Hi Folks, liking the look of this place. have just purchased a Techno Green 2018 1.0 500X to replace a 2012 Panda 1.2. Spent about 4 days trawling internet and car dealers in Hants, Wilts & Dorset looking for something suitable, Citroen C3,C3 Aircross, Ford Ecosport, Nissan Juke etc but the 500X just hit the spot and dealer in Swindon was excellent. The Panda has been a phenomenally good little car and am hoping this 500X matches it in reliability and funkiness. Bought as a 40th birthday present for daughter so I'm sure she will love it. I'll no doubt be her go-to technical adviser so will no doubt pester folk on here now and again for what looks to be a vibrant and knowledgeable forum.
500X Hi from new 500X owner
- Thread starter Milo500X
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500X Hi from new 500X owner
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Nice, that's a great colour
It's a nice car. Congrats on your purchase.
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Welcome. As you said friendly, helpful people on here
Ha ha, well that didn't last long 
The dealer, had agreed to do the cam chain & MOT in writing before collection, I had an email today from the dealer that it failed the MOT on emissions and after software tweeking is now OK, but they won't do the timing chain as it allegedly 'lasts for life of engine if serviced regularly' . To me that means in 'one or two services time you can sort it yourself!'
I had looked at loads of cars before choosing this one as it ticked all the boxes, was immaculate, came with a years warranty and the main dealer seemed great and was only 2 miles from my daughter in Swindon. I was so impressed by them, and that being a main FIAT dealer I didn't do an MOT history check on this one; but this made me curious.
The DVLA MOT checker today brought up this.......
13 Sept 2021………… 35906 recorded miles
24 Aug 2022…………. 43833 miles
4 Sept 2023 ………… .52855 miles
21 Aug 2025…………. 59859 miles
*4 Jun 2025………….. 38268 miles*.
The car was advertised as 38257 miles.
I have cancelled the order and asked for the £250 deposit back. Such a shame, and I hope someone else enjoys it knowing that it has over 60k miles on it.
Oh well the Panda will have to last a little longer while we look for another car. #disappointed.
The dealer, had agreed to do the cam chain & MOT in writing before collection, I had an email today from the dealer that it failed the MOT on emissions and after software tweeking is now OK, but they won't do the timing chain as it allegedly 'lasts for life of engine if serviced regularly' . To me that means in 'one or two services time you can sort it yourself!'
I had looked at loads of cars before choosing this one as it ticked all the boxes, was immaculate, came with a years warranty and the main dealer seemed great and was only 2 miles from my daughter in Swindon. I was so impressed by them, and that being a main FIAT dealer I didn't do an MOT history check on this one; but this made me curious.
The DVLA MOT checker today brought up this.......
13 Sept 2021………… 35906 recorded miles
24 Aug 2022…………. 43833 miles
4 Sept 2023 ………… .52855 miles
21 Aug 2025…………. 59859 miles
*4 Jun 2025………….. 38268 miles*.
The car was advertised as 38257 miles.
I have cancelled the order and asked for the £250 deposit back. Such a shame, and I hope someone else enjoys it knowing that it has over 60k miles on it.
Oh well the Panda will have to last a little longer while we look for another car. #disappointed.
Ha ha, well that didn't last long
The dealer, had agreed to do the cam chain & MOT in writing before collection, I had an email today from the dealer that it failed the MOT on emissions and after software tweeking is now OK, but they won't do the timing chain as it allegedly 'lasts for life of engine if serviced regularly' . To me that means in 'one or two services time you can sort it yourself!'
That's pretty poor on their behalf.
I had looked at loads of cars before choosing this one as it ticked all the boxes, was immaculate, came with a years warranty and the main dealer seemed great and was only 2 miles from my daughter in Swindon. I was so impressed by them, and that being a main FIAT dealer I didn't do an MOT history check on this one; but this made me curious.
The DVLA MOT checker today brought up this.......
13 Sept 2021………… 35906 recorded miles
24 Aug 2022…………. 43833 miles
4 Sept 2023 ………… .52855 miles
21 Aug 2025…………. 59859 miles
*4 Jun 2025………….. 38268 miles*.
The car was advertised as 38257 miles.
I have cancelled the order and asked for the £250 deposit back. Such a shame, and I hope someone else enjoys it knowing that it has over 60k miles on it.
Oh well the Panda will have to last a little longer while we look for another car. #disappointed.
The mileage history is fine........i checked and you've got miles and kilometres mixed up.
