FIAT Complaints

I CONSTANTLY GET A "DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG FAILURE, SEE HANDBOOK" NOTIFICATION ON MY DASHBOARD. THERE'S NO RHYME OR REASON. NO SET SPEED WHEN IT HAPPENS. IT HAPPENS TYPICALLY IF YOU GO OVER BUMPS, LIKE THERE'S A SHORT IN IT. BUT NO ONE CAN FIX IT. *TR

WHILE SITTING AT A DRIVE THROUGH, THE CAR STARTED TO SMOKE PROFUSELY AND SHUT OFF. IT WAS A HORRIBLE SMELL. TECHNICIAN SAID DUE TO THE STOP AND GO SITUATION AT THE DRIVE THRU, THE CLUTCH ENGAGE/DISENGAGE ACTION, THE CLUTCHES OVERHEATED AND THE TRANSMISSION SAFETY SWITCH SHUT THE ENGINE OFF. I HAD JUST PULLED INTO THE DRIVE THRU AND STOPPED. I DID NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO "GO" BEFORE THE CAR SHUT OFF. I LIVE APPROXIMATELY 1 MILE FROM THE RESTAURANT. *TR

I AM WRITING OUT OF SERIOUS CONCERN OVER THE OVERHEATING CLUTCH ON THE FIAT 2014 500L TREKKING MODEL. I HAD ABSOLUTELY LOVED MY FIAT, UNTIL IT OVERHEATED AFTER SITTING IN A CAR WASH LINE FOR ALL OF MAYBE TEN MINUTES AT THE MOST. SCARED AND EMBARRASSED THAT MY CAR WAS ON FIRE, I HAD TO BE PUSHED OUT OF LINE AND ASSISTED BY THE CAR WASH MANAGER, WHO POPPED THE HOOD AND TOLD ME TO CALL FOR A TOW.I THEN CALLED THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPT AND WAS TOLD THAT UNLESS THE ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON OR TRANSMISSION LIGHT, THAT THE OVERHEATING WAS A COMMON CONSEQUENCE OF STOP AND GO TRAFFIC WITH A DUEL TRANSMISSION. I THEN WENT ONLINE AND SAW ALL THE VARIOUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE FROM OTHER 500 L OWNERS MUCH TO MY DISAPPOINTMENT AND DISMAY. I LIVE IN WASHINGTON DC, THE CAPITOL CITY WITH THE NORM BEING STOP AND GO TRAFFIC, THE WORST IN THE NATION. I TOLD THE SERVICE REP THAT I HAD SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING ON A PRIOR OCCASION BUT NEVER EXPERIENCED FULL ON SMOKE AND THE VEHICLE STALLING OUT BECAUSE IT WAS OVERHEATED WITH ABSOLUTELY NO WARNING FROM MY FIAT, NO SERVICE LIGHT OR ANYTHING INDICATING THE CLUTCH WAS OVERHEATING. DO I NEED TO TELL YOU ALL HOW DANGEROUS THE OVERHEATING ISSUE CAN BE IN TRAFFIC WITH NO WARNING, STALLING OUT, WON?T START AGAIN UNTIL IT COOLS DOWN? THIS IS A SERIOUS DEFECT. I AM BROKENHEARTED AND EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED WITH BEING TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP THAT FIAT USA WILL NOT REPAIR/FIX THIS ISSUE AND, TO TELL OWNERS IT IS A CONSEQUENCE OF A NEW ENGINE, ALTHOUGH I AM CLOSE TO 10K MILES. THAT IS ABSURD, PLEASE HELP ME AND OTHER FIAT 500 L OWNERS RECTIFY THIS MATTER AND PREVENT OTHER CONSUMERS FROM HAVING THIS HEADACHE IN THE FUTURE. *TR

PURCHASED 2012 YEAR FIAT 500C ON 10/31/2011. AS OF MARCH 3, 2014 PUT 22819 MILES ON CAR. THIS IS A 5 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION MODEL. ON MARCH THIRD THE CLUTCH GAVE OUT. WAS TOLD BY FIAT THIS WASN'T AN WARRANTY ITEM, ALTHOUGH THE WINDOW STICKER SAYS 4 YEAR / 50,000 MILE WARRANTY. THEY ALSO SAY FREE ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE FOR 4 YEARS / UNLIMITED MILES BUT SINCE I REFUSED TO ALLOW THEM TO TAKE THIS CAR 18 MILES TO A FIAT DEALER AND ONLY 1.4 MILES TO MY LOCAL MECHANIC I HAD TO PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR TOWING. I PAID OUT OF POCKET APROX $2,000 INCLUDING, CAR RENTAL, TOWING AND A $1,772.45 REPAIR BILL. PER THE MECHANIC THE CLUTCH DISC ITSELF WAS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION, BUT THE CLUTCH PRESSURE PLATE WAS AT FAULT. FROM MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF RESTORING A FEW OLD CARS AND MOTORCYCLES OVER THE YEARS, THIS IS PRETTY UNHEARD OF A CLUTCH PRESSURE PLATE FAILING BEFORE THE ACTUAL CLUTCH DISC. MY TAKE THERE IS SOME DEFECT WITH THIS CLUTCH PRESSURE PLATE OR THE OVERALL DESIGN OF THE MANUAL CLUTCH. AS OF THIS DATE, I HAVEN'T NEEDED TO REPLACE THE BRAKE PADS ON THIS CAR SO HOW IN THE WORLD SHOULD IT NEED A NEW CLUTCH? THIS IS CRAZY. *TR

