Joined the Comfortmatic failure club

[dunnah01]

Statistics on the number of Comfortmatic failures and numbers in use would be more useful than continued individual opinions putting comfortmatic owners on edge, perhaps unnecessarily.
Yes there are a handful of owners on this forum that have been unfortunate but just how big or small is the failure rate.

Two possible Comfortmatic component failures so far but trial by forum says there's hundreds of them

 

[Fragle]

Sorry but this has really got to me. If you drive at a relaxed pace you, in our experience, could encounter emission problems as we did last September with Limp mode loss of power resulting in £6k bill. Advice from that was to in effect "burn" the soot by driving in 3/4th gear at high revs for a while. You can't win

Really don’t understand why it has got to you.

I still maintain that driving style is an issue. You have just said you yourself that you had an issue with emissions by not burning off at high revs.

That’s what motorways are for. Put it in manual high revs for a while. I can do that quite easily at a steady 55 on the motorway and I do.

I’m a professional driver hgv/adr. Checking and looking after and understanding your unit has been part of my job for 35 years. Comformatics are similar to driving lorries in the hills and mountains. They are not f1 cars going round corners. Slow and steady gear changes

You can win. Just need to understand the whole unit and how to drive it.

 

[Smudger55]

Really don’t understand why it has got to you.

I still maintain that driving style is an issue. You have just said you yourself that you had an issue with emissions by not burning off at high revs.

That’s what motorways are for. Put it in manual high revs for a while. I can do that quite easily at a steady 55 on the motorway and I do.

I’m a professional driver hgv/adr. Checking and looking after and understanding your unit has been part of my job for 35 years. Comformatics are similar to driving lorries in the hills and mountains. They are not f1 cars going round corners. Slow and steady gear changes

You can win. Just need to understand the whole unit and how to drive it.

Sorry i was really referring to damaged clutch on top of last year big repair. I do drive with care, taking corners etc slowly. The van is too long to drive otherwise. Mines automatic so suppose gear changing is sort of taken out of my hands.

The emissions, could i have avoided it, i don't know, the problem i had was a known fault for my year of engine, hence Fiat did provide a goodwill gesture.

I appreciate your advice as an experienced hgv driver and will follow it.

Last part of our trip home tomorrow, hopefully without breaking down and then book in for repair. Cheers Smudger55

 

[Fragle]

Sorry i was really referring to damaged clutch on top of last year big repair. I do drive with care, taking corners etc slowly. The van is too long to drive otherwise. Mines automatic so suppose gear changing is sort of taken out of my hands.

The emissions, could i have avoided it, i don't know, the problem i had was a known fault for my year of engine, hence Fiat did provide a goodwill gesture.

I appreciate your advice as an experienced hgv driver and will follow it.

Last part of our trip home tomorrow, hopefully without breaking down and then book in for repair. Cheers Smudger55

No problem.
I was referring to the Comformatic clutch being a slow system similar to lorries in changing gear. We sit there and think 'When you're ready. I'm waiting".

Just an opinion my friend. Could well be wrong.

Have a safe journey home

 

[Larrynwin]

Two possible Comfortmatic component failures so far but trial by forum says there's hundreds of them

Hundreds ? Please evidence.

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[dunnah01]

Hundreds ? Please evidence.

Use the Search function

 

[Larrynwin]

Use the Search function

I have not seen the hundreds you mention on this forum, verified facts would be helpful.

 

[dunnah01]

I have not seen the hundreds you mention on this forum, verified facts would be helpful.

I think we both know that's not going to happen.

 

[Larrynwin]

I think we both know that's not going to happen.

Are there the hundreds of failures you mention or is this purely your opinion.

 

[dunnah01]

Are there the hundreds of failures you mention or is this purely your opinion.

I can only recall 2 possible Comfortmatic failures not hundreds but plenty of people are blaming the comfortmatic for other failures

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[Larrynwin]

I can only recall 2 possible Comfortmatic failures not hundreds but plenty of people are blaming the comfortmatic for other failures

Now we’re getting to the basics.
There are probably many members on this forum that have comfortmatic gearboxes that would not welcome statements that there are “hundreds “ of failures and are themselves waiting for a costly failure.

 

[dunnah01]

Now we’re getting to the basics.
There are probably many members on this forum that have comfortmatic gearboxes that would not welcome statements that there are “hundreds “ of failures and are themselves waiting for a costly failure.

I suggest you re read my posts so you realise I'm the biggest defender of the Comfortmatic gear change system and agree with your view

 

[JockandRita]

I can only recall 2 possible Comfortmatic failures not hundreds but plenty of people are blaming the comfortmatic for other failures

Which is exactly how I read you earlier post on Sunday @11.04, ie, with a hint of sarcasim.................

