Car recall

Gingerkid

Hello
My Fiat 500 has developed a gear box problem. Apparently this was a common problem and Fiat recalled the cars in 2015 - the recall expired in 2016 before I owned the car. My quote for the necessary work to be carried out is £1500. I wondered if anyone could advise as to whether or not Fiat should still do the work on the basis of the recall? I bought the car from a Fiat dealer- are they accountable for selling a car with an outstanding recall?  Many thanks if anyone can help! 🚗

AdrianC

There was a 2015 recall in the US, because of potential excess clutch pedal travel leading to the clutch diaphragm breaking up. The fix was to install a pedal travel limiter, to stop the pedal being pushed down too far...
https://www.kbb.com/fiat/recall/

I don't believe it applied to the UK, and it doesn't seem to be listed on the gov.uk safety recall list.
https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-recall

When did you buy the car, how old is it now, and how many miles? What is the fault you're experiencing?

Gingerkid

Thanks for replying AdrianC.
My car is a 2015 reg - I bought it in 2019. I don't know the mileage as its in the garage at the moment but it is lower than would be expected for a car of its age. The mechanic suggested that the recall wouldn't show on the gov.uk website as it only shows safety recalls rather than mechanical ones? It's difficult to change gears at the moment and feels a bit like sitting on a tractor when it's in 2nd!

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It is the diaphragm spring that goes- some of the fingers break off and it wont release fully, so it is difficult to get it in gear when the engine is running (but easy when it is switched off and the car is stationary). Eventually, the release bearing punches through the fingers, the pedal stays down, and the clutch wont release.

Fiats have always bought cheap clutches that do that, we spent a whole day dropping the engine out of my brothers 5 cylinder one (A Brava IIRC) for that exact problem, and it was supposed to be fairly common then..

Gingerkid

We've just been to a fiat dealer and they said the car was recalled and the work carried out,  so will have to pay for the work to be done! Thanks for your comments! 

Grumpy_chap

Gingerkid said:

Thanks for replying AdrianC.
My car is a 2015 reg - I bought it in 2019. I don't know the mileage as its in the garage at the moment but it is lower than would be expected for a car of its age. 

How can you own a car for over a year and not know what the mileage is?  In the context of a public forum discussion, only that it's a 5yo car and mileage low - medium - high indication.  25k, or 50k, or 100k miles?

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I couldn't tell you the mileage of my car either without getting in and messing with some buttons. The display only shows one thing, and it is on the A trip and has been since the way home from the MOT last March - I do know that I've done about 160 miles since I last filled up though

AdrianC

Really?

You couldn't say to within - say - 10k miles?

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I could have a guess, but I wouldn't be surprised if I was more than 25k out.

It just isn't relevant to me, I reset the service indicator when I service it, and use the trip for fuel. I wouldn't touch a car with a cam belt so there is nothing mileage sensitive to worry about.