Fiat 500

websmack

I agree, no problems in rain with hydroplaning, though I find the Sport model's stiff suspension is a choppy ride. In rain I slow it down considerably to take the curves.

robr2

By the way, what's TWT?

Time Will Tell

hpmctorque

Ah, thanks.

hpmctorque

My wife and I have three cars, including an Audi A4 Quattro 2.0 turbo. I chose the Pop over the Sport largely because I felt the ride/handling proposition suited my needs better for the type of driving I do with my Fiat. It's mostly urban, and the highways I drive on are pretty straight, with long sweeping bends and some hills. Of course, I could look for back roads with tight curves, but I use the Fiat for my transportation needs rather than aggressive driving. It's space efficient, handles well, is fun to drive, gets good fuel economy and parks in tight spaces. These were the attributes I was looking for, and I'm very pleased. And, I get a lot of positive comments.

My dealer is 11 miles from my house, and what little service I've required has been good.

Sandman6472

I experienced it first hand on not one, but a few of them in the rain and so did a few of my fellow co-workers. We drive rental cars around the state for some of the majors and we've all had similar experiences so I can use this as my only frame of reference. I am happy that y'all do not have the same issue with your vehicles. I know these are very popular down here in South Florida and see all age groups driving them. Am not really sure how much the various models cost but I am assuming they are competitive with the other sub compacts from the other companies. They do seem rather fun and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be actually. And they are a good alternative for a first vehicle or not going the used route. I just know that as a d d, it isn't for me!

The Sandman

websmack

I wonder if different tires handle that situation better or worse.

My 2012 Sport has Continental Procontac 195/45R16. It rained today but I never got over 65mph on local highways and had no problems, didn't think twice about it really.

Sandman6472

45 series are a very small sidewall and I'd bet on the expensive side to replace. I prefer a 65 series for the larger sidewall and almost went to the 205/65/16 size for my Civic although it calls for a 55 series tire but didn't want to have any issues with rubbing or hitting the car while going over large dips in the road. Figured the engineers who designed the vehicle used the proper size tires for the best ride and fit so why muck up the waters. Did that once with my Datsun 210 and ended up going back to the original size sneakers due to those problems of them hitting the frame while going over bumps...got too annoying so just swapped 'em out within the 30 day grace period. Learned a valuable lesson with the plus 1, plus 2 concept. But in all actuality, I think the 205/65/16's would be no problem at all as there is some room under there. I am happy with the ride of the stock size that came with it. Even got tires for just under that $90 price point due to the buy 3, get 1 free promotion at Tires Plus. The prices get stupid when one goes to 17", 18" and so on...plain stupid expensive!

The Sandman

cmhj2000

Wife has been running around like she's crazy the past 3 weeks or so. So far she is all smiles, which keeps me happy. Nothing really to report so if any issues do arise I'll post them. Being a long time mechanic I'll usually spot issues before they become serious.

chow

brucem3

I'm seriously thinking of buying a 500 Pop later this year -- just drove one and liked it a lot. The salesman claimed that even though premium fuel is recommended, it makes no difference at all if you use 87 octane regular. Now of course I would NEVER doubt anything a car salesman says, the profession being known for its rigorous honesty -- but still, have Fiat owners here had any experience using regular? Any difference in performance/mileage? Thanks.

websmack

I run 87 all the time and once a month add a bottle of Berryman's B12 to keep the fuel injectors pristine. Use it from the start or you could wind up with buildup that can dislodge and cause a clog later. So if you're looking for good gas mileage go with a 5sp manual instead of the 6sp automatic. I took a trip this weekend on backroads and got 42mph @56mph avg. over a 225 mile non-stop trip. It's a good thing there's a signal for low gas because I go so long between fill-ups I forget to fill-up.

cmhj2000

Have found with our Pop the mileage is slightly better with premium but all in all not a big factor when figuring in cost per mile.

Most cars that are programed to run on varying fuel types will normally see a minor increase in mileage on higher grades of fuel.

Despite the overall cost per mile is about the same, we'll probably run mid grade most of the time.

brucem3

Thanks to both of you who responded. If anyone else has relevant experiences, please chime in. FYI, I'm only looking at the 5-speed manual. I've never owned an automatic and don't plan to start now.

cmhj2000

One month later and the wife is still smiling. Hope that lasts

Lack of discussion could be a positive even though there are not a lot of these on the road here.

