Hi! I bought a fiat panda 100hp two days ago and finally took it for a drive today.

However I have had a concerning issue with the gears/clutch. First I couldnt select any gear, the stick just wouldnt slot in anywhere, then when it worked again after restarting the engine, it worked. Five minutes later I stopped in 1st and tried to select neutral but it wouldnt budge! It was now stuck in 1st, this was resolved by using a little force but then (again) couldnt select any gear. Then I noticed my clutch pedal hadnt sprung back up so pulled it up and everything worked fine again!

What do you think the problem could be? Are there any guides to check the slave cylinder? (I dont know my way around cars yet, this is my first one)

Maybe a stupid question, but did you actually drive the car before buying it?
If so, was the fault evident then?
Either way, you should get back to the seller fast, before driving it further.

Sweetsixteen

Could possibly be master or slave clutch cylinder there.


Have someone pump/push the clutch whilst you're under the bonnet watching the clutch lever move on top of the gearbox.


Seals can go so it may be that.

Yeah I drove it first and everything was fine. My post makes it sound like the whole things falling apart but I did have a nice 4 hour drive before this happened. The seller says it may just be a little stiff after sitting for so long.. and check break fluid just in case. I will take it for another drive later and examine the slave cylinder. Other than this... I really love this car!

Its almost as if I wasnt pressing the clutch

bwals92 said:

Its almost as if I wasnt pressing the clutch

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Sounds like cylinder seals......check and report back. Someone on here just bought a master cylinder.

Thanks for your advice, I'm going to take it to a trusted garage on the weekend to check the cylinders and get my annual service. I'm not really experienced with the technical side of cars (yet).

A small update though.. All the fluids are at the recommended level.. I drove around for another 2 hours today and everything went okay but I was being really easy on the clutch/gears.

I love my panda!

Hi, just updating that I had a mechanic take a look at my problem. He couldn't see anything obvious at that time but he suggested that I get the slave cylinder seal replace, bleed the system and try again. He quoted me £75 for this and said there's only a 50% chance it will resolve the problem as it may be the master cylinder (so no guarantee). Is this reasonable?

bwals92 said:

Hi, just updating that I had a mechanic take a look at my problem. He couldn't see anything obvious at that time but he suggested that I get the slave cylinder seal replace, bleed the system and try again. He quoted me £75 for this and said there's only a 50% chance it will resolve the problem as it may be the master cylinder (so no guarantee). Is this reasonable?

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He's right that it's 50:50. As for the cost - a rubber seal and fluid would be cheap parts (i.e. £5 ish) so that leaves labour.


It's hard to know which seal has gone, but I suppose if he starts with the easiest one first you may be lucky.

AB100 said:

He's right that it's 50:50. As for the cost - a rubber seal and fluid would be cheap parts (i.e. £5 ish) so that leaves labour.


It's hard to know which seal has gone, but I suppose if he starts with the easiest one first you may be lucky.

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Just an update that he replaced my slave cylinder (he said the connection was stuck and had never been replaced contrary to what the service history suggests) all in 45 minutes. My panda is now healthy and well again. Thanks for your help