Thank you Anthony, checking the DVLA site again, I note that as you say, up to August 2024 it was all in Km and this year it is showing miles which would explain the discrepancy. I'll have to get back to them and eat some humble pie.
Any opinions about the timing chain longevity issues? Maybe all is not lost, I'd hate to lose it.
You could say I'll buy only if you do the timing chain as agreed? I have a 1.6 litre 2016 Fiat 500X diesel and the service for cambelt is 6 years or 120,000 km, whichever is first.
I just checked and my owners manual doesn't list the 1.0 Litre engine. It might be in the downloads section of this website, i'm not sure.
I just checked and my owners manual doesn't list the 1.0 Litre engine. It might be in the downloads section of this website, i'm not sure.
The downloads section of this website doesn't seem to have the service manual for the 1 litre engine. It does have an American owners manual which says the 500X's available in the US are indeed the lifetime of the engine for a cambelt. But my European cambelt is more typical, i.e. 6 years.
Can anyone else confirm the cambelt change interval for this engine?
Can anyone else confirm the cambelt change interval for this engine?
Thanks Anthony for your help. I have looked around and the issue of belts and chains always causes a variety of opinions even in the trade. I probably wouldn't be so paranoid if the car was for myself.
I found the owners manual, it is here on page 173.
Its not saying anything about changing the cambelt for the 1.0 litre engine. So this means the cambelt doesn't need changing? I'd like someone else to confirm?
Yes it talks about cam belts and not chains so that may be a good sign.
Thanks again
Can anyone else offer an opinion?
I have just had this email which should clarify the situation and may be of interest in other timing chain related queries.
"I just spoke with ....... ....... the dealer principal and he said as long as you service the vehicle every 12 months or every 9000 miles using Fiat approved parts should something happen to the engine and its determined it was the TIMING CHAIN then you would be covered by FIAT.
The timing chain is designed to last the life time of the engine on the Fiat 500 X.
"1.0 Litre engine for life" timing chain of 100 MultiJet, 160 MultiJet Power and 180 MultiJet Power engines does not need to be replaced.
The lifetime of your engine is expected to last up to 250,000 miles.
I hope that gives you the reassurance you need Tony.
I have CC'd the sales manager into our conversation."
That is quite reassuring and good to have in writing. Thanks again for your help AnthonyH
The 1.0ltr is a 3-cylinder engine of the "Firefly" engine family.
The 1.3 is a 4-cylinder version of the same engine.. it literally has one extra cylinder (both engines use the same 70 × 86.5mm pistons @ 333cc per cylinder).
The engines are chain driven.. the only belt is the auxiliary belt, and that needs changing every 6 years / 72,000 miles, unless it looks like it's not going to make it (5 yrs/60,000 miles is where it looks like it might start becoming moody).
Some Firefly engines have had issues with the timing chains wearing prematurely (stretch or just a duff tensioner) but other than work carried out under the manufacturer's (new car) warranty, I've not heard that Fiat will fix it if it goes wrong. It does not have a lifetime guarantee, so your dealer offering that Fiat will fix it, is a little disingenuous.
Having said that, the chains seem okay. As usual, clean oil and frequent changes will improve your chances.
The oil changes are due every 9000 miles or annually, whichever is the sooner.. which is monitored by the "Service" indicator.. and there also is an "oil condition" system that monitors operating conditions; how many cold starts you do, how long idling, what revs you give it.. etc. and that can separately pop up a warning when the oil is theoretically knackered. When servicing, remember to get the garage to reset both systems, otherwise you get (usually) the oil condition warning come on, a few weeks after the service.
Ralf S.
I think this sounds right.
I read the situation as...the chain is intended to last the lifetime of the engine and most likely will...but if it does fail Fiat will not repair irrespective of what the email says.
Just to be clear, We're talking about the 3 cylinder "Firefly" (Global engine) petrol engine here? This is an engine which interests me very much as it's the newest engine I know of in Fiat cars and is cropping up in a number of their offerings - So maybe I'll end up owning one at some time in the future. There are people in this thread talking about timing belts but, as I understand it, the Firefly's are all chain driven cams? In theory a chain should outlast a belt but this dividing line is becoming a bit blurred now with modern belt and pulley designs allowing manufacturers to now claim some belts are "lifetime" items - My EA211 engine'd Scala being one. The big question is, what do they define as "lifetime".
