Swift Escape 664 Semi Automatic Motorhome.

[Sylvia Hyam]

We have just bought a Swift Escape 664 2019. On our very first camping trip the semi automatic wouldn't go into gear.

Neither manual or automatic, forward or reverse.

On the panel it says Gears Not Available then says check manual. Did that ....still none the wiser. Had to be recovered and taken home as garages not open on Sunday.

Had a nice few days away and the ending spoiled it. If any one has a solution. Would be grateful for their suggestions. Thank you in advance.

[Keithl]

Was your starter battery voltage low? Reading this recent thread the problem there seemed to be low voltage so maybe charge the starter battery and try again?

Keith.

[Derek Uzzell]

A GOOGLE-search on "comfortmatic" "gears not available" will retrieve several entries relating to this problem.

As Sylvia's Swift motorhome is 2019-vintage, Keith's suggestion that the starter-battery be replaced would be a logical first move.. Even if that failed to cure the problem, 5 years is a reasonable lifespan for a starter-battery and fitting a new good quality replacement would be relatively inexpensive and provide some 'future proofing'.

(A garage should be able to read any fault codes stored in the motorhome's memory and this should (may!) point to the cause of the problem.)

[Robinhood]

The attachment in the second post here:

https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/comformatic-gearbox-issue.509594/

might be informative.

[Brian Kirby]

As Sylvia says they have only just bought the van then, assuming it was not a private purchase, why not take the van back to the seller for remedy?  I would assume a warranty of some sort would have accompanied the purchase so whether or not it is the starter battery which is at fault, the warranty should cover other possible causes.  Sylvia hasn't said what the mileage is, but motorhomes are generally fairly low mileage vehicles so, after only 5 years, it seems preferable to let the seller sort out the problem.

I'm not disagreeing with the suggested battery diagnosis, but there is a general rule that a seller be involved where goods fail soon after purchase, so that they can't subsequently claim they were denied the opportunity to ignorance of faults.  I'm just thinking that Comfortmatics are complex transmissions and, if the problem should turn out to have a different (and potentially expensive 😞) underlying cause, it may be better to advise the supplier before intervening - even if only to tell them you propose changing the starter battery as a first shot at remedy.  (Having said which, it seems a bit odd that the seller hadn't picked up on the problem before sale, or even replaced a 5 year old starter batter as a matter of course on the basis that it would be near the end of its useful life.  🙂)

[Sylvia Hyam]

On 01/07/2024 at 15:34, Brian Kirby said:

As Sylvia says they have only just bought the van then, assuming it was not a private purchase, why not take the van back to the seller for remedy?  I would assume a warranty of some sort would have accompanied the purchase so whether or not it is the starter battery which is at fault, the warranty should cover other possible causes.  Sylvia hasn't said what the mileage is, but motorhomes are generally fairly low mileage vehicles so, after only 5 years, it seems preferable to let the seller sort out the problem.

I'm not disagreeing with the suggested battery diagnosis, but there is a general rule that a seller be involved where goods fail soon after purchase, so that they can't subsequently claim they were denied the opportunity to ignorance of faults.  I'm just thinking that Comfortmatics are complex transmissions and, if the problem should turn out to have a different (and potentially expensive 😞) underlying cause, it may be better to advise the supplier before intervening - even if only to tell them you propose changing the starter battery as a first shot at remedy.  (Having said which, it seems a bit odd that the seller hadn't picked up on the problem before sale, or even replaced a 5 year old starter batter as a matter of course on the basis that it would be near the end of its useful life.  🙂)

Hi. Thank you for all your replies. I had a vehicle diagnostic check done to day, and it read that there is a fault in the gear box, a solenoid, along with an electrical problem. I bought it from a private seller, in answer to your question Brian. I did contact them and he said there was no problem driving it from Northampton to Clacton. It's done 52,000 miles. Any way the Swift Escape is booked in next week. Hoping it's not going to be an expensive repair.

[Brian Kirby]

1 hour ago, Sylvia Hyam said:

...........................I bought it from a private seller, in answer to your question Brian. I did contact them and he said there was no problem driving it from Northampton to Clacton. It's done 52,000 miles. Any way the Swift Escape is booked in next week. Hoping it's not going to be an expensive repair.

You're welcome Sylvia.  Regarding the underline above, me too!  Did you get a cost estimate from the garage?  If not, it may be wise to do so, as access can be difficult resulting in high labour charges.  It might be worth contacting Fiat Customer Services to see if they can recommend a comfortmatic specialist, as not all Fiat Professional workshops will be fully familiar with the box and its peculiarities, plus the mention of a non-specific electrical problem sounds a bit ominous. 

If you can say the area you are in, someone may know of a reliable comfortmatic familiar garage to go to. 

Don't want to cause alarm, and am not assuming ill of the garage you are using, but some past reports of comfortmatic repair costs have been worrying.  Be on your guards!  Good luck.

[onecal]

Hi

What were the fault codes on the report you had carried out ?

Regards