Problems with 2012 FIAT 500 POWER TRAIN

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v302000 (power train); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. 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 not experienced a failure. vin tool confirms parts not available.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v302000 (power train); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. the manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. the contact had not experienced a failure. vin tool confirms parts not available.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v302000 (power train); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. 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 not experienced a failure. parts distribution disconnect. updated 06/23/17*lj *cn

With a low mileage (under 20k miles), the car has been in taken back to the service department for over 5 times for main seal (between engine and the transmission) leakage, engine programming recall, and repeated noise when the car is in motion that can't be identified/fixed.

Took car in for service with 29,600 miles on it. was told it needed new valve cover gasket, both cv boots replaced, and both transmission output seals replaced. i had already replaced one transmission output seal at 22,000 miles. total cost $900 all out of warranty. i've already filed a complaint about having to replace the clutch. seems there are a lot of issues with this car.

The car experienced a sudden clutch failure while driving on highway. this resulted in a very dangerous situation as the car no longer had power, and stopped on a section of highway with no shoulder space. the clutch was repaired at my cost in may 2016 (prior to the recall announcement, nhtsa recall number: 16v-302), and an online reimbursement request was made to fiat in july 2016 (after the recall announcement). i checked the status of my reimbursement request in september, and was told "from what i am showing on the file it still has not been reviewed as the parts for the recall are not available at this time. once the parts do become available for the recall then the file will be reviewed for the reimbursement process." my complaint is that i have already repaired the automobile, so availability of parts is irrelevant, fiat is simply stalling reimbursement of the repair cost.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. while pulling into a store parking lot, the contact heard an abnormal noise. after an attempt to shift the vehicle out of gear, it would not shift. the contact applied the emergency brake and restarted the vehicle in neutral. the vehicle was able to be shifted into the correct gear. once the vehicle was shifted into drive, the vehicle was not able to be shifted. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the pressure plate was defective and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the contact referenced nhtsa campaign number: 16v302000 (power train); however, the vin was not included. the failure mileage was approximately 46,383.

The car was purchased on april 15, 2016. since then, i have had to take the car in for service several times. the first issue was a problem with the brake light. the second issue was that the gears would not move and i had to use a screw driver to change the car from park to drive and vice versa, drive to reverse and vice versa, etc... the third issue was that the car rolled backwards. the recent issue was for a recall on the powertrain control. in addition, the car while driving on the freeway and local streets drifts to the right side. as a result of the drifting, i have had almost three car accidents in the past month. the service representative informed me that the drifting is a result of the roads on the freeway and locally and not an issue with the car. i no longer feel safe drive to this car and fear getting into a major accident. today i contacted the fiat owner assistance to file a complaint and request that the issue be addressed. their response was that the car was safe as per the service reports and that i should get a wheel alignment at my expense. this recommendation was made by a corporate representative and not a mechanic. i am filing this complaint in hopes that the issue be addressed and that i am able to return the fiat for another vehicle that is safe and meet the standard of quality fiat is known for.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. while driving 35 mph, the clutch failed and the vehicle stopped operating. there was an unknown recall related to the clutch failure. the vehicle was towed to a dealer and repaired. the failure mileage was 58,927. updated 12/01/16*lj *tr

I was driving in 3rd gear (manual trans) and tried to shift to 4th. the shift knob popped out of 3rd fine, but then would not go into 4th. when i tried to go back into 3rd it wouldn't engage. i ended up needing to shift into 2nd when the car lost momentum, it would not engage in this gear either, or 1st. i had to turn quickly onto a side street in order to not get hit from behind. with the car on, in neutral, and stationary, it would not shift into any gear (with the clutch pressed down). it felt like it just bounced out of gear without it ever engaging. with the car off, the shifter would engage fine - in any gear. from what i've read on multiple fiat forums, this is a reoccurring problem for many. my car has approximately 46,000miles, and not had any major issues thus far, with the engine and body are in great condition. - http://www.fiat500owners.com/forum/8-fiat-500-general-discussion-forum/81033-wont-able-shift-gears.html ---- http://www.fiat500owners.com/forum/8-fiat-500-general-discussion-forum/27713-stiff-clutch-car-wont-shift-into-gear-getting-sick-all-these-issues.html ----

The clutch gave out in rush hour traffic as i was downshifting to enter a traffic circle. the clutch pedal became stiff and i was able to get the car into neutral, but could not put the car back in gear, or depress the clutch pedal fully. according to the mechanic, the pressure plate cracked due to it being manufactured with low-quality metal. the car has only 43,000 miles on it.

