OMG nothing is going to plan.

[Nanniemate]

Just carry loads of cash.
AND loads of US dollars, every country on the planet will except US dollars.
And you think you have problems, 3 weeks into our trip and tour around the Netherlands and we (myself and wife) have an accident while out on our cycles and i have a broken Ankle, leg now in plaster.
Yes, you guessed it, only I can drive.
Try driving with your clutch foot in plaster and taking a shower in those small cubicles while keeping the left leg dry.

Ouch, I keep suggesting that partners drive the van at least once in stress situations so that if something happens, they are not driving for the first time in already stressful situations, however these days not all people have the licence or category to drive. I feel for you both

 

[Minxy]

Just carry loads of cash.
AND loads of US dollars, every country on the planet will except US dollars.
And you think you have problems, 3 weeks into our trip and tour around the Netherlands and we (myself and wife) have an accident while out on our cycles and i have a broken Ankle, leg now in plaster.
Yes, you guessed it, only I can drive.
Try driving with your clutch foot in plaster and taking a shower in those small cubicles while keeping the left leg dry.

Hope it heals quickly however be careful about driving as you are more than likely not allowed by the DVLA due to your impediment and by doing so it could negate your fully comprehensive insurance too.

 

[tabbert ffb]

Not only are we broken down, I have now managed to lock my credit card which we may need to pay repair bill.
Have spoken to provider who tell me it can not be unlocked at their end but only at an ATM machine by using other services.
I have tried three Spanish banks and neither have this option available.
Any one know how this is done in Spain?
Campsite owner has spoken to his bank and they say it's down to my provider, I'm going from pillar to post.
Any help appriciated .

I have done this in the canaries, it has to be done at a main bank ATM
As local ones don't seem to have the services option ,

 

[tribalbrit]

Just carry loads of cash.
AND loads of US dollars, every country on the planet will except US dollars.
And you think you have problems, 3 weeks into our trip and tour around the Netherlands and we (myself and wife) have an accident while out on our cycles and i have a broken Ankle, leg now in plaster.
Yes, you guessed it, only I can drive.
Try driving with your clutch foot in plaster and taking a shower in those small cubicles while keeping the left leg dry.

No problem I don't have a clutch pedal. Lol.
Sorry to hear of your plight though.

 

[Scout]

Funny how about this then seriosly I hope you can get sorted

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[tribalbrit]

So the garage fitted new clutch etc. Guy came from Fiat Barcelona to carry out a calibration programme, nothing happens.
All stand scratching heads.
Consensus of opinion is the new clutch is faulty WTF... now plan on fitting another on Monday.... another WTF.
If not sorted by Wednesday we will have to arrange other plans to get home. I surrender.....

 

[Nanniemate]

So the garage fitted new clutch etc. Guy came from Fiat Barcelona to carry out a calibration programme, nothing happens.
All stand scratching heads.
Consensus of opinion is the new clutch is faulty WTF... now plan on fitting another on Monday.... another WTF.
If not sorted by Wednesday we will have to arrange other plans to get home. I surrender.....

Keep your holiday head try to relax it may mean a hire car and walk on the ferry /train .Will the insurance still cover the van being repatriated if need be . Try to enjoy the sunshine ☀

 

[tribalbrit]

Let's assume that our clutch problem doesn't get resolved while in Spain And needs to be transported back to the UK.
Can anyone from their own experience recommend a garage in the UK that can solve my problem, preferably not too expensive as already have bills to pay in Spain.
Anywhere is okay but between Folkstone and Yorkshire ideally.

 

[tribalbrit]

Keep your holiday head try to relax it may mean a hire car and walk on the ferry /train .Will the insurance still cover the van being repatriated if need be . Try to enjoy the sunshine ☀

Can you drive a foreign hire car to the UK.

 

[tribalbrit]

Keep your holiday head try to relax it may mean a hire car and walk on the ferry /train .Will the insurance still cover the van being repatriated if need be . Try to enjoy the sunshine ☀

I am trying but now and again I fall into p***** off mode.
Beer helps but it's a bit early.
It's the not knowing and waiting to hear from the garage, the site has been great, translating etc.
Folks on here have also helped with support and advise.

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[Landy Andy]

Did you get to see the removed clutch?

 

[Nanniemate]

Can you drive a foreign hire car to the UK.

Yes but if its a one way hire costs lots more as it has to get back to country of origin

 

[tribalbrit]

Yes but if its a one way hire costs lots more as it has to get back to country of origin

Don't think they'll let us walk on ship or train with the dog. Unless tunnel has some scheme in place for this.

 

[tribalbrit]

Did you get to see the removed clutch?

No, wouldn't know what I was looking at anyway.

 

[Nanniemate]

Don't think they'll let us walk on ship or train with the dog. Unless tunnel has some scheme in place for this.

