Think I have a serious problem with our beloved new Doblo - despite only having had it (from brand new) back in April

Background..

Went shopping with the family today and noticed a very bad burning smell coming from the Doblo just before we finally found somewhere to park. Didn't actually realise it was our car at first - as was sat in traffic and lots of cars around..

.. but then, the smoke coming from the front indicated it was us!

Anyway, this on sat in a queue on the way into a multi-storey (which I think gives a clue.. we were on a ramp for some time waiting to get in).

So, couldn't pull over etc. so proceeded in, car still working ok, and found a space. Opened up the bonnet and more smoke, which soon stopped - but the dreadful burning smell persisted of course.

Decided to leave it to "cool down" and did the shopping. Couple of hours later, came back and drove home.. but with the smell still apparent and also a *new* juddering/vibration coming from the car during 1st and 2nd gear changes

Summary of symptoms

• Strong burning smell from the bonnet.
• Smoking too (at first - didn't on journey home).
• Juddering that I have not noticed before, when in 1st / 2nd gear changes/pulling away.

Having just done some googling into this, I have a strong worry that the clutch is either (badly?) damaged, or worse still burnt out completely (though if this was the case would have been able to drive the vehicle home at all??).

I should add that I know NOTHING about cars, how they work etc.etc.! - lucky enough to have had the Doblo from shiny new and have been absolutely *loving it* until today with this worrying problem.

Questions!

• Am I correct in assuming the clutch is the problem?
• If so, how badly is it likely to be damaged based on the symptoms?
• IF it turns out the clutch is damaged, is this likely to be covered in the 2/3 year warranty??
• Where should I go to have it looked at in the first instance? - somewhere like Formula One Autocentre (we have one near) - OR the dealer where I got the car from in the first place? (remember it was brand new - but dealer not so local to me..)
• Should I drive the vehicle again / safe to drive with damaged clutch?

Sorry for this being such an epic! - thought with being my first post proper on here I'd go into detail as hopefully it'll help you more technically minded peers out there on this forum to help me out!

Cheers in advance for *any* help on this. Have been delighted with the Doblo so far, so this is a real downer at the moment

John.

It does sound like the clutch to me.
You say you were stuck on a ramp in a car park for a long time. Do you mean you were holding the car by slipping the clutch? If so, for how long?
This would definitely burn out your clutch if it was for a few minutes or more and would not be covered in the warranty and I wouldn't mention it to the dealer. They'll probably guess anyway if your car hasn't covered many miles.

Thanks for the reply, appreciated.

I'm pretty convinced it'll be the clutch.

We WERE waiting for some time (re: ramp) - however, aware of how holding it on the clutch for any length of time a bad idea, so handbrake was on and off throughout. HOWEVER, certainly would have been periods of holding on the clutch during the time, yes.

Will certainly not disclose that to the dealer.. though as you say fearful they would suspect as much anyway. Having said that, this is my 3rd FIAT over the years (all from new, this being the first Doblo though) - and never any such problems before (at all). Being 100% honest [here] I suspect I've built up a bad habit of holding on the clutch too much. I guess the heavier vehicle could be the reason for this problem coming to light?

Finally for now, any comment on the "is it safe/wise to continue driving it..?" question I added on original post? - just keen to avoid making matters any worse. Needless to say I'll be ultra-kind to the clutch.. though would appear the horse has bolted

John.

RichDoblo120 said:

It does sound like the clutch to me.
You say you were stuck on a ramp in a car park for a long time. Do you mean you were holding the car by slipping the clutch? If so, for how long?
This would definitely burn out your clutch if it was for a few minutes or more and would not be covered in the warranty and I wouldn't mention it to the dealer. They'll probably guess anyway if your car hasn't covered many miles.

Click to expand...

RichDoblo120 said:

This would definitely burn out your clutch if it was for a few minutes or more and would not be covered in the warranty and I wouldn't mention it to the dealer.

Click to expand...

watching you

(think you'll find no problem in getting your car repaired without fuss & quickly,hope this hasn't spoilt your enjoyment too much)

it's safe to drive, you just need a new clutch.
Take it to the dealer and say you suspect the clutch might be faulty and see if they'll do it under warranty.
If they've done a few under warranty before they might not question it and just replace it for free .
Good luck

wouldnt be the first clutch on a doblo....only time get suspicious if we suspect a remap.

Dont worry you'll be fine,arrange a courtesy car

Sorry to hear of your problem. With clutches it does come down to how you use them as to how long they will ultimatley last. Even just sitting with the clutch pedal pushed right down for any length of time should be avoided - the friction material isn't being worn away but the thrust mechanism will be.

Mrs_G's 1st clutch lasted to about 193,000 miles from memory. The clutch on my own van (Iveco 3.5 ton) is still going strong at 311,000 miles - a guy I know with the same van can't get a clutch to last more than 200,000 miles - just down to how you use it I suspect.

PS. I did abuse the clutch in my company car once (owned by the company rather than leased), the boss had pushed me to the point of thinking of seeing a solicitor about constructive dismissal, I decided to leave the company and strangley enough the clutch slipped with the engine screaming at 5000rpm for about 10 miles on my way home during my last week - what a stink! Oh revenge is so nice - pleased to report his company went bust a couple of years after I left.

Hope you get you Dobbin sorted soon........ its not a company car is it ? lol.

Thanks for the 2nd reply, Rich (and also to everyone else who has contributed to this, my first ~and might I add quite dramatic!~ post!)

