Re: 500c 2012 50k miles dualogic gearbox problem
Hello and welcome :wave:.
and am looking for some advice.
That's what we're here for.
We have had the car from new and it has done 50k miles - the car now has a gearbox problem
Sorry you're joining us with a problem - condolences.
Sadly dualogic failure at this sort of mileage, whilst not exactly common, is by no means unusual - that's why this thread is now over 400 posts long.
Dealership suggests replacement actuator and clutch
From what you've posted, that's probably going to be the only thing that will give you a long term fix that you can rely on. I'm guessing a main dealer is going to charge somewhere in the region of £1500 for that, fitted. An independent fiat specialist will be cheaper, but I'd not recommend taking it to a garage without specific experience of working with these gearboxes. If you've had it from new and have a full main dealer service history, it's worth approaching Fiat to see if they will make a goodwill contribution to the repair cost, but don't expect miracles.
Some folks have fixed this temporarily by changing and/or topping up the fluid in the actuator and resetting the warning messages. This may give the illusion that all is well but the problems generally come back within a short time. Often folks do this and then quickly sell the car or trade it in. This obviously doesn't apply in your case as you've had the car from new, but buyers of secondhand dualogics need to be aware the previous owner may have done exactly that.
Ethical considerations aside, what you do now probably depends on how long you plan on keeping the car.
@
ahmett has a long-running love/hate relationship with a 500 dualogic and may be along shortly to contribute to the discussion.
If you're anywhere near south Hampshire, @
burrowsdeano runs an independent garage and has more knowledge than most about these gearboxes. He's recently bought a donor car with dualogic issues to experiment with so that he can develop more cost-effective alternatives to replacement of the complete actuator (it's not a cheap part).