Power Train. Review the 200 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Electrical System. Review the 63 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Engine. Review the 51 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

21 crash reports4 fire reports16 injury reports

What owners actually said

395 reports

40,000 miles · Jun 30, 2017

Air Bags

PASSSENGER AIR BAGS CONSTANTLY WARNING ERROR AND DISABLING.

NHTSA ODI #11002480

42,000 miles · Jun 19, 2017

EngineService BrakesVehicle Speed Control

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HI, I HAVE HAD SEVERAL ISSUES WITH MY CAR WHICH HAVE HAD SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO FIX. SAFETY CONCERNS REGARDING THE CRUISE CONTROL LOCKING UP ON MY VEHICLE, CONVERTIBLE TOP STILL NOT ADJUSTING AND BLOCKING LINE OF SIGHT IN THE BACK SO YOU CANNOT SEE WHAT IS BEHIND YOU WHILE DRIVING, AND START UP ISSUES WITH CAR NOT ALWAYS STARTING UP CORRECTLY, HAVING MISFIRES. THE CAR HAS ONLY BEEN WORKED ON THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE AT THE FIAT OF VAN NUYS, CA. THE CAR HAS BEEN WORKED ON SEVERAL TIMES SINCE I FIRST PURCHASED IT BACK IN JAN OF 2013. I AM SEEKING OUT ANY HELP NECESSARY AS I HAVE HAD THESE SAFETY CONCERNS SINCE I FIRST GOT THE CAR TO NOW AND I AM FEEL VERY UNSAFE WITH THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE AS WELL AS MY OWN SAFETY AS WELL AS OTHERS. THANK YOU, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'*JB

NHTSA ODI #10995903

Mileage unknown · Jun 8, 2017

Power Train

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FIAT 500. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V302000 (POWER TRAIN). THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE LOCAL DEALER (SUNSET FIAT OF SARASOTA 7641 TAMIAMI TRAIL, SARASOTA FL 34231) CONFIRMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE RECALL REMEDY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE VIN WAS INVALID. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA ODI #10993998

36,298 miles · May 17, 2017

Power Train

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MY 2012 FIAT 500 WITH 36,298 MILES ON OD HAD CLUTCH FAILURE. I RECEIVED S34 RECALL FROM FIAT AND HAD RECALL WORK COMPLETE. I WAS TOLD THAT THE RECALLED PART COULD CAUSE WEAR ON CLUTCH PLATE AND THAT THE RECALL WAS CORRECTING THE ISSUE. THREE WEEKS LATER, I WAS AT A STOP LIGHT AND THE CLUTCH FELT FUNNY AND TRANSMISSION WAS STUCK IN FIRST GEAR. CAR WAS TOWED TO DEALER AND DIAGNOSTIC STATES THAT BEARING-CLUTCH RELEASE AND DISC & PRESSURE PLATE NEED REPLACEMENT. I WAS TOLD THAT THE RECALL HAD NO BEARING ON THE CLUTCH FAILURE..."IT'S NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR LIKE BRAKE PADS AND TIRES." I HAVE SPOKEN WITH MY SERVICE REP AND FIAT CUSTOMER SERVICE. I HAVE REPEATEDLY BEEN TOLD THE FAILURE IS A "WEAR AND TEAR ISSUE". I HAVE REPEATEDLY STATED THAT I UNDERSTAND THIS, BUT THE RECALLED PART WAS SAID BY BOTH THE SERVICE PROVIDER AND FIAT, TO CAUSE WEAR ON COMPONENT (WEAR AND TEAR) PARTS OF THE CLUTCH. I MAINTAIN THAT THE FAULTY PART HAS ACCELERATED WEAR AND TEAR ON THE CLUTCH ASSEMBLY AND THAT THE REPLACEMENT OF THE CLUTCH SHOULD BE COVERED BY FIAT. FIAT CUSTOMER SERVICE STATES THEY ARE INVESTIGATING MY CLAIM BUT I HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM THEM. AT THIS TIME, I AM HAVING TO PAY FOR THE $1200 REPAIR WHICH SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY ACCELERATED WEAR AND TEAR DUE TO A DEFECTIVE, RECALLED PART. PLEASE ADVISE.

