Italian Car’s Semi-Automatic Nemesis? Is Dualogic Oil Change Effective? (Fiat Panda TwinAir 0.9)

I’ll translate the provided HTML content from Japanese to English, maintaining the original HTML structure.

Title: Italian Car’s Semi-Automatic Nemesis? Is Dualogic Oil Change Effective? (Fiat Panda TwinAir 0.9)

The Fiat Panda that has been consulted about previously seems to have poor performance in winter.

It’s equipped with the same small displacement turbo 2-cylinder engine called TwinAir as in the Fiat Cinquecento (500). A 2-cylinder engine in an era when even kei cars have at least 3 cylinders. However, the gentle pulsation of the engine has a certain nostalgia that adds great charm to this small Italian car.

When cold, the engine experiences unstable idling after starting and poor driving performance continues for a while, making it feel like an old poorly-tuned carburetor car, according to the owner.

When the car arrived at our shop, it was already warmed up, so we couldn’t detect any of these issues. The owner’s concern is that the fuel smell from incomplete combustion until the engine warms up might bother the neighbors, and they would be happy if we could resolve this.

2013 model, ABA-31909, 0.9 TwinAir, Dualogic semi-automatic transmission, mileage: 53,000km

We recommended changing the engine oil, which was well past its replacement date, to my recommended MOTUL 8100 X-cess 5W40, and asked the owner to return later to discuss repair plans.

The engine oil change was long overdue, which was unexpected given the well-maintained engine compartment. The owner explained that consulting with official dealers always left them disappointed, while general repair shops wouldn’t even do an oil change because it was a foreign car, leading to the current situation.

Later, the owner contacted us:

“It runs even with light pedal pressure. The originally noisy engine sound has become quieter. I’m impressed by the unexpected difference. However, today when I started the Panda’s engine, a warning light for transmission malfunction appeared. When I checked with my previous dealer, they said either the Dualogic hydraulic control unit or the transmission case, or both, needed to be replaced. I expected this, but as usual, they’re talking about expensive repairs, which is troubling. I was so happy after the oil change… I’m sorry.”

This message informed us that the transmission had begun malfunctioning.

With one issue after another, it feels almost like receiving relationship advice, but we need to address the transmission problem first, which has a higher possibility of causing complete vehicle breakdown, rather than the cold engine issues initially consulted about.

The Panda’s unique mechanical system where hydraulic robots perform manual transmission operations is manufactured by the Italian electrical component maker Magneti Marelli. It’s called Selespeed when installed in Alfa Romeo and Dualogic in Fiat.

I think it’s a major problem that a vehicle with only 50,000 km is experiencing core mechanical issues, but there’s plenty of malfunction information online. If the problem extends to the transmission case, repair costs can be extremely high. I notice a strange trend where such issues are called “initiation” or “nemesis” and owner effort is considered natural for dealing with Italian cars, with little questioning of the product quality itself.

Looking through various sources, I found cases where replacing dirty Dualogic oil improved performance. Engine combustion systems get dirty and deteriorate quickly, requiring frequent oil changes, but hydraulic systems like Dualogic typically don’t need frequent oil changes.

So the fact that it’s dirty is unusual in itself. If the dirt is metal powder, it suggests wear on working parts, and if it’s dissolved rubber from gaskets, that’s also problematic.

However, there’s a faint hope that changing the oil might somewhat improve the intermittent issues, rather than continuing to use dirty Dualogic oil.

Normally, complete replacement of the hydraulic system would be necessary to resolve the malfunction, but we decided to try changing the Dualogic oil based on this slight hope, after discussing with the owner.

We removed the heat shield and two sub-tank fixing bolts, sliding them downward to drain the oil.

The disconnected joint is higher than the bottom of the sub-tank, so natural drainage only empties the oil to the height of the joint.

Therefore, we gently pushed air into the sub-tank’s inlet to completely empty the oil from inside the tank.

Also, Dualogic oil is not designed for regular changes. The workspace is somewhat cramped, but compared to the recent difficult thermostat replacement on a Lapin, this was relatively easy.

Looking closely at the pitch-black Dualogic oil, it has a glittery appearance, suggesting it contains a lot of metal powder.

Here’s how it compares with new oil. We drained about 600ml from the sub-tank.

↓This is the genuine Dualogic oil we used. Note that although it’s also 75W, it’s different from what goes inside the transmission, so be careful.
TUTELA (Tutela) CS SPEED 75W 1L 59059128

We filled the sub-tank with the same amount of new oil. The sub-tank’s inner wall is dirty with sludge making it hard to see, but the transparency improved.

And here’s right after driving the car a bit. It gets quite cloudy after mixing with the dirty oil that remained in the system. Note that the oil level is lower because the hydraulic pump is operating and oil is circulating to the accumulator (pressure tank).

Based on information that the oil in the sub-tank should be changed at least 3 times until it becomes reasonably clean, we plan to follow this procedure, but we’ve found that it takes about 4 hours for the oil to fully return to the sub-tank when left naturally.

However, we can’t occupy the shop’s lift for such a long time.

Looking for a better method, I found that the Multiecuscan PC-based external diagnostic tool has an adjustment menu that can depressurize the accumulator, so we decided to try it.

The interface is from the reliable iDiagnostics. It has internal countermeasures in the ELM cable that prevent CAN connection failures.

We found that executing the menu below 3 times achieves the same sub-tank oil level as waiting 4 hours.

And here’s the second oil drain. The oil is clearly more fluid than the first time.

We then performed a third change. From left to right: first, second, third changes, and new oil.

Here it is with light shining from behind.

After the third change, the oil in the sub-tank was somewhere between the third change and new oil in terms of cleanliness. There are some sediments and sludge-like substances attached, but it’s much cleaner overall.

Multiecuscan has various calibration functions. These are typically performed after replacing parts, but hoping to improve performance, we executed several relevant items in sequence and completed the work.

After explaining the process and as the owner was leaving, we received this happy email:

“I arrived home safely. At every traffic light stop, I prayed I wouldn’t have to push the car in the middle of the intersection, waiting for green signals while gently talking to the transmission, and when I put it in ‘the last reverse gear before home’ where trouble usually occurs, the ‘R’ light came on with a pleasant ‘click’ sound.

I thought, ‘Why am I getting excited about this!’ but I was so happy that I switched between low and reverse gears several times before turning off the engine. Thank you very much. I look forward to your continued support.”

The owner had lived without a car for about 5 years, unable to find one they wanted to drive. Then one day they were instantly captivated by the TwinAir, and due to family composition, chose the 5-seater Panda instead of the 4-seater Cinquecento.

We hope that this economically and emotionally gentle time continues as long as possible.