FIAT Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 FIAT 500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL NOISE AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V103000 (POWER TRAIN); HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 9,000.

COLD WEATHER PROBLEM. 29 DEGF OUTSIDE ON OCCURRENCE. SHIFTER WILL NOT MOVE FROM "PARK" POSITION. THIS HAS CLEARED UP BEFORE AFTER LETTING VEHICLE WARM UP. IT IS STILL IN THIS CONDITION PRESENTLY. I ROCKED VEHICLE FORWARD AND BACK, CHECKED FUSES, LET IT WARM UP TO 39 DEG F OUTSIDE WITH THE VEHICLE RUNNING FOR 20 MINUTES. STILL STUCK IN PARK. LAST WINTER THE SHIFT LEVER WOULD MOVE INTO POSITION, BUT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT ENGAGE UNTIL AFTER THE VEHICLE WARMED UP. THE FIAT DEALERSHIP DID A FIRMWARE FLASH UPDATE WHICH CLEARED THAT UP. NOW THIS. THIS IS A 2014 FIAT 500L I HAVE SEEN OTHER REPORTS OF THE SAME PROBLEM ON FIAT OWNER BLOGS INDICATING THIS IS A "COMMON" PROBLEM WHICH NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. ONE BLOG SUGGESTED IT MAY BE VOLTAGE RELATED. *TR

I HAVE MET THESE CARS ON THE ROAD NUMEROUS TIMES AND EACH TIME (AT NIGHT) THE HEADLIGHTS WERE SO BRIGHT I THOUGHT THEY WERE ON HIGHBEAMS. THIS IS ABOUT ANY YEAR MODEL THEY MADE THESE. I HAVE ASKED DRIVERS OF THESE CARS FOR THEIR LOWBEAMS, AND THEN GOT HIGHBEAMED. WHAT I THOUGHT WAS HIGHBEAM WAS ACTUALLY THEIR LOWBEAMS, SO WHEN THEIR HIGH BEAMS CAME ON I WAS TEMPORARILY BLINDED. I KNOW SOMEBODY WITH A FIAT 500 AND THEY CONCURRED THAT THEY GET FLASHED A LOT SINCE THEY BOUGHT THEIR CAR. IS THERE A RECALL THAT CAN BE MADE TO GET THE LIGHTS RE-AIMED? OR POWERED DOWN? *TR

DASH DISPLAYS TWO MPH - ONE GAUGE AND ONE DIGITAL. WHEN DRIVING AT 50MPH, BOTH DISPLAY 50MPH. WHEN DRIVING ANY SLOWER OR FASTER, THEY DO NOT MATCH. WHEN DRIVING THROUGH A SCHOOL ZONE, THE GAUGE SHOWS 20MPH WHILE THE DIGITAL SHOWS 23MPH. WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, DIGITAL WILL SHOW 65MPH AND GAUGE SHOWS 68-70. THE ONLY TIME THE TWO MATCH IS WHEN I DRIVE A STEADY 50MPH. GAUGE SHOWS SLOWER WHEN DRIVING BELOW 50MPH AND SHOWS FASTER WHEN DRIVING ABOUT 50MPH. *TR

AFTER A WEEK OF DRIVING THE CAR, I NOTICED THE TIME ON THE CLOCK WAS 10 MINUTES FAST. I RESET THE CLOCK AND THREE DAYS LATER, IT WAS 2 MINUTES FAST AGAIN. I REPEATEDLY ADJUSTED THE CLOCK EVERY WEEK FOR ABOUT 18 MONTHS. AFTER 8 MONTHS, I DECIDED TO LET IT CONTINUE TO RUN FAST TO SEE IF IT WOULD CONTINUE. ABOUT A MONTH AGO, IT GOT TO THE POINT THAT I HAD TO GO AHEAD AND RESET IT BECAUSE I NEVER REALLY KNEW WHAT TIME T WAS WITHOUT CHECKING MY PHONE. AT THAT POINT, THE CLOCK HAD NOT BEEN RESET FOR 6 MONTHS AND WAS 50 MINUTES FAST. VERY INCONVENIENT FOR THE DRIVER AND CAUSES A DISTRACTION JUST TO CHECK MY PHONE TO MAKE SURE I'M NOT LATE TO WORK OR AN APPOINTMENT. *TR

