Owners have filed 196 complaints on the Fiat 500L, covering 2014–2017. The system named most often is Power Train (121 reports). Worst years by volume: 2014, 2015, 2016; cleanest: 2017, 2016, 2015. 5 reports describe a crash, 5 a fire. On average the car was 5.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Fiat 500L
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 196 500L complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 121 Read
Driving to go home, vehicle won't shift and unexpected direction and loss of power causing vehicle and myself to collide with light pole. Vehicle was a total loss. Gas pedal stuck and transmission had very slow selections. Vehicle had flashing control lights before accident occurred. My vehicle acted like it froze up…
I pulled into a parking lot at 10mph. I attempted to stop the car to park. The brake jammed and the engine revved .I repeatedly pressed on the brake and it would not go down.it was a very small enclosed parking lot and not much space to move. I hit the parking barrier causing damage to the front end because there was…
Dec 23 2015 vehicle has 35,000 miles on it and the transmission went out in our driveway every gear was neutral. It was in the shop for 38 days before we received it back. All repairs done under warranty. Feb 9 2017 while in a parking lot the vehicle was put into reverse however the vehicle started to roll forward…
Electrical System 15 Read
The contact owns a 2015 fiat 500l. The contact stated that the reverse camera sensor failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on three occasions where all four rear sensors and the camera inside the vehicle were replaced, but the failure persisted. The failure mileage was 5,200. Updated 5/26/15
The contact owns a 2014 (na) fiat 500l. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced a lack of acceleration. The ttms and electrical throttle body warning indicators illuminated. The contact pulled off the road and attempted to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle still did not accelerate. The vehicle was…
Had to replace the battery at around 5000 miles. It would not hold charge and be randomly dead usually after not using car for a couple of days. I replaced the battery with a top name brand and haven't had an issue since. I noticed when I was looking to buy every fiat 500l that the dealer was going let me take a test…
Steering 11 Read
The car right day light stop working on 03/07/2015,on 4/08/2015 my car could not go in reverse and put me and other people in danger. There is recall exactly for this problems ,but at the dealerships told me that there is not recall, the car is not reliable and I am afraid for my safety! Today is 2 moths from the time…
The steering hangs or sticks. It started a couple years ago and was reported to the dealer where it was purchased. I was told it does that. It started doing this around 50 to 70 when first noticed and now does it at all speeds. When it first started it would come and go away slightly but never completely. Now it is…
When the car is on a down slope and you shift to reverse the car will leap forward and on an upslope shifting into drive it rolls freely backwards. In the latest incident we were on hwy 101 in heavy traffic waiting in a line in a construction zone traffic delay. When we shifted from park into drive the car accelerated…
Vehicle Speed Control 10 Read
While driving not able to accelerate , loss of power and check engine light . By turning the engine off sometimes resets and sometimes doesn't
The contact owns a 2014 (na) fiat 500l. While driving 40 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the vehicle was operating as designed. The vehicle was not repaired. The…
While stopped in traffic in the middle lane of rt. 50 e in annapolis md, I put the car into park. The car became consumed with a strong burning odor. As traffic began to move, I shifted into drive, stepped on the gas pedal and there was no response and the oil light came on briefly. Since the car had begun to roll…
Air Bags 8 Read
2014 fiat 500l the consumer was involved in an accident. Where the knee airbags deployed with such force, the consumer received burns, cuts and bruises to her knees
The contact owned a 2014 fiat 500l. While driving various speeds, an animal jumped in front of the vehicle. The vehicle veered to the right and crashed into a lake. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact did not sustain any injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not…
I received a recall notice in september 2014 regarding the knee airbag module needing to be replaced on my 2014 fiat 500l, due to recall. The car was purchased july 15 2014 from driver's village located at 5885 e. Circle drive, cicero, ny 13039. After repeated contact with the dealer, to date they still do not have…
Engine 6 Read
The contact owns a 2015 fiat 500l. While driving 45 mph and attempting to accelerate, the rpms increased. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The following day, the contact observed an abnormal grinding noise underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made…
Vehicle was in motion on a city street and check engine light came on. Ran obdii code later same day and received code p0299 "low turbo boost". Took car to fiat dealership; they kept for 4 days advising inter cooler and sensor were replaced due to poor machining at the factory. Had car back for 2 days; while driving…
Frustration is the only word can describe this horrible car fiat 500l since I bought that car is been toll so many times to fiat dealer service. When was under guarantee, fiat service always said "it is nothing", "not problem", "now is working fine". Even when the car stopped on the street with smoke from the engine.…
Service Brakes 3 Read
The fiat 500l was parked with the hand brake up (6 speed). The brake failed and the car was a total loss
Having problem with front brake shudder after only 11,000 miles. Will probably replace them myself with slotted and drilled rotors to dissipate heat. Wish they would recall and fix all the rotors
I have taken my car in 3 different times after being in stop and go traffic and my brakes seizing, car turning off, smoking from car, warning lights on dash instructing me to put in n and then in d or r and then the car dies. Cannot turn back on. Once I can get to start, shrugs in movement. The vehicle does this when…
Structure 2 Read
After asking I was told that the issue is called cabin pressure. This occurs at all speeds over 20mph the pressure interferes with your ability to hear. Gives you almost a headache it hurts your ears. It occurs when a window is rolled down more then 1 inch. Sometimes you can stop it by rolling down another window but…
The sunroof exploded on his Fiat 500 L while he was driving. It was very early in the day, no other vehicles on the road so no debris hit it. It just exploded out of nowhere. Insurance has been notified to inspect the damage. The sunroof was closed at the time, due to it being 20 degrees. No prior issue with it. This…
500L years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Vehicle Speed Control | — | — | |
| 2016 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 5 | 5 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 52 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.8 |
| Worst single series | 11 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.3 years |
A model average of 3.8 hides a worst series at 11. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the 500L?
By complaint volume, 2014, 2015, 2016 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which 500L years are the cleanest?
2017, 2016, 2015 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Fiat 500L have?
196 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2014–2017. Of those, 5 describe a crash and 5 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.