NHTSA ODI #10986232

5,200 miles · May 12, 2017

Unknown Or OtherCrashInjury

"MANUAL TRANSAXLE CLUTCH PEDAL" THERE IS AN ONGOING RECALL THAT SINCE MAY 2016 HOWEVER PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE DEALER FINALLY INFORMED US PART WAS AVAILABLE AND SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT FOR 5/9/2017 AT 9AM. CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN TO APPOINTMENT WHEN CLUTCH FAILED TO DISENGAGE RESULTING IN CAR REARENDING CAR INFRONT OF IT AT SPEEDS…

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NHTSA ODI #10985468

60,100 miles · May 9, 2017

Power Train

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FIAT 500. WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH, THE CLUTCH PEDAL FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE CLUTCH COVER DIAPHRAGM WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DEALER REFUSED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE DUE TO FATIGUE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V302000 (POWER TRAIN). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE AND STATED THAT SHE WOULD BE CONTACTED WHEN THE PART BECAME AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,100.

NHTSA ODI #10984520

Mileage unknown · Apr 22, 2017

Power Train

CLUTCH WEAR SEEMS TO BE EXCESSIVE FOR MILEAGE (25K) ON VEHICLE. CLUTCH IS SLIPPING AND PRESSURE PLATE, FORK, BEARING AND RELATED COMPONENTS ARE FAILING. ENGAGEMENT POINT VERY HIGH UP IN PEDAL TRAVEL. SOMETIMES SHIFTER GETS STUCK IN GEAR AND VERY DIFFICULT TO SHIFT GEARS.

NHTSA ODI #10979905

37,500 miles · Apr 5, 2017

Power Train

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FIAT 500. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO SHIFT GEARS. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V302000 (POWER TRAIN); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF TH…

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NHTSA ODI #10970723

25,583 miles · Mar 26, 2017

Power Train

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WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC ON A CITY STREET AT 6:10 AM AND UPSHIFTING AT ABOUT 40 MPH THE CLUTCH DIAPHRAGM SPRING FRACTURED AND THE CLUTCH NO LONGER OPERATED, AND THE GEAR COULD NOT BE CHANGED WHILE ENGINE WAS RUNNING. MANAGED TO BRING CAR TO A STOP IN LEFT TURN LANE, GET CAR IN TO NEUTRAL AND PUSH IT ACROSS TWO LANES OF TRAFFIC TO A PARKING LOT SO I COULD BE OUT OF THE INTERSECTION SINCE IT WAS DARK. CAR HAD 25,583 MILES ON IT AT THE TIME OF THE FAILURE. FRICTION DISC STILL HAS PLENTY OF MATERIAL, PRESSURE PLATE SURFACE IS SMOOTH AND FREE OF DAMAGE, THROW-OUT BEARING IS INTACT AND ROTATES SMOOTHLY. CONDITION OF PARTS INDICATES MINIMAL WEAR AND TEAR ON CLUTCH AND SHOWS NO SIGNS OF ABUSE. I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I HAD RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE TO REPLACE THE CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY BUT HAD NOT YET HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THE RECALL WORK DONE. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE ORIGINAL CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY WAS ALLOWING TOO MUCH TRAVEL AND OPERATING THE CLUTCH DIAPHRAGM SPRING BEYOND ITS INTENDED RANGE OF MOTION, STRESSING IT TO A POINT OF FAILURE. REVISED PEDAL ASSEMBLY LIMITS TRAVEL TO PREVENT THIS. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT VEHICLES THAT HAVE HAD THE REVISED PEDAL ASSEMBLY INSTALLED BUT ARE OPERATING WITH THE ORIGINAL CLUTCH DIAPHRAGM SPRING THAT MAY HAVE ALREADY BEEN COMPROMISED AND COULD STILL FAIL WITHOUT WARNING.