The pressured plate fail at 34769 k, ( was over 3 years warranty) i have to pay for a town company to move it to my mechanic. also y have a reamplace and cost me $ 1742.90

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. the contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where the technician informed that the vehicle needed to be reset. the vehicle was repaired. the failure recurred with an abnormal sound emitting from the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 28,488. ....updated 07/05/16 *bf the consumer stated she took the vehicle to the dealer, after receiving a recall notice regarding the transmission. however, the dealer informed her, the back up device was not working. the consumer also stated there was an issue with the suspension. it felt as though the vehicle was going to turn over. updated 07/21/16.*jb

Takata recall mechanical defect has been detected. my car was on the highway when suddenly it randomly began stating to "check transmission see handbook." i took it to a fiat dealership in which i immediately advised them of the diagnosis code p0741 had been provided to them at drop off before any work was performed - tony (the service advisor) said that was not helpful could mean anything. (diagnosis means: torque converter clutch circuit performance or stuck off) i was advised numbers lies and was told i needed a new transmission. turns out there is a fault in the wiring of the system and computer which is now causing car to not stay in gear. i want to raise all awareness to this issue. especially since the purchase of this car (only 58k in mileage) i have had to personally replace the following: number of radiator repairs: 2 sunroof: 1 transmission: faulty mechanical error total tune ups: 2 brake installments: 3 i was not made aware of any prior issues before purchase all issues have occurred due to manufacture negligence! no accidents have occurred. please assist me in any way possible.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500 abarth. while driving approximately 55 mph, the clutch failed and prevented the transmission from shifting out of gear. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the clutch pressure plate would need to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 26,000.

Vehicle has a manual transmission. without warning, during normal driving conditions on a city street, it became impossible to shift gears. the car had to be towed to a repair shop (fiat dealer) where it was discovered the flywheel, clutch pressure plate, and clutch bearing were broken and had to be replaced. cost for the repair was $1612.00

While in motion (1st gear) and about to shift into second the clutch became completely frozen and the shift lever was unable to move gears. this was while in traffic. the vehicle had to be shut down in order for the shifter to be put into neutral. the vehicle has 60,000 miles on it. no previous clutch issues were apparent.the service advisor told us it was a failure of the clutch pressure plate and consequently the slave cylinder. we were told that the clutch was not worn beyond normal wear and tear for the mileage so this was not caused by user error but defective pressure plate. we were told that because the transmission was out we might as well replace the clutch but it was not required. total repair cost was $1030.00 including the pressure plate, slave cylinder, clutch and labor. this issue has occurred on numerous 2012 fiat 500's based upon other owners. this is a severe safety hazard from a defective part. the new part has a new part number but i was told this has no relation to pressure plate updates even though newer 500's don't seem to have the issue. also noticed was the cars clutch feels completely different than it did upon purchase of the vehicle in 2012 through prior to the repair. now the clutch pedal exhibits a completely loose feeling without tension as it did the past 4 years.

At about 36,000 miles it became difficult to change gears and then shifter suddenly became impossible to control while on the road. got off the road and car would not go into first gear, and when trying to reverse it made a horrible grinding sound. car was immobile. turns out that some 2012 fiats have been reported to have faulty pressure plates installed. dealership said it was my pressure plate and quoted a price of 1100+ as they said clutch is not covered under warranty. i fought that and fiat chrysler corporation ended up paying for the new clutch assembly. a photo of pressure plate were emailed by dealer with the note: as you can see here in the picture the fingers for the pressure plate are bent in 3 places causing the issue you are experiencing. the good news is i have spoken with ericka from fiat chrysler headquarters and this will be warrantied by them at no cost to you for the parts, labor or rental.

