2014 Fiat 500L

I LIVE IN A MAJOR CITY WHERE TRAFFIC IS ALWAYS STOP AND GO. WHEN I AM DRIVING DURING A TIME OF HEAVY STOP AND GO TRAFFIC SMOKE STARTS TO COME OUT FROM UNDER THE HOOD AND SOMETIMES THAT SMOKE COMES FROM TURN LEFT AND THEN TURN RIGHT THE AIR VENTS IN THE CAR AND THERE IS A DISTINCT TOXIC AND PERVASIVE BURNING SMELL BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CAR. THAT SMELL CONTINUES TO LINGER FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME. NO WARNING LIGHTS COME ON AT ALL. SEPARATELY WHEN THERE IS NO TRAFFIC AND I AM DRIVING AT A SET SPEED ON THE HIGHWAY OR A LONG STRETCH OF ROAD MY CAR WILL GO INTO LIMP MODE AND THE SPEED WILL NOT GO PAST 20 OR 30 MILES PER HOUR. THIS ONE'S HAPPENED ON A BRIDGE AND A FEW TIMES ON THE HIGHWAY.

EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE, THE POWER STEERING WON'T ENGAGE WHEN I TURN ON THE CAR. I CAN TURN THE WHEEL, BUT IT ONLY TURNS SLOWLY WITH A LOT OF PRESSURE APPLIED. I HAVE TO TURN OFF THE CAR AND THEN TURN IT BACK ON TO FIX IT. THIS HAS HAPPENED FOUR OR FIVE TIMES SINCE I'VE OWNED THE CAR (APPROXIMATELY 3 YEARS). IT HAS ALWAYS HAPPENED IN MY DRIVEWAY OR THE STREET IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE, WHERE I NORMALLY PARK.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 FIAT 500L. WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AND THE ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO STATELINE ALFA ROMEO FIAT (800 GOLD HILL RD #101 IN FORT MILL, SC) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 127,000. *TT *TR

MY FIAT 500L IS A 2014 MODEL THAT ONLY HAS 60,000 MILES ON THE CAR. WHEN I STARTED THE CAR, THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS VISIBLE AND NO APPARENT ISSUE WITH THE CAR. HOWEVER, AS I TRIED TO ENTER THE FREEWAY (HWY 45 IN HOUSTON, TX) THE CAR WOULD NOT GET ABOVE 40 MILES PER HOUR AND THEN THE CAR DIED OUT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. ONCE THE CAR DIED OUT, THEN THE TRANSMISSION LIGHT CAME ON. I HAVE CONTACTED FIAT MANY TIMES ABOUT THIS ISSUE, HOWEVER, THEY HAVE ONLY INFORMED ME THAT MY WARRANTY WAS OUT 10,000 MILES AGO. ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT ONLINE SOURCES, THIS IS AN ONGOING ISSUE WITH THE 2014 FIAT 500 MODELS.

A MISALIGNMENT OF THE LEFT FRONT CORNER PANEL AND THE SIDE PANEL, AS WELL AS A MISALIGNMENT OF THE LEFT REAR CORNER PANEL AND THE SIDE PANEL HAVE TAKEN PLACE (SEE PICTURES). THE DEALERSHIP STATES THAT IT IS BECAUSE OF AN "IMPACT." I BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM IN THE "CLIPS" THAT HOLD THE PANELS TOGETHER. UNDER THE REAR BUMPER, THERE IS A CRACK IN THE PLASTIC BY THE MUFFLER (SEE PICTURE). THAT WAS PROBABLY CAUSED BY BACKING INTO A SNOWBANK. THERE ARE NO OTHER "SCRATCH" MARKS ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE REAR BUMPER, AND THERE ARE NO SCRATCH MARKS (CAUSED BY HITTING SOMETHING) UNDER THE FRONT BUMPER. THERE ARE NO ISSUES ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE CAR. I WILL ACCEPT THE FACT THAT I MAY HAVE BACKED INTO A SNOWBANK. HOWEVER, IF THAT CAUSED THE PANEL SEPARATION, THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE WAY THE PANELS ARE CONNECTED. WITH THE FRONT PANELS, I AM AMAZED THAT AN "IMPACT" THAT SHOWS NO VISIBLE MARKS WOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE THE PANELS TO SEPARATE/MISALIGN. I AM CONCERNED THAT IF THE "CLIPS" THAT CONNECT THE PANELS ARE THAT WEAK, THAT THIS COULD BE A SAFETY ISSUE IF THERE WAS ANY ACTUAL IMPACT. I INDICATED A DATE WHEN THIS HAPPENED, BUT I AM NOT SURE IF THAT WAS WHEN I FIRST NOTICED IT.

