Since FIAT hasn't sold cars in the U.S. and Canada in a long time, many people here are wondering how reliable the 500 is. I've designed a car reliability survey that promptly updates four times a year, to report on new models like the 500 sooner then track cars very closely as they age. I'd love to have some stats for the car--just a matter of how soon enough owners get involved.

We have members all over the world. Participants simply report repairs the month after they occur on a one-page survey. When there are no repairs, they simply report an approximate odometer reading four times a year, following the end of each quarter.

To encourage participation, participants receive full access to all results, not just those for the 500, for free. I'll share results for the 500 in this thread after each update.

For the details, and to sign up to help out:

truedelta.com/reliability.php

US 500 and the Euro 500 are different. US 500 only has one engine and this engine is not in the Euro 500 (yet). US has an automatic - Euro a MTA (robotised manual). US 500 is heavier and is more 're-enforced'. There is another recent thread on here and Fiat has been reported to be very reliable.

Thanks for the info. I was aware of some differences, but not that the MultiAir 1.4 isn't offered outside North America. You get a different 1.4?

If the data suggest that reliability differs between the variants I'd post separate stats for each.

US gets a different 1.4 but essentially its the same in the power department 100 PS vs 102 PS @ 6000 and 6500 respectively. I would hardly call them 'different' engines, just different tuning and some different bits. Lets say Euro engine model 2009, US engine model 2010 = )
The heart remains the same as they have exactly the same capacity at 1,368 cc

It would be unusual to have problems with either engine in the first few years. Repairs when the cars are fairly new tend to involve other parts of the car. Engines these days are usually solid. Transmissions and various electrical bits, not so much.

ahmett said:

US gets a different 1.4 but essentially its the same in the power department 100 PS vs 102 PS @ 6000 and 6500 respectively. I would hardly call them 'different' engines, just different tuning and some different bits. Lets say Euro engine model 2009, US engine model 2010 = )
The heart remains the same as they have exactly the same capacity at 1,368 cc

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In the gearbox 'department' on the Manual the Euro model has a 6 speed gearbox whilst the US has 5 speed.
The engine on the US 500 is an 'all new' multi-air head as it exists on the Mito and the Punto Evo but the block does appear to be the same.
Multi-air engine is also more torquey and is 10% more fuel efficient. The US 500 cars are returning excellent mpg with the manual gearbox and is nearly competing with the economy of a 1.2 .
In the Euro edition of the multi-air engine it is 10% more powerful 105 as oppossed to 100 since it's tuned a little differently to the US model (more torque).
US 500 weights roughly 100kg more than the Euro 'equivalent'.
On the Fiat USA 500 site it details the differences between the models.

mkaresh said:

It would be unusual to have problems with either engine in the first few years. Repairs when the cars are fairly new tend to involve other parts of the car. Engines these days are usually solid. Transmissions and various electrical bits, not so much.

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You might want to speak to Twinair owners about that - especially those who have had an engine recall for a new turbo....

Both 1.2 & 1.4 engines have a good track record for long-term reliability. If sensibly driven & properly maintained, either engine should be good for the life of the car (unless you are unlucky and get a 'rogue' unit, in which case the problems will usually become apparent early on).

The TwinAir has not been in production for sufficient time for anyone to comment about long term reliability, one way or the other. As Robin says, there is a recall on the turbo affecting some (but not all) TwinAirs - suggesting to the cynical that FIAT are concerned about failures leading to more extensive engine damage during the warranty period.

Many folks have speculated about TwinAir longevity but the plain fact is that we simply do not know how the fleet will be performing in 5-10 years time. Given that the other petrol powerplants have a proven track record, purchasing a TwinAir is a greater gamble if you intend keeping the car for more than 3 years. Another consideration is that the TwinAir engine will almost certainly be much more expensive to replace if it does break.

mkaresh said:

Since FIAT hasn't sold cars in the U.S. and Canada in a long time, many people here are wondering how reliable the 500 is.

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The OP is in the US & I'd suggest the purchasing decision for someone stateside is a little different, as the viability of running any car long-term depends a lot on having access to a wide aftermarket of parts, accessories & expertise. Here in Europe we are fortunate in that regard, but there won't be any real non-dealer support for the car in North America & you will either have to buy parts locally at main dealer prices, or source them from Europe, which will likely mean paying substantial shipping & handling charges & dealing with the hassle of customs & importation. A recent thread showed the difficulty of sourcing a steel wheel for winter tires in the US, something that's easy for those of us in the UK.