ANYTIME SPORT MODE IS ENGAGED, CAR DOES NOT DECREASE IN SPEED PROPERLY. EVEN WITH BRAKE APPLIED, THE CAR LUNGES FORWARD AS I'M TRYING TO SLOW DOWN. WHEN DRIVING USING SPORT MODE, I HAVE TO STAY VERY FAR AWAY FROM OTHER VEHICLES IN CASE OF SUDDEN BRAKING BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WILL NOT SLOW DOWN PROPERLY. MY HUSBAND DROVE MY CAR IN SPORT MODE NOT KNOWING THAT IT LUNGED FORWARD WHEN BRAKING AND WOUND UP AN INCH AWAY FROM SOMEONE'S BUMPER AFTER ATTEMPTING TO SLOW DOWN FROM A SPEED OF ABOUT 20MPH. THIS IS EXTREMELY UNSAFE FOR THE DRIVER AND OTHER'S AROUND. *TR

SINCE I PURCHASED MY 2012 FIAT 500 SPORT IN SEPTEMBER OF 2012 I HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE. OCCASIONALLY (ABOUT 4 TIMES A WEEK), THE CAR FAILS TO START. WHEN TURNING THE KEY IN THE IGNITION, THE CAR MAKES A NOISE AS IF IT IS GOING TO START BUT WINDS DOWN AND LOSES POWER. I TURN THE KEY BACK, WAIT ABOUT 5 SECONDS AND THE CAR WILL NORMALLY START. THIS HAPPENS ALL YEAR AROUND. I CONTACTED THE HOLT FIAT OF FORT WORTH WHERE THE CAR WAS PURCHASED AND TOOK IT IN TO BE LOOKED AT. THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE ISSUE. IT IS VERY RANDOM BUT HAPPENS VERY OFTEN. *TR

2014 FIAT 500L THE CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. WHERE THE KNEE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED WITH SUCH FORCE, THE CONSUMER RECEIVED BURNS, CUTS AND BRUISES TO HER KNEES. *MW

WHILE EXITING THE FREEWAY, I NOTICED THAT THE CLUTCH FELT DIFFERENT IN THAT THERE WAS SUDDENLY A LOT OF RESISTANCE NEAR THE FLOOR WHEN DEPRESSING THE CLUTCH PEDAL. CAR WOULD NOT GO INTO 1ST GEAR AT THE LIGHT. FINALLY STRUGGLED IT INTO 2ND AND WENT. THE CLUTCH DOES NOT FULLY DISENGAGE. AFTER SEARCHING ONLINE FORUMS, I FOUND THAT THIS IS A RECURRENT PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE, AND IT IS MOST LIKELY A PRESSURE PLATE FAILURE, SINCE THE CLUTCH DOES NOT SLIP ONCE IT'S IN GEAR, BUT THE CLUTCH ALSO DOES NOT FULLY DISENGAGE WITH THE PEDAL PRESSED ALL THE WAY DOWN, EVEN THOUGH PREVIOUSLY, THE CLUTCH DISENGAGED AT HALF PEDAL HEIGHT. I WAS ABLE TO BABY THE CAR HOME, AND PROCEEDED TO BLEED THE HYDRAULIC CYLINDERS AND OBSERVE CLUTCH PEDAL ACTION. WHEN THE CLUTCH PEDAL IS DEPRESSED, THE ACTUATOR MOVES ALL THE WAY ON THE TRANSMISSION, SO IT IS NOT A PEDAL FAILURE. IT IS MOST DEFINITELY THE PRESSURE PLATE, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY DEFECTIVE. *JS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 FIAT 500L. THE CONTACT STATED THAT NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V481000 (AIR BAGS) EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR REPAIR. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE DELAY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.