Redwizard999 Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 Last week I was driving from Hanover to Dresden. Having driven about 200km on the Autobahn I moved onto some A class roads to see a bit of scenery. I started to notice that the gearbox appeared to be reluctant to change gear. It would start of in first but it would over rev before it then would change gear. This would continue on subsequent gear changes. i tried to instigate an earlier change once it started to over rev, but I was given a "beep" warning and the gearbox then changed. It started to get worse in respect that when it was over revving it would then go into what I felt was a false neutral, dropping revs before changing gear. I told my wife that we would have to stop and try turning it off when the red warning sign with an exclamation sign in the middle came up on the left of the dashboard and the multifunction screen said "Gearbox fault. Consult handbook". I couldn't stop immediately as there was nowhere to pull over. I was over revving in 4th going about 70kph so I attempted to move manually into 5th, only to receive the message "gear not available"! I stopped about a kilometre up the road and turned off the ignition. THere was no burning smell or the suggestion that anything was wrong. I turned on the ignition and had the error message "Radiator fluid temp too hot. Check level" The temp on the dashboard was in the middle and the fluid was all correct under the bonnet. I turned the ignition again, started the engine. Everything looked normal and it has been as sweet as a nut ever since. However one in every four ignition starts brought up the message "Radiator Fluid too hot". I put the motorhome into my local Fiat Truck centre when I got home to analyse the fault codes. They could see error codes about communication issues with the ECU and gearbox but they could not diagnose any fault. They said there were no fault codes about high fluid temps. They appeared to suggest that there may be a problem with a switch as I may have been pressing the accelerator and brake together. Now, I know I don't do this but seem to remember reading somewhere about this issue. Has anyone had an issue like mine above, or been told that they must have been pressing the two pedals at the same time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 No. But I am very interested. In Pedals in the so called foot well are sensors who are linked to the ECU. You have only gas pedal and break.. Have not a clue of comfortmatic to Ecu. Only My landrover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyd Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 We were in France 3 weeks ago with my 5 week old MH (comformattic , 180hp , 5 ton ) & was having similar problems to you BUT no warnings on dash , I definitely was not pressing brake & throttle at the same time , we eventually broke down , stuck in forth gear on a hill & just wouldn’t come out regardless off what I did , had to get recovered to the fiat garage, 2 days later I got it back fixed , it seems it was a loose wire to the speed controller, they also reset/reloaded the software for the gearbox , all seem ok now , it looks like the gearbox wasn’t changing because it was getting false reading regarding what speed it was doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 Interesting reading as we have a three week old Burstner Comfortmatic (150) so far only cover 300 miles. Have noticed when using the cruise control at 50 mph it changes up and down 5 to 6 even on a level road. Take it up to 60 it's fine but any less its up and down like a fiddlers elbow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 The comfortmatic gearbox was very popular in the Uk. From 150 Hp it was a nice fit. Bad that you just missed the new gear box on fiat ducato. it is not a new tulip flower from amsterdam but was already in the iveco daily for two years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyd Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 weldted - 2019-10-05 8:09 PM Interesting reading as we have a three week old Burstner Comfortmatic (150) so far only cover 300 miles. Have noticed when using the cruise control at 50 mph it changes up and down 5 to 6 even on a level road. Take it up to 60 it's fine but any less its up and down like a fiddlers elbow. Yeh mine still struggles with the 5/6 change especially on slight inclines , I just select manual until I get to the top of the hill then go back to auto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 Yes I select manual but when I change up I have to re engage the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rael Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Redwizard999 - 2019-10-05 7:18 PM Last week I was driving from Hanover to Dresden. Having driven about 200km on the Autobahn I moved onto some A class roads to see a bit of scenery. I started to notice that the gearbox appeared to be reluctant to change gear. It would start of in first but it would over rev before it then would change gear. This would continue on subsequent gear changes. i tried to instigate an earlier change once it started to over rev, but I was given a "beep" warning and the gearbox then changed. It started to get worse in respect that when it was over revving it would then go into what I felt was a false neutral, dropping revs before changing gear. I told my wife that we would have to stop and try turning it off when the red warning sign with an exclamation sign in the middle came up on the left of the dashboard and the multifunction screen said "Gearbox fault. Consult handbook". I couldn't stop immediately as there was nowhere to pull over. I was over revving in 4th going about 70kph so I attempted to move manually into 5th, only to receive the message "gear not available"! I stopped about a kilometre up the road and turned off the ignition. THere was no burning smell or the suggestion that anything was wrong. I turned on the ignition and had the error message "Radiator fluid temp too hot. Check level" The temp on the dashboard was in the middle and the fluid was all correct under the bonnet. I turned the ignition again, started the engine. Everything looked normal and it has been as sweet as a nut ever since. However one in every four ignition starts brought up the message "Radiator Fluid too hot". I put the motorhome into my local Fiat Truck centre when I got home to analyse the fault codes. They could see error codes about communication issues with the ECU and gearbox but they could not diagnose any fault. They said there were no fault codes about high fluid temps. They appeared to suggest that there may be a problem with a switch as I may have been pressing the accelerator and brake together. Now, I know I don't do this but seem to remember reading somewhere about this issue. Has anyone had an issue like mine above, or been told that they must have been pressing the two pedals at the same time? Similar thing happened to me the week before last. It only went on for a few minutes but was a little alarming. Since then I've had no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 I have some concerns as we are shipping our van to the US for six months in Feb and there is no Fiat support over there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennyd Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 weldted - 2019-10-14 8:23 PM I have some concerns as we are shipping our van to the US for six months in Feb and there is no Fiat support over there If I’m not being nosy how much does it cost to ship a MH to the states , sounds like a trip I would like to do , cost permitting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Kennyd - 2019-10-15 9:28 PM weldted - 2019-10-14 8:23 PM I have some concerns as we are shipping our van to the US for six months in Feb and there is no Fiat support over there If I’m not being nosy how much does it cost to ship a MH to the states , sounds like a trip I would like to do , cost permitting This is an inspirational website. http://www.travelswithnicolle.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Quote from Seabridge Liverpool to Baltimore app €7000 return. Allow £1000 for insurance. For six months it works out around £4000 cheaper to take our own van. Allowing for hire plus mileage charges and high fuel use. Based on 15000 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirou Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 weldted - 2019-10-14 9:23 PM I have some concerns as we are shipping our van to the US for six months in Feb and there is no Fiat support over there Isn't the diesel version of the RAM Promaster the same? And if anywhere, I'd say you shouldn't have too many problems finding someone who knows about automatic gearboxes in the US. Found this: ProMaster uses Fiat’s 174-horsepower, 3.0-liter inline four-cylinder EcoDiesel engine that gives 295 lb.-ft. peak torque at 1,400 rpm. The 16-valve, dual-overhead cam engine has a 29,000-psi common-rail fuel-delivery system. New to Ram, the engine has been used in North America (by Mitsubishi Fuso trucks) for some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 Although e USA has many automatics, I'm not sure about robotic ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margus Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 Ducato (2013, 98000 km) showed a few month ago notice "reduce gear changes". finally just stayed in neutral and no gear available. next day everything worked just fine. after couple of thousand km the same notice "reduce gear changes". this time engine stalled on the 1 gear and no neutral available. just in case I changed the battery ( 7 y old). no change. has anyone had this kind of notice "reduce gear changes"? If the specialist will find the fault I'll let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margus Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Problem was in hydraulic pump (electrical short circuit). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 The Ducato supplement for ComfortMatic transmissions mentions the “REDUCE GEAR CHANGES” message on Page 10 (image attached below). No other guidance is given and, in Margus’s case, there was clearly a technical problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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