Punto 03 reg sreeching noise from passenger side at rear

I own a Punto ELX W reg and I have a similar noise coming from the rear suspension. I did quite a bit of reading on this and had the car checked at a garage and they suggested that because both of the rear shock absorbers have developed slight rust on the inner tube, this is rubbing against the outer tube, thus creating this kind of clonking/rattling noise.

Apparently, the rattling noise (not the rust) is a common design fault on all MKII Puntos and whoever discovered this quickly enough had the whole rear subframe replaced by FIAT under warranty, provided the car was under 3 yrs old, of course.

The garage told me that it is perfectly safe to drive the car if I could live with the noise. It does get a bit irritating sometimes, however, I've lived with it for more than two years now. Because your Punto makes the noise from only one side, I suggest you make sure that it doesn't come from the other side, too and if not, then get your shock absorbers and rear suspension bushes checked for their condition. If it is the bushes, this is usually a quite inexpensive job. However, expect to pay a lot more for new absorber(s).

Good luck!

Just sorted it ( i hope ) i bent down on the passenger side towards the back of the car and seen what i thought was the hand break cable, i moved it and it made the noise ( i wasnt sure if it was the noise coz it wasnt as loud ) so i greased it up & went round the block a few times, no noise at all.

Hopefully that was it.

Happy dayz

Glad to hear that! I am still having a squeeky rear suspension and this is apparently down to a slight rust built-up on the inner shock absorber tubes. I'm gonna have to live with it till they start leaking I suppose...

I've had my cambelt replaced at the FIAT main dealer last week and I have to say they must have done the job quite well as there's no misfiring or hesitation under acceleration. :)

I hope it doesn't go wrong for many years to come...