If the car proves popular in North America, then no doubt a thriving third party infrastructure will develop over time - but if the car bombs, you'll be left relying on a dwindling number of FIAT dealerships to look after an increasingly expensive-to-maintain car that's almost impossible to sell on - something us Europeans fortunately don't have to worry about.

So I'd suggest the risk of buying in the USA is perhaps as much a gamble on the popularity of the car in that market as it is on the reliability of its components.

jrkitching said:

So I'd suggest the risk of buying in the USA is perhaps as much a gamble on the popularity of the car in that market as it is on the reliability of its components.

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Comparing the Irish prices of the 500 against the US 500 1.4 MA they have keenly priced their Pop ($15.5K) and even their Sport models. Judging by a thread on the USA section the dealers are going 'all out' to keep their customers happy. With the partnership with Chrysler and their better warranty they should be able to expect at least 4 years trouble free motoring. With the promise of a 'new' Abarth 500 it adds kudos to the 500 range and has no doubt helped the sales of the 500 judging by the numbers of Americans who have traded in their V8s and 6s for a 'wee' 4 cylinder engine. Some have commented that it has been good for business since the idea of driving an expensive Merc or equivalent is a little out of touch with the current economic woes that we're all experiencing.
It would be important for Fiat to deliver on the A500 by the 2nd quarter of the 2012 since a number of wannabes have been very patient.

US prices for all cars are much lower, as they haven't adjusted as the dollar has weakened. Even so, my local dealer (outside Detroit, Michigan) has a large amount of inventory.

Recalls don't necessarily mean much, especially if they're conducted before many owners actually experience the problem.

Americans also tend to be pickier about reliability than Europeans. Many people here expect zero repairs during the first few years, for anything, even the small stuff. By the same token, I've had much more interest in the reliability survey on this side of the Atlantic.

Hope this helps.

https://www.fiatforum.com/500/281167-jd-power-2011-a.html

The last time I looked into the methodology JD Power uses in their UK survey, it was iffy. Did this year's survey again ask owners how reliable they *perceived* their car to be? This makes the resulting stats more opinion than fact. Cars for which buyers had low expectations get a boost.

Update: I've checked the JD Power and What Car? articles, but can't find a clear statement of how the reliability portion of the survey was conducted. It might now be based on somewhat objective problem counts.

The linked thread notes only the overall satisfaction scores, which cover all aspects of ownership. In "mechanical reliability," "interior quality," and "exterior quality" the 500 received three, two, and three stars respectively, with two stars being the lowest rating (JD Power doesn't give any car a single star, go figure) and five the highest. So not very good.

The 500 achieved a good overall score through very high marks in "vehicle appeal," meaning owners like how it looks and drives. News to anyone here?

http://www.whatcar.com/NonCar/2051111103253.jpg

They tend to be what the industry uses here ,ie they are normally not far off the mark ,they look into how much the cars were off the road for ,what it was for and how much it cost to fix .They have a data base of garage retailers to back up the numbers on the repair side /reliability!

We'll have some initial stats next month, with more solid results in May. How much more solid will depend on how many more owners sign up and assist with the survey.

Car reliability research

Sorry for the delay in posting some stats. Igot very busy with the site and had to stop participating in forums for a few months...

For the first couple of quarters in which we had reliability stats for the FIAT 500, it did very well, with hardly any repairs reported. With the latest update, which included owner experiences through the end of September, the stat worsened to 41 repair trips per 100 cars per year, which is very close to the average.

The big question is whether the stat will continue to worsen, level off, or return to "better than average" in the future. We'll see this with the next update in February, with a preview for participants as responses come in next month.

To view the details, and to sign up to help:

FIAT 500 reliability ratings and comparisons

I've got a 1.4 lounge. Mine was one of the very early customer order cars in the UK. I'm told it was from the second batch to arrive in the UK after the press fleet and dealer demonstrators.

I've done almost 90k miles in it over almost 5 years. I am not shy in thrashing her hard. Some items that have been replaced:

- Bearings I've done five times on the front, once on the rear. They're consumable if you're using one of these on track days.

- Hub flanges I've done half a dozen times. A lot of swapping wheels and track abuse will be the thing that gets you in trouble here if you're not using a torque wrench. Most shops use airguns and the result is overtorqued bolts that mash the threads.

- Service items are about normal. I work to a 10k cambelt and general plugs/oil/filter schedule are done about the same with oil changes before each track day

- Shocks were dead to the world after about 80k but what really finished them off was 30 flat out laps of the Nurburgring. And I had a set of cheap and nasty lowering springs on her from day 3 so it was never factory levels of spec or use.

- Exhaust manifold I've done once. This I'd have expected to last longer but I had the undertray off the car last winter and the salt and muck caused the lambda sensor boss to pop out and rust went through in several other spots

- Filters, I use a cone filter and induction kit and have changed the filter about 4 times.

