2016 Fiat 500

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect.  During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events. The subject vehicles may be equipped with an airbag control unit (ACU) for the supplemental restraint system (SRS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) manufactured by ZF-TRW.  The ECU receives signals from crash sensors mounted in the vehicle and deploys the vehicle air bags and seat belt pretensioners in accordance with manufacturer design specifications.  The ECU in the subject vehicles contains a model DS84 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) which controls the communication of the crash sensor signal, firing commands (i.e., when to deploy the airbag(s) and/or pretensioners), and fault information (e.g., diagnostic trouble codes). In September 2016, FCA announced recall 16V-668 for certain model year (MY) 2010 to 2014 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep products manufactured with the subject ZF-TRW ACU.  In this recall, FCA discussed an EOS condition that resulted in a failure of the subject DS84 ASIC, which caused air bag non-deployment.  FCA noted that the defect condition had only been observed in vehicles equipped with sensor harnessing routed across the front of the vehicle.  Other FCA vehicles that also used the subject ACU, but were not equipped with cross-car harnessing, had not experienced EOS failures, despite similar time in service. During the course of this investigation, ODI sent two separate Information Request (IR) letters to six vehicle manufactures (including FCA, Hyundai, Honda, Kia, Mitsubishi, and Toyota) and one IR letter to ZF-TRW.  These IR letters resulted in ODI receiving comprehensive data from these manufacturers and suppliers. Studies of this data found that the DS84 ASIC does not have sufficient protection against negative electrical transients or electrical overstress (“EOS”) that can be generated in certain severe crashes.  An electrical transient occurs when the electrical power supplied to a circuit changes momentarily over a short duration of time.   In these severe crash cases, the crash sensors and other powered wiring can be damaged and short circuited so as to create a negative electrical transient of sufficient intensity and duration (that are outside the vehicle manufacturer's specification) to damage the ASIC before the restraint device deployment signal is received by the SRS ECU.  This damaged signal can lead to incomplete or nondeployment of the air bags and/or pretensioners.  Airbag non-deployment and/or lack of pretensioner operation can increase the risk or severity of injury in a crash.A total of 8 fatalities and 14 injuries were associated with known EOS events. The common element in all investigated manufacturers vehicles is the SRS ECU containing a DS84 ASIC manufactured by ZF-TRW.  The risk associated with the ASIC is equally shared among all OEMS involved in the investigation.  The actual real-world risk can be mitigated by other factors which were assessed by ODI during this investigation. The first mitigating factor involves protections built into the ACU design which protect the DS84 ASIC from damage.  There are multiple strategies and levels of protection employed by different OEMs that provide effective EOS mitigation.  The two most common strategies at the ACU level are circuit protection diodes on the remote senor signal lines, and current limiting resistors that protect critical components. The second mitigating factor is found at the vehicle level and involves the location and routing of the wires leading from the crash sensors to the SRS ECU.  If the wires are well protected in a crash and are not routed with other power wires carrying large currents, the risk for an EOS event is significantly reduced or eliminated. These design specific factors combine to produce a spectrum of risk for the vehicles equipped with ACUs using the DS84 ASIC.  Given the many of years of field exposure, it is possible to divide the subject population into two groups; vehicles which have experienced EOS events, and vehicles which have not experienced EOS field events. Four of the six OEMs involved in this investigation have experienced EOS field events on at least one of their models equipped with a DS84 ASIC.  All vehicle models (including the Toyota models identified in the Failure Report Summary of the opening resume for this investigation) with field events have been recalled.  In an abundance of caution, ODI kept this investigation open five years to monitor field performance and did not identify any field events on vehicles not included in existing safety recalls. Given the spectrum of risk identified in this investigation and that all vehicles with a demonstrated unreasonable risk have been recalled, ODI is closing this investigation. ODI is closing this investigation with the following manufacturer safety recalls: 16V-668, 18E-043, 18V-137, 18V-363, and 20V-024.  With the recall actions taken by the subject vehicle and equipment manufacturers, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exists on other model or model year vehicles outside of the recall scopes. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.

El auto se detuvo sin avisar solo ya no quiso acelerar. Me marcó muchas fallas en las cuales les tomé foto, me tuvieron que remolcar y mi hijo se pegó en la cabeza, por suerte nada grave. Pondre las fotos de los códigos que aparecen. Tuve q ser remolcado hasta ahorita la batería sigue en un 47% pero aún así sigue sin funcionar el vehículo

NHTSA ID

11662475

Incident

May 17, 2025

The contact owns a 2016 Fiat 500. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the transmission was slipping, and the vehicle lost motive power. No warning light was illuminated. The failure recurred several times. The contact restarted the vehicle and forcefully shifted the transmission into 2nd gear to prevent losing motive power. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 53,350.

