5.3

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
17,410 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2016 Fiat 500X engine problems

engine problem

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2016 Fiat 500X Owner Comments

problem #10

Feb 082023

500X

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The sensor on right passenger air bag malfunction and air bag light stay on and no crashes happen upon message. Poor fuel consumption components include loss of power and idling and when accelerating. Driver mode unavailable lamp came

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #9

Apr 202023

500X

  • miles
April 2023 - While driving at ~ 35mph multiple warning light on the dashboard came on, (including traction control, AWD needs service, drive mode unavailable, emergency brake and several others) the speedometer stopped working (both the digital and analog) and a sluggish sensation was immediate (like the brakes were applied rapidly.) The car was stopped and further investigation showed that the rear brake lights were on, seemingly indicating that the brakes were engaged while the car was in park, with no one in the vehicle. The car would not shut off. The car was taken to the dealership where over 30 codes were reported. 2 sensors were replaced (one brake sensor and the traction sensor) and the dealership reported that multiple updates were performed in the 2 weeks that they had the car. Five weeks after getting the car back from the dealership the SAME condition occurred on the highway at 55mph, in a construction zone with no ability to pull off. After reaching an area where it was safe to pull off, a restart of the car (by disconnecting the battery) had all of the lights going off and the brakes functioning normally. The car was driven straight to the dealership where the issues happened again. The car now has 43 codes. They replaced the HCU/ABS module, which did not fix the issue. The car has been in the service department for 3 weeks without discovering the cause of the lights, lack of speedometer and deceleration.

- Springfield, VT, USA

problem #8

Dec 082021

500X

  • miles
For 2-3 days prior to incident, upon shifting up a gear and disengaging clutch, RPMs were higher than expected (noticeable revving sound when hitting gas pedal). Wednesday 12/08/21, the vehicle was not maintaining speed on the highway and engine was revving like it was in too low a gear. Vehicle stopped accelerating and lost speed while driving on highway forcing me to pull over and forcing a tractor trailer to swerve around me. Vehicle was disabled at that time. No warning lights were displayed on dashboard. Frederick Auto Repair in Frederick, MD says clutch needs to be replaced despite the vehicle only having ~53,300 miles. Initially thought it would be part of Safety Recall S34/16V-302 but this appears to be for a different model and my vehicle's VIN is not included.

- Frederick, MD, USA

problem #7

Jun 152019

500X 4-cyl

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The vehicle shifts into neutral while driving. This usually happens while I'm 3rd gear and you start to accelerate, then the car shifts into neutral. This situation has accrued while pulling out into traffic and while driving down a highway.

- Owings Mills, MD, USA

problem #6

Oct 032019

500X

  • miles
My Fiat keeps giving transmission errors. I took the car to concord, ca Fiat for diagnostics 10/2019 and they were unable to report an issue. They 'reset the computer' and sent us off. Now in 02/2020 I'm still getting error messages and the car locked up in the middle of the road refusing to turn off, shift gears, or move at all. For 15 minutes.

- Martinez, CA, USA

problem #5

Jul 152019

500X

  • 56,000 miles
I am having issues again with my Fiat stalling on me while driving down the road. This has been happening for a year 1/2 now and no solution via the dealership service department. I was almost rear ended on the interstate due to my car shutting off. This is time I was on the interstate going 70mph. I have had my car towed to the service dealership in the past for this same issue. They had it for a month and same thing keeps happening. This is unsafe and terrifying for me to drive with my two kids in the back.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

problem #4

Mar 132018

500X

  • 49,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have had at least 5 incidents so far with my Fiat turning completely off while driving down the road. I have taken it in numerous of times to the dealer with no luck. I have documented each and every time my car decides to shut off while driving. I find my car to be a safety hazard to me and my family as well as others. The dealerships seem to not know why my Fiat tends to shut down while driving. First I had only about 25000 miles and it shuts off while turning in a 4 way intersection, Fiat place had me take it in just to say it needed an update. Second time I stalled in my neighborhood with my children inside. Called the dealer, said it needed an update. 3rd time happened while driving it to the dealership the same day. Dealer had it for two weeks and said it was a new update that caused my Fiat to turn off completely. 4th time happened while I driving down the road at 45mph and dealer had me bring it in and said it was caused by my key fob battery ( literally just changed the batteries the day before). All bs from the dealers mechanics. So I called Fiat customer service and they told me I should not be driving the vehicle at all, I should return the car to the dealer to have them run test. They had it for a month and said it was caused by my driving habits and they could not do anything about it. So now my Fiat decides to shut off while driving 70mph 49000 miles on the interstate, thankfully I was in the slow lane and was able to coast to a safe position to put my car in park and restart. This has been happening since the 3rd month of ownership June 2017.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

problem #3

Dec 312016

500X 4-cyl

  • 100 miles
Over the past two years I've had to take my vehicle in to the dealership numerous times. The car will accelerate on its own without touching the gas pedal, switch gears on its own, accelerate while making a stop, uncontrollably jerk well moving at a slow speed's and display messages such as drive mode unavailable at random times while driving. This car is dangerous to drive and has almost created an accident numerous times while I had my children in the vehicle.

- Schoolcraft, MI, USA

problem #2

Mar 212018

500X

  • 55,000 miles
My Fiat 500X 2016, has been changing from sport mode, to the traction mode, then out of no where it says drive mode unavailable. While driving. This is very unsafe.

- Turlock, CA, USA

problem #1

Dec 102016

500X

  • 14,000 miles
Vehicle goes into "limp mode" anytime wheels slip, untill computer clears no throttle or motion, vehicle is inoperable for over 5+ seconds and then accelerated at whatever position throttle is at. Dealer and mechanics say all new Fiat 2 and 4wheel drive all have this issue and they cannot fix. I pulled out into traffic, wheel slipped and went into limp in middle of lanes untill it cleared and took off at half throttle and almost got smeared by traffic. Dealer says all Fiat have same problem and only solution is to give a lot of lead time before entering traffic and try not to accelerate as to make wheels slip when road conditions may cause slipping. This has happend pulling out into traffic and while on ramps, hills. If on curve or hill vehicle will go int "limp mode" and will just slide down hills and through curves!!!

- Boise, ID, USA

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