My vehicle was stationary in the driveway when it refused to shift out of neutral or into reverse. it''s been taken in for an initial diagnostic and i've been informed the pressure plate is worn and they say it''s unrelated to the well known s34 recall. my car is only at 38000 miles and they say it''s normal for a pressure plate to wear at this period but i find it difficult to believe so many people have the same problem and that it''s entirely unrelated to the clutch spring issues stemming from the clutch travel not having a limiter. if i'd been on the road or freeway this would have been very dangerous for me and i'm concerned by the amount of people experiencing the same problem. the company officially so far has told me that it''s not covered under warranty as the pressure plate warranty only lasts 1yr or 12,000 miles which is ridiculous considering the importance of the part, the difficulty and expense of replacing it, and the fact there are so many related elements they've chosen to ignore as possibility cause. i've been quoted just under 1600 to replace it. this is unacceptable in a car at only 38000 miles to have such an expensive and dangerous issue that has been reported significantly. *tr

The clutch failed without warning, preventing the car from shifting gears -- from second to third gear in regular, city-street traffic (lyndale ave., in minneapolis, mn). at the moment of failure, i heard/felt a distinct yet light "thump" as i pressed down on the clutch pedal. the car only has 40k miles on it.

I was driving along at about 30 mph and my clutch pedal became very difficult to push in and i could not shift. i was lucky enough to turn into a parking lot where i could not put the car into gear. once the car was off i could move about the gears but once the car was on the pedal would not go down all the way and i could not get it into gear. there has been zero slipping or grinding of the gears and i have less than 30,000 miles. i am currently awaiting if my warranty will cover this issue. from what i have seen online the pressure plate has been cracked out warped so i plan to fight to have this covered under warranty. to think that a clutch would go out in 2.5 years and under 30,000 miles if crazy but when i spoke with fiat dealership he made it seem that they see it all the time and customer care at first said they have seen it multiple times....updated 7/19/16*bf

Clutch would not disengage, could not shift into gear from neutral,in middle of traffic, had to shut engine off, put in gear, start in gear and drove to safe location[city street] [11/20/2015] [17,500 miles on car]$1400.00 for clutch replacement

The transmission nearly fell apart while meging on the freeway. i now need a new transmission on a car with 46,000 miles on it.

Clutch failure in traffic after leaving a stop light. no prior warning/signs that the clutch would fail (ie. no slipping). car started in first just fine, went to shift into second and the clutch would not disengage. the pedal was completely stiff and was unable to be pressed all the way to the floor. i then drifted to the side of the road where i was able to get the car to stop, thankfully i was not going at a higher speed otherwise this problem could have potentially caused a wreck. at this point in time i tried to shift my car into gear (with the car off), but the clutch wouldn't even allow any gears to engage. i had the car towed to my home, and then fiat had the car towed to the nearest dealer of my choice (i still had to pay for the fiat towing). i am currently pending a call from the dealership to diagnose + fix my car, which will most likely have to be payed out of pocket. this is most likely a manufacturer defect, as has been stated in numerous other clutch failure reports for this year's make.

While driving the vehicle, and a need to shift occurs, the clutch will lockup, completely frozen, making it impossible no matter how hard you push, to depress the pedal making it impossible to shift gear. this happens every 20,000 miles and each time, dealer service dept says it's a "bent pressure plate". but fiat classifies this a "wear & tear" item and cannot help. dealer service wants $2000 each time (though independent repair shops likely would charge less). this has already happened twice and fiat will not help. hard to believe that fiat believes this is normal expected behavior on their vehicles, for owners to have to fork out $2000 every 20,000 miles for new pressure plates. when it happens to you, it can be very dangerous depending where you happen to be at the time. internet searches for fiat pressure plate will show a pattern of this issue, and no official response from fiat.

Pulled up to a stop light, depressed clutch and shifted to neutral. when light turned green, i depressed the clutch and it locked up and would not engage allowing me to shift into a gear. mechanic said its a bent pressure plate and the entire clutch assy. needs replaced for ~$2,000. obviously bending of the pressure plate is not "normal wear and tear" and its also very rare to have a clutch fail so early (20,000 miles). unfortunately fiat is saying this is a normal wear and tear issue and is not covered under warranty. reading the forums, this seems to be a very common problem with manual shift fiats and is a terrible safety hazard (think if the clutch locked up at highway speeds preventing someone from shifting out of gear). this part should be recalled and replaced on all manual transmission fiats and costs fully covered.

Light check engine and power train.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. while driving at 35 mph, the gear shifter failed to shift into third gear. in addition, the contact attempted to shift back to the second gear and the gear shifter failed to shift but remained between the second and the third gear. as a result, the vehicle failed to move forward. the failure recurred on numerous occasions. the vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the clutch needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 29,623.

