Fiat 500 2008-2015

Fiat 500 key – How is it possible that Fiat dealers want to charge $2,200 for a fiat 500 2014 model for a remote and key. What a joke. I bought this new with only 1 remote plus spare key. 1 key is worn out. Show details

This car is more likely to Kill you than almost any other car – If you have an accident in this car you will most likely be seriously injured. The Fiat 500 is No. 1 on Insure.com's list of worst vehicles for protecting passengers from injuries. In an accident with a larger object, the Fiat's safety cage and array of air bags do what they can to protect passengers, but like eggs in a coffee can, the passengers get thrown about and smashed up. Show details

Transmission was an issue but lucky enough to get Giat to fix – Always wanted one of these since having an original. Mine too after 38000 km started sticking in neutral leaving me stranded in the road. Luckily I had just bought it from a garage and they replaced the clutch less gearbox with reference to s known fault. Glad I didn’t buy it privately. Haven’t really loved it so much since.  Show details

Stay away, very unreliable and dangerous car – My wife purchased this car a couple of years ago and it was all good until the transmission started playing up. With just 28.000klms on the clock the car started dropping into neutral while driving leaving here in the middle of the road. Fiat customer support in Australia is terrible and want to charge $7500 to repair this problem. My advice to… Read more

anyone looking to buy one of these is DONT. Not worth it as the Dualogic automatic is just rubbish.

Do a search on one of the Fiat forums at (www.fiatforum.com) and you will find out all the details.

500S 6Sp – I have owned my fiat for 3 years and never had any issues with it. I have decided to part with it though as it’s incredibly small and I want something a bit bigger with a bit more power. Not the greatest in hills but gets you where you’re going.  Show details

Salospeed issues – I am really concerned and scared to drive my Fiat now. I am having dreadful issues with the transmission. Fiat refuse to fix under warranty when it is clearly a manufacturer issue. Fiats were recalled in USA for the same issues. I can be driving along the freeway when it automatically goes into neutral. Very scary when there is a huge semitrailer… Read more

behind you. So I gently pull over. The car won’t start again so I wait. After about 10 mins it will start. Often it won’t start in the morning or you try to reverse park and the car won’t go into reverse. This has been happening regularly since I first purchased it in 2014. I am at my wits end. Sick of arguing with Fiat. Does anyone else have this problem. We need to look at a class action!

Adore my Bella, she is the best car I have ever owned which includes a 328 BMW. No I would not swap – Driving......Fab Interior.......perfect Reliability.....execellent. I drive all over the metropolitan of Brisbane most days. Very cheap to run. Always take her to Fiat for service. Average cost $300.00 pa. What more can I say, I love Bella! No sorry, she is not for sale, I am hoping for a very long love affair.  Show details

I love my little baby fiat! – This car is super cute, very easy to drive and a great, cheap car for a student. It is relatively cheap to run and easy to maintain. I love the baby blue colour on both the body and the dash, and the convertible hood is so much fun in summer.  Show details

I think I'm in love! – I bought this car as a replacement to my Renault Clio. I did a fair amount of research before hand and when a demonstrator popped up on my radar I checked it out. I bought this car from a dealership in western sydney with 83 km on the clock and was 3 years old. It had obviously been sitting in the showroom. Before I could take it away they had to… Read more

replace the dashboard which had cracked around the passenger side airbag (a common problem whit 500s).

I have had this car for 6 months now... so heres what i think:

engine: the 2 cyl engine is blooming brilliant. 145nm torque at 2k rpm means hills and motorways are a blast (as long as you take it out of eco mode). In Eco the power is trottled back considerably, and this is generally where I leave it unless i need to accelerate fast or i need extra power for a steep hill.

Tranny: this is mated to the 5 speed dual logic gear box. it does a reasonable job of selecting gears for you, but the option to select gears yourself it there. auto selection can leave you with a jerky ride sometimes, especially mated with the stop-start on the engine.

handling: its not a race car, so if you want fast and dynamic, look elsewhere. the handling isnt too bad though. very light at slow speeds but tightens up at high and is pretty responsive. rough as guts over bumps though.

build quality: yeah, not so great, but full of character.

the car just brings a smile to my face when i drive it. after my first car (citroen bx 16trs) I didnt think i'd love a car again... this fiat has proven me wrong.

