What 120 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Fiat 500 Abarth Cabrio

DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AT NORMAL SPEED OF TRAFFIC AND THE CAR LOOSES ACCELERATION. THE CAR GOES FROM 55 MPH DOWN TO 0 AND I HAVE TO PULL OVER AND STOP THE CAR AND THEN START AGAIN. THE GAS PEDAL IS DEAD IS HOW IT IS DESCRIBED BY THE TECH NO RESPONSE TO ME PUSHING IT DOWN. THIS IS A DANGER BECAUSE IT HAPPENS AT RANDOM AND IN THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE SINCE THE TRAFFIC DOES NOT STOP GOING AT NORMAL SPEED AND THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL CLOSE CALLS WHERE I FELT IN DANGER OF BEING REAR ENDED ... THIS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES RANDOMLY... THE DEALERSHIP SAYS THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS HAPPENING AND NOT OFFERING ANY INSIGHT INTO HOW TO FIX IT AT ALL. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10695356

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

NHTSA ODI 10694267

WE PURCHASED THE 500L FIAT IN DECEMBER OF 2014. ON FEBRUARY 14, 2015 WE BROUGHT THE VEHICLE IN BECAUSE ON A RETURN TRIP FROM TIJUANA MEXICO WHILE IN BORDER TRAFFIC THE ENGINE STARTED SMOKING. THE CAR LOOKED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO CATCH ON FIRE, IT SMELLED OF BURNT RUBBER. WE BROUGHT THE CAR IN AND THEY EXPLAINED THAT THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING A LOT AND THE MANUFACTURER IS AWARE BUT IS NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT. WE CONTACTED CHRYSLER USA AND OPENED A CASE, HOWEVER DURING THE CASE REVIEW THE CAR DID THE SAME THING AND WE RETURNED THE CAR TO THE SERVICE SHOP ON MARCH 10TH...WHICH AGAIN THEY SAID IT IS OUR FAULT THE CAR IS DOING THIS DUE TO DRIVER ERROR. I SHOULD EXPLAIN THAT WHAT THEY ARE CALLING DRIVER ERROR, IT IS AN AUTOMATIC VEHICLE AND CHRYSLER USA IS SAYING THAT FOR THIS VEHICLE (MIND YOU IT IS AN AUTOMATIC) IF YOU ARE IN TRAFFIC FOR A PERIOD OF 5 MINUTES OR LONGER YOU MUST SHIFT THE CAR ON EVERY OCCASION INTO NEUTRAL OR ELSE IT COULD BURN OUT THE TRANSMISSION. THEY GO ON TO SAY THAT IF THE CAR DOES SMOKE JUST PULL OVER AND AFTER THE TRANSMISSION COOLS DOWN IT IS SAFE TO DRIVE AGAIN. I ASKED CHRYSLER USA TO SHOW ME ON EXACTLY WHAT PAGE DOES IT SAY THAT IN THEIR MANUAL, FURTHERMORE THAT WHEN PURCHASING THIS CAR THE DEALER DID NOT DISCLOSE SPECIAL DRIVING INSTRUCTION FOR THEIR AUTOMATIC VEHICLE. IF THE DEALER DID DISCLOSE THAT INFORMATION BEFORE THE SALE WE WOULD HAVE NOT BOUGHT A CAR THAT COULD LEAVE US STRANDED IN MEXICO OR OTHER AREAS. AT THIS POINT AFTER CHRYSLER USA, HAS REFUSED TO SHOW US WHERE IT STATES THAT IN THE MANUAL IF IN TRAFFIC MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES THE CAR MUST BE SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL TO AVOID BURNING OUT THE TRANSMISSION, AND THEY ARE NOT INTENDING ON DOING ANYTHING BESIDES TELL US THAT "SORRY THE CAR IS PERFORMING AS DESIGNED". WE ARE TAKING EVERY MEANS NECESSARY TO GET A BUYBACK ON THIS VEHICLE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10693724

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

NHTSA ODI 10693082

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

NHTSA ODI 10693114

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

NHTSA ODI 10691739

IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC THE CAR STARTED JERKING AND WAS HESITANT TO MOVE FORWARD. SMOKE WAS EMITTED AND CAME INTO THE CAR WITH A STRONG ODOR. DEALER DIAGNOSED AS AN OVERHEATED CLUTCH (THIS IS THE EURO DDCT, AN AUTOMATED MANUAL TRANSMISSION). THE CLUTCH/TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE WARNING LIGHT DID NOT COME ON BEFORE OR DURING THE ISSUE. WHEN THE CAR COOLED DOWN, IT WAS ABLE TO BE DRIVEN AGAIN BUT WAS JERKY WHEN SHIFTING. DEALER DID A "RELEARN" ON THE CLUTCH AND ADVISED ALL SOFTWARE IS UP TO DATE. ALSO THAT TRANSMISSION SHOULD BE PLACED IN NEUTRAL AT STOPS AND SHIFTED MANUALLY IN STOP AND GO DRIVING (NEITHER OF WHICH ARE SPECIFIED IN OWNER'S MANUAL). *TR

NHTSA ODI 10682733

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.

