Brand new MH with 'crappy' gearbox. (1 Viewer)

[PeteH]

"A" Frames and "gassing"? Anyone?.

 

[Ninovan]

Got problems with my waterworks

 

[Cairngorm]

We left Yorkshire on Thursday morning for our first trip in the new MH. The first 2 miles was a kangaroo ride then it cleared, so we carried on. The vehicle seems underpowered with a very strange gear change. Friday morning, leaving Buchy we had the same problem. The dealers telephoned me about a problem with the heater. I told them about the Fiat and they said that I must remember that the vehicle was heavier than our last one and I should expect a difference! They suggested I should run in automatic mode. I did as suggested and a learner driver could do smoother gear changes than the autobox.
Our last comformatic box was great. We have changed from a three litre to a 2.3 but the same Bhp. The vehicle has little loaded weight so is probably lighter than the previous MH.
I will telephone Fiat Assist, but wonder if anyone has any ideas.
I have a bad internet connection so apologise in advance if my replies are slow.

When we start off for the first 200m, it's as though we have kangaroo petrol in the tank, but after that it calms down.

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[peterc10]

I am feeling left out by this thread. We have a 2015 Fiat based moho with Comformatic gearbox which has had no problems.

 

[Littlewheels]

I'm sticking with this thread no matter what topic comes up,I desperately want Casper to get a good result.

Keep us informed we're hanging in there with you.

 

[Casper46]

I am feeling left out by this thread. We have a 2015 Fiat based moho with Comformatic gearbox which has had no problems.

We had one of those, but foolishly changed it for a larger one. I am being very good and have not yet said 'I told you so'. There was nothing wrong with the last one except that someone decided that we, HE , needed something with more payload.

No news yesterday, maybe Fiat Assist cannot find it. It has a fun sticker so if anyone sees it you will know that we have it back, preferably going forward in a normal smooth manner.
Communication is difficult, we have very bad mobile connection in the house and garden. We need to take the dog for a walk to be able to use the phone, so will ring them this morning. At least we are not stuck in a hotel and we have a car available.

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[peterc10]

We had one of those, but foolishly changed it for a larger one. I am being very good and have not yet said 'I told you so'. There was nothing wrong with the last one except that someone decided that we, HE , needed something with more payload.

No news yesterday, maybe Fiat Assist cannot find it. It has a fun sticker so if anyone sees it you will know that we have it back, preferably going forward in a normal smooth manner.
Communication is difficult, we have very bad mobile connection in the house and garden. We need to take the dog for a walk to be able to use the phone, so will ring them this morning. At least we are not stuck in a hotel and we have a car available.

We have what we think is a large motorhome. 3 litre engine with a max weight of 4.5 T and an original payload of over a ton.

Good luck with your problem and I hope it gets sorted soon. Knowing the French though I doubt they will do anything much over the weekend.

 

[Casper46]

Been to collect it, was in an Auto body yard in Heirsac. It seems little different than when it went in. Only a couple of extra miles on the clock, so they did not give it much of a test drive to check how it was behaving. The only person there gave us the keys. I asked what they had done and all I got was its OK. At least the kangaroo was asleep when we set off, even though the gearbox is rubbish.
We have told Fiat Assist that as long as it starts ok for the next few mornings and does not bounce about , we will have a steady ride home and get it sorted in UK. It seems pointless trying to get anything done here. I have told both the dealers and Fiat that it is unacceptable as it is. We are booked on the tunnel on 15th October so we shall see what happens with Fiat UK.
Thank you all for your interest, I will open the post again when we get back home.

 

[Dave K]

Been to collect it, was in an Auto body yard in Heirsac. It seems little different than when it went in. Only a couple of extra miles on the clock, so they did not give it much of a test drive to check how it was behaving. The only person there gave us the keys. I asked what they had done and all I got was its OK. At least the kangaroo was asleep when we set off, even though the gearbox is rubbish.
We have told Fiat Assist that as long as it starts ok for the next few mornings and does not bounce about , we will have a steady ride home and get it sorted in UK. It seems pointless trying to get anything done here. I have told both the dealers and Fiat that it is unacceptable as it is. We are booked on the tunnel on 15th October so we shall see what happens with Fiat UK.
Thank you all for your interest, I will open the post again when we get back home.

