Please report this fault so this dangerous gearbox is recalled
PLEASE HELP INSIGHT CHANGE AND RECALL A DANGEROUS VEHICLE
Yesterday I was nearly killed in my dualogic fiat 500. I was driving down a bypass on my way home from work and the car suddenly slipped into neutral. I was stranded in the middle of a lane (no hard shoulder) and an HGV travelling at 60mph had to swerve missing me by inches, nearly going into another car in the other lane. There was no pre-warning for this fault. It happened the week before whilst slowing at a traffic light (I thought this was because I manually changed gears). BUT this time showed that this fault can occur (without touching the gear stick) changing from any gear, in any weather, regardless of the gear stick position.
I turned the car off- put the car in neutral. Turned it on, put it in gear- the gear refused to change from neutral. Turned it off, kept it in the gear position, turned it on, still in neutral. Changing the gear stick position did nothing. I had to turn the car on and off over 10 times to get the car to reset into a gear. Whilst sat in the middle of a lane with cars zooming around me.
Looking at this and other fiat forums it seems this has been an issue with semi-auto dualogic Fiat 500s since 2009. People have taken it the garage and diagnostics come back with nothing. The only way people have been able to prove the fault to the garage is if it occurs when the mechanics test drive it (usually keeping the car for over 2 months). Due to no information from diagnostics, garages have changed minor parts and recalibrated these cars to no avail. They would also be unable to log a common fault and report it back to fiat. One person even reported this issue occurring after driving only 45 miles out of the dealership with a new car. The only permanent fix is a new dualogic unit (gear box) which is £2k for the part alone. This is clearly a manufacturer fault with the gear box and is highly dangerous. No amount of fixing or changing of components resolves the issue. I have read many near death experiences due to this fault on this forum and others.
My car is a 2016 model (less than 5 years old) with 36k miles on the clock. I may expect a gearbox failure on an older car due to wear and tear but not in such a young car with low mileage. Fiat do not currently have a recall out for this car. I have been told by fiat that this is due to insufficient reporting of a common issue. I know advice on here and other forums is “patch it up, sell it on”- but that puts others at risk.
SO PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE- if you have experienced this fault (even once) report it to the DVSA (UK) or the equivalent in your country. It takes 5-10 minutes
gov.uk/vehicle-recalls-and-faults/report-a-serious-safety-defect
You can also report it to fiat
fiat.co.uk/contact-us
If enough people report this fault Fiat will have to investigate and issue a recall. If it is recalled they will have to fix your car (without charge). Please help get this gear box recalled so no one else is put in a life- threatening situation like I have been or worse dies due to a gearbox failure.