NHTSA ID

11531886

Incident

Jul 11, 2023

Mileage

53,350 mi

Passenger side drive axle failed on 2016 500e with only 35650 miles but no longer under warranty. Method of failure: Bolts holding axle to transmission sheered resulting in a loss of power. Car was brought to Orange County Chrysler for repair. Dealer informed me that there was a Chrysler Recall N51 for 2013 Fiat 500e for the same problem, but it didn't apply to my year. Numerous blogs on the internet show similar failures for newer models. A sound engineering fix should be developed and implemented as a Safety Recall.

NHTSA ID

11464484

Incident

May 6, 2022

MY VEHICLE WAS T-BONED ON MY DRIVERSIDE DOOR. THE VEHICLE THAT HIT ME WAS GOING 50MPH ACCORDING TO THE POLICE REPORT. I WAS CROSSING THE STREET AT ABOUT 10-15MPH. NOT A SINGLE AIRBAG ENGAGED, SIDE CURTAIN, SEAT, ETC. IT WAS ON A CITY STREET AND THE CAR THAT HIT ME WAS SPEEDING.

NHTSA ID

11319855

Incident

Jun 20, 2018

Mileage

28,000 mi

FIAT 500E VEHICLE BRAKING BEHAVIOR IS UNEXPECTEDLY HARD, SUDDEN, OR UNPREDICTABLE UNTIL THE USER USES AN OBD SCAN TOOL WITH APPROPRIATE DIAGNOSTIC SOFTWARE- AND INITIATES BRAKE CONTROLLER SENSOR RE-CALIBRATION. THIS OPTION IS FOUND UNDER THE DIAGNOSTIC MENU UNDER: ABS>RENENERATIVE BRAKE CONTROLLER>ACTIVE DIAGNOSTICS, AND THEN SELECTING THE PROCEDURE TO START (RBC SENSOR CALIBRATION). ONLINE FORUM USERS (PLEASE SEE LINK BELOW) ARE CURRENTLY USING 3RD PARTY SOFTWARE, AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE, TO CORRECT THE BRAKING DEFICIENCY (APPROXIMATELY $49). MY PERSONAL VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED USED AND WAS EXHIBITING SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED BRAKING ISSUES AT APPROXIMATELY 8,500 MILES; THIS IS IN MY OPINION A VERY LOW NUMBER OF MILES TO BE EXPERIENCING REGENERATE BRAKING AND CONTROL ISSUES. PLEASE REFERENCE THE ONGOING DISCUSSION THREAD AT FIAT 500E ONLINE FORUMS: HTTPS://WWW.FIAT500OWNERS.COM/THREADS/FIX-GRABBY-BRAKES-FOR-70.149282/#POST-1292483

NHTSA ID

11288427

Incident

Jul 15, 2019

Mileage

8,500 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FIAT 500. WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, THE MANUAL CLUTCH FAILED AND PREVENTED THE CONTACT FROM CHANGING GEARS. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT DROVE INTO A CEMENT BARRIER TO AVOID TRAFFIC. THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER FRONTAL AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY, CAUSING THE CONTACT'S HEAD TO STRIKE THE STEERING WHEEL. THE CONTACT INJURED HER NECK, LEFT SHOULDER, AND LEFT FOOT. THE CONTACT WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL BY FAMILY MEMBERS. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 12,000. *DT *TR *DT*JB

NHTSA ID

11258624

Incident

Aug 19, 2019

Mileage

12,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FIAT 500. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL WITHOUT WARNING AND THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THAT THE WIRE HARNESS AND POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE CONTACT SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT WITH ACADIANA DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP RAM FIAT (1700 SW EVANGELINE THRUWAY, LAFAYETTE, LA 70508, (337) 232-7361). THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 67,000.

NHTSA ID

11190342

Incident

Mar 1, 2019

Mileage

67,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FIAT 500. WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE, THE TRANSMISSION JERKED AND SHIFTED ROUGHLY. OCCASIONALLY, THE VEHICLE WOULD SHIFT OUT OF GEAR AND FAIL TO IMMEDIATELY ACCELERATE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER (NYLE MAXWELL FIAT, 13049 RESEARCH BLVD, AUSTIN, TX) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS FAULTY. COMPUTER UPDATES WERE PERFORMED TO THE POWER TRAIN CONTROL MODULE AND THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE, BUT THE FAILURES CONTINUED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES, BUT NO ASSISTANCE WAS OFFERED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 28,000.

NHTSA ID

11120642

Incident

Aug 1, 2017

Mileage

28,000 mi

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 handles.

High Voltage Air Conditioning Refrigerant Dye

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.

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.

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

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