2014 Fiat 500E

I LEASED THIS CAR ON AUGUST 2014 AND HAVE HAD THREE INCIDENT, FIRST ONE ON NOVEMBER 13,2014 WITH ELECTRICAL WARNING "SERVICE ELECTRIC VEHICLE SYSTEM" NEEDS SERVICING. THE FIRST TIME WAS TOLD CAR NEEDED SOFTWARE UPDATE IT TOOK 3-4 DAYS TO GET THE CAR BACK. THE SECOND INCIDENT ON JANUARY 7, 2015 THE CAR COMPLETELY STOPPED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. IT STOPPED RIGHT AFTER A STOP SIGN, THE WARNING SIGN SHOWED THE SAME "SERVICE ELECTRIC VEHICLE SYSTEM" AND ANOTHER WARNING THAT I MAY LOSE POWER IN A SHORT TIME WHICH WAS THE CASE. I WAS TOLD THERE MUST BE A PROBLEM WITH MY CHARGER I CHECKED AND THERE WAS NONE. IT TOOK 2 DAYS TO GET THE CAR BACK. LAST INCIDENT WAS ON FEBRUARY 8 WITH MESSAGES "SERVICE ELECTRIC VEHICLE SYSTEM" "SERVICE PROPULSION SYSTEM" "12 V BATTERY ISSUE FINAL WARNING" AND "SERVICE 12 V BATTERY". THERE HAD BEEN A RECALL FOR 2014 OF THIS MODEL REGARDING EXACT SAME PROBLEMS. THIS MAKES THE CAR VERY DANGEROUS SHOULD THE PROBLEM OCCUR WHILE TRAVELING AT A HIGHWAY SPEED OR NORMAL STREET SPEED WHEN THE CAR LOSSES POWER AND EVERYTHING SHUTS DOWN. *TR

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.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 FIAT 500E. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V235000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) AND STATED THAT THE PART WAS AVAILABLE HOWEVER THE DEALER WAS ONLY ABLE TO SERVICE TWO VEHICLES PER DAY. THE DEALER WAS UNCERTAIN WHEN THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO REMEDY THE VEHICLE UNDER THE RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE AND HAD ADVISED THE CONTACT GO TO ANOTHER DEALER AN HOUR AWAY TO REMEDY THE RECALL. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCE A FAILURE.