My basic [honest] conclusion is that, despite driving for 15 years with not a single prior incident etc. it is likely that I've developed at least one bad habit - that being overly using the clutch pedal

Trying to take the positives out of this (while I can..) in that I'm pleased that if this IS a bad habit (i.e. my fault/doing) it's now come to light - so I can begin sorting myself out and NOT DOING IT! (could be easier said than done.. but the quest begins today).

Think I'll pop into a ATS or somewhere for them to "have a look" first - hopefully they'll tell me how bad the damage is. Then, based on what they say I'll take it to my local dealer, "act daft" (usually find that easy when it comes to cars.. ;-) ) - and see how I get on.

Car is only 6 months old, has been fantastic other than this and has done less than 10k miles.

I'll let you know how I get on.

RichDoblo120 said:

it's safe to drive, you just need a new clutch.
Take it to the dealer and say you suspect the clutch might be faulty and see if they'll do it under warranty.
If they've done a few under warranty before they might not question it and just replace it for free .
Good luck

Click to expand...

Just take it to dealer (dont mess around taking it elsewhere its under warranty) you done nothing wrong so let them diagnose/repair it. There is no 'interogation' when you take a car to dealer under warranty.Just explain theres a burning smell that you suspect is the clutch.

Always bear in mind that your car could have a clutch from a faulty batch. In leaner times we bought a Lada, and the clutch went after a few months, dealer admitted that it was one of a number at the same time. I have never replaced another clutch in 40 odd years, often taking them over 100K miles.
If it's under warranty take T14086's advice. Claim and let them prove it wasn't failty!

Further thanks for the extra pieces of advice.

I will take it and go straight to the dealership.

One final question on that though - I originally got the car from a dealer not a million miles away, but NOT the closest (as at the time no-one had a single "new" Doblo for sale believe it or not !!).

The dealer was good, but isn't on the doorstep.. am I ok to pop along to the local dealer who IS close to home, or am I tied in some way to have the dealer who sold it to me?

(daft question, I know - don't worry, I specialise in 'em ;-) )

Thanks in advance for clarification from anyone on that one (if it helps, it's also the case the the "local" dealer I would prefer to go to is MUCH bigger than the one where I purchased the car, but both do have official Fiat servicing services etc. ..)

John.

Your car is almost new, therefore any official Fiat dealer should carry out the inspection and repair foc.
They may even want to impress you to get your business.

manhunter.net said:

I guess the heavier vehicle could be the reason for this problem coming to light?

Needless to say I'll be ultra-kind to the clutch.. though would appear the horse has bolted
John.

Click to expand...

John, Apart from the obvious regarding your clutch habits, you make an interesting point about the weight of the vehicle.
Given that you seem to have `got away` with that driving style in other cars, whats different?

I thought of your post for a while and that seemed odd, but how about the clutch plate diameter with regard to you holding it on the clutch on the ramp?

I`m wondering what the clutch plate diameter is on the 1.3 multijet Doblo, compared with the 1.9 JTD`s.

I know the bigger engine will have an `uprated` clutch to cope with the power. But what about the actual friction material diameter and its relationship to heating up and burning out as the car is held clutch slipping on the ramp?

Is the clutch diameter on the 1.3 Multijet Doblo the same as on my Mk2b multijet Punto van for example? despite being around 300kg heavier.

Can anyone give the actual clutch plate diameters?

(Multijets and JTD`s)
Regards

Mate of mine runs a discovery & uses a clutch every 2 years (approx) yet only does average mileage. I've seen his driving & wouldn't say he's unduly heavy on the left foot.
Sometimes, the dealers give him a freebie as the old clutch is still under warranty!

sludgeguts said:

I've seen his driving & wouldn't say he's unduly heavy on the left foot.

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Hi Sludgeguts,
Remember back in the 60/70s when every car brochure seemed to give the clutch plate diameter?
My fathers cars back then all went through his ownership without clutch replacement, until he bought a small bedford van.

The clutch went on this at around 40,000 and we were all surprised. It turned out that it had a smaller diameter clutch than our other vehicles of around the same weight.

Update.. and not very promising so far I'm sorry to report.

Took it in to the local dealer today..

They had a look + quick test run in it but now need to take the gearbox out (with my "approval" to do so - FIAT insist on it apparently.. [comments?]) in order to establish a) how bad the clutch damage is and b) whether or not it'll be covered by the warranty [remember the vehicle is a shade over 6 months old from new..]

So.. the dealership has the Doblo in overnight, so I hold my breath until I hear back from them tomorrow morning..

I'm feeling a lot less confident about this than I surely should do, as with being a "safe" and experienced driver it's surely a fault or "weakness" in the car if such a serious problem has occured so quickly since manufacture??

(for those new to this post, it has only done 8,500 or so miles, with no indication at all that I've been mistreating the Doblo and/or specifically the clutch. Far from it in fact - I love it / take good care etc.)

For those interested and have been following/contributing to this thread I will post further news when I have it.

Cheers for reading etc.

manhunter.net said:

but now need to take the gearbox out (with my "approval" to do so - FIAT insist on it apparently.. [comments?])

it's surely a fault or "weakness" in the car if such a serious problem has occured so quickly since manufacture??

Click to expand...

Hi Manhunter,
Yes, the gearbox has to come out to look at the clutch. No other way to get to it.

I doubt theres a `weakness` in the car. (from a *design* perspective) But in the unusual circumstances you describe on the ramp, with the weight of the car being held by the clutch plate, it would be interesting to see if its diameter is less than on your previous cars or the JTD.

( if thats your normal driving style)

Thats just technical interest on my part though.

The Doblo and in particular, the 1.3 Multijet are a great combination (IMHO)
and if I were in the market for that size of vehicle again, I would not hesitate to buy one.

It will be like new anyway when you get it back

Regards