Hi,

I wonder if any one can help me I have a fiat multipla that I bought 2 months ago. It has been working well until yesterday. My husband drove the car yesterday and noticed a sqweaking noise when he pressed the brakes. He assumed the break pads needed changing. My husband went to use car again today. He drove to shops fine. But when he came back to car and tried to drive home. He found the break pedal very hard and almost impossible to push down and could not turn steering wheel. After a bit of pumping he got the breaks working and was able to drive slowly home. But now at home. The same thing. The brake pedal is so hard you can't really press it down. The pedal is this hard when engine is off and on. And can't turn steering wheel. What do you think the problem is. My husband was thinking perhaps the brake servo has gone. But when you switch the engine on the pedal does drop a tiny bit but can't be pressed.

Any advice on how to fix this would be much appreciated

Thanks in advance

Multi's have a vacuum pump to provide servo assistance on the brakes, if this isn't working the brake pedal will be very hard.
Also steering is power assisted, I'd take a good look at the serpentine belt on the l/h side of the engine and make sure that it's ok.

We had the car tower to a near by garage in the end, they have looked over the car and they had said it is a problem with the gear box and that the gear box needs replacing. And have quoted £1500 for a new reconditioned gear box + labour. . I find this really strange and hard to believe as you can change gears fine, there is no problem with the gears. So how can it be the gear box. And also if it is the gear box can some one explain to me how the gear box can effect the break pedal, making it really hard and steering. I just can't understand. Hopefully some one more knowledgeable on this forum might me able to explain to me. Could it really be the gear box or is this garage trying it on. Should I get a second opinion. I don't want to hand over that much money if that isn't the problem. Also does £1500 seem a lot to you or not. Does any one know where I could get a reconditioned gear box with garantee cheaper. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Servo is a good bet, although it's a vacuum pump on diesel Multipla's.
Use Eper (Blue banner at top of page) to show the brake system diagrams.

If the garage that said a gearbox problem caused the brake pedal issue can't explain it,
then I'm damn sure I can't. Braking system components have no commonality with gearbox.
Use someone else, BTW £1500 is way pricey.

Thanks for your reply, I should have said my fiat Multipla is manual petrol, 1.6l engine. Registration w. year 2000 if this helps.

Get a second opinion, I am a competant diy mechanic and have changed the clutch on my diesel multi, which means removal of the gearbox, with the information that you have provided I can see no relationship of your problems to the gearbox. The power steering works by the auxilary belt turning the power steering pump,either the pumps knackered or the belts come off. I agree with the other posters about the brake issue, I would be looking at the clutch slave or master cylinder and the the servo. I cannot understand why the garages has gone for the gearbox,unless I am missing some facts,even then I struggle to make any conection.The steering and the brakes take nothing from the gearbox

What your saying doesn't add up.
I'd walk from that garage and find a find a good independent one.

Have you checked your power steering pump and it's fluid levels??
Have you checked vacuum hose to servo for cracks/splits and if there's vacuum at all??

If you stand on the pedal then start engine does the pedal sink a bit??

Is the serpentine belt on?????
Marty.

I am a mechanic and even with a new clutch assembly and slave cylinder and a flywheel it wouldn't come to that much. For a clutch probs 450 and then may be 250 to 300 for recon box. As other people have said check the fluid level and if the belt is there and with engine running that the pump is turning. I also agree with the vacuum or the servo if it drop when the engine started I would say isn't servo, make sure pipes on servo are connected to the engine. Also start engine and listen can you hear a sucking or a whistle, and is it idling ok. If you can't hear anything then rev it and then see. Hope this helps.

Thanks every one for your replies. Some one has suggested to me that perhaps one or more of the brake calliper could have seized. And that seized brake callipers are quite common with fiat multipla's. What do you think. Would a seized calliper be more likely the problem. Could this cause the brake pedal to be hard and steering funny pulling to one side. ( sorry made a mistake of first post steering wheel does move when you drive car, steering is just hard as car pulls to one side).

Yout thoughts would be much appreciated

Thanks again

Now were getting to the crux of it!!!

Yes you could well have a seized brake caliper on the side its pulling to...if its seized it will usually be accompanied by a smell of burning brake pad.
This could explain your heavy steering but your pedal should still be travelling a bit to move the other caliper and rear shoes.
Drive the car a few miles and then check your wheel hubs.... see if one is hot relative to the others.

