Lots of service issues.....

[Thad]

I took delivery of my car back in March. I have a long list of little things that I've been waiting to have resolved. I was hoping that the service departments would learn things. I'm not so sure about that yet. Part of the problem is that others like me haven't reported issues until now, so there has been no widespread fixes issued from the top down. Some things that are common on the early cars that need to be reported at your dealer service department in order for FIAT to make proper service procedures:

-Seat sliders don't properly lock in place
-Paint chips at top most rear corner of front fender.
-Sport side cladding separating from body.
-bubbles in FIAT badge on hood or trunk.
-speedometer reads high
-Clock runs slow 4 minutes/month
-wiper fluid drip down rear window
-Muffler exhaust tip is slanted slightly from horizontal
-Seat fabric easily stained with water drops
-Music files on a USB drive start to play on their own even if AutoPlay is off
-Clutch engagement (on acceleration only) gives a slight clunk/knock sound
-Brake pedal does not rise smoothly after depressing. Clunky or slow to rise. Brakes function perfectly.

[daled]

im supprised by the last two issues.
as this car is based on a previous model, there should have been years to resolve clutch / brake issues !

there must be a learning curve south of the border.

[Thad]

Dale, there are literally only a few parts on this car that are the same or from the same manufacturer as the euro car. The euro car is changing for 2012 to incorporate many of the US changes.

[Denise]

I have some of the same issues. Mine will be going to the dealer for it's 16k mile service.

[sjmst2]

16,000 miles on mine. Just one real issue and that is the slow clock. The seat material staining was a problem until I used Scotchguard.

[daled]

thad, i know the euro 500 is a different car than the US version.
i believe that the us version is based off the panda platform.
the Panda platform has been around for many years.

yes there are new vendors (as my company is supplying components)
so issues relating to new items can be expected, but the clutch ? and brakes ? these are hearitage designs, and should have long standing control specifications...therefore, im a little supprised by these two issues !

[fiatnut]

simular issues minus the paint chips,brake pedal problems.One that I noticed that was not listed the fogging up of the rear tail lights.I have spoken to fiat about this and was told theres replacement lights coming same look ,differnt design.

[bcripe]

I received a telephone call from FIAT North America yesterday, March 15th, to inform me there are three service/updates I should have performed.

It involves updating the software to fix the slow clock, something about an oil light (not anything I've seen), and the third thing I don't recall.

The customer service rep spent 12 minutes talking to me about the car and my satisfaction level (I have no complaints).

This is the second time I've been called like that.

I don't think any other company has given me this level of concern about my experiences/satisfaction with a product!

I have an appointment on Monday to do the upgrades...I'll report back with the results.

Bert
PE #480
Port Orchard, WA

[bcripe]

Followup to my last post...

The work took about 40 minutes and no attempt to charge me - they have the warranty thing figured out unlike the first time it was there for the first service.

Since I had no issues other than the slow clock I see no differnce in the drive or display.

The clock doesn't seem to have lost any time yet, but it has been only three days.

The service tech was nice and told me I could call him at any time if I had questions or issues.

The service advisors are not as good, since Fiat of Tacoma is still using the Dodge service center, they are not familar with Fiats. Hard to believe the Fiat shop is still not open!

Bert
PE 480
Port Orchard, WA

[rle3]

We have had our 500 for about 500 miles .

The right rear turn indicator stopped working. I removed the tail light unit and metered the bulb. The bulb was good but I noticed that when I installed the bulb there was not much pressure making the outer contact. Put the tail light back on the car, hit the trunk button on my fob and the turn indicator worked. I noticed a coment about fog in the lens, this could cause corrosion on the contact points. I didn't notice any fog but I did have a contact issue.

[bcripe]

I had my third regular service done at the dealer on June 9th (~20,500 miles). Regular oil change, etc and two software updates were installed. And no cost to me since I have PE #480!

However, after getting on the freeway I pushed the cruise control button to engage it but no light came on, nor did it engage!

So I pulled off the road, stopped the engine then restarted it, then the cruise worked. I know the tech drove the car before returning it to me, but I guess it needed another "reset". Just another one of the MIcrosoft software issues like we see with our personal computers I guess.

I too had some condensation in the rear light housings, not there now...but so far the car has performed very well and I have no complaints with it.

All is well now...

Bert