Broken down in Albufeira

[Julie S]

Hi everyone,

My Fiat Ducato 2011, Swift Bolero with a Comformatic engine, (I know.....the eyes will be rolling) has broken down, on the grey waste service area at Camping Albufeira. When I reversed it juddered like crazy; when I drove it, it juddered too and then it seemed to lose gear, yet wanted to keep moving as I pressed the brake pedal and engaged the handbrake. Yesterday I organised help through my breakdown cover; one guy with a low loader eventually arrived, rolled his eyes, turned the engine on and off multiple times, and sent for a diagnostic kit....and left. The next mechanic arrived in a small van, used the diagnostics and told me I had to go to a garage and he would get the low loader to come back today, however, it's a Saturday and they are closed until Monday. There is a Fiat garage in Faro, but it has some dodgy reviews. Does anyone know MCCAR in Faro? Does anyone know of an alternative garage? There is an English guy I spoke to on the campsite yesterday, who had the same engine, one year newer and he had the same problem. He ended up needing a new engine which was done in France and cost €17,000 in total. I'm obviously worried about being ripped off too. Any help would be gratefully received. Thank you.

 

[rosalan]

I could be out of order but I thought that from about 2007 and 2012 Fiat had a recognised fault when reversing. I certainly did and Fiat made interim repairs including engine mounts and clutch. I was able to drive normally but reversing created severe juddering. I think the problem was too high reverse gear.

 

[Lenny HB]

I could be out of order but I thought that from about 2007 and 2012 Fiat had a recognised fault when reversing. I certainly did and Fiat made interim repairs including engine mounts and clutch. I was able to drive normally but reversing created severe juddering. I think the problem was too high reverse gear.

That was all sorted by 2010 also this one is a Comfomatic.

 

[Mad dog]

Take it over to Morocco, they seem to be able to fix anything!

 

[zedman]

Take it over to Morocco, they seem to be able to fix anything!

A lot of people might laugh at that ......... but that's what I'd do, put anything in front of them lads and they'll fix it.

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[IRHP]

A lot of people might laugh at that ......... but that's what I'd do, put anything in front of them lads and they'll fix it.

Great with mechanicals, don't think I'd let them near a comfortmatic gearbox operated by an Italian electronic brain.

 

[poisondwarf]

Take it over to Morocco, they seem to be able to fix anything!

Can they?
It's worth bearing in mind

 

[zedman]

Great with mechanicals, don't think I'd let them near a comfortmatic gearbox operated by an Italian electronic brain.

 

[zedman]

Great with mechanicals, don't think I'd let them near a comfortmatic gearbox operated by an Italian electronic brain.

There's no such thing as a comformatic gearbox.......it's the same standard six speed gearbox that's fitted to the manual version of van, the same gearbox is also fitted to the Vauxhall vivaro .......the comformatic bit is the actual gear change part of selecting a gear, simply put.......it does for you .

 

[IRHP]

There's no such thing as a comformatic gearbox.......it's the same standard six speed gearbox that's fitted to the manual version of van, the same gearbox is also fitted to the Vauxhall vivaro .......the comformatic bit is the actual gear change part of selecting a gear, simply put.......it does for you .

It's a term of endearment, I know what it is and how it works. I've got one.

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[Mad dog]

A lot of people might laugh at that ......... but that's what I'd do, put anything in front of them lads and they'll fix it.

They do & at a good price by all accounts. I've only had some aluminium welded up, but ask around & they always 'know someone'. Within an hour they collected, fixed, delivered & refitted a bash plate (motorbike) & had done a beautiful neat job of it (about £15). I know of motorhomes that have been repaired their. A risky option taking your van to the Sahara & hoping a chap with a donkey can fix your gearbox tho, but I bet they'd sort it!!

 

[Julie S]

If the breakdown company will transport if back to the without charge I'd go for that.
Adams Morey, Portsmouth branch are one of the best places to take it to with Comformatic problems. Very few Fiat garages understand Comformactics.

Hi Lenny,

Just to update you on my situation. After taking my van to a Fiat Professional Garage in Faro (had to wait 2 months for that appointment) where they left my van in their car park for 9 days before looking at it. Eventually, they took it into the workshop and told me they could not identify the problem, so they would take the engine and gearbox out to investigate, and potentially replace various items at a cost of over 5,000 euros. They were rude and obstructive, so I said no and the van was taken back to the campsite. So, after 3 months Marj has finally reached the UK and will be at Adams Morey tomorrow 6th of January 2024.

I have to say the breakdown service I have through Comfort Insurance (MC Assist) has been brilliant. There were a couple of communication glitches, but apart from that, I have been impressed. Also, the driver of the low loader (Faisca) could not have been more helpful, so if anyone is in the Albufeira area, and is unlucky enough to suffer a breakdown, A24 Euroboques are worth a call.

Thank you Lenny for suggesting Adams Morey; Simon has also been extremely helpful and it was so good to talk to someone who knew what they were talking about and understands the Comformatic Gearbox.

I'm praying now for a quick and relatively uncostly solution.

 

[Julie S]

Black fluid...........I'll ask again....have you checked the clutch fluid level ?
Believe me that's all it might be.

Hi Ian,

Sorry for the delay in responding. I've been so caught up in the nightmare of it all. The clutch fluid level was checked and was ok. Fiat Professional in Faro was appalling, so eventually, I decided to have the van repatriated back to the UK. It arrived today and will be at Adams Morey (thanks to Lenny HB) Garage tomorrow the 6th of February.

