Got stuck in snow

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Got stuck in snow

FiatCanada

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Got stuck in snow, was rocking my 2015 Fiat 500 Sport 1.4 non turbo auto, now transmission won't engage.
What do i do now ?
 
Sorry to hear of your misfortune and I don't know much about the auto boxes on these, so I'm not able to help much with this, but just for the sake of clarification, By "rocking" do you mean repeatedly shifting between "drive" and "reverse" to try to gain traction or are you talking about someone manually "rocking" the car from outside (perhaps by holding on to the roof or bouncing the rear up and down) whilst you are trying to drive in one direction?
 
Got stuck in snow, was rocking my 2015 Fiat 500 Sport 1.4 non turbo auto, now transmission won't engage.
What do i do now ?


Hi :)

Thats bad news.. :(

3 days on ..do you still have a problem ?

I Think your vehicle is a full automatic.. not a robotised (clutchless) manual

So talk of selespeed reservoir fluid levels probably has no relevance.. (but is a common issue :eek:)

However..

As a quick and simple test..

Power down the vehicle..
Park it
pop the hood to access engine area..

and with the keys in your hand ;)

Remove the black cable on the top of battery.

This will disrupt the electrical power to the cars electronics

Wait a while.. an hour if possible

Reconnect the cable securely

Climb back into drivers seat

Put key in ignition lock

Turn key to 1st phase..
Watch to see the warning lights self.test

When it has accepted this procedure.. then start the engine.. and attempt to select a gear

Good luck. Let us know how it goes

Charlie
 
Last edited:
Hi :)

Thats bad news.. :(

3 days on ..do you still have a problem ?

I was just wondering the same Charlie.

My earlier question was asked because I don't know how the robotized box would react to being treated like that?

I trained on the old Borg Warner type 35 and 65 gearboxes and I remember I went on one of the courses in deepest winter with deep snow on the ground. During a break one of the more experienced course members showed us how to "rock" a car which was stuck in a rut - perhaps even deep snow.

With either drive or reverse engaged - he chose drive - take the revs up to slightly more than a tickover until you feel the car trying to move - hold the throttle steady at this. DO NOT INDUCE WHEEL SPIN. Then shift to reverse holding the revs constant and the car will move back slightly. Just as it's coming to a stop shift back to drive and the car will move forward. Keep on doing this WITHOUT SPINNING THE WHEELS and building up the amplitude of the "rock" with each shift until you break out of the rut. It's not all that good for the bands/clutch faces but as long as you don't allow wheel spin to develop there will be very little relative movement or inertia of internal components and anyway the torque converter will have a cushioning effect so, as long as you don't make a habit of doing it, you are not likely to do harm.

I suspect though that a roboticized (or, for that matter DSG twin clutch) box would not like to be treated this way!

Charlie - I'm very aware of the standard manual boxes on our smaller Fiats and I've read a lot about the roboticized "manual" boxes (and decided to stay well away from them) but I know nothing of torque converter driven hydraulic boxes being used on them. I think I saw a Mirafiore (131) with a "normal" auto box on it many years ago but not on anything modern. Do they still use them on anything?

Kind regards
Jock
 
For North America, Fiat used an Aisin auto transmission, being a conventional torque converter transmission. But as all nowadays, gearchanges and converter lock-up are controlled by electronics rather than pressure changes. Their vid is a simple explanation.
https://www.aisin-aw.co.jp/en/products/drivetrain/transmission/index.html

It is likely that with frequent rocking back and forth, the transmission controller has got upset, the fluid or electronic valves might have got hotter than ideal, and the system has shut down. Likely once cool, it would work as normal again, unless internal damage has occurred.
 
Well almost back on rd.

Turns out that I exploded the outer cv joint !

Car has 6 sp automatic with 168000 km. Carvin driveway on jackstands. New halfshaft will be here in morning.

Not sure why Fiat made front breaks totally different bolt sizes 13 mm on rear, 7mm hex on front ! O and rear axle nut 32 mm (1.1/4" works) front axle nut 36 mm only works !
 