I have had to get my starter replaced and shortly after my clutch locked up on me .. i am unable to drive my car

I was driving down a busy thoroughfare at around 30 mph when my clutch suddenly stiffened up and became impossible to engage. i tried in vain to shift out of third gear as i neared a stoplight, but the gear stick wouldn't budge and the car ended up stalling in the middle of the road. i managed after a minute to yank the stick into neutral and coast down a small hill into an empty parking space. in the end, it was a dead clutch after only 30,000 miles. this could have easily caused an accident had it occurred on the freeway or in a busy intersection.

The car got stuck with mud under the car. when we go it pulled out and took it to the dealer would have cost us 3000 to have it fixed. that way to much and they told there was problem with the engine now. they wouldn't work a deal on it. when driving home we noticed thry left a plate from under the sterling will and had rip the black peace that wrapes oround it.we to it to a tramission place in town where they fixed the transmissin , the car drive like a mess i just afraid to go lomg distance.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. the contact stated that the clutch assembly prematurely failed twice and was replaced. the vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer for diagnostic testing. the manufacturer stated that this was a normal routine repair and advised the contact to replace the part. the failure mileage was not available.

I was at a busy intersection about to make a left hand turn when i suddenly was unable to depress the clutch completely or shift into gear. it turned out the clutch had completely given out with no warning - no slipping, smell of burning clutch, no check engine light, nothing. i've driven stick my whole life and never run through a clutch in 28,000 miles! nor have i had the experience of a clutch going out without warning - it has always started to slip in advance of needing replaced. the police had to stop traffic and push me to safety as the car would not drive at all. i don't know what i would have done if the police had not come so quickly as i was in an area with a lot of traffic and several people nearly hit me in the short time i was waiting. due to the out of the blue nature of this clutch failure, i thought it was worth reporting as a safety issue. had i been on a freeway, the situation could have been much worse. *tr

Purchased 2012 year fiat 500c on 10/31/2011. as of march 3, 2014 put 22819 miles on car. this is a 5 speed manual transmission model. on march third the clutch gave out. was told by fiat this wasn't an warranty item, although the window sticker says 4 year / 50,000 mile warranty. they also say free roadside assistance for 4 years / unlimited miles but since i refused to allow them to take this car 18 miles to a fiat dealer and only 1.4 miles to my local mechanic i had to pay out of pocket for towing. i paid out of pocket aprox $2,000 including, car rental, towing and a $1,772.45 repair bill. per the mechanic the clutch disc itself was in excellent condition, but the clutch pressure plate was at fault. from my own personal experience of restoring a few old cars and motorcycles over the years, this is pretty unheard of a clutch pressure plate failing before the actual clutch disc. my take there is some defect with this clutch pressure plate or the overall design of the manual clutch. as of this date, i haven't needed to replace the brake pads on this car so how in the world should it need a new clutch? this is crazy. *tr

Last night, while pulling onto the highway, my clutch locked up. my clutch has never shown any sign of wear/tear (no grinding, no slipping, no burning, etc.) and out of nowhere, it clamped shut. thankfully, there was not much traffic and i pulled over without the hazard of hitting/being hit by another car. i got the car towed to fiat of orange park, and had to wait until they opened today to get a call from them. i was so confused by what could have caused my clutch to do that, last night i searched online and found fiat-owner forums of other people describing the exact same incident happening to them (one guy was in atlanta traffic and almost crashed, another guy was in nyc about to cross the manhattan bridge and almost got into a wreck). they all had, like myself, fiat's with low mileage. some had 22k miles, some 28kmiles, some 50k, some 60k; hence adding to the bizarre nature of this incident. all incidents resulted in bent pressure plates as well as miscellaneous damage to clutch parts. fiat of orange park called me today and told me that the damage is my fault, as a result of wear/tear. despite me explaining to them that this has been an issue with other fiat-owners, they continued to say that i am responsible for the damage. despite all of the evidence pointing towards a mechanical malfunction, they said i am responsible for repairing the clutch. this seems to be a manufacturer defect and i would like to report this in hope that there might be action taken by you, nhtsa, to help the victims of this defect from 1) potential hazard as a result of future incidents 2) paying the large amount for repairing the damage. thank you for your consideration. *tr

While driving to the store, i turned into the store parking lot, i pressed the clutch to shift the car down into a lower gear, and i could not shift. the car kept rolling and i lost power steering and the vehicle died. upon trouble shooting, the problem was a failed pressure plate not allowing the clutch to engage. *tr

Failed pressure plate with 2012 fiat 500. design flaw/materials issue. fiat is not standing behind their product, no manual transmission should have to be replaced at 61,000 miles. *tr