I'm obviously praying for a quick and not too costly resolution.

Fingers crossed. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

 

[Julie S]

Hi, I have followed the thread and please dont be cross i cant believe you ask for advice and many experienced people advise bring it back ,I think even the recovery people why are you unsure. ????

Hi ,I have been following the thread

Hi PeterCarol29:

I'm not cross. I have listened to the advice of many experienced people. I decided to enjoy the sunshine on the very good campsite where I had broken down, and not get too stressed about it all. I had planned to head to Morrocco for more sunshine, so deciding to repatriate my van, was a last resort.

The van is now back in the UK and will be at Adams Morey tomorrow the 6th of January.

I hope you are well and enjoying your travels.

 

[dunnah01]

Hi Ian,

Sorry for the delay in responding. I've been so caught up in the nightmare of it all. The clutch fluid level was checked and was ok. Fiat Professional in Faro was appalling, so eventually, I decided to have the van repatriated back to the UK. It arrived today and will be at Adams Morey (thanks to Lenny HB) Garage tomorrow the 6th of February.

I'm obviously praying for a quick and not too costly resolution.

Fingers crossed. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Glad your Moho is now in safe hands. It sounds like the Master/Slave unit seals have allowed contamination so should be a straightforward (but not so cheap) fix to replace it. At least it's not a gearbox out job to replace the CSC so could have been way more expensive.

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[Marie-Claire]

Just out of Interest if the gearbox of a manual and comformatic mechanically are the same do they use the same clutch slave cylinder and if they do why does the failures only seem to apply to the roboticised system .

 

[Steve and Denise]

There's no such thing as a comformatic gearbox.......it's the same standard six speed gearbox that's fitted to the manual version of van, the same gearbox is also fitted to the Vauxhall vivaro .......the comformatic bit is the actual gear change part of selecting a gear, simply put.......it does for you .

Yes within a day or so they would rip that shit out fit a clutch pedal and you will be driving again
I did have a comfortmatic but was never confident in its operation although never had a problem in 10k miles, but at that miles I would not expect any

 

[dunnah01]

Just out of Interest if the gearbox of a manual and comformatic mechanically are the same do they use the same clutch slave cylinder and if they do why does the failures only seem to apply to the roboticised system .

They're identical and seem to fail at about the same rate if you clear away the smoke of misdiagnosis.

 

[PeterCarole29]

Hi PeterCarol29:

I'm not cross. I have listened to the advice of many experienced people. I decided to enjoy the sunshine on the very good campsite where I had broken down, and not get too stressed about it all. I had planned to head to Morrocco for more sunshine, so deciding to repatriate my van, was a last resort.

The van is now back in the UK and will be at Adams Morey tomorrow the 6th of January.

I hope you are well and enjoying your travels.

What great news hope its get fixed quickly

 

[VXman]

Hi PeterCarol29:

I'm not cross. I have listened to the advice of many experienced people. I decided to enjoy the sunshine on the very good campsite where I had broken down, and not get too stressed about it all. I had planned to head to Morrocco for more sunshine, so deciding to repatriate my van, was a last resort.

The van is now back in the UK and will be at Adams Morey tomorrow the 6th of January.

I assume you mean 6th February.

You say you are with Comfort. Did they agree to recover it to Adams Morey instead of letting Fiat Professional in Faro deal with it or did you have to pay for that yourself?

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[rolosroller]

 

[Lenny HB]

I did have a comfortmatic but was never confident in its operation although never had a problem in 10k miles, but at that miles I would not expect any

I've had two vans with Comformatic did 30k in the last on no problems, this ones done 47k no problems apart from one glitch which turning ignition off & on sorted.

 

[jongood]

Yes within a day or so they would rip that shit out fit a clutch pedal and you will be driving again
I did have a comfortmatic but was never confident in its operation although never had a problem in 10k miles, but at that miles I would not expect any

Sounds like the best solution. I feel genuinely sorry for all the people who bought them not realising how much expensive trouble they can be.

 

[Northernraider]

Take it over to Morocco, they seem to be able to fix anything!

A lot of people might laugh at that ......... but that's what I'd do, put anything in front of them lads and they'll fix it.

But not always correctly I saw some severely botched shitty jobs being done in Morocco last year by what could only be described as cowboys.

Like everywhere there's some who can but many who can't

 

[Roby2008]

Yes within a day or so they would rip that shit out fit a clutch pedal and you will be driving again
I did have a comfortmatic but was never confident in its operation although never had a problem in 10k miles, but at that miles I would not expect any

I was none the wiser when I had my first MH in 2013 with the Comformatic, I wanted an auto-box and that is what I got.....9 years and 98k (km) later it went to a new owner (in 2022) and it is still going strong with not a single fault..
Was I just lucky or is it that only the disasters make news?

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[DJT]

I was none the wiser when I had my first MH in 2013 with the Comformatic, I wanted an auto-box and that is what I got.....9 years and 98k (km) later it went to a new owner (in 2022) and it is still going strong with not a single fault..
Was I just lucky or is it that only the disasters make news?

More than Lucky!!

 

[Julie S]

I assume you mean 6th February.

You say you are with Comfort. Did they agree to recover it to Adams Morey instead of letting Fiat Professional in Faro deal with it or did you have to pay for that yourself?

Hi VXman. When taking out insurance with Comfort I also took the MCAssist breakdown cover. In Europe this is covered by DAX. My van was taken to Fiat Professional in Faro twice, and then repatriated to the UK at no cost to myself. for any of it. I consider myself to have been very fortunate. I hope that helps.