IN MAY 2014 MY 2014 FIAT 500L WAS BROUGHT TO ZIEGLER DEALERSHIP FOR A SAFETY RECALL CONCERNING THE AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE GEAR SHIFT MODULE AND THEY FLASHED THE ESM (RECALL ON NHTSA WEBSITE). IN JANUARY 2015 WE NOTICED A BURNING SMELL UNDER THE ENGINE. IF WE PUT CAR INTO REVERSE AND GAS PEDAL PUSHED, CAR HESITATED 1-2 SECONDS BEFORE THE CAR WOULD START MOVING. CAR LURCHED FORWARD SEVERAL TIMES ON ROAD AT A DEAD STOP. ROUGH SHIFTING ON ROADS. CHECK TRANSMISSION AND ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED IN EARLY FEB 2015 AND WE BROUGHT IT BACK TO ZIEGLER. THEY DETERMINED IT NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE. ONLY 4 MODULES IN THE ENTIRE US, AND ALL WERE SPOKEN FOR (4 OTHER FIATS IN FOR THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM). ZIEGLER CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER TO GET AN "UPGRADED" TRANSMISSION MODULE, NOT THE ONE ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR THE CAR. AFTER BEING TOLD IT WOULD BE 1 1/2 MONTHS TO GET THE UNIT, IT SHOWED UP MID FEBRUARY. I CONFIRMED THAT WE GOT THIS "UPGRADED" UNIT AND DEALER SAID YES. TOOK POSSESSION OF MY CAR ON 2/13/15. THIS PAST WEEK, WE AGAIN HAD A BURNING SMELL IN THE ENGINE, ENCOUNTERED CAR LURCHING WHILE CAR WAS IN DRIVE AND FOOT SECURELY ON THE BRAKE. SLOW ENGINE REACTION WHEN HITTING GAS WHEN PUTTING CAR INTO REVERSE, ROUGH SHIFTING. WAS PLANNING ON CALLING DEALER ON MONDAY 3/2, HOWEVER ON SATURDAY 2/28/15 THE CAR WAS INVOLVED IN A DRIVER SIDE T-BONE CRASH AS THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE WHEN GAS PEDAL WAS PUSHED. CAR TOTALLED BY INSURANCE COMPANY. MY DAUGHTER COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED BECAUSE THE CAR DID NOT MOVE WHEN GAS PEDAL WAS PRESSED. FIAT IS NOW FIRESELLING THESE 2014 MODELS AND ARE NOT OFFERING THIS "DUAL CLUTCH" TRANSMISSION IN 2015 MODELS. THEY KNOW ABOUT THESE TRANSMISSION ISSUES BUT THEIR "FIX" IS STILL PUTTING LIVES IN JEOPARDY. IF YOU OWN THIS CAR, GET RID OF IT ASAP! *TR

VEHICLE SUDDENLY STOPPED, NO MORE POWER, ERROR MESSAGE PROPULSION SYSTEM SERVICE. HAPPENED AT A DANGEROUS INTERSECTION, MIDDLE OF TURNING LEFT, WHICH DANGER OF OTHER CARS RUNNING INTO ME. COULD AVOID AN ACCIDENT, PULLED TO SIDE. TURNED CAR OFF, 5 MINUTES LATER ERROR WAS GONE AND CAR DROVE NORMALLY. WITHOUT ERROR MESSAGE. EXACTLY AS DESCRIBED FOR PREVIOUS RECALLS NAMED P23. IT APPEARS THAT THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN SOLVED. CAR IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. *TR

