Technical Fiat Panda 4x4 gear selection issue

[Daveyravey]

Hi everyone

My wife bought a 2013 Panda 4x4 2 weeks ago from a 2nd hand car dealer. Everything was amazing, the wife loved it, with all the gadgets and gizmos it came with, but 2 days ago she started complaining about trouble selecting gears. I took it for a drive and found no problems. Last night the gearbox completely stopped working, leaving her stranded with our 2 kids in the back. I drove over to her, we swapped cars and I drove her car home. Again it seemed to be working fine. To put her mind at ease I took her car today back to the garage where we bought it. Typically the car worked fine, the dealer said any gearbox/clutch problems weren’t covered under the warranty, but he agreed to take it for a test drive to see what the issue was. Again no problem it all worked properly. In total I drove that car for 2.5 hrs this morning with no issue. I then go to the shops this afternoon 10 min drive and the gearbox packs up. I coast to a stop. Turn the engine off, leave it 10 minutes, start her up again and it is working again. Does anyone have any idea what is going on??

Sorry for long post

Basically you can’t push gear lever into any gear slot

 

[cgranger]

When you cannot select a gear is the clutch on the floor? It may come back up on its own or you can lift it back to the normal position with your foot.
This normally means a leak in the master or slave cylinder or the pipe between them. Surprisingly the pipe is the more expensive fix.

 

[daquirm]

What engine?

Hopefully not related, but I bumped into this video just yesterday while researching the TwinAir:

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi everyone

My wife bought a 2013 Panda 4x4 2 weeks ago from a 2nd hand car dealer. Everything was amazing, the wife loved it, with all the gadgets and gizmos it came with, but 2 days ago she started complaining about trouble selecting gears. I took it for a drive and found no problems. Last night the gearbox completely stopped working, leaving her stranded with our 2 kids in the back. I drove over to her, we swapped cars and I drove her car home. Again it seemed to be working fine. To put her mind at ease I took her car today back to the garage where we bought it. Typically the car worked fine, the dealer said any gearbox/clutch problems weren’t covered under the warranty, but he agreed to take it for a test drive to see what the issue was. Again no problem it all worked properly. In total I drove that car for 2.5 hrs this morning with no issue. I then go to the shops this afternoon 10 min drive and the gearbox packs up. I coast to a stop. Turn the engine off, leave it 10 minutes, start her up again and it is working again. Does anyone have any idea what is going on??

Sorry for long post

Basically you can’t push gear lever into any gear slot

Hi

There Is a mechanical linkage that gets sticky

It think it's like a Rod in a Tube

Needs stripping and proper lubrication

I will try and add a link

Gear issue | FIAT Panda (2012+)

Hi All. Hope everyone is well. My wife just called me and said that her 2013 Panda 4x4 wont go into first or second gear. When you try, it goes into 3rd or 4th. It engages all other gears fine and drives well once you get going. Could this be a linkage issue? Cheers

www.fiatforum.com

 

[varesecrazy]

What engine?

Hopefully not related, but I bumped into this video just yesterday while researching the TwinAir:

Dual mass flywheel...

Commonly fitted to most modern vehicles (damps out vibration)

If it runs for extended periods in a poor state it can scallop the gearbox casing on the Twinair : Your £600 clutch job becomes a £2200 drive train overhaul

 

[kavinsanders87]

I have a similar problem, especially passing from 2 to 3 gear or 5 to 4 gear, but not all the times , while my girlfriend is not abel to drive the car. very similar to what you said.

Probably people with car knowledge and experience know "how to use it anyway" with much less problems compared with a person with zero car knowledge.

I bought my car in a 2hand car dealer, when I drove the car for the first time I noticed that the gear stick wasn't coming back to the center when moved left or right.

