Technical Clutch and power problems on new Multipla

[jam13]

I've just bought a nearly new Multipla (reg. Sep 07) and after completing a 1500 mile trip round France I'm not very impressed with the low end torque or the biting point on the clutch pedal.

Reading around these forums and other places I notice that clutch and low end power issues seem common, but I can this be likely on a 9 month old car with only 7000 miles on the clock?

Maybe I'm expecting too much, but it currently makes our 900cc Seicento seem quite poky.

 

[jam13]

Guess it's back to the dealer and hope for the best then.

 

[54 Silver Multipla]

I've just bought a nearly new Multipla (reg. Sep 07) and after completing a 1500 mile trip round France I'm not very impressed with the low end torque or the biting point on the clutch pedal.

Reading around these forums and other places I notice that clutch and low end power issues seem common, but I can this be likely on a 9 month old car with only 7000 miles on the clock?

Maybe I'm expecting too much, but it currently makes our 900cc Seicento seem quite poky.

Definitely back to the dealers! Warranty issue here me thinks. Sounds like an adjustment is needed

 

[William Jenkins]

Hi,
MY CLUTCH IS JERKY ONLY AFTER THE AIR CON HAS BEEN USED THE DAY BEFORE COULD IT BE THE CLUTCH PLATE IS WET
BILL

 

[jam13]

Just to follow up on my previous post, dealer says everything's normal:

They checked the clutch + mechanism over and say it all looks good. Clutch mechanism is auto adjusting and the bite point is about normal for the car.

They also ran the car with the MAF sensor disconnected and plugged it into the computer - all fine.

The Fiat technician I spoke to was pretty experienced and seemed to know his stuff, so I must just be spoilt after my old 2.3L Volvo 240.

One interesting thing that he did mention was that the car has a DPF, which means oil is only changed every 24K miles (,2 years or when the oil light flashes) instead of 12K miles. This seems a very long time between changes, I was under the impression that more regular oil changes helped engine life. I was expecting to change the oil myself between services, but if the ECU needs resetting every time then that doesn't look feasable.

 

[missionary]

You are right, changing oil frequently is the best thing you can do for your car. Do a search here and you will find the method of re-setting the service interval timer. Its a matter of pushing the buttons in the right sequence. My clutch bite is low down but the cylinder spring is new - I replaced it. And no, it has little grunt low down with much less torque than you would expect. I have to raise revs to about 11-1200 when letting the clutch out when taking-off. Its a 'feature' of the marque ;o)

But you somehow forgive it when balanced against the other benefits of the beast.

cheers
mish

 

[jam13]

You are right, changing oil frequently is the best thing you can do for your car. Do a search here and you will find the method of re-setting the service interval timer. Its a matter of pushing the buttons in the right sequence.

Is that still the case with DPF? As I understood it there is a DPF counter which gets incremented every time the oil is changed and this can only be done using the fiat diagnostic equipment. If the counter is not incremented after the oil light starts flashing then you are risking the DPF getting completely clogged and needing replacement - something that I'm told is not a nice experience for the wallet.

I also got the impression from the garage that doing these kind of things myself (as opposed to a VAT registered garage) would invalidate the manufacturer's warranty.

My clutch bite is low down but the cylinder spring is new - I replaced it. And no, it has little grunt low down with much less torque than you would expect. I have to raise revs to about 11-1200 when letting the clutch out when taking-off. Its a 'feature' of the marque ;o)

I guess I'll just have to adjust my driving style .

 

[missionary]

On the oil change the article on re-setting the computer appeared to show-up no problem - from memory anyway. But there are no sensors on the sump plug or oil filter are there? Just change it, keep a note of the mileage and do it at intervals that will fit with the pre-set change mileage. Or is that too simple for a simple soul like me and there is a far more complicated electronic/mathematical reason not to do so? Our Fiat dealer friends will soon put me right. Yes adjust your driving style and accept that you might wear the clutch a tad more than if you were driving a more torqueful diesel ! I came to mine after a 6 cylinder LandCruiser - it was a shock. I also has a 2.5 td Pajero which would also take the drive at tickover. But there again, neither would do the mpg that the JTD does !
cheers
mish

 

[jam13]

But there are no sensors on the sump plug or oil filter are there? Just change it, keep a note of the mileage and do it at intervals that will fit with the pre-set change mileage. Or is that too simple for a simple soul like me and there is a far more complicated electronic/mathematical reason not to do so?

Although I haven't checked, I think that there might be a sensor on the oil filter. From what I understand, the problem with not getting the counter reset is that it throws off the recalibration (regeneration?) process that regularly flushes out the DPF. If the DPF becomes too contaminated (due to not being flushed) then it will eventually need replacing (£1000+).

There's a discussion about it on the croma forum here: https://www.fiatforum.com/croma/154519-service-oil-intervals.html?p=1652280

 

[multipete]

Basicly the dpf system uses the engine ecu to work out when the car dpf needs cleaning,using information from the exhaust sensor.then to clean the dpf, it does this by making the engine exhaust run very hot by over fueling.it can only do this a certain amount of times before the engine oil becomes to thin and causes damage,there for every time the oil is changed,you must reset the system,using the fiat machine.
also should you change the engine ecu,you must change the oil and filter.