I have been having a nightmare few months with my Seicento, it is under 5 years old and has very low mileage. After travelling just a short distance, it starts gradually losing power, then there is a burning smell and eventually the brakes seize. As there is no fiat dealer within a fifty mile radius, I had a local garage tow it in and work on it......5 times now. He initially managed to free he brakes without fitting new parts, this worked temporarily, since then he has spoken to a FIAT garage, then fitted new break pads, hoses, changed fluids and done a thorogh check the vehicle until, I thought he had finally resolved the problem. However, 2 days later and the problem came back, my wife managed to drive about 500 yards before the same old symptoms reappeared, eventually struggling home in first gear. The garage owner says he can do no more. Is there someone who has had a similar problem? I am reluctant to scrap it as we have had it only 4 and a half years and just recently taxed it.

what brakes,front or rear?

He replaced them all, but I noticed smoke coming from front passenger side on one occassion - the heat twisted the hub to such an extent that I cannot get it back on properly

He replaced them all, but I noticed smoke coming from front passenger side on one occassion - the heat twisted the hub to such an extent that I cannot get it back on properly

There has to be a simple reason why the brakes are applying themselves, and I am thinking servo problem. When cold are the brakes effective, or very wooden feeling?

Cheers

D

The brakes seem ok until they eventually jam, it's a gradual thing...loss of power then it eventually stops and there is no shifting it, a few hours later they're free again.
Thanks for your interest
DS

I think it's a servo issue, too. See this .

You might like to print it out and give it to your garage -- looks like they owe you!

Thanks for this, much appreciated, I'll take it to the garage ASAP.

DS

I had exactly the same thing happen, but not quite as badly. When you take your foot off the brake pedal, the seals in the master cylinder have to pull back past little holes to let fluid back into the reservoir. If that doesn't happen, heat in the fluid makes it expand and it has nowhere to go, so the brakes come on.

The problem is caused by the servo or linkage pushing a bit on the master cylinder all the time, or a fault in the master cylinder. It will cost you more if you don't find out which before changing bits.

It was the master cylinder on mine. Not expensive or very difficult to change.

http://www.brakesint.co.uk/pdf/technical_assistance_301.pdf was useful to me as well.

You must loosen the bolts that hold on the master cylinder when the problem occours. If the problem goes away when you loosen the bolts, it is a servo or brake linkage problem. If it doesn't go away, it is the master cylinder.

Don't drive it with the bolts loose!

The other test you can do, without driving the car, is take a front wheel off and try to lever the caliper piston back into the caliper. If it won't go back in, you have a problem. Check both wheels.

Loosen the bolts that hold the master cylinder. If the caliper piston will now move it's a problem with the servo or brake linkage.

If not, loosen the pipes that feeds that wheel cylinder. If the piston now moves it's a problem with the master cylinder.

If not, release the bleed nipple on the wheel cylinder. If the piston now moves it's a problem with the pipes, probably the flexible hose.

If the piston is still stuck with the bleed nipple open, the cylinder needs changing.