2012 Fiat 500: loss of power steering

Filed Jan 14, 2021 · Steering, Suspension · 86,400 miles · CA

2012 fiat 500c mileage 86649. When driving over a bump or pothole a loud metallic sound is heard on the driver's side and to a lesser extent from in front of the engine down low when both wheels go over a crack in the road simultaneously. Carcomplaints.com says some persons have experienced the control arm disengaging from the steering mechanism on both the driver and passenger sides. Other's report a broken ball joint causing car to lose control. One person reported that when "firestone" tried to get a "d/s" axle replacement part they were told it was a "customer satisfaction recall." but when the fiat 500 was taken to the dealer they said no such recall existed and wanted owner to pay the total cost. I am the original owner of this 2012 fiat 500c special order dealer showroom model. Thousand oaks fiat ordered [xxx] with all the top features, color combinations and options special from the factory for their showroom and not intended for general sale. Being a good talker and having a load of cash I was able to obtain this machine. It has always been driven gently. Now with the clunking noise and learning of others having serious ball joint and control arm separation causing loss of steering control and a reported customer "satisfaction" quiet recall - I think fiat knew of the problem and should have a recall for any owner regardless of mileage to repair this dangerous condition. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Oct 10, 2019 · Steering · 28,232 miles · CA

Power steering failure with steering wheel turning on it's own. When the power steering is about to fail, it pulls the wheel before going into stiff, manual steering. Almost caused several accidents while trying to regain control. I have a video of the vehicle parked afterwards, still running and the wheel spinning on it's own. Scary. I read a fiat owners blog where many people were experiencing the same issue. Issue seems to be when in motion and when still. I will try to upload the video I took of the wheel spinning on it's own, it says image or document, so may have to send after submission of this complaint. This issue started in early 2018 intermittently however now is a regular issue. 10/9/2019 almost caused an accident on the 5 fwy.

Filed Nov 27, 2018 · Steering · 60,000 miles · CA

Vehicle has a defective intermediate steering shaft. This part was already replaced once under warranty with fiat admitting that the part is defective/substandard for purpose it fills in the cars steering functionality. After a period of time (appx 3 years or 36k miles) it starts making a clunk when turning at slow speeds. If left unrepaired it will result in loss of steering control when vehicle is in operation. Approximate cost of repair is $500 for parts and labor. When contacting fiat about this concern and that it was replaced under warranty once for being faulty I was told that my warranty was expired and it was my burden to replace the defective part. New part only carries a 1 year limited warranty. This problem mainly occurs at slow speeds when making full turns however it could fail at high speed leaving driver with no vehicle control.

Filed May 12, 2015 · Airbags, Electrical · 25,000 miles · VA · crash

Was driving on the freeway and the car lost power. All lights on indicator dash went off. No steering ability and little/no control of vehicle. Failure resulted in a crash. No airbags deployed even though there was side impact to both sides and front end impact. The car was totaled.

Filed Jan 19, 2015 · Transmission · 61,200 miles · CA

While driving to the store, I turned into the store parking lot, I pressed the clutch to shift the car down into a lower gear, and I could not shift. The car kept rolling and I lost power steering and the vehicle died. Upon trouble shooting, the problem was a failed pressure plate not allowing the clutch to engage.

Filed Jun 16, 2014 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 49,837 miles · OR

Pulling away from a stop light under light acceleration, multiple warning lights came on including "ESC disabled" and multiple light warnings for the gearbox, the steering, electronic throttle control, general malfunction light, ESC off light, and ESC malfunction light, and lost power steering, almost causing an accident while trying to get the car off the road. The car was shut off and restarted immediately with no change. After letting the car sit for a half-hour, the car was restarted and steering was restored and no warning light were on. The vehicle was driven home and parked until it was towed to the dealership. They drove the car over 50 miles and were unable to repeat the incident or identify the problem so they released the unrepaired vehicle to the owner.