In days gone by, when belts were quite a new innovation, they got a bad name for failing early and so people got it into their minds that chains were by far the better option. Also, back then, chains did seem to last, sometimes, for the life of the car. So people had a much better perception of them. Now a days though cars cover far bigger mileages during a typical lifetime and are, pretty much, all OHC designs so have relatively long belt/chain runs - wear in a long chain has a much greater effect on engine running than a short chain will. Also modern engines run at higher revs with more extreme valve trains, often variable geometries, which stress the belts/chains more. Indeed some oil companies now produce oils which particularly address wear in cam chains. So cam chain life and timing belt life in modern engines is becoming much more similar. However a belt is invariably cheaper to renew than a chain. - The exception being a "wet belt" - that's a belt which is enclosed and runs immersed in the engine oil - These belts do have a poor reputation and are considerably more expensive to change. For those reasons, the fact that my new Scala has a conventional "dry" timing belt was one of the main reasons I was happy to buy it. - doesn't have a DM flywheel either, Oh happy day! Although claiming to be a "lifetime" fitment, I'll probably be doing a belt on it at around the 80,000 mile mark (unless something unexpected intervenes).
However, back to thinking about chains and, in particular, the new Firefly engine. Probably the most important thing for the life of any timing chain in any engine is to use the manufacturer recommended oil or at least an oil which fully meets the manufacturer specification and to change that oil regularly. I would NEVER go to an extended mileage service option on a chain cam engine and would probably change the oil and filter annually if the recommended interval was not reached within the year.
There's other "stuff" I'm looking into with the Firefly. It's a turboed engine and of quite small capacity - as are so many these days. My new Scala being a case in point, it's only 999cc in a car the size of a Golf. But what this means is, to get the power out of it by turboing it, the engine is quite highly stressed compared to an older design. However these wee turboed power units have been around for some years now and a lot of the earlier problems have been worked out. Also, the Firefly uses a hydraulically actuated/controlled valve system - like the Twin air/Multi air - This is a very "clever" and versatile way to operate the valves and gives the ability to control valve timing in a way you can't with any other mechanical system of valve operation - thus allowing emissions and performance to be varied and controlled much more finely than on many other designs. It seems to work well but also seems super critical of it's oil so another reason to use only manufacturer spec oil. It's worth noting though that when problems do arise the repair costs can be pretty hefty. However, from our point of view, there's not a lot of history stored up yet on this engine relating to chain reliability so it's difficult to know if it's going to be a reliable chain drive, like some, but not all, of the Japanese brands or a bit of a disaster (won't mention any specifics here).
I think, if the car has always been serviced by a FIAT accredited dealer, you probably have little to fear as the correct oil should have been used. More of a lottery if anyone else has been involved with it? The costs are considerable to do a chain compared to a belt on almost any engine. If I were the dealer and the engine was running well without any "nasty" noises, especially if there was no chain rattle at a cold start, and knowing the manufacturer rates the chain as a "for life" fitment, I'm afraid I'd not be doing it. Looks like a nice car from your images and I'm sure another "punter" would be along shortly.
Here's a couple of forum threads you might like to read:
Broken chain in firefly 1.0 engine | FIAT 500X
Hey everybody The 1.0 litre firefly engine in our 500X is suffering because of a camchain/timingchain gone to long/stretched. Have you heard anything like that regarding said enginefamily? We’ve only driven 48000km since we bought it new, in may 2019, and it has been serviced according to...
www.fiatforum.com
Firefly cambelt? | FIAT 500X
Picked up my new "wheels" .. a 1.0ltr Firefly engined doodah, in Sport flavour. Sporty Red, which is an even better colour in real life than it looks in the photos. :love: I had a nose under the bonnet to see what's what.. the engine is positively tiny, which at least means lots of room to...
www.fiatforum.com
Just to be clear, We're talking about the 3 cylinder "Firefly" (Global engine) petrol engine here? This is an engine which interests me very much as it's the newest engine I know of in Fiat cars and is cropping up in a number of their offerings - So maybe I'll end up owning one at some time in the future. There are people in this thread talking about timing belts but, as I understand it, the Firefly's are all chain driven cams? In theory a chain should outlast a belt but this dividing line is becoming a bit blurred now with modern belt and pulley designs allowing manufacturers to now claim some belts are "lifetime" items - My EA211 engine'd Scala being one. The big question is, what do they define as "lifetime".
