Faulty Clutch Slave Cylinder

[BRIMAL]

2017 Fiat Duacato 2.3 Jtd 150 Adria Coral 690SC.

 

To cut a long story short, while returning from a trip to Poland had trouble with my clutch pedal going to the floor and not returning. Breakdown recovery to a Fiat Professional garage near Ypres diagnosed a faulty clutch master cylinder which was duly ordered and changed. Continue on journey and once again on M25 clutch pedal goes to the floor and fails to return. Breakdown recovery home to local garage who investigates further and diagnoses a failed clutch slave 'cylinder'. This of course is not an easy replacement as it's in the gearbox.

 

Question is, with the vehicle being so 'new' first registered May 2017 and only done 18720 miles what chances do I have of getting this job done by Fiat at their cost and who do I contact? Supplying MH dealership or local Fiat Professional who do not do Motorhomes.

 

Any helpful advise appreciated.

 

Brian

[Derek Uzzell]

You should have a Fiat Motorhome Warranty and Services boklet that details the terms and conditions of the warranty. The Fiat 24-month warranty for my 2015 Rapido excludes the clutch, but I’m not sure whether clutch ancillaries (like a slave cylinder) would also be excluded. Suggest you contact Fiat Camper Assistance for advice.

 

I don’t know what Fiat’s attitude would be to meeting all or part of the cost of the repair for your Ducato (that I assume is now just out of warranty) but - if Fiat did agree to fund all/part of the cost - I’d expect them to insist that the repair be carried out by a Fiat agency.

 

(Even though your local Fiat Professional agent is not in a position to repair your motorhome, can’t they advise on the best way forwards?)

[weldted]

Your contract is with the supplying dealer as the first point of contact as the van should be fit for purpose, I was under the impression the Fiat had a three year warranty, the exception being consumables as in friction linings pads, shoes and the clutch friction plate. The clutch slave cylinder I would of thought should be covered. If you paid for the first one by card try your card issuer?

[Derek Uzzell]

These links relate to the Fiat Ducato warranty

 

http://www.mopar.eu/camper/en/warranty-servicing

 

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/new-fiat-ducato-warranty-query.186933/

 

It’s quite common for a vehicle’s warranty duration and terms and conditions to vary according to the country in which the vehicle is marketed. My Germany-bought Transit-based Hobby motorhome had a 2-year Ford warranty whereas UK-marketed Transits had a 3-year Ford warranty but (as I said above) Brian should have a Fiat warranty booklet that states the warranty’s duration. As Brian has said that the Adria was first registered in May 2017 and he is asking about the likelihood of Fiat paying to rectify the slave-cylinder problem, it seems reasonable to assume that the slave-cylinder fault occurred after May 2019 when a 24-month warranty would have expired.

 

I agree that the vendor of the Brian’s motorhome should be contacted about this and I would have anticipated Brian would have already done this (and have spoken to his local Fiat Professional agent).

 

Brian says “To cut a long story short”, but whether Fiat might pay for the repair work now needed may depend on what happened when a clutch-pedal problem first showed up abroad and was addressed by a Fiat Professional agency at Ypres. Was that Fiat Professional agency’s diagnosis of a faulty clutch master cylinder incorrect? Was the replacement of the master cylinder performed under warranty? If the repair at Ypres had been under warranty and not paid for by Brian and the repair had been unnecessary as the problem was actually with the slave cylinder, there would be good reasons to expect Fiat to agree to fund the repair work now needed despite the Fiat warranty (presumably) having expired. But the background to the latest failure would need to be provided to Fiat together with a request for a free-of-charge repair.

 

The issue is evidently further complicated by Brian’s local Fiat Professional agent being unable or unprepared to carry out the repair work. (I assume that the agent is Desira Norwich, that apparently sells Ducato vans and ought to be technically able to replace a clutch slave cylinder on an Adria Coral unless their workshop equipment’s limitations prevents this.) But, if Brian wants Fiat to pay for the repair, the question of who carries out the repair work would also need to be agreed with Fiat before the repair commenced.