Hi, I'm new here but I wanted your inputs on something.

Two days ago I brought in my 2012 Abarth into the dealer because the master clutch was defective and I couldn't shift gears while driving. Thank God I wasn't on the highway.

Dealership gave me a call this morning, said the extended warranty would cover the cost of repairs. But then he added that the fluid which leaked probably went all over the clutch and if it needed to be replaced, it wouldn't be covered by the warranty because the clutch falls under wear and tear.

Do you think the oil leaking from the master clutch would affect my transmission or do you think the dealership is trying to get me pay extra for unnecessary work?

Thanks for all your help.

******** would be my first thought, you are saying master,, cylinder, the one attached to the bulkhead not attached to the gearbox (slave cylinder )? Isn't the master cylinder at the wrong side of the engine/gearbox, even if it was the slave cylinder I doubt any would get inside. I would get a second opinion or at the very least ask the garage to CLEARLY show you where and how much has leaked, the clutch system has very little excess fluid available.

thanks! you'll have to forgive me for being a little ignorant because I don't know much about mechanics. The problem was that when I pressed on the clutch pedal there would be no resistance and it would stay on the floor and not come back up. The mechanic at Chrysler said that's called the master clutch, but I have no idea if that's also called a cylinder or whether it's near the gear box or not. I'm going to head down and get a second opinion from my personal mechanic. He's always been a straight shooter.

You wouldn't happen to know if what you said about the cylinder being at the opposite end of the gearbox applies to the fiat Abarth, would you?

Oops sorry forgot your steering wheel is on the other side,the "master/clutch/cylinder" is the part connected to the pedal and pushes the clutch fluid, the slave "cylinder " or actuator is the part that uses the 'pushed' fluid that presses on the arm that goes inside the clutch / gearbox housing that operates the clutch. There is a mechanical advantage using this type of system that makes it easier to press the clutch pedal making it easier for all to drive. Usually it's the part on the gearbox that goes as it's exposed to the elements, but if either fails you will get the issue you have, also a simple air in the system will cause the same effect, but then it's why did the air get in.
Best advice I can give is get your friendly mechanic to give it a once over but not to touch anything then go back and get it fixed under warranty I bet he says there's not as much work as perhaps the dealers trying to suggest?

If the clutch needed replacing because it was worn out, that is wear and tear.
If it needs replacing because another failure has contaminated it, that is consequential damage and should be covered by the warranty. If it needs replacement because of the hydraulic failure, Fiat should pay.

a) The dealer is not sure of the warranty terms and procedures.
b) He's perhaps trying to get you and Fiat both to pay.

Initially give him the benefit of the doubt and assume 'a'.

On a different car entirely (Renault Espace) I recently had the clutch slave cylinder fail or so it seemed. The pedal went to the floor and I had no clutch.

Got the car home had the costs of a new clutch priced up and was looking at £700 for car worth not much more. One day I went out and for some reason lifted the pedal and pressed. It went down with a squirty noise.

Long and short was that a hydraulic hose had failed. Almost unheard of on a clutch but that was the problem. New hose fitted and the clutch is working again.

The car is now saleable rather than a few £s of scrap value.

So get it properly checked out.

I believe Fiat of Fremont CA. (now out of business) replaced my Clutch because hydraulic oil leaked on it from the Clutch Slave Cylinder. That repair was made in 2015. August 2016 it went out again. One year and one month after the repair was done. And of course it was one month after my warranty was up.
I am eager to know how yours turns out.

Thanks for sharing the information.

Hello and welcome to the forum :wave:.

It's good to have you along, but please note that it's not particularly helpful to ressurrect an old thread when you have no new information to add to it.