Car diagnosed with transmission cooler failure. warmed car up in the morning for 5 minutes(cold morning, low below zero). noticed after getting in the car that it was still cold inside. on the way to work after 8 miles or so and the heater still blowing cold air, the high temperature/turn of engine warning message appeared and the digital temp gauge was at max. stopped car and had it towed to fiat dealer for service. they diagnosed it as a transmission cooler failure. thinking is that the engine coolant froze, damaging the transmission cooler and causing it to mix trans fluid and engine coolant. there were no warning signs this was about to happen, car acted normal previous day of driving. this happened 3000 miles past the warranty expiring. *tr

2012 fiat 500. consumer writes in regards to vehicle manual clutch malfunction and consumer seeks reimbursement for manual transaxle clutch recall notice. *smd the consumer referenced recall 16v302000. *jb

While exiting the freeway, i noticed that the clutch felt different in that there was suddenly a lot of resistance near the floor when depressing the clutch pedal. car would not go into 1st gear at the light. finally struggled it into 2nd and went. the clutch does not fully disengage. after searching online forums, i found that this is a recurrent problem with the vehicle, and it is most likely a pressure plate failure, since the clutch does not slip once it's in gear, but the clutch also does not fully disengage with the pedal pressed all the way down, even though previously, the clutch disengaged at half pedal height. i was able to baby the car home, and proceeded to bleed the hydraulic cylinders and observe clutch pedal action. when the clutch pedal is depressed, the actuator moves all the way on the transmission, so it is not a pedal failure. it is most definitely the pressure plate, which is obviously defective. *js

I was driving down a street by a school doing 20 mph. went to down shift and the clutch locked up. i could not push it to the floor. since i could not push the clutch down i could not shift gears. i have driven a clutch for over 30 years and never had to replace a clutch. there was no warning with this. just happened with no previous slipping or any indication something was going bad with the clutch. *tr

Vehicle sustained a catastrophic clutch failure while being driven at approx 25 mph resulting in an inoperable vehicle. additionally, the vehicle could not be shifted out of 4th gear as clutch could not be engaged. vehicle had to be turned off and emergency brake used to guide vehicle off of road. vehicle towed to dealer. manufacture replaced pressure plate and clutch. vehicle displayed no signs of worn clutch prior to incident. *tr

Mileage 33,245 manual transmission wont shift,clutch has failed,found belville spring on pressure plate has broke date 28/jul/2014. mileage 57,560 again 19/may/2016 need to recall im have al document. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. the contact stated that the clutch failed. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the technician diagnosed that the clutch was burned and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 24,000. the vin was unavailable.

Warning says airbag malfunction,all the time.brakes wear every 1000 miles.wheel bearings went out at 70,000 miles..these malfunctions happen when moving...

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. while driving approximately 45 mph, the gear was not able to shift from the fourth gear. vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the finger plate on the clutch was cracked and the clutch would not disengage. the vehicle was repaired but the remedy failed. the part for the repair was ordered but it was discovered that the clutch assembly was already cracked before use. the part was reordered and the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 95,000.

The oil pressure sensor warning light would randomly go on and off. the vehicle was taken to the dealership three times to repair the problem. on the third time, the dealership said that it was due to a damaged short block and that it would need to be replaced. this was in october 2014 and the mileage was 52,500 so my car was no longer under warranty. the dealer quoted approximately $5000 for the repair. shouldn't the warranty cover the repair because the problem began at 49,800 miles? the fiat dealership does not agree. *tr

Driving home during rush hour traffic, came to a stop at a red light. clutch failed, could not engage any gear. was able to get vehicle out of traffic and towed to service station. fiat claiming that it is a worn clutch after 27,000 miles. will only support clutch for first 12,000 miles. it's good my children were not in the car or this would have been a seriously dangerous situation. *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. the contact stated that while driving 10 mph, she depressed the clutch but it became jammed and the vehicle became stuck in second gear. the vehicle was towed to a dealer, who inspected the vehicle and stated that the manual transmission clutch disc failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 44,200. *tr

Vehicle clutch failed to disengage. dealer advised customer (me) parts not under warranty and advised fiat that clutch is worn out. dealer completed the repair; customer paid $940 for repair. dealer invoice notes: "clutch pressure plate spring damage and distorted" - damaged component is not a wear-and-tear component of the clutch assembly, and has suffered catastrophic failure, not a progressive wear. fiat refuses to review and re-evaluate the case. *tr