I have a fiat 500 1.2s on a 64 plate.

Yesterday whilst at traffic lights on a major junction, as I was about to set off the car went into what I would describe as 'limp mode', the engine management light came on, the stop/start light came on and an exclamation light. I turned off the ignition and when I turned it on again the engine management light was still on. I sat a while at the side of the road, tried again and drove home fine - albeit with the engine light still on. When I got home I turned ignition off again and on and the lights had all cleared.

Any ideas?

p.s - I have now disabled stop/start just in case it's that as even with it on I don't use it anyway.

Have the fault code (s) read as they are normally stored after the light has been on, don't leave it as the issue may crop up again? Then go from there, could be as simple as a poor connection the stop start light is likely to be on because the engine light was on rather than causing the EML being on.

Yup, eml light automatically disables the stop start.

D

Nixy said:

I have a fiat 500 1.2s on a 64 plate.

Yesterday whilst at traffic lights on a major junction, as I was about to set off the car went into what I would describe as 'limp mode', the engine management light came on, the stop/start light came on and an exclamation light. I turned off the ignition and when I turned it on again the engine management light was still on. I sat a while at the side of the road, tried again and drove home fine - albeit with the engine light still on. When I got home I turned ignition off again and on and the lights had all cleared.

Any ideas?

p.s - I have now disabled stop/start just in case it's that as even with it on I don't use it anyway.

Click to expand...

Sounds very similar to the problem my wife's 500 had a couple of times last year.

First and foremost, as advised you will need to get the error code read to see what the problem is. Up to you whether you want to book your car into your local dealer (if it's still in warranty), or otherwise use a good local auto electrician if you can't do it yourself.

Have a look at this thread:
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/353429-throttle-position-sensor-replacing.html

Basically, the error code that came up twice was "P1220 - throttle sensor malfunction" - both times the car went into limp mode and S/S was disabled. Could well be the cause of your problem IMO.

She never did get a definitive answer to what caused it, but essentially the auto electrician diagnosed it as being down to the brake pedal and throttle being pressed/activated at the same time. We're talking about hundredths of a second here, not literally pressing both pedals at the same time but long enough for the car to get confused!

Anyway, the end result was not an expensive trip to the dealer or a new part, just the basic call out charge for the auto electrician to diagnose and reset the ECU. Fingers crossed it's the same for you.

Thanks for that - I've had a read of the other thread and will keep an eye on it for now. It's still under warranty until October - then it goes back as it's a lease car.

Lease car, straight to dealer?

Quick update on this:

I live exactly in the middle of two main fiat dealers - neither of which are very close. One in York and one in Hull. Neither of them had courtesy cars available for several weeks which was absolutely no use to me and so I ended up putting it on the back burner as the car was running ok and to be honest as it's a lease car I was probably less anxious about it. Then last night whilst waiting in the middle of an incredibly busy A road to turn right, the engine light came on again and went into limp mode as I was turning across the road! The car behind me had also turned and there I am doing about 3mph to cross the road with oncoming traffic! I pulled over and turned it off and on again. The light remained on but the car felt fine. So today I have finally booked it in but still no courtesy car, a two week wait and I have had to use a days holiday! The car is under warranty and the dealer said that I will be charged per hour for diagnostic tests and will only get that back if they find a 'warranty issue'. I can't actually see how it could be anything else! Will update again after the visit!

Nixy said:

Quick update on this:

The dealer said that I will be charged per hour for diagnostic tests and will only get that back if they find a 'warranty issue'.

Click to expand...

I would NOT be happy about this, when they say there is a fault code, but nothings "wrong" (at the moment) so you have to pay, perhaps a call to Fiat customer services first, although don't hold out hope?

John202020 said:

I would NOT be happy about this, when they say there is a fault code, but nothings "wrong" (at the moment) so you have to pay, perhaps a call to Fiat customer services first, although don't hold out hope?

Click to expand...

I can't say I was that happy about it to be honest but even if it's a simple reset of the ECU I don't see how they can charge me because at the end of the day the car is currently dangerous to drive! Perhaps I should put an advance check in with fiat customer services as I've got time! I have to say my experience of both dealers local to me has been dreadful. I had great service from the original supplier which was Burrows Fiat in Sheffield but sadly that's a long way away!

Nixy said:

I can't say I was that happy about it to be honest but even if it's a simple reset of the ECU I don't see how they can charge me because at the end of the day the car is currently dangerous to drive! Perhaps I should put an advance check in with fiat customer services as I've got time! I have to say my experience of both dealers local to me has been dreadful. I had great service from the original supplier which was Burrows Fiat in Sheffield but sadly that's a long way away!

Click to expand...

Definitely mither CS, and keep mithering.

D

Just to report back that all was sorted. SG Petch in York were really good. Kept the car exactly as long as they said they would. Checked it over and found an air leak on the manifold. They replaced the leaky part and away I went. The only thing I found odd was that when I asked if I needed any paperwork they said no because it's under warranty. I'm not worried as it's a lease car but if it had been mine and I was keeping it I would have wanted something for my records. Otherwise happy and it's been fine since.