I broke down in august. Clutch was lose couldn’t get car into gear. Was towed to the garage ive used fir years. Had new master and slave cylinder fitted. The clutch was very heavy for a few days but I seemed to get used to it. Due to covid I’m only driving about 30 miles a week back and fore to work. One morning at traffic lights my clutch seemed to get very loose and the bite seemed very low. My dad looked at the (technical term here) clutch juice and it was a bit low. He topped it up and again for a few weeks it was ok. Then the clutch failed at traffic lights again but I managed to restart the car and get it into gear. I booked it back into the garage. They bled the system. Said water was in my clutch juice and it was ok for about a week. The clutch failed again added juice but still could t get the car into gear. A lovely RAC man showed me a pipe passenger side that was leaking my clutch juice. He said it wasn’t the best clutch system and he saw it all the time and suggested there is probably a problem with my clutch not the hydraulics. After being towed (many swear words were screamed) I left the car at the garage and the suggested changing the cylinder. I asked for the clutch to be changed as the RAC man suggested. They did it and changed the faulty cylinder. I happily jumped in the car and struggled to get it into first gear. I tried again and managed to pull off. Got home but then struggled to get into reverse. Before today if I kept my foot in the clutch fir a few seconds before putting car into reverse it went in very smoothly. I drive back to the garage and they drove it around the forecourt they said it gets into all gears and I need to get used to it. Now I sound like a crappy woman driver when I put my car in reverse. Any suggestions? Will it get better?

Lianejones said:

I broke down in august. Clutch was lose couldn’t get car into gear. Was towed to the garage ive used fir years. Had new master and slave cylinder fitted. The clutch was very heavy for a few days but I seemed to get used to it. Due to covid I’m only driving about 30 miles a week back and fore to work. One morning at traffic lights my clutch seemed to get very loose and the bite seemed very low. My dad looked at the (technical term here) clutch juice and it was a bit low. He topped it up and again for a few weeks it was ok. Then the clutch failed at traffic lights again but I managed to restart the car and get it into gear. I booked it back into the garage. They bled the system. Said water was in my clutch juice and it was ok for about a week. The clutch failed again added juice but still could t get the car into gear. A lovely RAC man showed me a pipe passenger side that was leaking my clutch juice. He said it wasn’t the best clutch system and he saw it all the time and suggested there is probably a problem with my clutch not

Any suggestions? Will it get better?

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Hi

Yes some parts are plastic and dont last forever

No its not supposed to be 'undriveable'


Im trying to figure out how 'water' got into the clutch fluid.. its a sealed system.. removing its cap should be the only way in

Sanity check..

Make sure you havent got a floor mat caught around the pedal

Get in ANY OTHER CAR . Feel what a .. normal.. clutch feels like

Something doesnt add up here..

Where are you based..? somebody might know of a good local garage

Charlie

After a new clutch and slave cylinder the system "Should" be almost as factory new, I wonder if the garage has removed the end on the slave cylinder(a plastic part usually left in place) this would effect the operation of the clutch, though I suspect leak. Have a look near the gear box for this part, it operate the clutch, is the plastic part here in the picture still on the end of the shaft? Very bottom left

The white cap

Lianejones

Hello and welcome to the forum.

The symptoms you are describing are typical of a failing clutch hydraulic system. As you say all this had been recently replaced, I'm thinking that either the work wasn't carried out properly, or substandard parts were used.

Water should not get into the clutch fluid. If it does, then the metal components inside the system will quickly corrode; even a small amount of corrosion on the pistons will destroy the seals. If any significant amount of water has been in there more than a few days, then the whole hydraulic system will need replacing again.

Your garage is telling you lies. They 'do not all do this'; it won't get better (though it may get worse); you don't need to get used to it, and if you continue to drive with a dragging clutch, you'll soon ruin your gearbox as well.

This needs properly diagnosing and repairing by a competent garage.

The clutch hydraulic system on RHD 500's is a known weakness, but it works well enough if the system is in good order and the fluid is changed regularly (at least every two years). Most don't bother, and if the fluid isn't regularly changed, the whole system will likely be scrap well before the end of the useful life of the car.

If a serious amount of water gets into the hydraulics, they'll be scrap in days, not weeks.

How can water have gotten in!? I don’t get it? Even if the cap had been left off for some time would that have been enough? Or maybe the “quick” connection part had failed? Could the garage be telling porkys?

I swapped both my master & slave bled weeks ago and all great and I’m no mechanic

Standard brake (and clutch) fluid is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture from the air, that's why it needs changing every few years and you shouldn't use fluid from a long-opened bottle.
Aside from the corrosion problems, water boils at a lower temperature (100C) than brake fluid (230C). Under extreme conditions when brakes are very hot, the water in the fluid turns to steam. Steam (a gas) is compressible and so can't transmit the pressure to the brakes. Result = no brakes [emoji51].
Probably not a concern driving around town or to the shops, but if you drive like a loon, be wary. It **** me up when it happened in my old Escort, Mini, 1300, 'back in the day'.

Mike (old ex-loon)

jrkitching said:

The clutch hydraulic system on RHD 500's is a known weakness, but it works well enough if the system is in good order and the fluid is changed regularly (at least every two years).

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It's a known weakness and it's getting weaker.... Our 2019 1.2 Fiat 500 failed on Christmas Eve with a total loss of pressure in the clutch hydraulics at 6k mileage. Weird thing is there was no warning of any issue prior to the failure. Slave and master cylinders have been replaced under warranty but not the clutch (which gives me some concern about longevity). Dealer has managed to cause an electronic fault somehow during the repair - dash reporting "low fuel" on a half tank so haven't got the car back yet.... :shrug:

A word of warning to others with cars under warranty. Ours wasn't registered with Ciao Fiat by the dealer at point of sale so, unwittingly, we didn't have access to the "free" breakdown recovery service. Fortunately, we were able to safely abandon the car and register the car with Fiat ourselves after Christmas. Obviously, we are taking this issue up with the dealer as the consequences of the breakdown could have been more serious in different circumstances.

gazz_bee said:

which gives me some concern about longevity

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If it was a sudden failure, and you didn't drive far with failed hydraulics, the clutch itself will be just fine.

What does the damage is continuing to drive with a dragging clutch; this will cause a lot of excess wear on both the clutch and the synchro rings in the gearbox.

Weak clutch actuating mechanisms on RHD cars are perhaps more common than you might think; they're often just an afterthought in the minds of the designers.

My Renault 5 (which had a cable clutch) was just as bad; I must have changed it at least five times in the 200,000 miles I had the car. I always kept a spare in the boot, and by the time I finally sold the car, I could swap one by the side of the road in about five minutes.