Check with the ferry you may be able to book a kenal on board same as car users

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[gus-lopez]

Can you drive a foreign hire car to the UK.

yes. called a "cross border hire" but no idea whether they will include UK still?
cost me an additional 450€ France >spain for the return of it. hertz was only one I could find.

Don't think they'll let us walk on ship or train with the dog. Unless tunnel has some scheme in place for this.

No walk ons from dunkirk.foot passengers from calais I believe?

 

[tribalbrit]

yes. called a "cross border hire" but no idea whether they will include UK still?
cost me an additional 450€ France >spain for the return of it. hertz was only one I could find.

No walk ons from dunkirk.foot passengers from calais I believe?

I'm hoping the insurance is going to pay for hire car, otherwise we'll be walking all the way and swimming the channel.
Booked on tunnel Friday but look like altering that again.

 

[Johnny Be Good]

We have been traveling 5-6 weeks around Denmark, Germany, Holland and Ireland and noticed some weird things with cards. Some take with no issues and others will not accept or they wont work or be accepted by the shop. Been so many issues that we just took out extra cash and in many place they prefer cash. Ironically some places say no to cards but accept Google and Apple pay on the phones, twice recently in Germany my cards did not work but I then used my cell phone to pay, (same card but on phone) and it went through no issues.

 

[dunnah01]

Let's assume that our clutch problem doesn't get resolved while in Spain And needs to be transported back to the UK.
Can anyone from their own experience recommend a garage in the UK that can solve my problem, preferably not too expensive as already have bills to pay in Spain.
Anywhere is okay but between Folkstone and Yorkshire ideally.

Not read the whole thread but if you could say what engine & gearbox, what model year and original problem this may help finding the best garage

 

[tribalbrit]

Not read the whole thread but if you could say what engine & gearbox, what model year and original problem this may help finding the best garage

Fiat Ducato. A Class, Comformatic gear Box. 2012
Knacked clutch. Or at least no gears available.

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[dunnah01]

Fiat Ducato. A Class, Comformatic gear Box. 2012
Knacked clutch. Or at least no gears available.

Oh no - here we are again. Ask the garage if the Fiat guy undertook the following procedures:

1. delete all statistical data
2. clutch self-calibration enable

If not then they need to do these before anything else mechanical gets changed. They may as well do the following procedures at the same time and before 2. above:

3. reset self-learnt functions
4. set actuator base adjustments

so the order should be 1. 3. 4. 2. if that makes any sense.

This will take about 10 mins but you'll need a 300m stretch of quiet road for procedure 2.

Certainly no harm in trying even if it really is a mechanical problem

 

[Scrumpy]

When we had our problem obviously not sure if it’s the same as you. But ours was a pump in the comfortmatic it was only registering 20 pressure instead of 50. We had a few problems with going uphill with the automatic gears and then just stopped working all together.
It took a few days to figure out the problem on the computer but the fiat garage in Angers eventually found it. It cost over 2,000 euros and only a few months out of warranty. Ours was on a 13 plate.
It is extremely stressful when you don’t speak the language but comfort we’re very good.
I hope you can find the problem as it’s the not knowing that’s hard.
Would it have cost us less here no idea.

 

[tribalbrit]

Oh no - here we are again. Ask the garage if the Fiat guy undertook the following procedures:

1. delete all statistical data
2. clutch self-calibration enable

If not then they need to do these before anything else mechanical gets changed. They may as well do the following procedures at the same time and before 2. above:

3. reset self-learnt functions
4. set actuator base adjustments

so the order should be 1. 3. 4. 2. if that makes any sense.

This will take about 10 mins but you'll need a 300m stretch of quiet road for procedure 2.

Certainly no harm in trying even if it really is a mechanical problem

Thanks for that. I have translated to Spanish and will email and hand deliver to the garage Monday am.
Forgive my ignorance but does numbers 1,3 and 4 allow you to select 1st gear, as presently can not put in gear to carry out 2.

 

[dunnah01]

Thanks for that. I have translated to Spanish and will email and hand deliver to the garage Monday am.
Forgive my ignorance but does numbers 1,3 and 4 allow you to select 1st gear, as presently can not put in gear to carry out 2.

No.1 should allow you to select 1st, 2nd & reverse gears (and sometimes a box full) but 3 & 4 will normally get you all the gears but only for between 100 & 1000 miles until the clutch requests a calibration that's out of range (self calibration not enabled yet). Once the self-calibration procedure (2.) has been enabled and undertaken the clock is fully reset and you should be good for many years.

I must add that these are only my findings after about 12+ months of using MultiECUscan (MES) on several hard-shoulders, B roads and motorway service areas after a 'gear unavailable' type messages and engine limp modes so I may not cure your problem, but you can't do any harm trying. I must also admit that I don't know if the above procedures are available to the Fiat tech with their software but they should be if they're in MES.