One thing I've noticed here and some of the euro boards is few complaints. Hope that lasts too.

cmhj2000

Have had the 2013 500 Pop for over 2 months now with about 2K miles logged. No major issues to report but a minor one that might be important to some.

I've found the heater output in this vehicle in not up to par with my GM vehicles. It's not a show stopper for me or the wife but one that might be important to others.

Otherwise the vehicle has been performing well. It does run a bit better on midgrade than with regular and with a slight MPG gain as well. No noticeable change from mid grade to premium though. Looks like Poppie will get a diet of mid grade when available.

cmhj2000

Anyone have any experience with a remote start kit on the 500 Pop? Many what I'm interested in is how well does it work after installation

cmhj2000

6 months later and all is well. Wifey is still happy and no issues to report.

Granted we only have 3K miles on it as wife takes my car when the road are iffy in the winter.

thegreenone

Hello wonderful Fiat Fans,
I bought my 2012 Fiat Pop on 12/31/2012. I've got 17K on it so far and overall I'm very happy. It (still) gets lots of compliments on the overall look and color (sage exterior with grey interior), gets 35-40 MPG depending on freeway/street driving combo, and the turning radius is amazing.

I'm also optimistic that the reason this forum isn't filled with mechanical/service complaints is because there aren't many horror stories to complain about. Of course it could be some other reason entirely. So I thought I'd share a couple issues and see if anyone has similar experiences.

My most pressing issue is about the warranty/maintenance plan. When I bought the car, I was told by multiple salesmen at multiple dealers that the 3 yr/36K mile maintenance plan was included - it came standard. I got many reasons: it was the first year in North America, it was part of the end of the year sales program, it was their way of countering the Fix It Again Tony stigma, etc. It was standard, free, no question.

Now that my car needs the 2nd oil change, I'm being given the run around. I was told the maintenance plan only applies to 2013/2014 models or that I have to purchase a maintenance program. Sales tells me this is a Service issue. Service tells me its a sales issue.

When I look at the warranty/maintenance program info I was given, it seems clear to me that I have a maintenance plan. But after talking to about five sales and service people at two dealerships, they basically say I don't know how to read the warranty info. The current website calls it the "no-cost basic maintenance care" plan. I don't remember if that's what it was called on New Years Eve 2012, but that's what I think I have. No-cost means no cost, right?!?

My other issue worth mentioning is that the blue&me is hit or miss. I plug in an iPod to the USB and 35%-ish of the time the car doesn't "see it." Also, if I leave the iPod plugged into the USB but turned off, it will turn itself back on. And off. And on. Or it sees and plays the iPod but every 60 seconds it will switch to FM to AM to USB. The dealership says they tried to "reset" the electrical but got an error message they didn't understand and they have to call Chrysler to figure it out. Even if it was working 100%, I'm disappointed in the functionality. It's not as good as what I had in my 2010 Honda Insight. The main thing I miss is that there's no way to fast-forward or rewind within a song/podcast. Now I'm just venting so I'll stop.

I'm confident the electrical can be fixed relatively easily. It's the maintenance plan confusion I'm hoping someone on the forum can help with.

Thanks!!

Claires

@thegreenone‌, it looks like the maintenance program was a promotional program that only applied to cars bought before January 1, 2012: Car & Driver long-term Fiat 500 review. Kinda weird that Motor Trend doesn't mention that restriction: Motor Trend Fiat 500 Warranty

zenerdiode

One comment was posted that anybody that is basing their decision on the buying of one of these fiats on the reliably of fiats 30 years ago . is stupid ! I have been been doing auto repair for 40 years on a mix of Italian and other European makes , American , Asian cars , I owned a auto repair shop for 30 years .I worked only on fiats and Alfa Romeo for 15 years .Italian cars were the worst cars I ever worked on . All cars are much better the they were 30 years ago .But after 30 years the European cars still drive the best .and still are the most costly to fix and have reliability issues and resale value is poor .Asian cars are the best bang for the buck because of dependably and resale. American cars are just ok and reliability is still a problem. and resale is poor.Only big change is the Korean cars are here and well priced and reliable. And fiats are back and selling great just like the Jeep Grand Cherokee I see a lot of new ones on the road . How quickly people forget!