2014 FIAT 500L Complaints

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

I FILED A COMPLAINT WITH FIAT BACK IN 2016 THAT WHILE IN MOTION MY VEHICLE LOSSES POWER AND WILL NOT ACCELERATE WHILE DRIVING. THE CRUISE CONTROL WILL RANDOMLY SHUT OFF AND AT TIMES AND YOU CAN'T TURN IT BACK ON. IT WILL ALSO ACCELERATE ON ITS ON WHEN THE CRUISE CONTROL IS NOT ON AND I AM NOT PUSHING ON THE ACCELERATOR. IF I CAN I HAVE TO FIND A SAFE PLACE TO STOP AND TURN THE CAR OFF TO RESTART IT SO IT WILL ACCELERATE. IT HAS BEEN TO FIAT SEVERAL TIMES AND THEY REFUSE TO FIX IT AND SAY THEY CAN'T DOING ANYTHING BECAUSE IT DOESN'T GIVE THEM A CODE ON THEIR COMPUTER. I HAVE SHOWN THEM VIDEO OF THE CAR DOING THIS. AND THEY SAID I SEE THAT BUT THEY DON'T HAVE A CODE SO THEY CAN'T FIX IT. MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON. I HAVE ALMOST BEEN HIT SEVERAL TIMES BY OTHER VEHICLES BECAUSE MINE JUST STOPS ON THE ROADS/HIGHWAYS. AND NOW 2 YEARS LATER IT IS THE SAME STORY AND THE CAR IS GETTING WORSE AND MORE FREQUENT ABOUT THIS ISSUE. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT THE TEMPERATURE IS OUTSIDE IT WILL DO IT AT ANYTIME BUT IT IS MORE FREQUENT WHEN IT GETS WARMER OUT.

MY CAR STARTED BEING SLOW TO CHANGE GEARS. TODAY, WHILE PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY I WANTED TO RUN AN ERRAND. I STARTED MY CAR BUT COULD NOT MOVE IT. IT IS STUCK IN PARK. I AM UNABLE TO SHIFT TO ANOTHER GEAR. IT IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. I AM DISABLED WITH A MOBILITY IMPAIRMENT, DIABETIC AND UNABLE TO GET TO HELP IF I NEED IT.

SITTING IDLE IN A LINE PUT THE CAR IN PARK WHILE IDLEING. LINE STARTED TO MOVE I TRIED TO SHIFT IT BACK INTO DRIVE AND STEPPED ON PEDAL TO MOVE FORWARD AND IT WOULDNT MOVE. IT WANTED TO BUT COULDNT THEN I SMELLED AND SAW ALITTLE SMOKE THAT SMELLED LIKE BURNING RUBBER. I IMMEDIATLLY LY SHUT THE CAR OFF. IT WAS TOWED AND NOW IS SITTING AT A FIAT DEALER.THREE WEEKS AGO WHILE ACCELERATING ONTO A HIGHWAY THE CAR HESITATED AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN TOOK OFF.

I LIVE IN A MAJOR CITY WHERE TRAFFIC IS ALWAYS STOP AND GO. WHEN I AM DRIVING DURING A TIME OF HEAVY STOP AND GO TRAFFIC SMOKE STARTS TO COME OUT FROM UNDER THE HOOD AND SOMETIMES THAT SMOKE COMES FROM TURN LEFT AND THEN TURN RIGHT THE AIR VENTS IN THE CAR AND THERE IS A DISTINCT TOXIC AND PERVASIVE BURNING SMELL BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CAR. THAT SMELL CONTINUES TO LINGER FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME. NO WARNING LIGHTS COME ON AT ALL. SEPARATELY WHEN THERE IS NO TRAFFIC AND I AM DRIVING AT A SET SPEED ON THE HIGHWAY OR A LONG STRETCH OF ROAD MY CAR WILL GO INTO LIMP MODE AND THE SPEED WILL NOT GO PAST 20 OR 30 MILES PER HOUR. THIS ONE'S HAPPENED ON A BRIDGE AND A FEW TIMES ON THE HIGHWAY.

EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE, THE POWER STEERING WON'T ENGAGE WHEN I TURN ON THE CAR. I CAN TURN THE WHEEL, BUT IT ONLY TURNS SLOWLY WITH A LOT OF PRESSURE APPLIED. I HAVE TO TURN OFF THE CAR AND THEN TURN IT BACK ON TO FIX IT. THIS HAS HAPPENED FOUR OR FIVE TIMES SINCE I'VE OWNED THE CAR (APPROXIMATELY 3 YEARS). IT HAS ALWAYS HAPPENED IN MY DRIVEWAY OR THE STREET IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE, WHERE I NORMALLY PARK.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 FIAT 500L. WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AND THE ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO STATELINE ALFA ROMEO FIAT (800 GOLD HILL RD #101 IN FORT MILL, SC) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 127,000. *TT *TR