CONTIPROCONTACT TIRES ON A FIAT 500. SO FAR MY WIFE HAS SUFFERED TWO CATASTROPHIC BLOWOUTS ON INTERSTATE 285 IN ATLANTA OF THE SIDE-WALL IN UNDER 6000 MILES. HAD TO REPLACE/BUY BOTH TIRES. FORTUNATELY SHE WAS DRIVING SLOW ENOUGH TO KEEP THE CAR UNDER CONTROL. BUT NOW I FEAR FOR HER LIFE EVERY DAY SHE DRIVES BACK AND FORTH TO WORK. *TR

RECEIVED 2ND RECALL NOTICE TODAY FOR POWER INVERTER MODULE. FIRST RECALL NOTICE WAS IN MAY 2014. CALLED DEALERSHIP TO GET PART REPLACED ON JULY 7/21/14 AS INSTRUCTED AND WAS TOLD I WAS ON A WAITING LIST. PART IS STILL NOT REPLACED ON 2/17/14. NO COMMUNICATION HAS BEEN MADE FROM FIAT SINCE 7/21/14. *TR

LAST NIGHT, WHILE PULLING ONTO THE HIGHWAY, MY CLUTCH LOCKED UP. MY CLUTCH HAS NEVER SHOWN ANY SIGN OF WEAR/TEAR (NO GRINDING, NO SLIPPING, NO BURNING, ETC.) AND OUT OF NOWHERE, IT CLAMPED SHUT. THANKFULLY, THERE WAS NOT MUCH TRAFFIC AND I PULLED OVER WITHOUT THE HAZARD OF HITTING/BEING HIT BY ANOTHER CAR. I GOT THE CAR TOWED TO FIAT OF ORANGE PARK, AND HAD TO WAIT UNTIL THEY OPENED TODAY TO GET A CALL FROM THEM. I WAS SO CONFUSED BY WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED MY CLUTCH TO DO THAT, LAST NIGHT I SEARCHED ONLINE AND FOUND FIAT-OWNER FORUMS OF OTHER PEOPLE DESCRIBING THE EXACT SAME INCIDENT HAPPENING TO THEM (ONE GUY WAS IN ATLANTA TRAFFIC AND ALMOST CRASHED, ANOTHER GUY WAS IN NYC ABOUT TO CROSS THE MANHATTAN BRIDGE AND ALMOST GOT INTO A WRECK). THEY ALL HAD, LIKE MYSELF, FIAT'S WITH LOW MILEAGE. SOME HAD 22K MILES, SOME 28KMILES, SOME 50K, SOME 60K; HENCE ADDING TO THE BIZARRE NATURE OF THIS INCIDENT. ALL INCIDENTS RESULTED IN BENT PRESSURE PLATES AS WELL AS MISCELLANEOUS DAMAGE TO CLUTCH PARTS. FIAT OF ORANGE PARK CALLED ME TODAY AND TOLD ME THAT THE DAMAGE IS MY FAULT, AS A RESULT OF WEAR/TEAR. DESPITE ME EXPLAINING TO THEM THAT THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE WITH OTHER FIAT-OWNERS, THEY CONTINUED TO SAY THAT I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DAMAGE. DESPITE ALL OF THE EVIDENCE POINTING TOWARDS A MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION, THEY SAID I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAIRING THE CLUTCH. THIS SEEMS TO BE A MANUFACTURER DEFECT AND I WOULD LIKE TO REPORT THIS IN HOPE THAT THERE MIGHT BE ACTION TAKEN BY YOU, NHTSA, TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF THIS DEFECT FROM 1) POTENTIAL HAZARD AS A RESULT OF FUTURE INCIDENTS 2) PAYING THE LARGE AMOUNT FOR REPAIRING THE DAMAGE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. *TR

DRIVING AT CITY SPEEDS ~20MPH AT ONLY 12K MILES, CLUTCH PEDAL SUDDENLY BECAME STIFF, AND WAS UNABLE TO SHIFT GEARS. HAD TO HAVE CAR TOWED TO DEALERSHIP WHERE I WAS INFORMED BY THE DEALERSHIP THAT THE CLUTCH HAD FUSED TO THE FLYWHEEL (I DO NOT TRUST THAT THIS WAS AN ACCURATE, COMPLETE DIAGNOSIS). ABOUT 2 YEARS LATER (END OF 07/2014) AND ONLY AROUND 35K MILES, WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE 2 HOURS AWAY FROM HOME ( AT ~65MPH), AND WHEN I EXITED TO GET GAS, THE PEDAL ONCE MORE BECAME INSTANTLY STIFF OUT OF NOWHERE AND WAS NEARLY UNABLE TO GET THE CAR OFF THE ROAD. HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED FROM DEALER TO DEALER UNTIL IT WAS IN MY HOME CITY. THE DEALER THEN AGAIN TOLD ME THAT THE CLUTCH AND FLYWHEEL HAD GONE OUT. *TR