Technical Gear unavailable - 2013 Panda Easy

[mick8791]

Hi everyone,
I recently purchased a 2013 Panda Easy 0.9L Turbo with about 70,000 on the clock.
We have had the vehicle for less than a month when we started having issues with the transmission.
While driving the car will drop out of gear - revving as though it is in neutral even though the display reads it to still be in gear (usually 2 or 3). The warning triangle will appear and spits out the error message "gear unavailable - see manual". The only way to rectify the issue is to switch the car off for 30ish seconds and drive gently up to speed.

A bit of testing yesterday suggested the error would occur when accelerating - particularly with the pedal pushed deeply.

I have the car booked at a local Fiat service centre next week, but was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the issue before I get there.

Thanks in advance.

 

[isthisagoodidea]

It could be the engine mountings ..when accelerating the transverse mounted engine and gearbox tries to rotate or move forward a small amount , and the gear linkage can foul on the housing or something ,and push it out of cog ... it was a problem on the early minis ..I have a Fiat idea that popped out of 5th once ... I knew the mountings needed changing the rubber had perished ....got that done last year and it has never popped out since ...I hope this helps ....

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi everyone,
I recently purchased a 2013 Panda Easy 0.9L Turbo with about 70,000 on the clock.
We have had the vehicle for less than a month when we started having issues with the transmission.
While driving the car will drop out of gear - revving as though it is in neutral even though the display reads it to still be in gear (usually 2 or 3). The warning triangle will appear and spits out the error message "gear unavailable - see manual". The only way to rectify the issue is to switch the car off for 30ish seconds and drive gently up to speed.

A bit of testing yesterday suggested the error would occur when accelerating - particularly with the pedal pushed deeply.

I have the car booked at a local Fiat service centre next week, but was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the issue before I get there.

Thanks in advance.

Hi

If its a Duologic semi.auto

It will have left a fault code..for the 'error it has seen'

Unfotunately the dealer is likely to charge @£100 to read it

You can do some checks 1st

Fluid levels.. check rear brake lights

SEARCH on here will find lots of relevant info

Charlie

 

[irc]

Usually those are symptoms of a small electrical fault (as above, check brake lights - an error can get thrown if one of the rear light cluster connections is intermittent or has an earth fault).
(Also ABS sensors, brake pedal switch, and an assortment of connectors in the engine bay.)
I may have over-interpreted your description, but I am reading it most often occurring as you are accelerating through the gears and it fails from 2nd to 3rd. Please clarify if this is wrong.

By all means visually check the fluid level if you want (although it isn't easy to see, and doesn't actually mean much unless you depressurise the system properly first), but please don't "top up" the fluid.

You should definitely check for any signs of a leak. That would be bad news.

Unfortunately, many (maybe all) dealers look at the actuator as a single unit, and their only remedy is full replacement. This, combined with initial poor diagnosis, lead to the often given opinion that these units are unreliable and ridiculously expensive to fix (generally they are not). Inexplicably, the same goes for many "gearbox specialists" and (unfortunately) some independent Fiat places.

Alfa Romeo independent specialists may be of more use to you, as they have used similar technology for a long time.

 

[mick8791]

Thanks for the advice.

Yes, I've done quite a bit of searching the past week and am hoping it could be narrowed down to a bad electrical connection.
I don't have any way to test for an error code right now - and am not particularly mechanically minded , so I'm living in hope the dealership can identify the issue without burning a hole through my pocket.
Regarding the brake lights, when starting the car with the "depress the brake" message appearing - we've been finding we really have to mash the brake pedal to the floor for it to register. Is that normal for the car, or could there be a loss of signal occurring?
Thanks again for confirming it as a similar issue to some of the others I have read. I can go back and reread some of those knowing they are indeed relevant.

 

[varesecrazy]

Thanks
I don't have any way to test for an error code right now - and am not particularly mechanically minded , so I'm living in hope the dealership can identify the issue without burning a hole through my pocket.


Regarding the brake lights, when starting the car with the "depress the brake" message appearing - we've been finding we really have to mash the brake pedal to the floor for it to register. Is that normal for the car, or could there be a loss of signal occurring?
Thanks again for confirming it as a similar issue to some of the others I have read.

Hi again

If your brake switch has slipped out of position.. then yes.. having it only open at the last moment corresponds to your feel for a LOT of pedal travel

Look at the list of MultiECUScan users at the top part of forum

Somebody might be near you with the correct kit

Charlie : near the M4

 

[irc]

Thanks again for confirming it as a similar issue to some of the others I have read. I can go back and reread some of those knowing they are indeed relevant.

Be aware that some of the "fixes" have lead to bigger problems though.
Lots of advice about.
Some of it is good advice.

Brake switch is definitely looking possible. Could just be dislodged.
If you buy a replacement, beware of cheap copies which seem to work OK on manual ones, but not so well on Dualogics.

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi Mick

I spotted you are in Australia..
Which state: region ?

Charlie

 

[mick8791]

Hi Mick

I spotted you are in Australia..
Which state: region ?

Charlie

Hi Charlie,
I'm near Newcastle, NSW