NHTSA ODI #10968549

24,781 miles · Mar 18, 2017

Electrical System

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TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR DOES NOT FUNCTION OR RESET. THE CAR IS NOT ABLE TO MEASURE THE TIRE PRESSURE, IT STATES UNAVAILABLE. THE DEALERSHIP MECHANICS SAID TO RESET IT, BUT UPON DRIVING IT WOULD RESET.. HOWEVER, IT NEVER DID. THE DEALERSHIP SAID IT WAS NOT THEIR PROBLEM ALTHOUGH CAR WAS JUST PURCHASED WITHIN 2 WEEKS TO BE EXACT. THE MONITOR DOES NOT RECOGNIZE LOW OR HIGH PRESSURE ON TIRES, AND THE CAR IS NOT EQUIPPED WITH AN EMERGENCY TIRE. MECHANICS SAID IT WAS NORMAL FOR THIS YEAR CAR, AND WHILE SITTING WAITING FOR ANOTHER SERVICE, SEVERAL PEOPLE SEEM TO COMPLAIN FOR THE SAME ISSUE. MONITOR NOT WORKING, BUT EVERYONE WAS OFFERED TO BE RESET FOR A PRICE, WEBSITE DOES NOT HELP, MOPAR WILL NOT SET IT, AND THE MECHANICS WILL CHARGE, BUT THE RESET DOES NOT WORK NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO.

NHTSA ODI #10966700

Official recalls

19V817000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission; Power Train:automatic Transmission:lever And Linkage:floor Shift

Nov 15, 2019

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2012-2013 Fiat 500 vehicles equipped with 6-speed automatic transmissions. The shifter cable bushing may fail allowing the cable to detach from the transmission.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the shifter cable detaches from the transmission, the transmission may not shift into the gear selected by the driver. Additionally, despite selecting PARK with the shifter, the vehicle may roll away. These scenarios may increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the shifter cable adjuster, free of charge. The recall began January 9, 2020. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is VB4.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Power Train:automatic Transmission:lever And Linkage:floor Shift

Consequence: If the shifter cable detaches from the transmission, the transmission may not shift into the gear selected by the driver. Additionally, despite selecting PARK with the shifter, the vehicle may roll away. These scenarios may increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the shifter cable adjuster, free of charge. The recall began January 9, 2020. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is VB4.

Power Train:automatic Transmission

16V302000 · Power Train:manual Transmission

May 16, 2016

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2012-2016 Fiat 500 vehicles manufactured June 21, 2010, through January 12, 2016, equipped with a manual transmission. The clutch diaphragm spring may fracture and fail, causing an inability to switch gears.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the clutch diaphragm spring fails, the driver may not be able to shift gears or the vehicle may lose motive power, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: The remedy for this recall will include the installation of a clutch pedal limiter and a clutch pedal switch. The recall began on November 10, 2016. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is S34.

11V550000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:fluid

Nov 10, 2011

CHRYSLER IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2012 DODGE JOURNEY AND FIAT 500 VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM OCTOBER 24, 2011, THROUGH OCTOBER 26, 2011. SOME VEHICLES WERE ASSEMBLED WITH CONTAMINATED BRAKE FLUID AND MAY EXPERIENCE A DEGRADATION OF THE SEALING COMPONENTS WITHIN THE BRAKE SYSTEM.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: THIS COULD LEAD TO LOSS OF BRAKING ABILITY INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy: CHRYSLER WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE ALL BRAKE COMPONENTS THAT COME IN CONTACT WITH HYDRAULIC BRAKE FLUID. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 1, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHRYSLER AT 1-800-853-1403.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

EA19001 · Electrical Overstress

Opened Apr 19, 2019 · Closed Sep 19, 2024

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags: Air Bag/restraint Control Module