I have the same gearbox on my 2017 Pilote and have an issue with it from cold, hesitating etc, does yours only do this from cold or is it constant?
Dave

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[SpeedyDux]

Mine does a very small kangaroo after a cold start but it's only a joey and soon goes away as it warms up, so not much of an issue. Fingers crossed.

Elsewhere I have read that the Comfortmatic ECU needs to learn the clutch take up point for each gear because the standard factory settings are too generic.

 

[Littlewheels]

I truly hope you get the problem sorted to your satisfaction and have a trouble free return journey to the UK.

We did have a similar experience some years back with another MH to what we have now and we were static in a Dealers Premises for 5 nights and though they got us mobile it was not fixed proper until we returned to the UK

 

[Steve N Tracy]

I have found that because of the amount of torque at low rev's the box can be harsh it you give it to much throttle gentle on the throttle until it goes into 3rd and its much better.

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[Casper46]

I have the same gearbox on my 2017 Pilote and have an issue with it from cold, hesitating etc, does yours only do this from cold or is it constant?
Dave

The Kangaroo only comes in when cold for about 4 miles. The automatic box is very rough, the robotised! box does not seem to know what it is doing. I have driven thousands of miles with both a Fiat Comformatic box and a Mercedes clutchless manual box so it is not new to me.
No doubt it will get sorted one way or another, hopefully without too many arguments.

 

[Dave K]

The Kangaroo only comes in when cold for about 4 miles. The automatic box is very rough, the robotised! box does not seem to know what it is doing. I have driven thousands of miles with both a Fiat Comformatic box and a Mercedes clutchless manual box so it is not new to me.
No doubt it will get sorted one way or another, hopefully without too many arguments.

Good luck with it, mine is booked in at a dealership in 2 weeks time to be looked at, hopefully it'll be something simple for both of us

 

[Casper46]

Good luck with it, mine is booked in at a dealership in 2 weeks time to be looked at, hopefully it'll be something simple for both of us

Please let me know if they come up with a solution.

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[Teuchter]

I am feeling left out by this thread. We have a 2015 Fiat based moho with Comformatic gearbox which has had no problems.

My last van which I had for 2 years from new was a 2015 Knaus on a Fiat with comfortmatic box - 19000 miles - no problems!

 

[Dave K]

Please let me know if they come up with a solution.

Of course I will, hope you can enjoy some of your holiday.

 

[hadders]

Just brought a new Carthago which is actually a 2016 model with the ''autobox'' but had the 3 litre engine which I thought would be better with the auto. Must admit so far its very good and I'm pleased with it, same princple as the auto / manual box as our smart car! Only thing noticed so far is it can roll backwards and you cannot obviously 'hold it on the clutch' and have to use a bit of handbrake / left foot. I've had a few new Fiat motorhomes with clutches juddering and espicially when hot in traffic. Hoping this one won't suffer!

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[PJGWiltshire]

Just brought a new Carthago which is actually a 2016 model with the ''autobox'' but had the 3 litre engine which I thought would be better with the auto. Must admit so far its very good and I'm pleased with it, same princple as the auto / manual box as our smart car! Only thing noticed so far is it can roll backwards and you cannot obviously 'hold it on the clutch' and have to use a bit of handbrake / left foot. I've had a few new Fiat motorhomes with clutches juddering and espicially when hot in traffic. Hoping this one won't suffer!

You have the same year as ours. Yes I have noticed the roll back, which for and Auto box I found strange but now you know you work round it. Have fun, we have its 14 months old and 15000 miles without a major issue

 

[tonyidle]

................... you cannot obviously 'hold it on the clutch'

Genuine question - why would you want to?

 

[hadders]

Genuine question - why would you want to?

Only when having to stop at an island or junction for a few seconds. Smart cars have a feature which holds the brake on for a second or two which gives you time to move off the foot brake back onto the throttle, with the MH it doesn't.

