Hi
I'm looking for some advice if possible. I bought a 4wd Panda (13 reg) in the summer and was looking forward to testing it out in the winter months. When the snow came a couple of weeks ago the rear wheels wouldn't enagage and it came up on the dash that "4wd unavailable". It had summer tyres on all round and the front wheels were spinning trying to find grip. I took it down to a Fiat dealership who told me that there's nothing wrong with the 4wd system and said that it failed owing to the fact that the rear tyres couldn't find any grip which then caused the clutch to start slipping which in turn then made the 4wd system unavailable. They tell me that winter tyres on all round will solve the problem as the rear wheels will then find grip when power is transferred to them and that the clutch will therefore not slip and make the 4wd system unavailable
Does all this make sense. I asked a few times if this would solve matters and they were adamant that winter tyres on all round means the problem will never arise. I have to admit I took some convincing and I'd be grateful for anyones thoughts.
I'm looking for some advice if possible. I bought a 4wd Panda (13 reg) in the summer and was looking forward to testing it out in the winter months. When the snow came a couple of weeks ago the rear wheels wouldn't enagage and it came up on the dash that "4wd unavailable". It had summer tyres on all round and the front wheels were spinning trying to find grip. I took it down to a Fiat dealership who told me that there's nothing wrong with the 4wd system and said that it failed owing to the fact that the rear tyres couldn't find any grip which then caused the clutch to start slipping which in turn then made the 4wd system unavailable. They tell me that winter tyres on all round will solve the problem as the rear wheels will then find grip when power is transferred to them and that the clutch will therefore not slip and make the 4wd system unavailable
Does all this make sense. I asked a few times if this would solve matters and they were adamant that winter tyres on all round means the problem will never arise. I have to admit I took some convincing and I'd be grateful for anyones thoughts.