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect. During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events. The subject vehicles may be equipped with an airbag control unit (ACU) for the supplemental restraint system (SRS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) manufactured by ZF-TRW. The ECU receives signals from crash sensors mounted in the vehicle and deploys the vehicle air bags and seat belt pretensioners in accordance with manufacturer design specifications. The ECU in the subject vehicles contains a model DS84 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) which controls the communication of the crash sensor signal, firing commands (i.e., when to deploy the airbag(s) and/or pretensioners), and fault information (e.g., diagnostic trouble codes). In September 2016, FCA announced recall 16V-668 for certain model year (MY) 2010 to 2014 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep products manufactured with the subject ZF-TRW ACU. In this recall, FCA discussed an EOS condition that resulted in a failure of the subject DS84 ASIC, which caused air bag non-deployment. FCA noted that the defect condition had only been observed in vehicles equipped with sensor harnessing routed across the front of the vehicle. Other FCA vehicles that also used the subject ACU, but were not equipped with cross-car harnessing, had not experienced EOS failures, despite similar time in service. During the course of this investigation, ODI sent two separate Information Request (IR) letters to six vehicle manufactures (including FCA, Hyundai, Honda, Kia, Mitsubishi, and Toyota) and one IR letter to ZF-TRW. These IR letters resulted in ODI receiving comprehensive data from these manufacturers and suppliers. Studies of this data found that the DS84 ASIC does not have sufficient protection against negative electrical transients or electrical overstress (“EOS”) that can be generated in certain severe crashes. An electrical transient occurs when the electrical power supplied to a circuit changes momentarily over a short duration of time. In these severe crash cases, the crash sensors and other powered wiring can be damaged and short circuited so as to create a negative electrical transient of sufficient intensity and duration (that are outside the vehicle manufacturer's specification) to damage the ASIC before the restraint device deployment signal is received by the SRS ECU. This damaged signal can lead to incomplete or nondeployment of the air bags and/or pretensioners. Airbag non-deployment and/or lack of pretensioner operation can increase the risk or severity of injury in a crash.A total of 8 fatalities and 14 injuries were associated with known EOS events. The common element in all investigated manufacturers vehicles is the SRS ECU containing a DS84 ASIC manufactured by ZF-TRW. The risk associated with the ASIC is equally shared among all OEMS involved in the investigation. The actual real-world risk can be mitigated by other factors which were assessed by ODI during this investigation. The first mitigating factor involves protections built into the ACU design which protect the DS84 ASIC from damage. There are multiple strategies and levels of protection employed by different OEMs that provide effective EOS mitigation. The two most common strategies at the ACU level are circuit protection diodes on the remote senor signal lines, and current limiting resistors that protect critical components. The second mitigating factor is found at the vehicle level and involves the location and routing of the wires leading from the crash sensors to the SRS ECU. If the wires are well protected in a crash and are not routed with other power wires carrying large currents, the risk for an EOS event is significantly reduced or eliminated. These design specific factors combine to produce a spectrum of risk for the vehicles equipped with ACUs using the DS84 ASIC. Given the many of years of field exposure, it is possible to divide the subject population into two groups; vehicles which have experienced EOS events, and vehicles which have not experienced EOS field events. Four of the six OEMs involved in this investigation have experienced EOS field events on at least one of their models equipped with a DS84 ASIC. All vehicle models (including the Toyota models identified in the Failure Report Summary of the opening resume for this investigation) with field events have been recalled. In an abundance of caution, ODI kept this investigation open five years to monitor field performance and did not identify any field events on vehicles not included in existing safety recalls. Given the spectrum of risk identified in this investigation and that all vehicles with a demonstrated unreasonable risk have been recalled, ODI is closing this investigation. ODI is closing this investigation with the following manufacturer safety recalls: 16V-668, 18E-043, 18V-137, 18V-363, and 20V-024. With the recall actions taken by the subject vehicle and equipment manufacturers, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exists on other model or model year vehicles outside of the recall scopes. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.