Split dashboard – My 2014 fiat 500 has now developed a split along the airbag passenger dash. This is obviously manufacture problem, but Fiat want $1700 to rectify. The outline of the airbag is totally visible and I presume it’s dangerous. Fiat should have more integrity than this and should stand by their product.  Show details

Paint peeling off fiat 500 – I also have a 2010 fiat 500c red. All my paint clear coat is peeling off. I won awards for this car and now the paint on the car is a mess. I have had trouble with the boot opening for years now. I don't use the boot anymore. Lately I have notice the roof lining glue is coming apart. I would not recommend at fiat 500 to anyone. I brought mine new $32000.  Show details

Just love it – Had my fiat 500 from new and love it. I have the automatic sort of manual version which i find handy if i am running our of revs say, on a big hill i can manually cog it back to keep up with traffic, The gearbox felt weird at first but now I love it , it has the pickup when i need to do peak hour maneuvers. Sits nicely on 100 to 110 and I am sure… Read more

it would do more if i chose to drive it that way. This is a little car though and I dont think it could take a lead foot owner ,Its usually myself driving it so i generally have the back seats down to give me extra cargo space. I was advised to fill with 95+ petrol and have done so unfailingly Maybe this is just the basic problem people are having with this car is putting the wrong cheap fuel in it. So there is one thing that bugs me and that's the foot heater. It seems to blow from the side so my left foot is nice and cosy and my right foot misses out. I love the driving experience its just so much fun, i get him (pepe) serviced once a year at Fiat ,it has been really cheap car to own and operate. Its reliable and I am confident in it, even driving on the Highways with all sorts of other bigger cars and trucks. I have been driving small cars (Cuore, Alto, Echo the mini Festiva) for probably 20 years on and off and I love this little guy, I have owned it for three years now from new, Not sure I would buy one second hand unless I am buying privately and they state categorically they have been using the correct fuel. For me this car is perfect and I wont be parting with it any time soon. Oh yes and the indicators are windscreen wipers are European sided so expect to try and stop water on the windscreen with indicators until you get used to that

Fiat 500 Selespeed automatic transmission problem – Fiat 500s have a known problem. In North America alone 80000 have been recalled because of problems with the transmission (Selespeed). The problem is known in the U.K, Australia and Europe. If your car has problems, pursue it. The repairs cost about $6000. If you are thinking of buying one, negotiate specific cover on this component.  Show details

European styling - Chinese build quality – My 2009 Fiat 500 pretty much started to fall apart a few months after coming out of warranty. After 8 years it has still only done 120,000 km, but drives like a car that has done 300,000 km. It has cost be on average $2,200 a year for repairs above the scheduled servicing since it came out of warranty. And much of the problem is simple build… Read more

quality stuff like:

1) Badges fell off ($300)

2) A bracket that guides the window broke ($700).

3) The wiring system for the electronic boot lock failed (broken wire). It's a single wiring system ($2,200).

4) Radiator collapsed after 4 years despite dealer servicing since new and correct fluids always being used ($1,200).

5) Folding mechanic for passenger seat broke ($400).

6) Metallic paint faded after 4 years despite car being garaged every day (quite for repaint was $2,000).

These cars are great to drive, but a complete piece of crap engineering. And all I get from the dealer is .....'well it is Italian..."

Pleasure and so much Pain – I bought a red Fiat 500 in 2009 when it was 9 months old from a Maserati dealer who had used it as a loan car. It was $32,000 new. I loved it, real head turner as not many around. It has now done 53,000Kms and is so much fun to drive BUT when the car was four years old the clear coat started coming off the roof. After a 12 month battle with Fiat… Read more

they resprayed it promising to review the failing bonnet and perished rubber mouldings on another claim. The bonnet now looks like I have had an engine fire and the rest of the car is heading that way. I also have a 10cm split in my dashboard at the front edge of the passenger airbag. After a further two year battle with Fiat they have said "it is out of warranty" and "it is red". I'm in my mid 50's and have always treated the car like a Cup favourite. How can this be fair. It is worth nothing unless I spend $5,000 to have it resprayed and not worth much after that. So disillusioned with Fiat Australia.

December 6th 2018 Update: The pain continued

8,760 have read my review on the clear coat peeling off my 2008 Fiat 500 after 4-5 years. After no luck with Fiat I spent $5,200 getting the car resprayed. The car at this point was 9 years old and had done 55,000 kms. Murphy's Law, straight after I had spent this money the gearbox bearings went. The car was off the road for 7 weeks waiting for parts from Fiat in Italy. After that it was the timing belt which I guess was fair as the car was of an age. Then it was the starter motor, then it was the clutch plate. All this before the car was 60,000 kms. I don't know about you but a $34,000 car should last more than 60,000 Kms before needing what amounted to $8,500 worth of repairs plus the $5,200 for the paint job. The car is currently valued at $8,000 so I guess I will just run it into the ground. I'm a nearly retired lady who has always looked after the car with regular servicing, as we do at our age. When it's running it is still a fun car to drive. Unfortunately I now have to have my mechanic and tow truck driver on speed dial.