2014 Fiat 500 problems & reliability
124 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2014 Fiat 500, alongside 3 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
6 complaints report injuries (8 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2014 Fiat 500 vehicles were involved in 4 fatal crashes with 2 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Power Train | 67 | 54% |
| Electrical System | 22 | 18% |
| Engine | 19 | 15% |
| Unknown OR Other | 15 | 12% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 7 | 6% |
| Steering | 6 | 5% |
| Structure | 6 | 5% |
| Air Bags | 5 | 4% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 4 | 3% |
| Exterior Lighting | 4 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 18,000 miles (middle 50% between 8,100 and 33,750 miles), based on 98 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Message flashing "service power steering, hill climb and ESC" appears on an average of once a month for the last few years. No loss of control yet, but it came on three starts in a row for the first time. Usually goes away with a second start. Making an appointment with a dealer (Putnam) in Burlingame, Ca to diagnose…”
Steering · filed Dec 7, 2025
“While traveling on a PA interstate, I hit the brakes to avoid hitting a vehicle in front of me and the wheels locked up. The anti-lock system appeared to not work on my Fiat 500c. I hard steered L and avoided a head on collision hitting the trailer in front of me on the passenger side front of the car.”
Service Brakes · filed Sep 12, 2025
“The contact owns a 2014 Fiat 500. The contact stated that while driving on a neighborhood street at 10 MPH, the transmission experienced an abnormal difficulty in the shifting gear. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact coasted to a stop on the side of the road, and had the vehicle towed to a local…”
Power Train · filed Mar 13, 2025
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Electrical overstress
Engineering Analysis EA19001 · opened Apr 19, 2019 · closed Sep 19, 2024 · led to recall 20V024
Technical service bulletins
144 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2014 Fiat 500. The 10 most recent:
Broken Exterior Driver And/Or Passenger Door Handles XB2 Warranty Extension Customers may comment the following: ● One or both exterior door handles are broken. This bulletin involves replacing one or both exterior door…
23-021-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 4, 2026
Aluminum Body Panel Corrosion Repair Aluminum corrosion or bubbling along the leading edge of hood, hinges or other exterior surface areas of the hinges, doors, fenders, swing gates or liftgates.
31-001-25 REV. B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 16, 2025
Aluminum Body Panel Corrosion Repair Aluminum corrosion or bubbling along the leading edge of hood, hinges or other exterior surface areas of the hinges, doors, fenders, swing gates or liftgates.
31-001-25 REV. A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 14, 2025
Aluminum Body Panel Corrosion Repair Aluminum corrosion or bubbling along the leading edge of hood, hinges or other exterior surface areas of the hinges, doors, fenders, swing gates or liftgates
31-001-25 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 13, 2025
Verify Reman part number availability. Order the "R" part number for all orders:
9100624 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 8, 2025
"Aluminum Body Panel Corrosion Repair Aluminum corrosion or bubbling along the leading edge of hood, hinges or other exterior surface areas of the hinges, doors, fenders, swing gates or liftgates. NOTE: Verify current…
31-001-24 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 24, 2024
Start Stop Charging Warning Lamp Illuminated On, Intelligent Battery Sensor (IBS) State of Charge (SOC) Inaccurate, Battery Charging Message, Presence of IBS related Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs), or Battery Warning…
S1408000384 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 10, 2024
LIFTER, Hydraulic Roller Deactivating Please do not replace MDS lifters because the disconnecting pin is not lined up, this is normal and not a defect.
9100229 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 20, 2023
LIFTER, Hydraulic Roller Deactivating Please do not replace MDS lifters because the disconnecting pin is not lined up, this is normal and not a defect.
9100229 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 20, 2023
Connector kit Before ordering this connector repair kit 68018957A$, check it in the Mopar Connector Repair Kit Website to confirm part number and applicability. There is an error with the wiring diagrams in Service…
9100226 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 15, 2023
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2014 Fiat 500 has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2014 Fiat 500?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 18,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.