We purchased a 2018 fiat spider from a dealer as a new vehicle. It apparently had recalls but the dealers never notified fiat that we were the new owners and the dealer has been listed as the owner all of this time so we never received notifications. The vehicle is only used as a summer vehicle and the clutch just went out at 9000 miles. We have multiple manual transmission vehicles in the household and none have ever gone out before 120,000 miles. Additionally, we found out that there were recalls related to the transmission. In regard to repairs, they don't even make the original clutch anymore and have an updated clutch plate and assembly from fiat for repair. Obviously there was a defect since they don't even make the original clutch. Also if we had been notified of recalls, repairing those may have prevented this problem. We have always had the vehicle repaired at certified fiat dealers but never have had them fix any recalls aside from recommended service. It appears fiat knew that there is a clutch defect. We contacted fiat and they refuse to remediate the problem since its outside the warranty period. With the history of not receiving recall notices due to dealer error and the clutch assembly no longer available but rather an updated improved version, we would hope fiat would cover at least parts. Repair cost is almost $9000 for a 9000 mile clutch on a car that is like new. Thanks. Bret and lorraine shillingstad
Car intermittently shifts out of gear into neutral when faced with an uphill grade forcing car backwards. We have had over 5 nrear accidents involving rolling off hillsides ar onto property or into traffic behind. Car will not engage we have been desperately against a steep hill many times. Also front abs brakes intermittently grab 1 wheel forcing car sideways at 40 mph. Also car emits rattle sound coming from lower gearbox or engine area noticeable through cab, both before and after a complete $4300 transmission rebuild. Service completed by fiat and alfa romeo od van nuys california. This car is going to kill us. Fiat is dragging their feet. I will list the first incident below at march 18, 2023 but then many more occurred after, even after trans rebuild. This design is life-threatening. Who rebuilds a trans at under 50,000 miles??
My car spontaneously shifts from driving to neutral while i am actively driving it. This has happened at least a half dozen times so far. Each time this has happened i cannot get my car to continue driving, since it’s shifted to neutral all by itself and stuck there. I have to come to a complete stop, put my car in park, turn the engine off, and then turn it back on again. This has happened for the last year and is happening more and more frequently. The latest incident was 4/1/2024. I talked to the fiat dealership and they said it looks like my car should have been included in a transmission issue recall that was assigned to 2016 fiat 500x cars, but for some reason it wasn’t assigned to my specific vin.
The contact owns a 2014 fiat 500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine and tpms warning lights illuminated and the vehicle began to hesitate while accelerating. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the powertrain control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 126,000.
The contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the clutch pedal briefly depressed to the floor and remained stuck before releasing. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the clutch diaphragm spring. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to nhtsa campaign number: 16v302000 (power train); however, the vehicle had already been repaired under the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 106,000.
The contact owns a 2015 fiat 500 pop hatchback. The contact received notification nhtsa campaign number: 16v302000 (power train) however, the parts to repair were not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The local dealer was notified of the recall notice and confirmed that the parts were not available. The contact stated while driving 30 mph, the manual clutch failed and the contact was unable to steer the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided with a customer care case number 89214492. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.
The contact owns a 2014 fiat 500l. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle failed to accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact also stated that while in reverse(r), a gear shifter message was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. Upon investigation, the contact discovered nhtsa campaign number: 17v192000 (power train) which was associated with the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure; however, the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 139,724.
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.
The contact owns a 2013 fiat 500. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v302000(power train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had experienced the failure causing the clutch to fail. The failure mileage was 103,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
The seat belts do not retract properly, causing a loose seat belt. The vehicle has 10,000 miles on it. This is a common problem with all 2017 to 2020 fiat spiders. Replacement seat belt retractors have the same problem.