2014 Fiat 500E

I HAVE TWO OPEN RECALLS (14V-235:P23) AND (15V-179:R15) THAT MY DEALER AND MANUFACTURER HAVE SO FAR BEEN UNABLE TO PERFORM REPAIRS TO CORRECT. I HAVE BEEN WAITING 21 MONTHS FOR ONE OF THE RECALLS AND 10 MONTHS FOR THE SECOND WITH NO COMMUNICATION FROM DEALER AND NO HELP FROM FIAT. I AM NOW UNABLE TO RENEW MY REGISTRATION DUE TO THESE RECALLS NOT BEING PERFORMED. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW TO PROCEED SINCE I AM NOW PAYING A LEASE PAYMENT FOR A CAR I AM UNABLE TO DRIVE LEGALLY ON THE ROAD SINCE MY REGISTRATION HAS EXPIRED AND I AM UNABLE TO RENEW IT BEFORE THE RECALL IS COMPLETED.

WE LEASED A 500E IN AUG 2014 FROM MCKEVITT FIAT IN BERKELEY, CA. WITHIN THE FIRST 3 WEEKS, WHILE DRIVING, THE CAR TWICE UNEXPECTEDLY AND SUDDENLY LOST ALL POWER AND STALLED. WE TOOK THE CAR IN FOR SERVICING. AFTER A WEEK AT THE DEALERSHIP, WE WERE TOLD THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED AND PICKED UP THE CAR. THREE DAYS LATER, THE CAR SUDDENLY STALLED AGAIN (THANKFULLY AS MY WIFE WAS APPROACHING A STOP SIGN). AFTER ANOTHER 2 WEEKS AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS, WE WERE TOLD THE CAR WAS "FIXED" AND WERE ASKED TO PICK IT UP. NOTWITHSTANDING OUR CLEAR CONCERN FOR OUR SAFETY AND THAT OF OUR 3 KIDS, WHEN WE PROBED THE SERVICE TECH ON WHAT THEY DID TO FIX THE VEHICLE, HE TOLD US THAT THEY MERELY "CLEARED THE FAULT CODES" AND HAD MADE NO OTHER CHANGES. GIVEN THE CLEAR DANGER INVOLVED WITH A CAR SUDDENLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY LOSING POWER AND STALLING--SIMILAR TO THE PROBLEMS GM HAS FACED WITH FAULTY IGNITION SWITCHES--WE REFUSED TO ACCEPT THE CAR BACK. ULTIMATELY, THE SERVICE TECH, TO HIS CREDIT, ADMITTED THEY DID NOT KNOW WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE AND THAT HE DIDN'T FEEL RIGHT ABOUT GIVING IT BACK TO US. FOR OVER 7 WEEKS NOW, WE HAVE NOT HAD USE OF THE CAR--A CLEAR LEMON--WHILE STILL MAKING THE MONTHLY LEASE PAYMENTS AND SUFFERING THROUGH THE INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING AND INEPT FIAT "CUSTOMER SERVICE" EXPERIENCE. MCKEVITT EMPLOYEES HAVE REPEATEDLY LIED TO US AND HAVE BEEN DISINGENUOUS REGARDING THE "REPAIRS" TO OUR VEHICLE. I WANTED TO MAKE SURE NHTSA WAS AWARE OF OUR 500E'S SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER AND STALLING BECAUSE I WOULD FEEL DEEPLY REMORSEFUL IF SOMEONE WERE HURT OR KILLED BY A 500E THAT SUDDENLY STALLED LIKE OURS HAS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. *TR

I RECEIVED A SAFETY RECALL IN THE MAIL STATING THAT REPAIRS WOULD BEGIN ON JULY 21, 2014. UPON CONTACTING THE DEALERSHIP I WAS TOLD THAT PARTS FOR THE REPAIR ARE DELAYED FOR 6 TO 8 WEEKS. I CALLED FIAT CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 1-888-242-6342 AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING THAT THEY COULD DO ABOUT THE DELAY IN OBTAINING THE PARTS FROM THEIR SUPPLIER. BECAUSE A POWER INVERTER MODULE FAILURE CAN "CAUSE A CRASH WITHOUT WARNING" THIS REPAIR TIMELINE IS UNACCEPTABLE.