MY FIAT 500L IS A 2014 MODEL THAT ONLY HAS 60,000 MILES ON THE CAR. WHEN I STARTED THE CAR, THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS VISIBLE AND NO APPARENT ISSUE WITH THE CAR. HOWEVER, AS I TRIED TO ENTER THE FREEWAY (HWY 45 IN HOUSTON, TX) THE CAR WOULD NOT GET ABOVE 40 MILES PER HOUR AND THEN THE CAR DIED OUT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. ONCE THE CAR DIED OUT, THEN THE TRANSMISSION LIGHT CAME ON. I HAVE CONTACTED FIAT MANY TIMES ABOUT THIS ISSUE, HOWEVER, THEY HAVE ONLY INFORMED ME THAT MY WARRANTY WAS OUT 10,000 MILES AGO. ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT ONLINE SOURCES, THIS IS AN ONGOING ISSUE WITH THE 2014 FIAT 500 MODELS.

A MISALIGNMENT OF THE LEFT FRONT CORNER PANEL AND THE SIDE PANEL, AS WELL AS A MISALIGNMENT OF THE LEFT REAR CORNER PANEL AND THE SIDE PANEL HAVE TAKEN PLACE (SEE PICTURES). THE DEALERSHIP STATES THAT IT IS BECAUSE OF AN "IMPACT." I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM IN THE "CLIPS" THAT HOLD THE PANELS TOGETHER. UNDER THE REAR BUMPER, THERE IS A CRACK IN THE PLASTIC BY THE MUFFLER (SEE PICTURE). THAT WAS PROBABLY CAUSED BY BACKING INTO A SNOWBANK. THERE ARE NO OTHER "SCRATCH" MARKS ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE REAR BUMPER, AND THERE ARE NO SCRATCH MARKS (CAUSED BY HITTING SOMETHING) UNDER THE FRONT BUMPER. THERE ARE NO ISSUES ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE CAR. I WILL ACCEPT THE FACT THAT I MAY HAVE BACKED INTO A SNOWBANK. HOWEVER, IF THAT CAUSED THE PANEL SEPARATION, THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE WAY THE PANELS ARE CONNECTED. WITH THE FRONT PANELS, I AM AMAZED THAT AN "IMPACT" THAT SHOWS NO VISIBLE MARKS WOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE THE PANELS TO SEPARATE/MISALIGN. I AM CONCERNED THAT IF THE "CLIPS" THAT CONNECT THE PANELS ARE THAT WEAK, THAT THIS COULD BE A SAFETY ISSUE IF THERE WAS ANY ACTUAL IMPACT. I INDICATED A DATE WHEN THIS HAPPENED, BUT I AM NOT SURE IF THAT WAS WHEN I FIRST NOTICED IT.

THE STEERING HANGS OR STICKS. IT STARTED A COUPLE YEARS AGO AND WAS REPORTED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS PURCHASED. I WAS TOLD IT DOES THAT. IT STARTED DOING THIS AROUND 50 TO 70 WHEN FIRST NOTICED AND NOW DOES IT AT ALL SPEEDS. WHEN IT FIRST STARTED IT WOULD COME AND GO AWAY SLIGHTLY BUT NEVER COMPLETELY. NOW IT IS ALL THE TIME AND ANY SPEED. AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS IT MAKES THE VEHICLE STEER SLIGHTLY FROM SIDE TO SIDE IN THE LANE SINCE YOU CAN'T MAKE SLIGHT STEERING CORRECTIONS. WHEN TRYING TO MAKE STEERING CORRECTIONS THE STEERING WILL STICK OR HANG AND THEN RELEASE ABRUPTLY CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO MOVE SLIGHTLY BACK AND FORTH IN THE LANE. AT TIMES IT IS BAD ENOUGH TO RESEMBLE A VERY DRUNK DRIVER OVER CORRECTING. IT IS BAD ENOUGH THAT WE DON'T FEEL SAFE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND IT ONLY HAS 30,000 MILES ON IT. IT'S A SHAME FIAT/CHRYSLER WON'T ACKNOWLEDGE THERE IS A PROBLEM. WE HAVE HAD A FEW CLOSE CALLS BUT NO ACCIDENT YET DUE TO THIS PROBLEM. ALSO THE PROBLEM WILL OCCUR ANYWHERE AT ANY SPEED EXCEPT TURNING. IT SEEMS TO HAPPEN MOSTLY WHEN GOING STRAIGHT. WHEN IN A TURN AS LONG AS THE STEERING WHEEL IS IN MOTION IT DOESN'T HANG BUT IF IT STOPS AND YOU START TO TURN FURTHER OR GO BACK IT WILL HANG AGAIN. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS BEFORE SOMEONE DOES GET HURT.