I was able to use the car but I had to drive the gear stick manually to the center, it was not a great issue for me

the car dealer fixed it in warranty. the garage just cleaned the gears selector.

it was working fine.

now it is stuck again, I think is a temperature issue, with cold whether the metal dilatations is negative, making the dirt going inside, making an extra layer. when you drive the gearbox gets hot and the metal expand , but finding the extra dirt layer mikes the gears selector more hard to move.


if that is not the problem probably it is a cable issue ( the gears cable need replacement) it is a system very similar to cable brakes bikes , when the cable have friction if the external tube is worn.....

I hear that is quite easy to grease them , but you need patience and know what you are doing .

otherwise, get the new part and ask a quote from a garage.

fiat panda 2014 4x4 75 hp diesel.

this is my personal experience and conclusions and hypothesis coming from my experience., I am not a car mechanic, if you would like professional opinion please go to a garage.

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

Take a look here. This post links to a guide I wrote that describes how to free up a stiff gear-lever. The issue is that the lever itself becomes physically difficult to push, and especially from side to side (such as moving from second to third). This happens after a spell of wet and then cold weather, especially if the car has been driven through water. The problem is easy to fix, uses no parts or special tools and needed nothing to be replaced: just cleaned, lubricated and put back together. The guide refers to a diesel engined 4x4, but the same issue may affect other models too.

Cure for a stiff gearlever, Multijet 4x4

One or two folks have reported issues with the gear-lever becoming stiff to move, and not freely springing back to the centre position. I investigated the issue, and managed to cure mine by removing a rod on the outside of the gearbox and...

www.fiatforum.com

 

[kavinsanders87]

Take a look here. This post links to a guide I wrote that describes how to free up a stiff gear-lever. The issue is that the lever itself becomes physically difficult to push, and especially from side to side (such as moving from second to third). This happens after a spell of wet and then cold weather, especially if the car has been driven through water. The problem is easy to fix, uses no parts or special tools and needed nothing to be replaced: just cleaned, lubricated and put back together. The guide refers to a diesel engined 4x4, but the same issue may affect other models too.

Cure for a stiff gearlever, Multijet 4x4

One or two folks have reported issues with the gear-lever becoming stiff to move, and not freely springing back to the centre position. I investigated the issue, and managed to cure mine by removing a rod on the outside of the gearbox and...

www.fiatforum.com

Thanks,
It is something you must do with lot of patience.

Anyway, I never heard of this issue in Italy.

Probably uk wheatear is much worse.

I will see how much it will be though local garage.

If it is 50 pounds thing I think I will go for it.

it is a pain in hte neck anyway,

I did fix it 1 year ago....

what lube did you use on the rod?

I was thinking that we garage that fixed that in warranty used a wrong one making it worse probably.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Can this area be reached from underneath by a spray can of lithium grease with a long nozzle? Looking for something quick to do that might improve matters in the short term?

 

[kavinsanders87]

Can this area be reached from underneath by a spray can of lithium grease with a long nozzle? Looking for something quick to do that might improve matters in the short term?

if it is possible to disassemble from the underneath it will be brilliant, I do not know, it will be prepably better, the thing is how to lift the car .

 

[kavinsanders87]

Take a look here. This post links to a guide I wrote that describes how to free up a stiff gear-lever. The issue is that the lever itself becomes physically difficult to push, and especially from side to side (such as moving from second to third). This happens after a spell of wet and then cold weather, especially if the car has been driven through water. The problem is easy to fix, uses no parts or special tools and needed nothing to be replaced: just cleaned, lubricated and put back together. The guide refers to a diesel engined 4x4, but the same issue may affect other models too.

Cure for a stiff gearlever, Multijet 4x4

One or two folks have reported issues with the gear-lever becoming stiff to move, and not freely springing back to the centre position. I investigated the issue, and managed to cure mine by removing a rod on the outside of the gearbox and...

www.fiatforum.com

I just missed the part were you say that you used a spay grease , I think that the only grease that is completely safe with plastic is silicone grease or silicon lube . It is water proofing . I think lithium grease is good for part moving a high speed and temperature resistant. I do not know what temperature reach the gear Box but I think it is not too hot for silicon grease