Fiat 500 - what goes wrong?

[Billy_Whizzzz]

Bought an old Fiat 500c (1.4 Petrol 100hp, 2010) to leave at a holiday place. I want to do any preemptive maintenance so have scheduled cam belt tensioner water pump etc but is there anything else worth doing? Any weak suspension parts? Hoses?

[Mr Peel]

Our 2014 1.2 needed new lower arms at 60k. One known weakness is exterior door handles. Both replaced on ours. But yours may well have been done already.

Have run small cheap Fiats for years - they are tough and dependable.

[Oberheim]

I have a late 2008 500 1.4 Sport. It's been fantastically reliable and never let me down in the 13 years I've owned it (I've known it from brand new as a friend was the first owner), which is why I've kept it all this time.

Not much has gone wrong other than usual consumables. The boot cable/microswitch has failed on mine but I just use the key fob to open the boot. Clutches tend to fail quite early - mine needed a new clutch at 45 K. Door handles break off quite commonly it seems but mine still has its original handles! Rear suspension is awfully crashy but a set of Bilstein B4s or B6s definitely improve things. Droplinks need replacing every now and then. Wheel bearings on mine all needed replacement around the 35-40 thousand mile mark.

The 1.4 16V 100hp engine is a real peach and still runs like a dream on mine after 16 years (of not always gentle) driving. Seems to like being revved and enjoys long runs. All original hoses on mine. Just keep on top of the oil services and change the cambelt, aux belt, tensioners, water pump on schedule and this engine should serve you well for a long time.

Edited by Oberheim on Thursday 13th February 09:44

[RazerSauber]

Watching with interest. I'm tempted to snag a cheap TwinAir model to potter about in. Even less to go wrong.

[scot_aln]

RazerSauber said:

Watching with interest. I'm tempted to snag a cheap TwinAir model to potter about in. Even less to go wrong.

? Aren't all the twinairs in 500's turbo'd so I'd have said the 1.4 or 1.2 are the least complex. For real fun you could get a twinair auto. That'd never go wrong

[bangerhoarder]

Done a bit of work on one - it's had the door handle issues and lower arms (easy enough, but bumper has to come off). Reverse light switch can fail which is very easy to replace.

Wheel alignment is important, they're very sensitive to it!

Pretty solid little things generally, especially in 1.2 guise (if gutless). TwinAir 85 is fun. Ours is diesel which is a bit wheezy but decent enough.

[Oberheim]

Yes, I'd say the 1.2 and 1.4 FIRE engines are definitely less complex than the much later Twin Air but I think the turbo'd twin pot also has a pretty good reliability record.

The 1.4, which was discontinued in the Fiat 500 with the introduction of the TwinAir in 2010, is the only 500 that came with a 6-speed gearbox. This is a large box for a small, narrow car and it straddles the front axle, with hilarious consequences for the turning circle - ridiculously big circle needed for such a tiny car and it often needs multi-point manoeuvres to turn around in tight spaces. The 6th speed certainly pays dividends on the motorway though - at 70 mph cruises the engine is at a relaxed 3000 rpm.

[scot_aln]

Depending where it's spent it's life to date then I'd check the rear axle. Parts aren't too pricey but a fair bit of labour if needed. We've 2 in the family. One lives in Scotland and the other in the south of England. In less than 10 years underneath one still looks pretty new and other has a fair bit of rust on suspension components.

Door handles have been mentioned. If you oil the hinge yearly that seems to help and make sure passengers don't yank them before unlocking. They do still seem to be very much a consumable (cheap and pretty easy) every 5 years.

I think some of the issues people call out with clutches, gearboxes etc can often be linked to their frequent use as a first car.

And noting you said a 500c. Clean and waterproof the roof at least annually and before winter. We started out with Autoglym roof cleaner and proofer and then tried a more expensive one I can't recall. After reading around for the last few years it's been baby shampoo and fabsil as someone mentioned here for a Merc roof. https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/soft-top-clean...

[Oberheim]

scot_aln said:

Depending where it's spent it's life to date then I'd check the rear axle. Parts aren't too pricey but a fair bit of labour if needed. We've 2 in the family. One lives in Scotland and the other in the south of England. In less than 10 years underneath one still looks pretty new and other has a fair bit of rust on suspension components.

Door handles have been mentioned. If you oil the hinge yearly that seems to help and make sure passengers don't yank them before unlocking. They do still seem to be very much a consumable (cheap and pretty easy) every 5 years.

I think some of the issues people call out with clutches, gearboxes etc can often be linked to their frequent use as a first car.

Mine does have some surface rust on the rear beam but rust has never been a concern for the MOT testers - 13 straight passes for mine now. There's no rust anywhere else as far as I can tell (thought I haven't had a good look at the underside for a while) - quite impressive for a 16-year-old Fiat. Mine has been garaged for the last 7 years though.

I occasionally spray silicone lubricant into the door handles - perhaps that's why both of them have remained attached to the doors all these years.

[ScoobyChris]

Had a Panda 100hp (same engine/gearbox I think) and the only thing that went wrong with it in the 3 years/60k miles I owned it from new was the clutch release bearing failed around 50k miles. No idea if it's a common weak point but forewarned is forearmed

Chris

[EVLATECOMER]

Daughter has a 2009 1.2 hatch

Strut top mounts rust, you can buy retro rubber covers

Drains near top mounts easily clog and water gets in the cabin

Lower engine mount perishes easily

Fuel breather clogs

Fuel injector o rings

[A500leroy]

Get the axel and sump painted, as it's a c, be very careful of the rear screen as they are not obtainable and you'd have to have a whole hood, speaking of the hoods the cables can stretch and stick open.

Cambelt, tensioner water pump every 5 years.

[Jayho]

I think the gear linkage cable is prone to fail too, especially if a bit aggressive with the gear changes. Think it's possibly a DIY job, but might be worth keeping a spare handy?

[a340driver]

On the door handle issues. Don't buy a new handle just get the hinge for £5-7. Even if you give it to a local garage to fit they will have seen loads of these and it'll be cheap to fit.

[Billy_Whizzzz]

Thanks all. V Useful. Re handles though - is it inside or outside that break?? Many thanks

[Chuffedmonkey]

Wife has had one for 3 years.

Door handle snapped. cheapish to fix from the dealer, around the £180 mark.
Clutch cable snapped, I think that was the outcome, cheap again to fix.
The most annoying thing, the daytime running lights, they seem to blow once a year. Access is behind the front wheel arch and its pretty easy to access but that's where it ends. Its a right PITA to replace as its all done by feel. It does get easier to replace once you have changed them a few times.

Saying that, my Wife loves it and its been very cheap to keep on the road. 2015 model, less than 50k miles.

[sunbeam alpine]

In your usage situation don't let the battery get flat - they don't like being jumpstarted - kills the dashboard.

[a340driver]

Billy_Whizzzz said:

Thanks all. V Useful. Re handles though - is it inside or outside that break?? Many thanks

It's the little internal hinge same with Alfas of the same age.

This was the one I bought about 7 years ago, now twice the price but it seemed good quality.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07RGP2YL4/ref...

[a340driver]

About £30 to fit from memory.

[a340driver]

Also re the previous comment, I put halford lights in for the DLR's. Brighter with less draw on the battery. Mine was an Abarth 595c btw. Basically the same car though.