Fingers crossed for you

 

[tribalbrit]

No.1 should allow you to select 1st, 2nd & reverse gears (and sometimes a box full) but 3 & 4 will normally get you all the gears but only for between 100 & 1000 miles until the clutch requests a calibration that's out of range (self calibration not enabled yet). Once the self-calibration procedure (2.) has been enabled and undertaken the clock is fully reset and you should be good for many years.

I must add that these are only my findings after about 12+ months of using MultiECUscan (MES) on several hard-shoulders, B roads and motorway service areas after a 'gear unavailable' type messages and engine limp modes so I may not cure your problem, but you can't do any harm trying. I must also admit that I don't know if the above procedures are available to the Fiat tech with their software but they should be if they're in MES.

Fingers crossed for you

Thanks again. Here's hoping

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[Jo662]

So the garage fitted new clutch etc. Guy came from Fiat Barcelona to carry out a calibration programme, nothing happens.
All stand scratching heads.
Consensus of opinion is the new clutch is faulty WTF... now plan on fitting another on Monday.... another WTF.
If not sorted by Wednesday we will have to arrange other plans to get home. I surrender.....

Did they replace the dual mass fly wheel along with the clutch?

When I had my clutch go,the dual mass fly wheel was as worn out as the clutch,and I was told it is best to change both as a matter of course.
The calibration also has to be carried out with a diagnostic machine that is compatible with your vehicle. I know it sounds daft being a Fiat garage,but is the machine they are using to do the calibration the correct one?

 

[zedman]

I feel your pain pal...... having been there myself but I didn't want to burst your bubble when the garage said it needed a new clutch. Having been a mechanic for forty years I've never known a clutch to fail while the vehicles parked up. It's ok me sitting here telling you this but there looking in the wrong place, they've chosen the obvious and hoped they come across the fault on route. If the garage had anything about them they would never have put the gearbox back after finding nothing wrong with the old one. The problem is either electrical, hydraulic or as said something out of sync, it's not mechanical. I know this dosnt help you as your stuck between a rock and an hard place but keep taking the box out blaming the clutch isn't going to fix it, the trouble is now when they do get to the bottom of it they'll blame the clutch and you'll get the bill.

 

[namwaldog]

Can you drive a foreign hire car to the UK.

When we had our MH written off in Puerta de Duquesa in Dec 2016, our insurers, Safeguard (via AA European) arranged hire cars for us...
Taxi for me to Marbella to collect hire car. We were given three days to get to Figueres, the company's nearest depot to the French border. Then a taxi over the border to Perpignan for a second hire car.
Three days hire to drive to Calais. We had to take that one to an Enterprise depot next to Calais Wine on the Michel Doret business park just out of the port. Enterprise UK kept a stock of UK reg hire cars.
We were given a VW transporter and two days, (48 hrs) to drive to the port, (incidentally, we were able to book the single trip on the ferry without a reg no, make or model entered but had to let Sea France know immediately we had the details) and then get from Dover to Penrith, Cumbria, where we had to return the VW to the Enterprise depot there.

All went without a hitch, AA European contacted us by phone every day and handled all the transactions.
The only slight niggle was that the French taxi driver, took another fare whilst we were inside the Hire depot in Perpignan and promptly dumped all our worldly possessions on the pavement.
Fortunately we had bought some Carrefours 'bag for life' reuseable shopping bags and were using them rather than the black bin bags.(We still use the Carrefours bags today)

We feel your pain, especially with having a dog to consider also.

Please bear in mind this was 6 yrs ago and things may have changed!

Good Luck

 

[denisejoe]

When we broke down about 7 years ago breakdown sent a transit with a spectacle lift on the back was an interesting journey being we are 4.5 ton and 3 axels but we got there the trouble with breakdown company they have no idea what you have to unload from van to take with you.

 

[Nanniemate]

When we broke down about 7 years ago breakdown sent a transit with a spectacle lift on the back was an interesting journey being we are 4.5 ton and 3 axels but we got there the trouble with breakdown company they have no idea what you have to unload from van to take with you.

Always warned mother to carry at least one large lightweight carry on with her she took me advice and the bags I had bought them one each after they broke down in Spain and had to go shopping for suitcases for the flight home. (Van on lowloader) the breakdown service took them to the local shopping mall as they overnighter at their depot. The brand new only used once suitcases lived in the attic until we disposed of the house . The 2 lightweight carry ons (with wheels) went everywhere with them after that. Mother vowed never to accumulate so many treasures when travelling. It took me 3 days to sort the van out before valletting for disposal. I'm looking around mine now everything I really need can go into a smallish backpack and 1 other laptop sized bag. I would wear everything else

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