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[tacr2man]

Most of these are not automatic gearboxes , but electronically controlled manuals , so dont have a torque converter , hence you cant hill hold with revs , and if it hasnt got an auto hill hold system
failing to use the handbrake means roll back if you are lucky or burning out the linings if you dont . I always thought it a bit of a stupid idea on a heavily laden vehicle, particularaly as modern true automatic gearboxes are so good with TCLU etc . But its probably a cost based thing .

 

[hadders]

Most of these are not automatic gearboxes , but electronically controlled manuals , so dont have a torque converter , hence you cant hill hold with revs , and if it hasnt got an auto hill hold system
failing to use the handbrake means roll back if you are lucky or burning out the linings if you dont . I always thought it a bit of a stupid idea on a heavily laden vehicle, particularaly as modern true automatic gearboxes are so good with TCLU etc . But its probably a cost based thing .

Yes same as what I mentioned on smart cars, electronic actuator operating a manual clutch. You can feel the delay as the cluch is pressed, gear engaged and clutch released . Yes and daft they don't have an auto hold!! Noted they have added traction, hill decent and a button for the auto to stay in gears longer when you have more weight on board. Still crazy though having had RV's that there isn't hill decent systems on more MH's.

 

[Casper46]

Update on MH problems.
We have made it home, after a steady drive through France. The problems do not seem to be getting any better, and the thought of trying to tow with it is alarming.
We are taking it to a Fiat dealer tomorrow with not a lot of hope as they have already said that they doubt a fault will be found.
Has anyone bought a new Fiat with a 2.3litre/180bhp engine and do they find it very under powered. The kangaroo on board is a different matter, but the miss match of the gearbox and engine makes for a very aggravating drive

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[Figaro]

Doesn't sound right. Are you passed the point of returning it as not fit for purpose if they can't find a fault ?

 

[Casper46]

Doesn't sound right. Are you passed the point of returning it as not fit for purpose if they can't find a fault ?

If we had been in a position to use it in the first 30 days of owning it, Carthago would have had it straight back as a reject.
Unfortunately Michael was ill and we had no roof on the house, so going out for even a day was not possible. We did not even have it at home ( again building work and scaffolding were in the way), Premium were very good and said that we could delay picking it up until it suited us. We are not sure how we stand, as we were 4 days over the 30 days when we found we had a problem.
After we have dropped it off at the garage tomorrow, we are going through to Bawtry to discuss how we stand if nothing can be done with it.

 

[Figaro]

That must be so frustrating for you.
I hope they do the right thing by you, hold their hands up and get it sorted to your satisfaction.

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[EX51SSS]

At lease a MH can't wheelie

 

[Lenny HB]

Update on MH problems.
We have made it home, after a steady drive through France. The problems do not seem to be getting any better, and the thought of trying to tow with it is alarming.
We are taking it to a Fiat dealer tomorrow with not a lot of hope as they have already said that they doubt a fault will be found.
Has anyone bought a new Fiat with a 2.3litre/180bhp engine and do they find it very under powered. The kangaroo on board is a different matter, but the miss match of the gearbox and engine makes for a very aggravating drive

We have a 2017 150 Euro 6 with Comformatic, compared to our last one (Euro 5+) this one did seem underpowered. Turned out I think just to be a tight engine still not done many miles but loosed up quite a bit after getting over 3000 miles appears OK now. Not had any problems with either Comformatic the new one appears to be a bit smoother than the last one.

 

[MillieMoocher]

We’ve got the 2.3 180bhp E6 engine in ours, with the comfortmatic gearbox. So far 2,200 miles on the clock.

It did seem a bit sluggish on hills in the South West this weekend, mainly I think due to the gearbox taking longer to shift down than a normal automatic (say as fitted to the Merc engined MH we had before). But once it had shifted down, it pulled fine albeit it had lost speed first if you see what I mean.

Gearbox, touch wood, has been fine. I was apprehensive about the comfortmatic box but we both get on fine with it, remembering it’s not an automatic but a self-shifting manual. I’d still have it over an outright manual box though.

Hope you get yours sorted, it doesn’t sound right to me!

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