2012 Fiat 500: engine stalls while driving

Filed Jun 20, 2025 · Electrical · MA

The vehicle had been stalling out on numerous occasions one being a freezing Xmas eve in Drive thru if it had happened somewhere isolated the driver could have frozen. I rented cars several times and replaced the alternator ,battery and at the final point at the dealership the mechanic suggested I purchase a $600 battery though I had a brand new one. The dealership gave me a $200 credit but it happened again, the mechanic in town said the Bluetooth component was draining the battery. They removed it and no problem since. The dealership mechanic talked around the issue and would not answer my questions about this. The safety issues related to this are dangerous and it appears to be known by mechanics about this model.

Filed Aug 30, 2024 · Transmission · 214,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2012 Fiat 500. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to exit the highway. The contact stated that while attempting to restart the vehicle, the clutch pedal went to the floorboard and the contact was unable to start the vehicle. The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the clutch pedal limiter and a clutch pedal switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V302000 (Power Train) which had been completed in 2023 on the vehicle by the same dealer. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 214,000.

Filed Feb 20, 2024 · Transmission · 50,000 miles · NY

The contact's daughter owns a 2012 Fiat 500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. Upon investigation, the contact discovered the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V302000 (Power Train) which was linked to the failure. The dealer had been notified about the recall but stated that parts were not yet available and remained on backorder. The manufacturer had been notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed Jul 16, 2020 · Driver assistance, Engine · 79,250 miles · MD

While driving home via local city surface streets, the gearbox fail light and the have transmission checked message came up on the dash cluster. I drove the car 4 more miles to a service station, stopping twice on the way. The car began running poorly. Including bucking, revving high, while staying at low speed, stalling and bucking at lights low idle or stops. The service station said other than a low number (4 times per 1000 I think...a cylinder misfire) no codes came up. When reset the car would run briefly as normal butat first stop all issues would resume in full again. I was able to drive the car home (2 blocks) but was not sure it would make it. It sits in my parking spot as we speak.

Filed Nov 27, 2019 · 128,000 miles · FL

A piece inside the shifter broke and made the car stall. It basically wouldn't move while I was on a busy road.

Filed Apr 19, 2019 · Engine, Transmission · 88,000 miles · SC

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. While driving various speeds, the contact smelled carbon monoxide inside the vehicle. While driving low speeds, the vehicle stalled, but was able to be restarted. The failures occurred intermittently. Also, the engine and battery warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the clutch was repaired; however, the failures recurred. An unknown local dealer diagnosed the vehicle and stated that the transmission needed to be repaired. The transmission had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 88,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Sep 8, 2018 · Engine, Seats · 60,000 miles · TN

I car warning lights started coming on and staying on all the time. I took the car in for an oil change and was advised I needed a new motor. The car is constantly stalling, cutting off all the time, bearly restarting and only able to drive less than 25 MPH. This is the problem every time I start it up.

Filed Sep 27, 2016 · Transmission · 24,000 miles · WA

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 16v302000 (power train); however, the part for the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. While attempting to change gears when turning the vehicle around, it stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 24,000. Vin tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Sep 10, 2016 · Transmission · 34,569 miles · NJ

The car experienced a sudden clutch failure while driving on highway. This resulted in a very dangerous situation as the car no longer had power, and stopped on a section of highway with no shoulder space. The clutch was repaired at my cost in may 2016 (prior to the recall announcement, the federal safety agency recall number: 16v‑302), and an online reimbursement request was made to fiat in july 2016 (after the recall announcement). I checked the status of my reimbursement request in september, and was told "from what I am showing on the file it still has not been reviewed as the parts for the recall are not available at this time. Once the parts do become available for the recall then the file will be reviewed for the reimbursement process." my complaint is that I have already repaired the automobile, so availability of parts is irrelevant, fiat is simply stalling reimbursement of the repair cost.

Filed Apr 27, 2016 · Engine, Suspension · 28,488 miles · SC

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 fiat 500. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the technician informed that the vehicle needed to be reset. The vehicle was repaired. The failure recurred with an abnormal sound emitting from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 28,488. ....updated 07/05/16 *bf the consumer stated she took the vehicle to the dealer, after receiving a recall notice regarding the transmission. However, the dealer informed her, the back up device was not working. The consumer also stated there was an issue with the suspension. It felt as though the vehicle was going to turn over. Updated 07/21/16.

Filed Oct 29, 2015 · Transmission · 30,000 miles · CA

I was driving down a busy thoroughfare at around 30 MPH when my clutch suddenly stiffened up and became impossible to engage. I tried in vain to shift out of third gear as I neared a stoplight, but the gear stick wouldn't budge and the car ended up stalling in the middle of the road. I managed after a minute to yank the stick into neutral and coast down a small hill into an empty parking space. In the end, it was a dead clutch after only 30,000 miles. This could have easily caused an accident had it occurred on the freeway or in a busy intersection.

Filed Oct 20, 2015 · 32,000 miles · MD

My 2012 fiat500c had clutch/pressure plate failure a few weeks ago. I got into my car to run some errands and it started fine although I did feel the clutch was a bit stiff. I got up to 3rd gear and drove 2 blocks toward the intersection. As I tried to shift the gear to neutral at the red light I could not change gears. Luckily I pressed down hard enough pressing on the breaks and managed to bring the gear to neutral. I put my hazard lights on and managed to roll to the side of the road. I immediately called my fiat service center and told them what had happened. They instructed me to call the complimentary tow service. I got a call on monday morning saying that the pressure plate and clutch needed to be replaced and it would cost ~$1000. I asked the service advisor why it wasn't covered by the warranty and he said that it was considered a wear and tear issue. In other words, it was my fault the clutch failed at 32,000 miles. I contacted fiatcares and they said they would look into it. Their reply was that the car needed a new pressure plate and new clutch and that the technician did not believe that this was caused by a defect on the manufacturer's part and therefore they were unable to provide assistance with the repair. No clutch should wear out within 3 years and ~30k miles when it has had only one driver with experience in driving a manual transmission vehicle. It is quite clear from public accounts that 2012 fiat 500's exhibit premature clutch wear problems. In addition to the clutch issue, I've encountered problems with my car almost from the very beginning, when it only had a few hundred miles on it. I've had numerous false-start issues with the ignition, I've even had a incident where my engine completely shut off while driving! Luckily this occurred while driving in the city. Imagine how dangerous that would have been if I were driving 70 MPH on a highway.