26th Aug 2003, 09:58
My Citymatic also seizes up. The ACS warning light and the beeping noise come on and I can't change gear. This was rectified before when the whole system was changed (the diagnostic, incidentally, said that I had been starting the car every time in first gear!) but now is no longer under warranty. It is in the garage after going wrong again, and has done less than 7000 miles!
Luckily, as with the others, this happened not far from my home. The garage is puzzled, they have taken all of the connections apart, cleaned them and put them back together, but I suspect it won't be long before it's back in the garage.
Why won't Fiat admit there's a problem?
27th Aug 2003, 07:43
Same here - actuator AND ecu had to be changed after being stranded in local garbage dump with car full of rubbish. Total bill £750 after 3 weeks of mechanics scratching heads. I've rung fiat who took my comments down and then failed to get back to me. Can't sell this car for peanuts now either - the book price is very low, but people won't even offer that - not even a fiat dealer!
13th Nov 2003, 15:04
I am afraid to say that I too have suffered the same fate as all of the above with my 40,000 mile 1999 Seicento Citymatic, which is now on its third clutch actuator! The first failure was due to a short circuit in the clutch ECU, which prevented me from even starting the car! the whole unit had to be replaced however, as it is all one piece (£500). The second failure was in stop-start traffic (Exactly the environment the car is marketed at!), leaving me stranded, and having to arrange recovery of the car to Fiat dealer, who said that this was a common problem with the Citymatics. They replaced the whole actuator again, at a cost of another £500. If Fiat's own dealers are saying this is a common problem, then there must be some comeback on Fiat themselves? I previously owned a 1995 Punto that had 2 or 3 safety recalls for airbag ECU, brakes etc. even when it was 6 yrs old, so why is this not happening with the Seicento??
2nd Jan 2004, 18:34
My Fiat Seicento Citimatic refused to get into gear after the car was used to jump start a friend's Fiat Punto.
After reading the seicento hand book, it was revealed that the car (seicento) battery should not be taken off the car while the engine is running.
The car starts okay, but it won't get into gear.
I got this car towed to Fiat Dealer, I paid just over £78.00 for the car be diagnosed of it's fault.
Eventually I was told that the actuator was faulty. Over £675.00 was quoted for the the repairs. Alas I haven't got that sum to ditch out, as I am still in University, school of nursing.
Please could any one show me contact (s) of garages who can fix my car at a resonable price.
2nd Feb 2004, 03:22
My daughter couldn't get her Seicento into gear the other morning. A mechanic from a local garage came round, checked the fuse, generally looked at it and told her that she needed a new actuator at a cost of £800. Her friends husband, also a mechanic, came round, looked at it, said it was stuck and unstuck it. She is now back driving it! The temperature was -1 C and the car is left outside so that may have a bearing on the problem. I will find out how he unstuck it and post the info here. Hope this info will be of some use.
1st Mar 2004, 10:22
It all sounds too familiar.
This is the 3rd time my Seicento Citymatic (2000) has broken down. First time in October 2002 it was the actuator that caused the problem, costing me £500 to have it replaced. In January 2003 the ECU was to blame, which cost me another £300. Now the actuator has gone again, and the garage has estimated the costs to be £700 due to the risen cost of parts. I've had enough of the ACS warning light with the horrible beeping noise and bought a manual VW Polo. I would love get some money from my Seicento, but it seems that I would have to invest over £700 to get it back on the road. Please let us know if there's a cheaper way to fix the actuator or how to "unstuck it".
10th Mar 2004, 13:38
We've had a '98 citymatic that has had its electronic clutch replaced 4 times now. After the second time, we realized that if the system got even damp, it immediately burnt out. The Fiat dealer wrapped it in plastic and silicone. Even so, even if it's totally dry, it goes every 8000 miles, at best. We have to park it when it rains. Fiat never answered our complaints or inquiries. Is now in shop, being converted to a manual clutch, thank God.
11th May 2004, 13:20
My Daughter has had her Seicento for about a year now it's a V reg 1999 with 22000 miles, the Clutch Actuator failed, stopped car, went to shop, got back in and nothing, Fiat charged £37 for a diagnostic test, £457 for the part, £126 for labour all plus VAT best part of £730, so we go to pick it up and was told that the clutch now needs replacing, another £310, if anyone can help with advice on how to take this further please please email me at alanandsued@yahoo.co.uk
Thank you.
12th Jul 2004, 12:03
I'd like to add my name to the list of "affected". In my case that electronic clutch has been changed 4 times, and now I'm still waiting for the 5th. What can I say? Near two months trying to get a solution, but Fiat does not want to hear. There is a problem and we all know. If anyone wants to take legal action, feel free to contact me and I'll sent you all the documentation to support it. My contact mail evalverde71@yahoo.es.
3rd Oct 2004, 09:14
My gearbox actuator was replaced about a year ago and I just had a very similar fault.
When the engine was running I was unable to engage any gears. There were no warning lights on the dashboard or warning beeps.
I switched the engine off and was able to move the stick into all the gear positions, but obviously, you have to be in neutral to start the engine, so I was stuck.
Turns out it wasn't the gearbox actuator this time. The gearbox mounting bracket had broken. £40 for parts, £70 for fitting (all plus VAT), total about £130.
So make sure it is the gearbox actuator that has failed before you pay the £700 bill!
Billy.
3rd Oct 2004, 10:24
Fiat Seincento citymatic clutch failure.
My daughter's car is in the garage for a clutch diagnosis for the second time in 18 months - presumably the actuator again. It doesn't seem to like the cold and damp. any details of how to convert it to manual clutch would be gratefully received.
Aygee999@hotmail.com.
5th Jun 2003, 02:59
I echo the comments of previous contributors. My Fiat Seicento Citymatic has broken down four times with seized gears owing to malfunction of the actuator. This clearly seems to be a design fault. JV.