Two possible Comfortmatic component failures so far but trial by forum says there's hundreds of them

..............but I knew what you meant.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Badknee]

Regarding slow changes on hills and the box not being able to make its mind up
Its watching road speed and revs, it can’t see a big mountain in front of it with hairpin bends. Just put it into manual and help it along.

 

[pampam]

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[pampam]

Thats ours on its way back to dealers in 2011 comfortmatic failure

 

[dunnah01]

Thats ours on its way back to dealers in 2011 comfortmatic failure

Did they tell you which bit had failed?

 

[Pausim]

Regarding slow changes on hills and the box not being able to make its mind up
Its watching road speed and revs, it can’t see a big mountain in front of it with hairpin bends. Just put it into manual and help it along.

I had a Mercedes torque converter automatic on my last motorhome. It was just as bad at changing up and down and not being able to make its mind up as my current Comfortmatic. It was also less good than the Comfortmatic at changing down to provide engine braking on long hill descents. A bit of downhill braking is all it needs to tell it to change down and take some of the strain off the brakes, which is what you would do with a manual gearbox.

 

[MichaelT]

Regarding slow changes on hills and the box not being able to make its mind up
Its watching road speed and revs, it can’t see a big mountain in front of it with hairpin bends. Just put it into manual and help it along.

Use the up button works a treat.

 

[Minnie]

My take is that it's a motorhome thing where the low miles mean that the clutch wear characteristics are not as programmed into the control unit which is set for the more usual high mileage delivery van. A simple re-learn every 30-40k ish should do the trick in most cases if only the garages would try it.

I must remember the re calibration thingy advice you suggest if ours goes .

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[Badknee]

I must remember the re calibration thingy advice you suggest if ours goes .

Too late then, get the fluid changed and recalibrated. Ours is being done this Friday.

 

[pampam]

Dunnah01 no we never found out, it was still in pieces on service bay floor in the august ,so we ended up part exing for a new autotrail(which we didnt like ) it broke in may and summer was passing so we part exed , nobody knew what it was , they even sent someone from fiat, then in the october i got a phone call from brownhills saying they had a customer in front of them and was wondering why we part exed the cheyanne ? He couldnt get off the phone quick enough when i started to explain, it was a lovely motorhome too, the one we part exed for we soon part exed again for an arapaho , which we really loved too, my husband is a safe steady driver , so it was nothing to do with his driving skills, its still on the road out there , hopefully trouble free

 

[Landy Andy]

People talk about them doing high mileage but I’ve never seen a delivery, rental, or ambulance with one, they have all been manuals. Fleet buyers aren’t going to spend the extra.

 

[dunnah01]

People talk about them doing high mileage but I’ve never seen a delivery, rental, or ambulance with one, they have all been manuals. Fleet buyers aren’t going to spend the extra.

Both Moho rentals I've had were Comfortmatic and the rest of the ones I poked around at their base about 4 years ago were all Comfortmatic. The hire company had over 100 mohos so can't have too many failures otherwise they would be manuals

 

[Landy Andy]

Both Moho rentals I've had were Comfortmatic and the rest of the ones I poked around at their base about 4 years ago were all Comfortmatic. The hire company had over 100 mohos so can't have too many failures otherwise they would be manuals

Yes. I’ve only ever seen these boxes on mohos.
Rental companies are only going to keep them whilst they are in a warranty them sell them off.

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[L' Hobo]

People talk about them doing high mileage but I’ve never seen a delivery, rental, or ambulance with one, they have all been manuals. Fleet buyers aren’t going to spend the extra.

I know nothing about Comfortmatics but, from what has been said on other threads about 'find a company that repairs Ambulances if one wanted the oil changed', I assumed that they were used in Ambulances?

 

[Landy Andy]

I know nothing about Comfortmatics but, from what has been said on other threads about 'find a company that repairs Ambulances if one wanted the oil changed', I assumed that they were used in Ambulances?

Not the ones I’ve seen or driven. They have been 3ltr max chassis and manual. And abused

 

[TCG]

Yes ive just joined the club. our auto gear selector went while in France a few weeks ago. i was able to drive with manual so not a great hardship.
just had the invoice from Motus £8,760.16.... i'm still crying

 

[poisondwarf]

Yes ive just joined the club. our auto gear selector when while in France a few weeks ago. i was able to drive with manual so not a great hardship.
just had the invoice from Motus £8,760.16.... i'm still crying
View attachment 815083

Oh My God!!

 

[L' Hobo]

Yes ive just joined the club. our auto gear selector when while in France a few weeks ago. i was able to drive with manual so not a great hardship.
just had the invoice from Motus £8,760.16.... i'm still crying
View attachment 815083

I would have expected a new unit for that sort of money, not a reconditioned one.
Am I really that much out of touch with today's prices?

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