hi i have been having a few problems with my fiat seicento citymatic for some weeks now,i have had a new ecu put in and paid for a actuator as well but now at the fiat dealers they have told me that the actuator isnt the right one for my car,they also informed me that they would fit me an actuator but it would cost 500 pounds i have told them that i want my car back and i will return the actuator back to the firm that i purchased it from as it has a two year warranty with it,but can anyone tell me how much would it cost to convert the citymatic into a manual car,and what the work entails,your help is very much needed

Whereabouts are you Lesley?

Since you've spent all that money, why not let some of the forum folks help you get it going in citymatic mode and if it buggers up again soon, you could convert it?

Liam

wouldnt it be easier to be a manual?

TBH it may more straightforward (and possibly cheaper) to get shot of the citymatic and get another manual sei..................unless you want to fit a 1242..........:chin:

i am in workington cumbria. i have been in touch with the firm that i purchased the actuator from and they are sending out a courier out to take it back and have a look.:bang:

Id just buy a manual lesley.

lesley said:

but can anyone tell me how much would it cost to convert the citymatic into a manual car,and what the work entails,your help is very much needed

Click to expand...

Well APPARENTLY (I put it in caps, as I really dunno)...Fiat converted most Citymatics to manual boxes as it was a notoriously unreliable system and it was causing them more trouble than it was worth....maybe an idea writing to Fiat UK HQ directly and enquiring about the possibility of something..

Only saying this as IIRC 'dave' on here was told something similar with regard to a Sei he nearly bought (or did..I can't remember).

I'll see what I can dig up....

EDIT - Examine this link....and do a search of all open forums for 'citymatic', and you'll see its quite a good can of badgers

Dave's Dodgy Sei Update

I cant find the original post about that car...

i would buy a manual but the citymatic has gobbled up all my money

I am in a similiar dilema to you I had to fork out for my actuator to be reset as it started to play up by not allowing me to select gears. That cost me £200 at a fiat dealership and all they did was plug it into a computer. Theres every chance that the problem will come back so I dread starting my car everytime now in case the problem occurs.

From what I have researched you are looking at 200-300 pounds for the actual mechanical bit of the manual conversion eg clutch cable etc but around 900-1000 pounds labour costs, this is supposedly justified as the electrics have to be sorted out which isnt as straight forward as the actual fitting of the clutch.

I am in the process now of composing a letter to fiat UK asking them how they justify there unsafe system and making people pay out for it.

hi matt it really does suck!!! apparently the ecu and actuator are the main parts with these type of cars to fail over and over again,although fiat themselves wont admit to the problem i have read elsewhere that folk that have had these problems with their cars have pushed fiat into converting into a manual,i dont know where i would stand because i didnt buy it brand new i am the second owner and my car only had 20,000 miles on the clock when i bought it,i am hoping that when i get the actuator back it will fix the problem fingers crossed

I think its worth contacting Fiat customer services over and making a complaint. I hope to have a letter ready to send to them for next week. Likewise I am second owner of the car. As the problem is a potential safety issue and could have consequences on the re sale value of the car, i think it justifies making a complaint.
I assume like me you enjoy your car, apart from the obvious problems!!

i am going to do just that!!! i do love the car just not the cost of all the parts it cost to try and get it right,cheap insurance,cheap road tax and cheap on petrol what more can you ask for!!!!!

Get on to Fiat, they converted my Citymatic to manual and they will yours too!

One of the citymatic owners was asking about a manual, well as this is the only citymatioc thread going, what more of a finer opportunity to tell you i posted an ebay link in the auction bit which has a sei owners book with the citymatic covered. The auction had a few days to run

hi thanks for letting me know that i have now wrote out my letter and posted it off to fiats head office ,i am keeping my fingers crossed that they will do the same for me then hopefully i will get my little car back out on the road again,thanks to everyone on the fiat forum i will let you all know what the outcome is when i get a responce back from fiat

i have converted my little citymatic about 2 years ago, check out my web site., www.patricksfiatseicentomod.piczo.com

A nice little site there abeit breif about the conversion. No mention of cost either, did it work out cheaper than the actual fiat part?

Hi,

i done the labour parts myself, wasn't that hard, but i have no idea what i gotta do with the lectrics?

also i can't find anywhere that does like a haynes manual for the seicento so im stuck!

help plz