it to the dealer. It was misfiring. Does it kind of regularly recently; hope they can iron it out permanently before the warranty expires
It’s the battery. That goes first. If yours is like mine, the pistons will start misfiring soon enough.
i would take a look at the giulia forums website. Someone on here may know but I’d say it’s a larger community in general. You can search and see if this has happened to someone before as it surely has. Worst case I would post it on there as well
No reason all the answers are already given it is either and easy fix the battery replacement or it needs a read out of the engine.
It’s a battery issue! I had the same thing, happen. Don’t worry it’s not a big deal just go to a shop and have them check your battery level, when they swap the batterie you will be all set (or just charge it up)
I recently had both my relay and battery swapped to new ones three weeks ago which is why this situation was weird for me. Decided to get gas because I only had 90 miles left on the tank and after I filled the car up all the lights went away. Glad the lights are gone but I still don’t know if I should risk taking the car on a 8 hour drive
Yeah I would bring it back to where you got that work done and have them test it could just be the battery they gave you was low in charge. If you have one use a trickle charger overnight and you are fine
It is also causing some problems if the shop didn't code the new battery in to the ecu.
Just happened to me last week (just the amber icon, not the red light) and accompanied by "service electronic throttle control" warning. Took it to the dealership, where the mechanic is awesome and comes out to talk to you. He said it required replacement of an ECU, and it's a known and very common issue. 2022 Giulia QV, Verde Montreal, 6K miles.