Technical Is my local garage having my pants down

[Chippie247]

This may be long winded but you need all details.
My van 2010 Doblo multijet1.6 sx
1 month ago I noticed a few spots where my van had been parked. Not engine oil,turned out to be clutch fluid. I rang my local garage/dealer where van was bought,and told them of the problem.They booked me in but told me it would be 3 weeks. I kept an eye on this leak then one day first gear became tricky to engage so I topped up dot4 reservoir pumped clutch pedal a few times and hey ho no problem with gear selection. This went on for a further week until getting stuck in a 40 mile traffic jam and constant use of clutch caused fluid to drop and clutch pedal began staying down but would pop up with toe underneath. I made it to a service area called AA explained to them the problem. AA mant topped up my fluid pumped pedal 20 times bled something and again clutch and gears worked perfectly in fact they got me from cambridge to york and daily driving for a further week til garage appointment with just topping up fluid.
Come the monday I dropped it off at the garage and explained the fiasco. On wednesday the garage workshop manager rings me ..this is what he said. 'We have got the gearbox out, your dual pull flywheel is badly worn the clutch release bearing and pressure plates are also worn out it must have been quite noisy,the clutch is half worn but we would recommend putting a new one in whilst we have it out to save you time and money in the future, the slave cylinder needs replacing and oh the little flexi hose looks a bit damp so we will put a new one on too. Total £975.' The AA man said my clutch is perfectly o.k. he drove it up and down listened under bonnet and said all sounds good. My mate is a mechanic and travels regularly with me and he tells me if all those parts were worn I would definitely hear it, in his opinion it was not noisy and drove perfectly well. It went in for a leaky hose....are they having my pants down

 

[AlwynMike]

IF the clutch slave cylinder is concentric - and a lot are these days - and it was the cylinder that was leaking, then the gearbox has to come out to replace the cylinder.
At this stage, it would be foolhardy not to replace the clutch parts, however little/much they are worn.
Replacing the hose is maybe going over the top. If it was the hose leaking, I would have replaced the hose, charged a couple of hours appropriately and and given the car back to a happy customer.
As for the Dual Mass Flywheel. If it had been my car, I would have replaced it anyway - they are notoriously crap, irrespective of the brand of car.

However, I would have expected the garage to have told you that it was going to be an expensive, gearbox out job before they started - or at least after the initial diagnosis.

Pants down? Maybe. A couple of years ago I had a local garage replace my Mondeo clutch (concentric slave, dual mass flywheel etc) for £700, but Fiat parts may be more expensive. If it's a Fiat Dealer, then I'd say you've got off lightly, as labour and parts rate are all high.

Mike

 

[portland_bill]

According to ePER, the 1.6 diesel uses a concentric slave cylinder, so they would have to remove the gearbox to get at it. As Mike says above, to get that far without checking the clutch itself would be poor, as the extra time to pop the clutch off is just a few minutes.

However, they should have warned you about this before starting the work.

You say this is the dealer where the van was purchased, but don't say how old it is, or how many miles, and if you bought new or used. All key points at this time. How long you've had it and how many miles done are key in determining if the seller has any liability.

If it is well out of warranty, has covered lots of miles, and you've gone to a franchised dealer, the prices quoted seem quite good. A smaller garage may well have been a quicker cheaper option, but too late for that.

 

[johnhififan]

For a new dmf and clutch that's cheap.

 

[jazz452]

Ouch

 

[Chippie247]

Hi once again, to those who replied, thankyou.
I have just picked up my van this morning Saturday 8/10/16. Yes they had it for 2 weeks I got the call to say it was ready on Friday 7/10/16, but the workshop manager said it had been test driven and that the mechanic had noticed it grinds into 2nd going up and down the box. I said it never used to, the only time it struggled was the initial engaging of first which was remedied with a couple of pumps of the clutch. He explained that it is a syncing issue and nothing to do with the work I have had done (I never asked if it was nor hinted that it might be). So anyway I pick it up drive it away and as I come to engage second.....ain't no way thats going in grinds like hell. I literally have to skip second, coming back down the gears it's the same. I have to coast to a stop with clutch down then engage first again. Not only that it is like a slug, it used to pick up real fast up to 2 1/2 thousand revs up through the box no bother 30 in third 40 into 4th 50 into fifth cruising at 70/75 in 6th never going over 2500 revs etc ... Now going from 3rd to 4th it's at 3500 revs and not even at 40mph the turbo does not seem to kick in . Do clutches need time to bed in? It's all revs and gong nowhere. I have paid close to a grand for what I believe only needed a flexible hose replacing. And have come away with a problem it never had before and a van that drags it's arse. It is a 2011 Doblo 1.6 multi jet 81000 miles on a 60 plate. I am a 46 year old very sensible driver who has looked after this van it has a full service history and has been a very reliable van. Honestly I could weep.

Not only that, it has 67 miles more on the clock. I know this because I am so anal I keep a record of mileage for my own records.

On asking why it took so long I was told 'we had to keep ordering parts because fiat change their parts on vehicles without changing serial numbers so that what might have fitted a 2010 van might not fit a 2011 van' am I smelling BS or is this for real. Sorry for droning on but I need to get this sorted.

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi once again, to those who replied, thankyou.
I have just picked up my van this morning Saturday 8/10/16. Yes they had it for 2 weeks I got the call to say it was ready on Friday 7/10/16, but the workshop manager said it had been test driven and that the mechanic had noticed it grinds into 2nd going up and down the box. I said it never used to, the only time it struggled was the initial engaging of first which was remedied with a couple of pumps of the clutch. He explained that it is a syncing issue and nothing to do with the work I have had done (I never asked if it was nor hinted that it might be). So anyway I pick it up drive it away and as I come to engage second.....ain't no way thats going in grinds like hell. I literally have to skip second, coming back down the gears it's the same. I have to coast to a stop with clutch down then engage first again. Not only that it is like a slug, it used to pick up real fast up to 2 1/2 thousand revs up through the box no bother 30 in third 40 into 4th 50 into fifth cruising at 70/75 in 6th never going over 2500 revs etc ... Now going from 3rd to 4th it's at 3500 revs and not even at 40mph the turbo does not seem to kick in . Do clutches need time to bed in? It's all revs and gong nowhere. I have paid close to a grand for what I believe only needed a flexible hose replacing. And have come away with a problem it never had before and a van that drags it's arse. It is a 2011 Doblo 1.6 multi jet 81000 miles on a 60 plate. I am a 46 year old very sensible driver who has looked after this van it has a full service history and has been a very reliable van. Honestly I could weep.

Not only that, it has 67 miles more on the clock. I know this because I am so anal I keep a record of mileage for my own records.

On asking why it took so long I was told 'we had to keep ordering parts because fiat change their parts on vehicles without changing serial numbers so that what might have fitted a 2010 van might not fit a 2011 van' am I smelling BS or is this for real. Sorry for droning on but I need to get this sorted.

hi,

1st things first.. how did you pay.. if a credit card you would do well to keep the receipt..

does sound poor/ suspect to me..,

Charlie

 

[Chippie247]

Hi Charlie,
Yes it was paid for by credit card, I tried to put a hold in the payment until it can be resolved but by the time I spoke to the credit card company 1 hour later, they said it had been authorised already ( very fast for a saturday) and that I would need to speak to the garage. I shall be, come Monday.

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi,
worth getting somebody in the know to have a quick look over it to try and spot obvious bodgery.,

the credit card company MAY be helpful if it goes a bit wrong..,
Charlie