Hi,

I bought a 2012 Fiat 500 Lounge just recently. It has 26000 km on it and was serviced last September, so it's in good condition.

I've noticed a clanking noise coming from the front suspension. Not when driven normally on good roads, but when driven over patched pot holes or sharp road bumps. It's not too bad, but since my previous car had a lot of issues with the front suspension and a lot of noises coming from it, I'm super sensitive to the sounds.

Obviously there's going to be noises on harsh roads, but I'm worried that this clanking is a sign of something broken. What amount of suspension noise is "normal" for a 500 and are there any specific parts that are usually the culprits?

I've also just bought a 2012 Lounge and this is my advice: register the warranty in your name and book in for warranty work. Let a dealership look into this for you. And try to avoid rough roads! LOL!

Congrats!

We only have 2 years of warranty in Sweden, so there isn't any left. I will let a dealer have a look though and pay for it, because it's just so annoying.

Trying to avoid rough roads but it's tough because our roads are pretty bad.

gardenhose said:

Hi,

I bought a 2012 Fiat 500 Lounge just recently. It has 26000 km on it and was serviced last September, so it's in good condition.

I've noticed a clanking noise coming from the front suspension. Not when driven normally on good roads, but when driven over patched pot holes or sharp road bumps. It's not too bad, but since my previous car had a lot of issues with the front suspension and a lot of noises coming from it, I'm super sensitive to the sounds.

Obviously there's going to be noises on harsh roads, but I'm worried that this clanking is a sign of something broken. What amount of suspension noise is "normal" for a 500 and are there any specific parts that are usually the culprits?

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It sounds like the top mounts to me. When I changed mine the clanking stopped. It started at 40,000 km and 2 years old for me !

PocoBeep said:

I've also just bought a 2012 Lounge and this is my advice: register the warranty in your name and book in for warranty work. Let a dealership look into this for you. And try to avoid rough roads! LOL!

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It's most likely the anti roll bar drop links. Theses are easy to replace and should the the first thing to check.
As Ahmett said it could also be strut top mounts but at the mileage you have it shouldn't be those. Is the noise on both sides?

gardenhose said:

What amount of suspension noise is "normal" for a 500

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Essentially none if the car is in good condition.

gardenhose said:

... are there any specific parts that are usually the culprits?

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Faulty droplinks, top mounts or wishbones could all cause this. None of these are of particularly durable on the 500 and you might consider fitting good quality aftermarket parts, which may last longer than their OEM equivalents.

Droplinks are cheap and straightforward; top mounts likewise, though it can be a struggle to undo the bump stop retaining nut (it's prone to rust as water from the scuttle collects in it - poor design). Wishbones are more work than they should be, since the bumper and one of the front crossmembers has to be removed for access.

I've had this from when the car was about four or five months old, A metallic clank from the passenger side foot well. I seem to remember there were a few owners of early cars that complained of this back in 2008.
I've never been able to find it, the dealer never found it (no surprise) and Mc Ewans Independent specialist has never found it. It's had new strut tops at the second MOT, That didn't stop it and its never failed an MOT because of it so it cannot be a critical component.
I just live with it a take as part of the character of the car.

The only other thing I can think it is, and I've never got round to looking seriously, is the heavy lump of metal that passes behind the dash and links the brake pedal to the master cylinder. The early cars had a big cast alloy bracket that this connects to under the dash on the passenger side, the noise sounds sort of heavy metal on metal, Within a year this bracket was changed for a moulded nylon affair. so later cars wouldn't have suffered if that's was the cause.
One day when 'm bored I'll probably go looking again.

If you find out what it is I would be most interested..

Chris

I just had the car checked by an authorised Fiat service partner. Both front suspension arms/wishbone (whatever it's called in English) need to be replaced because of play in the bearings, which is causing the clanking noise, according to them. No warranty I'm afraid.

This part, I believe:


They want an equivalent of €650 for the work and parts. I know very little about cars, but is it really reasonable to have to exchange the entire arms for that much money on a car with just 27 000 km on it?

gardenhose said:

I just had the car checked by an authorised Fiat service partner. Both front suspension arms/wishbone (whatever it's called in English) need to be replaced because of play in the bearings, which is causing the clanking noise, according to them. No warranty I'm afraid.

This part, I believe:

They want an equivalent of €650 for the work and parts. I know very little about cars, but is it really reasonable to have to exchange the entire arms for that much money on a car with just 27 000 km on it?

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no not at all that's madness. if you are still in warranty call Fiat SWE and tell them this is ridiculous and you may end up with a discount or something.

ahmett said:

no not at all that's madness. if you are still in warranty call Fiat SWE and tell them this is ridiculous and you may end up with a discount or something.

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I'm not under warranty, sadly, so I'll have to pay something but preferably as little as possible. May take it to another shop to get a second opinion.

gardenhose said:

I'm not under warranty, sadly, so I'll have to pay something but preferably as little as possible. May take it to another shop to get a second opinion.

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ok then do not go to a fiat dealer. try bosch car service? I think they have branches in Sweden. they are my favorite independent.
by the way I would still call fiat as a plan B, you have nothing to lose and may get a discount out of them through pestering them. that's the method I use, calling and shouting = ).
it took like 10 phonecalls to fiat and 2 different fiat dealers to get a decent deal! = )

ahmett said:

ok then do not go to a fiat dealer. try bosch car service? I think they have branches in Sweden. they are my favorite independent.
by the way I would still call fiat as a plan B, you have nothing to lose and may get a discount out of them through pestering them. that's the method I use, calling and shouting = ).
it took like 10 phonecalls to fiat and 2 different fiat dealers to get a decent deal! = )

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Haha, nice, thanks for the tip.
I recently had a bad experience with an independent shop on a similar front suspension issue on a 2000 Multipla, which ended up costing about €1000 to fix. :bang: So that's why I figured I'd go to an official shop this time, but apparently they too are trying to screw me over.

gardenhose said:

Haha, nice, thanks for the tip.

I recently had a bad experience with an independent shop on a similar front suspension issue on a 2000 Multipla, which ended up costing about €1000 to fix. :bang: So that's why I figured I'd go to an official shop this time, but apparently they too are trying to screw me over.

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That's why I recommended Bosch car service , they are very professional and well trained, especially their service managers who are trained by Bosch themselves