Engine failure – Iveco Error Code 148

We have often wondered about safety when travelling in remote locations in Australia particularly if you have the misfortune of having mechanical problems.  Modern vehicles tend to be very reliable but as time passes, so does the age of the vehicle and the reliability.

Most motor home owners would ensure that regular services are performed on their vehicle and that is exactly what we did before taking off on an 8000 kilometre trek that was planned to take us though North Eastern Australia and home via the Northern Territory and the route down the centre of Australia.

Our Recent Experience

Midway through a recent trip (see our blog) and whilst travelling in a remote area between Middleton and Boulia in North Western Queensland (not far from the Birdsville Track) , we experienced an engine issue with an audible alarm followed by the message. “Engine failure – error code 148”: appearing on the Iveco console.  This message was also accompanied by a red warning light.  Unfortunately Iveco does not document the error messages in documentation provided with the vehicle and you normally have to have the vehicle interfaced with a diagnostic computer to determine the actual cause of the error.  In most case, error conditions are documented as “stop the vehicle and call for service”.

We have seen errors in the past that we know are incorrect and these errors have been removed with a simple stop and restart of the engine to reset the computer.

Hoping we would clear the error, we stopped and restarted the engine and then continued the final 70 or so kilometres into Boulia where the same error appears as we slowed to enter the town.

The message appeared again on the following day several kilometres past Boulia and continue to appear as we headed north. This time we noted that the engine power reduced by 50% each time the problem happened.  We did managed to get the vehicle to Dajarra (about 160k’s short of Mount Isa) before we felt compelled to contact Iveco through their roadside assistance program.

When advice given (a computer reset through the disconnection of the battery) failed to resolve the problem, we made a further call to Iveco when we arrived in Mount Isa which resulted in a recommendation by Iveco to bring the vehicle to an Iveco dealer.

The Iveco dealer we were dealing with was Macquarrie Trucks at Townsville.  Their Service Manager, Matthew, was the one on the other end of the phone and we owe Mathew a vote of thanks for the way he handled our problem both before we arrived at Townsville and during our stay there whilst they fixed the vehicle.

Mount Isa is a major mining city in Western Queensland and the size of our country becomes apparent when you have two options for an Iveco dealer when one is 1230k’s south west and the other 920k’s to the east.  That is exactly what we were presented with.  We found it very surprising that Mount Isa did not have an Iveco agent but our issue required the truck to be connected to an Iveco diagnostic computer.

It was not difficult to pick the shortest distance as the prospect of being stranded somewhere between Mount Isa and Alice Springs was not appealing in any way at all especially when we would be travelling by ourselves.  Besides, if we chose Alice, we would not arrive until late Friday and we were certain that the vehicle would not be looked at before the following Monday.

In hindsight, our decision was sound but we do know that the trip to Alice would have been less stressful as we were able to manage the problem through constant speed when travelling on flat ground.

The other surprising fact is that we were only a relatively short distance by road from Alice when we were in Boulia but that route was on a four wheel drive development road.

It was a little disappointing that Iveco did not have an authorised agent in Mount Isa. However, when you consider the following points, you can understand the reasons why;

• We did get the vehicle to a dealer where it was repaired even though the dealer was a significant distance from our location.
• The Iveco Daily is normally a very reliable vehicle and we can testify to that fact having owned two of the vehicles and knowing a lot of people who use similar vehicles to ours.
• We are aware that there is a significant cost relating to the computer application that is used as the diagnostic tool.
• The Iveco Assist program is excellent.  After making our initial call to an operator, we were speaking with an Iveco mechanic within minutes and he took full ownership of our issue until it was resolved.  He also provided assurances to us with respect to continuing to drive the vehicle until it was repaired.  He was more than happy to continue to take direct during the time we were travelling to Townsville.
• Had the vehicle not been mobile it would have been collected and transported by low loader to the nearest dealer.
• We understand that Iveco has to be realistic with the location of dealers versus the number of vehicles on the roads in Australia.

What do other manufacturers have to offer regards service?

With the exception of Ford (Ford Transit) and Isuzu, all other manufacturers who provide engines and chassis for our size motor home (Mercedes Sprinter, VW Crafter and Fiat Ducato) do not have dealerships in Mount Isa.

Ford does have a dealer in Mount Isa who is able to interface to a computer and reference to the Isuzu website indicates that their dealer does truck service.

(Note – the above information was obtained through Google and may exclude local agents for each of the above manufacturers.)

For us this was an experience which resulted in us leaving the safari we were part of a week before it finished and we were able to experience some of the North Queensland Coast that certainly was not part of our agenda.

What have we learned from the experience?

Australia is a very big place and there can be massive distances between major towns.

Not every large town has someone who is able to fix mechanical problems.

You cannot make an assumption that you will never experience problems in remote locations.

Some tips that we consider important when travelling in our great country

Make sure you have access to a roadside assistance program.  We had Iveco Help under the vehicle warranty but we also have Winnebago Assist that would have also given us access to the same help and towing etc if required.

If you are travelling away from the “black stuff”, make sure you have an alternative means of communication other than a mobile telephone.  A satellite telephone or possibly a HF radio would assist.  If you have a satellite telephone, make sure you have emergency numbers for any area you intent to travel in programmed into the phone as a speed dial number.

Don’t rely on a mobile telephone even if you have antennas etc.  Telstra NextG is good in the bush but it only works near towns. Optus and the others, forget it, they won’t work!

Ignore the people who tell you that UHF radios are useless, they are not.  We used our UHF to alert other vehicles when we were slowing to restart the engine and it is useful to leave them on channel 40 where you hear warnings about wide vehicles approaching.  We travelled on a Development Radio where road trains radio their location (on UHF) as they reached numbered points on the road.  You knew exactly where they were and if they were coming towards you or approaching from behind. An example of one of these calls is “road train arriving at eleven heading north”.

It goes without saying, if you are travelling in the outback even on good roads, make sure you carry plenty of water.

Carry basic spare parts that you are able to replace yourself (hoses, fuses, filters etc).

If you breakdown DON”T leave your vehicle.

Have the vehicle serviced before going on a lengthy trip.

Check tyres daily for the correct pressure and wear.

Make sure you know how to change a tyre and also ensure that you are able to remove the spare wheel.