NHTSA ODI 10669191

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

NHTSA ODI 10668520

INTERMITTENT NO CRANK NO START, WHEN TURNING THE KEY TI TO START THE CAR THE ENGINE DOES NOT ENGAGE ON THE FIRST TRY. YOU CAN HEAR THE CLICKING OF THE STARTER AND ALL ELECTRONICS POWER UP BUT ENGINE DOES NOT ENGAGE AND START, SIMILAR TO NOT HAVING ENOUGH COMPRESSION IN THE ENGINE. AS TIME PASSES THE MORE FREQUENT THE ISSUE BECOMES. 5/23/14 1ST VISIT TO SERVICE DEPARTMENT, UPDATED POWERTRAIN MODULE. RETURNED CAR TO SERVICE DEPARTMENT ON 5/29/14 FOR SAME NO START ISSUE, SOFTWARE UPDATE AND REPROGRAMMED INSTRUMENT CLUSTER MODULE SOFTWARE. 6/9/14 CAR DID NOT STAT, RETURN TO SERVICE DEPARTMENT 6/13/14, INTERNAL CIRCUIT/SOFTWARE FAILURE REPLACED AND PROGRAMMED NEW POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE. 7/3/14 WENT TO PICK UP CAR FROM SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND CAR DID NOT START. BACK IN SHOP AND WAS TOLD NEEDED AN UPDATE THAT HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED TO PICK UP CAR AND DEAL WITH NO STARTING ISSUES UNTIL UPDATE IS READY. LEFT THE CAR AT DEALERSHIP SAYING NOT ACCEPTABLE TO PICK UP IF NOT FIXED. STILL WORKING ON TRYING TO GET IT FIXED. *JS

NHTSA ODI 10608610

DOES NOT SHIFT INTO GEAR. VEHICLE CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP WHILE DRIVING, VERY DANGEROUS BEING ON THE EXPRESSWAY WITH FAMILY. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHIFT AGAIN. REPEATED PROBLEMS OCCUR SPORADIC THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10567844

ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, ENGINE IDLING ROUGH ,TRANSMISSION SHIFTER LIGHT BLINKING, TRNASMISSION GEAR LAGS ON SHIFT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10567494

WHILE IN MOTION, VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF 2ND GEAR -- UP OR DOWN. I ALSO TRIED SHIFTING MANUALLY WITHOUT SUCCESS. I STOPPED VEHICLE ON SIDE OF ROAD. WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO RESTART VEHICLE, IT WOULD NOT START -- NO ENGINE CRANKING. AFTER 10 MINUTES, SOMETHING WAS FELT DISENGAGING AND VEHICLE STARTED AND WAS DRIVEN WITHOUT INCIDENT TO DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR. ANOTHER 500L LOANER CAR WAS PROVIDED AND THE NEXT DAY, THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED TO IT. IT WOULD NOT SHIFT OUT OF 2ND GEAR. CAR AND DRIVER ALSO RELEASED THEIR REVIEW IN FEBRUARY WITH SIMILAR ISSUES AND MANY OTHERS HAVE REPORTED THE PROBLEM ONLINE. THE MANUFACTURER HAS STATED THAT IT IS A KNOWN SOFTWARE ISSUE THAT CANNOT BE RELEASED WITHOUT EPA APPROVAL. THIS VEHICLE IS NOT ONLY UNRELIABLE, BUT UNSAFE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10563416

CAR DOES NOT SHIFT FROM PARK TO DRIVE. INSTRUMENT PANEL RELAYS MANY WARNINGS (GEAR NOT AVAILABLE, TRANSMISSION WARNING, SEEK SERVICE) AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON. THIS IS OCCURRING DAILY NOW AND FIAT DOES NOT HAVE A FIX. CODES CAN BE CLEARED BY THE DEALERSHIP AND THE TRANSMISSION MODULE IS WHERE THE WARNINGS ARE STORED. I HAVE BEEN TOLD IT IS SAFE TO DRIVE. I HAVE BEEN TOLD TO LET THE CAR WARM UP FOR 2 MINUTES BEFORE PUTTING IT INTO DRIVE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10561386

WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THIS ISSUE SINCE BEFORE CHRISTMAS WITH OUR NEW FIAT 500. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IT FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STAYING ON, AND ONCE IN A WHILE THE SHIFTER PANEL LIGHTS FLASHING FOR ABOUT 30 SECONDS BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IT WHILE WE WAITED FOR PARTS. IT TOOK TWO WEEKS FOR THE DEALERSHIP TO GET A NEW CONTROL MODULE IN, FIRST THEY GOT A MODULE THAT DIDN'T WORK, THEN THEY GOT ONE THAT DID WORK AND WE THOUGHT IT WAS FIXED. LAST NIGHT MY WIFE IS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK ON THE EXPRESSWAY AND SUDDENLY THE "NO GEAR FOUND" ERROR POPS UP ON THE THE DASHBOARD DISPLAY, THE TRANSMISSION DISENGAGED INTO NEUTRAL. NO ACCELERATION WHATSOEVER. THE ENGINE IS STILL RUNNING, THE BRAKES WORK, THE LIGHTS ARE ON, BUT NO GEARS. SHE WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SHOULDER, CALLED A TOW TRUCK AND GOT IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP. WE ARE WAITING ON PARTS AGAIN. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10561396