In days gone by, when belts were quite a new innovation, they got a bad name for failing early and so people got it into their minds that chains were by far the better option. Also, back then, chains did seem to last, sometimes, for the life of the car. So people had a much better perception of them. Now a days though cars cover far bigger mileages during a typical lifetime and are, pretty much, all OHC designs so have relatively long belt/chain runs - wear in a long chain has a much greater effect on engine running than a short chain will. Also modern engines run at higher revs with more extreme valve trains, often variable geometries, which stress the belts/chains more. Indeed some oil companies now produce oils which particularly address wear in cam chains. So cam chain life and timing belt life in modern engines is becoming much more similar. However a belt is invariably cheaper to renew than a chain. - The exception being a "wet belt" - that's a belt which is enclosed and runs immersed in the engine oil - These belts do have a poor reputation and are considerably more expensive to change. For those reasons, the fact that my new Scala has a conventional "dry" timing belt was one of the main reasons I was happy to buy it. - doesn't have a DM flywheel either, Oh happy day! Although claiming to be a "lifetime" fitment, I'll probably be doing a belt on it at around the 80,000 mile mark (unless something unexpected intervenes).
However, back to thinking about chains and, in particular, the new Firefly engine. Probably the most important thing for the life of any timing chain in any engine is to use the manufacturer recommended oil or at least an oil which fully meets the manufacturer specification and to change that oil regularly. I would NEVER go to an extended mileage service option on a chain cam engine and would probably change the oil and filter annually if the recommended interval was not reached within the year.
There's other "stuff" I'm looking into with the Firefly. It's a turboed engine and of quite small capacity - as are so many these days. My new Scala being a case in point, it's only 999cc in a car the size of a Golf. But what this means is, to get the power out of it by turboing it, the engine is quite highly stressed compared to an older design. However these wee turboed power units have been around for some years now and a lot of the earlier problems have been worked out. Also, the Firefly uses a hydraulically actuated/controlled valve system - like the Twin air/Multi air - This is a very "clever" and versatile way to operate the valves and gives the ability to control valve timing in a way you can't with any other mechanical system of valve operation - thus allowing emissions and performance to be varied and controlled much more finely than on many other designs. It seems to work well but also seems super critical of it's oil so another reason to use only manufacturer spec oil. It's worth noting though that when problems do arise the repair costs can be pretty hefty. However, from our point of view, there's not a lot of history stored up yet on this engine relating to chain reliability so it's difficult to know if it's going to be a reliable chain drive, like some, but not all, of the Japanese brands or a bit of a disaster (won't mention any specifics here).
I think, if the car has always been serviced by a FIAT accredited dealer, you probably have little to fear as the correct oil should have been used. More of a lottery if anyone else has been involved with it? The costs are considerable to do a chain compared to a belt on almost any engine. If I were the dealer and the engine was running well without any "nasty" noises, especially if there was no chain rattle at a cold start, and knowing the manufacturer rates the chain as a "for life" fitment, I'm afraid I'd not be doing it. Looks like a nice car from your images and I'm sure another "punter" would be along shortly.
Here's a couple of forum threads you might like to read:
andBroken chain in firefly 1.0 engine | FIAT 500X
Hey everybody The 1.0 litre firefly engine in our 500X is suffering because of a camchain/timingchain gone to long/stretched. Have you heard anything like that regarding said enginefamily? We’ve only driven 48000km since we bought it new, in may 2019, and it has been serviced according to...
Firefly cambelt? | FIAT 500X
Picked up my new "wheels" .. a 1.0ltr Firefly engined doodah, in Sport flavour. Sporty Red, which is an even better colour in real life than it looks in the photos. :love: I had a nose under the bonnet to see what's what.. the engine is positively tiny, which at least means lots of room to...
This is a very informative read. And very much correct info for the original poster.
So this question to the original poster...have you seen the service history for this vehicle? If not it will be worth asking to see it and then posting it here for us to have a look at.
It does appear important that these vehicles have a regular oil change. Its equally important that the correct oil is used, sadly the service booklet probably won't tell you that, but should you decide to buy this vehicle you should be very careful and ensure the mechanic you use knows what that oil is.
It also appears that the original poster doesn't need the timing chain changed.
I don't know much about his engine either, but wouldn't mind getting one, seeing the service history would be important though!
I keep coming across wet belt videos on youtube, they're always of the variety "this car is an abomination" etc.
What is the other stuff you're looking into?
I'm just interested to find out as much as I can. I'm quite attracted to the idea of the Panda Mild Hybrid - read a few reviews and seen some you tube stuff all of which seems quite positive - but have reservations so the more I can find out the better.
