My car suddenly lost acceleration while driving around 60 mph, I could only get speed in 1st and second gear and not past 30 mph ( 5 sped maneul transmission ). Once I got home and it sat for about an hour it was fine. I have noticed also a little of slight jerks when driving before this happened while driving to work the same morning. The problem was when I drove home that afternoon around 10 miles or so later. The weather is very hot but i was not having an issue with the car overheating and the engine light did not come on either so I had no idea it was coming. Any ideas? Thank in advance
How many miles are on your Fiat? Was the engine revving when the car wasn’t going over 30? If so, I’m inclined to suspect the clutch is failing.
It has about 90,000 miles on it. The car was still moving but as I was pressing the gas it did rev up yes. I was in 5th gear just driving along. I slowed enough to put in 2nd gear to keep moving enough to get home. I also checked under the gear boot because it is missing the gator ring and could see white lube, should It be there?
I presume the “gator ring” goes at the top of the boot where it meets the shift lever. I haven’t owned a car with a manual transmission in years but I’m not sure what the white lube might be for. You shouldn’t be able to see actual gear oil, that’s in the transmission. Could it be silicone sealant? If so, a previous owner might have done some kind of DIY job. Just guessing at this point.
Correct, it looks more like silicone. I just did not think it should be present. The only work that has been done in that area was for a recall years ago. A spacer or travel extender I think it was called… was put in.
So you think I’m looking at the clutch going bad?
Yes, probably a bad clutch. A good independent transmission shop with actual access to the car can tell you for sure. The silicone could be original or it might have something to do with when the “extender” was installed. Your guess is as good as mine at this point.
Ok well thank you for responding.
Did you ever find out what the issue was? Our car is doing this and we’d like to know where to start looking.