(T) Abarth Selespeed jumping into neutral

I had a quick search and could not find anything similar.

Occasionally the Stilo jumps into neutral and this has only occured when going very slowly queuing to join a roundabout. It has happened 4 times in 6 months and the car sticks in neutral. The car is in automatic mode. It seems to occur when the car is in second gear and has been crawling for a bit and then I stop and almost immediately accelerate - it changes to neutral rather than first.

Turn the car on and off one, two or three times and the gearbox starts working again.

The local dealer does not seem that sure what the problem is but they have suggested replacing the selespeed pump for around £600.

Any other ideas?

Have a look at this thread...

http://www.fiatforum.com/stilo-techn...any-gears.html

He had similar problems which I think turned out to be low Selespeed fluid level and a dodgy brake switch.

could also be pump, open the drivers door after the car has been turned off and still for around 10 mins and you should hear and electrical buzzing noise from the engine, if you can't then I suspect selespeed pump has died.

Can be quite pricey.

Could be but given the inconsistent nature of the fault, I reckon the pump makes all the right noises when it's meant to.

I think the best thing to do will be to get the car hooked up to a Fiat Examiner system and see if there's any logged fault codes relating to the gearbox. The Selespeed gearbox fault codes can't be read on generic OBD readers (I believe... could be wrong though!) so you'll need to either take the car into Fiat or an Italian car specialist who's got the Examiner.

I had a sensor fault on my Selespeed which manifested itself intermittently and I got the Auto Gearbox Failure warning when it did go wrong. Did you get that when your gearbox went into neutral? There's alot of sensors in the gearbox and a good chance that something is amiss in there. They're not expensive (£40 or so) with a couple of hours labour to install.

Get it on Examiner and find out for definite what's up... saves alot of guess work

Thanks for the suggestions. The pump seems to be fine - seems to be making the same noises at the same time as it has for the past few years.

It is a Fiat dealer who does not seem to know what the problem is. I think I will try and find a local independent dealer and also check the selespeed fluid.

Where abouts are you? Anywhere near London/M11?

If so ten i can suggest a good garage that i go to with mine. Personally, I would avoid a dealer who wants you spend £600 on a pump when he's not actually sure that that's the issue. I'd want a logged fault code stating that that was the issue before I part with that much dosh. There's so many other cheaper things that could be the culprit...

Good luck!

Check the Selespeed fluid mate! thats all mine needed, didn't need a brake switch (although I changed it twice thinking it was a dodgy one the first time!), needed about half a litre of CS oil in it, and was perfect after that, so even before the brake switch - i'd check the fluid...

I did have a quick glance at the fluid and it looked quite full - I'll check if I looked at the right one.

Not had much luck since posting this thread it happened 4 times on the way home from work this evening - just over 7 miles.

I checked the fluid this morning and it seems ok. If I'm looking in the correct place then the full mark is indicated by two arrows?

Its now stuck in neutral but the usual pump noise is made when you open the driver door.

It sounds like a sensor issue (possibly clutch sensor?) if the Selespeed hydraulic pressure is okay. There are a number of sensors in the gearbox and anyone of them can cause it not to work. Have a look at this site: http://homepage.mac.com/paul_denyer/...49/page49.html

Very useful information in there that should point you in the right direction

Try resetting the gears by holding the paddles in for 10 seconds, getting first if you can (with the engine running) and holding it with the handbrake on just enough so that the front end lifts up, if you hold it there and it doesn't fall into N i'd bet my balls to a barn dance it's a pressure issue. If you hear the pump prime when you open the door then its most probably not that - Could be the gear selector?

It did turn out to be the selespeed pump. £600 later the car is working fine. Hopefully that is the last large bill until the new car tax.

Thanks for all the suggestions and help.

Gutted mate, ahh well at least the car is up & running again - I used to get a sinking feeling going out in it, luckily mines was only fluid like I said previously but yours sounded a lot like what I had.

seems a bit much for pump, should only cost about £500.

at least you got it sorted now though mate