Its also posible there is something wrong with your differential and this could be why your garage is pointing at the gearbox...i could see this making your steering heavy but it shouldnt effect your brake pedal...im not convinced this is the problem just yet though as no link to brake pedal being hard.

Check out your front brakes....jack the car up and see if the wheels spin freely...if you can prop up the front of the car spin one front wheel and the other should spin in the opposite direction.
If you can prop it up safely stick it in gear and see if both wheels spin(one will go back and the other forward...listen out for any odd sounds around the calipers or if the diff is noising.
Marty.

In reply to Martyc5674, I think if you're in gear and the engine is driving the wheels they'll both be going in the same direction. An additional check would be to stop one wheel (Making the diff work and see if you get any noises from the diff).

If you're in neutral and you turn one wheel the other might go backwards

Thanks again for replies. I have just been down to the garage and have spoken to them and they are now saying that the problem is the differential, the said the differential is blocked on on side and that the differential needs replacing. They are saying though that in order to replace the differential they have got to replace gear box as well and a couple of other parts. Is this correct. I have looked around online and you can buy the differential on its own. How come you can buy just that part but can't just replace that part on its own. They have come down on price to £1200 but I still feel this is far too much. Do I need to have the gear box replaced when the problem is just with the differential. I am beginning to feel that it might be better to just scrap car and buy another car. As I have had enough. It would be a shame though as the car has very low mileage 62000. What do you think I should do.

Did they explain whats wrong with the diff??
The diff is in the box, it allows your driven wheels to travel at different rates...It has nothing to do with your brakes/brake pedal being hard.

Because its in the box youd be aswell off replacing the box with a known good one.
I cant imagine a reconditioned box would be too expensive either.
Replace the clutch while your there...you should still be able to get all that done for 600....cant see the relation to your stiff pedal though.

Marty.

You've got a brake problem, garage are saying that one side of the diff is b(locked).
Marty mentioned the possibility of a brake binding on one side this could make it appear as if the diff is faulty.

Get a second opinion, by dropping the price by 20% the garage have acknowledged
that the first quote was taking the mick.

Hi,

I know this post is a few month old but I thought I would give a update. I went back to garage and told them I wanted to take car to another garage for a second opinion. They told me I owed them £400 when they had done no work. I refused to pay and they would not let me have car. in the end I told them to keep car and I signed it over too them. I bought another fiat Multipla the same age with89000 mile. I only had second fiat Multipla 6 weeks and both gear box and head gasket went. We were driving to shops when it kept jumping out of gear, then car would not change gears at all then there was aloud noise and smoke pored out from engine. We had to scrap the car as it would have cost so much to fix these problems it was not worth in.

We have been without a car for several months now and are now looking for another car but due to the problems I've had I have been put off the fiat Multipla. Which is a shame as we really like the fiat Multipla. Is gearbox problems a known problem with fiat multipla's. Fiat multipla's don't seem very reliable cars or have we just been unlucky.

What are the fiat doblos like are they any more reliable as I believe the do a 6 seater doblo.

Thanks for all your advice

Are you in the AA/RAC/other?
I'd get some legal advice (either from the above, or citizens advice or trading standards) about what that first bunch of crooks (garage) got up to.
They were either falsifying faults to get money off you, or are so incompetent that they shouldn't be in the business.
Either way, you could go through a small claims court procedure to get some payback for the shameful way you've been fleeced.

It wouldn't hurt to 'name and shame' the garage on here too, so no-one else gets caught out...

Petrol Multipla gearboxes are a bit fragile, however you have been unlucky, both with cars and garage.

Generally, parts are cheap for Multipla's and it's usually suspension that needs repairs more than gearbox.
If you're not handy with the spanners then probably better off with something that garages are more comfortable with, unless you're prepared to find a good independent who is happy to take on a Multipla.

I think bike doc has a point reading the thread it is not gearbox related and that does seen like a rather high price and a supply and fit 1.6 box at the dearest is £750 all in shop around a look for a deal and every one has bad encounters with cars don't just blame the multipla its just bad luck u brought one with head gasket and box gone