- Brakes pads I've lost count of the types and times I've changed. So much so that swapping front pads is now down to about 15 mins works

- Standard discs front are rubbish and die quickly with spirited driving. EBC turbo groove last much longer

- Rear braking last much much longer and typically the slider in the caliper is what starts to grind from road muck long before you're worried about pads/discs

- Steering wheel leather is terrible. Easily the worst thing by far on the car. I pulled mine and had it covered in Alcantara, there's a thread on here somewhere about it.

- General wear and tear on the interior is not a problem. 306maxi took mine for a thrash the other day and commented how 'new' it felt on the inside after all that time and abuse

- Leather gets a bit creasy and wrinkly after a while, many have had good results with the leather cleaners/conditioners. I just live with it.

- Clutch I've done once. In all honesty it would have lasted another 50k miles but the release bearing was knackered. It literally disintegrated in my hand when removed

- Engine mounts are about to be changed on mine, she's getting a bit floppy there

- Exhausts are terrible. I mean absolutely terrible. Borderline unacceptable in a new car. I replaced mine with a custom bent stainless one. Much better but a tad heavier.

- Hydraulic seals on clutch master or slave (can't remember which) went on mine on day 3 of ownership. It's the only real factory fault I've had. Apparently a bad batch and it was replaced in a day all ready for me.

- The glass roof roller blind is crap, really crap and no amount of fiddling or dealer intervention will fix it. You learn to live with it.

- The undertray attachment screws are a steaming pile of ****e. Remove them, drill them out, use rivnuts and stainless steel screw and your servicing life is a much nicer place to be.

- Top mounts on the front suspension tend to go reasonably quickly. I've done mine about 4 times now. Mind you that's with a lot of track abuse and country lanes thrashing.

- Drop links, what a joke. I've given up counting the number of times I've done them. I recently replaced them with a set of rose jointed ones on a turnbuckle I put together myself (there's a thread on here somewhere if you're interested). That cost me about 3 times the cost of a set of droplinks but they'll last much, much longer.

- Tyres, at £35 a pop I consider these consumable and don't complain too much when I shred a set of fronts on a track day

- The boot cable/microswitch. After a while you get bored of spraying it with switch cleaner and just use the keyfob to open the boot.

- The dash vents slider is quite fragile. I slide one of mine quickly once and it popped out of the ball joint thing that moves the vains. Most annoying and a fiddle to get popped back in.

- Floor rubber on drivers side. Worse than a joke. Expect total separation from the carpet at around 30k miles

- Blue&Me is sometimes confused if you stick a questionable USB key into it. Pull the battery cable, wait 15 mins and you're all good again. Electrics have given me no grief really but then I have an S1 Elise so the bar is admittedly low in my head

- The front wipers are a joke. Go straight from the dealer and buy a bosch one. Throw the factory one away.

- Front supension arms. Done these once at an eye watering £265 each I was unimpressed. They've since dropped to £50 a side. Note to self, cars are not designed to fly nor are they keen on abrupt landings. Take special note of this at the Nurburgring.

- Rubber on the pedals tends to go at about 50k. Easy fix.

If you're worried about a specific aspect of the car post here and I'll let you know if I've run into it.

That's quite a list!

We've updated our car reliability stats for the FIAT 500 to include owner experiences through December 31, 2012.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2012: 55, moderate, common problems with oil leaks due to manifold bolts, Bluetooth module

Everyone who's been helping, thanks, I appreciate it. We'll have further updates in May and August. The more owners participate, the more precise these will be.

To view the details, and to sign up to help:

FIAT 500 reliability ratings and comparisons

We've updated our reliability stats for the 500 to include owner experiences through March 31, 2013.

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2013 500: 20, low, small sample size
2012 500: 59, high

We have two additional statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds", to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop:

2012 500: 49, 2

We'll have further updates in August and in November.

For the details, including the descriptions of reported repairs, and to sign up to help improve this information:

FIAT 500 reliability ratings and comparisons

We've updated our reliability stats for the 500 to include owner experiences through June 30, 2013. (Another source is about 14 months behind.)

Repair frequencies, in terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2013 500: 9, low
2012 500: 63, high

The stat for the 2012 reflects common problems with oil leaks (due to a bolt), the BlueTooth module, and a clunking intermediate steering shaft.

We have two additional statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds", to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop:

2012 500: 57, 2

We'll have further updates in November and February.

To view competitors' scores and descriptions of reported repairs, and to sign up to help:

FIAT 500 reliability ratings and comparisons