What 16 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Fiat 124 Spider

Both the drivers side and passenger side have to be hand pushed back up into their retreival mechanism after use, or they end up hanging down into the path of the closing doors. My car had less than 18,000 miles on it when I bought it, and it was already a problem. This is a known problem in the (2017 - 2020) Fiat 124 Spider world. Fiat should repair these free of charge. I have a 2006 Toyota Matrix that the seatbelts still work perfectly. It has 180,000 miles on it.

NHTSA ODI 11578929

The driver's side (left) seat belt does not properly retract when unbuckling and exiting the vehicle, making it difficult to use on a daily basis. I have not yet taken the car in for service, because apparently this issue is widespread for this model and the replacement parts are not available / are on backorder.

NHTSA ODI 11421682

The seat belt retractors, BOTH PASSANGE SIDE AND DRIVER Side are failing at an alarming rate according to FIAT Forums (and my personal experience). Mine was diagnosed by Ramsey FIAT (Authorized Dealer and Service Center) in Oct or Nov of 2020. I purchased car new, only owner. I was advised by technician that it would be unsafe to drive car in that condition and that both assemblies should be replaced. Dealer said it would be a couple weeks to get the part. However as of June 4th, 2021 dealer has only received assembly for one side. I was given a new ETA of late Aug. FIAT CARES had no confidence in that date being met, as over a dozen updates ETAs have been missed already. For most part car has not been driven due to this safety defect. I opened a case with FIAT CARES customer service late last year. The disinterest of Fiat as the 124 Spider was made on the Mazda Miata assembly line and the parts are interchangeable. The Mazda parts are readily available, but the Fiat dealers are refusing to purchase them to protect their customers. -- Car is avail for inspection upon request, however dealer was the one who identified the issue and the proposed solution. -- Seatbelt assembly, both sides put safety of driver and passenger at risk. -- Problem been reproduced and confirmed by FIAT dealer. -- Problem escalated to the manufacturer, via FIAT CARES Customer Service (2020).

NHTSA ODI 11419660