Hi all, long time lurker, but now have some issues!

My wife is the lucky owner of the first Panda Cross 4x4 model into the UK in 2008 which was used by the Press in their evaluations of the model! When I have 5 posts I will put up some pictures!!

The car has run well since we have had it (5 years). However it has not been used much recently and has been tucked up in the garage!

The car was due for it's MOT last Friday and on the way to the garage the clutch malfunctioned! By malfunction I mean the car was in first gear and on releasing the clutch pedal nothing happened - the clutch pedal came all the way up and nothing happened! I put the car into neutral switched off the engine and the car was pushed to the side of the road out of the traffic queue!

I then restarted the car and into first gear and pulled away as it nothing had happened and drove to the garage successfully.

As I arrived at the garage forecourt I stopped the car and decided to move forward a couple of feet! Then same thing happened! Into gear (no graunches or other supect sounds) and on releasing the clutch it came all the way up but no traction!

The receptionist said that they could not carry out an MOT if the car was undriveable, so I had to leave the car for their Master Technician to locate the fault with the clutch.

The following day I heard from the garage that the car had passed it's MOT but they had not been able to find a fault with the clutch. Apparently it had righted itself whilst in their care! So I will try to collect the car from them this morning!! Watch this space.

The car has only 32,500 miles on the clock and sits in the garage mostly these days, so it may be that lack of use is the issue!

If anybody has any clues to the problem I would appreciate it.

Re: 2008 Fiat Panda Cross 4x4 - Clutch Issues!!

Picked up the car from the MOT garage and drove home - no clutch issues, car went well.

No fluid leaks from clutch master cylinder......level staying constant!

Perhaps it has fixed itself in true Fiat style

Oops Mods - seems that my Panda is not a Classic! (It is to me!)

Could you please move it to the appropriate section of the Fiat Forum, thanks

Here are the pictures I promised in an earlier post! Enjoy!

Jet Lagg said:

Here are the pictures I promised in an earlier post! Enjoy!

Click to expand...

Never been off road they said..

Try and use the forums image hosting.. when that is viewed in years to come it will still work

Re: 2008 Fiat Panda Cross 4x4 - Clutch Issues!!

Jet Lagg said:

Picked up the car from the MOT garage and drove home - no clutch issues, car went well.

No fluid leaks from clutch master cylinder......level staying constant!

Perhaps it has fixed itself in true Fiat style

Click to expand...

Hopefully your clutch will behave, but a worn master cylinder seal rarely leaks any fluid. It can however pull air past the seals when you release the pedal. That's what give the mushy clutch and gives away the wear situation.

Re: 2008 Fiat Panda Cross 4x4 - Clutch Issues!!

Have you had any squeaking from as the pedal was operated?

Your symptoms suggest a fairly common failure mode, either the master or slave cylinder, or both, is worn, and the piston is sticking. The plastic cylinder tends not to leak, just squeak and the pistons stick. Often the pedal will stay down.

Will probably need both master and slave cylinders. Not difficult.

Just get a replacement pair. They are supplied with pipes prefilled with fluid. Fit to the car and plug the QD connector together and it's job done.

You will need to remove the battery tray to reach the slave but the master and its pipe are easy to remove/replace. Just use the original clip points.

Dont bother replacing just one end as the other will also be worn and it's highly likely the in-line connector will be seized.
,

If you subsequently need a new clutch, you will not have wasted you money because the hydraulic system rarely lasts longer than the clutch itself.

Thanks for the pointers Dave and Portland. The fix will have to wait until we come out the other side of being self isolated for 12 weeks!

The youngsters seem not to be able to understand the meaning of "Stay at Home", as they wander around to various friends' houses!! They obviously are unaware of the risks of doing this!

Stay safe folks.