THE STEERING HANGS OR STICKS. IT STARTED A COUPLE YEARS AGO AND WAS REPORTED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS PURCHASED. I WAS TOLD IT DOES THAT. IT STARTED DOING THIS AROUND 50 TO 70 WHEN FIRST NOTICED AND NOW DOES IT AT ALL SPEEDS. WHEN IT FIRST STARTED IT WOULD COME AND GO AWAY SLIGHTLY BUT NEVER COMPLETELY. NOW IT IS ALL THE TIME AND ANY SPEED. AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS IT MAKES THE VEHICLE STEER SLIGHTLY FROM SIDE TO SIDE IN THE LANE SINCE YOU CAN'T MAKE SLIGHT STEERING CORRECTIONS. WHEN TRYING TO MAKE STEERING CORRECTIONS THE STEERING WILL STICK OR HANG AND THEN RELEASE ABRUPTLY CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO MOVE SLIGHTLY BACK AND FORTH IN THE LANE. AT TIMES IT IS BAD ENOUGH TO RESEMBLE A VERY DRUNK DRIVER OVER CORRECTING. IT IS BAD ENOUGH THAT WE DON'T FEEL SAFE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND IT ONLY HAS 30,000 MILES ON IT. IT'S A SHAME FIAT/CHRYSLER WON'T ACKNOWLEDGE THERE IS A PROBLEM. WE HAVE HAD A FEW CLOSE CALLS BUT NO ACCIDENT YET DUE TO THIS PROBLEM. ALSO THE PROBLEM WILL OCCUR ANYWHERE AT ANY SPEED EXCEPT TURNING. IT SEEMS TO HAPPEN MOSTLY WHEN GOING STRAIGHT. WHEN IN A TURN AS LONG AS THE STEERING WHEEL IS IN MOTION IT DOESN'T HANG BUT IF IT STOPS AND YOU START TO TURN FURTHER OR GO BACK IT WILL HANG AGAIN. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS BEFORE SOMEONE DOES GET HURT.

STARTED TO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE STEERING WHEEL STICKING. I NOTICE IT MOST AT HIGHER SPEEDS, 60-70 MPH. IT TAKES A LITTLE MORE PRESSURE THAN NORMAL TO TO MAKE SLIGHT ADJUSTMENTS TO THE WHEEL TO KEEP THE CAR GOING STRAIGHT. AFTER I'VE BEEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY FOR A WHILE, IT FEELS LIKE I'M FIGHTING THE WHEEL. STICKING" HAS BECOME A REGULAR PROBLEM AT LOWER SPEEDS IN TOWN AND AT TIMES THE WHEEL ALMOST HAS TO BE FORCED TO KEEP THE CAR IN A LANE, WHICH OFTEN TIMES CAUSES OVER-STEERING AND VEERING INTO ANOTHER LANE. THIS REPRESENTS A SAFETY CONCERN AS YOU DONT HAVE FULL CONTROL OF YOUR CAR.

THIS CAR HAS HAD MAJOR ISSUES AND THE ACCELLERATION PROBLEM HAS NEVER BEEN FIXED. WHEN YPU PULL THE CAR UP BY THE VIN NUMBER IT IS OBVIOUS THIS CAR HAS PROBLES. I BELIEVE CHRYSLER SHOULD BY THIS CAR BACK. I HAVE PAID $20,000.00 ON THIS CAR AND STILL OWE $25,000.00. TELL ME THERE IS NOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT. ALLEN SAMUELS TOLD ME THEY WERE GIVING ME AN EXTRA WARRANTY FREE AND I HAVE A WITNESS. THEN THEY ADDED $2500.00 INTO THE LOAN AMOUNT.

IN THREE OCCASIONS WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT DIFFERENT TIMES DURING MILD TRAFFIC, THE CAR STARTS TO SMOKE, A BAD SMELL STARTS ENTERING THE CABIN AND THE CAR AND ENGINE HAVE DIED, I COULD ALSO NOT PUT IT IN REVERSE IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE ONCE. AT ANOTHER INSTANCE WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY THE SAME THING HAPPENED (SMOKE/SHUT OFF) AND I GOT STRANDED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHERE A FAMILY MEMBER HAD TO COME AND GET ME. THE CAR HAS SHUT OFF WITH NO AVAILABILITY TO MOVE FORWARD OR BACKWARD. THE TRANSMISSION EURO CLUTCH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN THE CULPRIT AND THE DEALERSHIP HAS FIXED IT TWICE ALREADY BUT WITH NO LONG TERM SOLUTION. THIS IS EXPECTED TO HAPPEN AGAIN, AND THEY HAVE WARNED ME THAT I SHOULD DRIVE IT LIKE A MANUAL IN MANUAL MODE TO AVOID ANY FUTURE ISSUES, EVEN THOUGH THE CAR IS AN AUTOMATIC. THIS IS A MAJOR FLAW THAT FIAT OVERLOOKED, THEY EVEN CHANGED THE TRANSMISSION THE FOLLOWING YEAR TO A CONVENTIONAL AISIN AUTOMATIC AND GOT RID OF THE EURO CLUTCH AUTOMATIC. SOMETIMES NEEDS TO BE DONE AS I PLANNED ON KEEPING THIS VEHICLE FOR A LONG TIME AND I AM NOW VERY DISSATISFIED WITH MY PURCHASE.

SEVERAL TIMES, THE CAR HAS STALLED FOR UNKNOWN REASONS AND HAS HAD TROUBLE STARTING UP. WHEN I ASKED THE FIAT DEALERS THEY SAY THAT IT IS INTENDED BEHAVIOR. HOWEVER, SEVERAL ONLINE SEARCHES REVEALED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. FURTHERMORE, FIAT IS DOING A RECALL FOR AN IDENTICALLY DESCRIBED ISSUE FOR "CHRYSLER (FCA US LLC) IS RECALLING CERTAIN 2014 FIAT 500L VEHICLES. THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) SOFTWARE CALIBRATION MAYBE INCORRECT, LIMITING THE ENGINE TO IDLE SPEED AND TORQUE EVEN WHEN ACCELERATOR PEDAL IS FULLY PRESSED." RECALL NUMBER 17V192000, 14V103000