Well almost back on rd.

Turns out that I exploded the outer cv joint !

Car has 6 sp automatic with 168000 km. Carvin driveway on jackstands. New halfshaft will be here in morning.

Not sure why Fiat made front breaks totally different bolt sizes 13 mm on rear, 7mm hex on front ! O and rear axle nut 32 mm (1.1/4" works) front axle nut 36 mm only works !
Thanks for updating us on that. An "exploding" CV is a first for me - sounds spectacular! However I bet you're glad that's "all" it is! Cheap fix compared to a gearbox problem. Hope you don't get too cold changing the shafts over.
Regards
Jock
 
Not sure why Fiat made front breaks totally different bolt sizes 13 mm on rear, 7mm hex on front ! O and rear axle nut 32 mm (1.1/4" works) front axle nut 36 mm only works !

There's sometimes no obvious logic to this. The one car in the "family fleet" which can catch me out if I'm not being observant is my daughter in law's Honda Jazz. It has a particular liking for using a bolt/nut with a 12mm hex where on others you would be reaching for a 13mm spanner/socket. The nasty thing is that the 13mm so nearly fits that you can be rounding off the corners before you realize what you are doing. I have to be careful not to assume that any of the fixing sizes will be what you would associate with those found in a similar situation on the other vehicles I work on.

The Allegro also comes to mind which, when it first appeared, had metric tube nuts on the rear wheel cylinders and imperial on the front calipers. Caused no end of confusion for us "simple" grease monkeys!
 
Well axle in and my boi is mobile again !

Now new computer glitch.
Pulled battery after short drive to clear codes.

Date came on as 2084 and the time was 28:16. God I love my 500, never a dull moment lol .
 
Well axle in and my boi is mobile again !

Now new computer glitch.
Pulled battery after short drive to clear codes.

Date came on as 2084 and the time was 28:16. God I love my 500, never a dull moment lol .
Ever since I worked on the old Rover products I've been very nervous about pulling battery leads. On many of them if you interrupted battery power the car had to go on the computer and be reset before it was driveable again.

Not so common these days but there are still "weird" things which happen like radios needing a code input to work. My boy's old Astra has to have it's windows retaught how to open and close properly!

Something like resetting DTCs I would do with a scanner.

Very pleased for you that she's up and running again though!
 
UPDATE

Forgot the part about "read all instructions before starting" (learned that in school).
The pic is me on side of road because my new axle popped outta transmission at midnight.
Took 3 hours and 2 YouTube videos to realize I put c clip in wrong place.
2 cops stopped, mto rd crew stopped and another guy stopped during repair.
That is my new axle/halfshaft laying on rd. Had removed and installed it then removed it a second time, poor lower balljoint, It is installed 100% properly now !
Glad that I carry 150lbs of tools in the back !
Got home at 4:20am.

Moral of the story, always read complete instructions b4 u begin a repair ! 20200326_002912.jpeg
 
Was 9inches of snow that storm ! With ice under it !
I did have winter tires on.
 
Hey Fella, Massive respect to you undertaking that at the roadside! At midnight, in the dark and depths of winter - strewth! I've got one of your hammer's relatives in my tool box - one of my favourite tools!

In my younger days I used to carry many tools around in my boot (trunk) too. Now these sort of activities at the roadside would probably kill me so I just carry a basic emergency kit. Since then, of course, so far I've not had to use them but often find myself wishing I still carted them around as relatives we are visiting often want me to help "fix" something - much more challenging then without the tools.
 
I don't think winter/ all seasons would help most people as they can't drive at all in the snow
Just put right foot further down when the car starts wheels spinning

Is the theory that if you keep the wheel spinning, you can melt that bit of ice, grip and move a little, and then work on the next? Reality means you get a layer of water on the ice, acting like a lubricant, preventing the heating that you need. Sometimes fun to watch, although very irritating when they are in the way. Smug moment if you can drive around them.
 
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