Fiat
Fiat 500 years to avoid
Years to avoid: 2014 and 2015. Best years: 2016 and 2017.
The 2014 and 2015 Fiat 500 draw the most owner complaints for their age: 2014 has 107 complaints (8 for each year on the road) and 2015 has 92 complaints (8 for each year on the road), against a median of 5 a year across the 4 model years old enough to judge. The most reported problem on the 2014 is stalling (11 reports).
- 107complaints
- 4recall campaigns
- 1model years with a page
Newest report Dec 7, 2025 · checked Oct 2, 2026
Pick your model year
Owner complaints on file for each year.
Years to avoid
2014
Most reported: stalling (11 reports, median 11,000 miles).
2015
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
Best years
2016
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
2017
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
Complaints for each year on the road
Each model year's NHTSA complaints divided by the calendar years it has been on sale, counting this one (a 2018 model has had 9). Older cars have had longer to collect complaints, so raw totals flatter the new ones. Blue bars are the years to avoid.
Within one model, sales change less from year to year than they do between models, so a jump here is mostly a jump in problems. The call: the years to avoid are the (up to three) highest at 1.5 times the model's median rate or more, and the best are the (up to three) lowest at two thirds of it or less, from 2016 on.
Guide How much should a years-to-avoid list decide? What these lists get wrong
At a glance
- Where the complaints sit
- The 2014 has the most complaints of any Fiat 500 year here: 107 of 107 (100%).
- Problem across the years
- Stalling is the top problem in every model year with a page, 11 reports in all. Pooled across the years, half of the 11 owners who gave a mileage for stalling were under about 11,000 miles.
- Crash, fire and injury reports
- 16% of Fiat 500 complaints report a crash, a fire or an injury, against 6% for the typical vehicle on this site.
- Recalls on the top problem
- None of the 1 model years where owners report stalling has a recall on the same system.
- When owners filed
- Filings peaked in 2015 at 42 (full calendar years only). In 2025 there were 4. None has come in so far in 2026. Filings on record start in 2015.
Photo: Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
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Model years with too few complaints for a page of their own: 2015 (92), 2016 (14), 2017 (14).
Year by year
2014 Fiat 500 avoid
107 owner complaints, 8 for each year on the road (1.8 times the model median). Most reported: stalling (11 reports, median 11,000 miles). 9 reports involved a crash and 8 people were hurt. 4 recalls, including 19E-044 on the transmission and drivetrain and 16V-302 on the transmission and drivetrain.
Questions
What Fiat 500 years should you avoid?
The 2014 and 2015 Fiat 500 draw the most owner complaints for their age: 2014 has 107 complaints (8 for each year on the road) and 2015 has 92 complaints (8 for each year on the road), against a median of 5 a year across the 4 model years old enough to judge. The most reported problem on the 2014 is stalling (11 reports).
What are the best years for the Fiat 500?
The 2016 and 2017 draw the fewest complaints for their age: 2016 has 14 (1 a year) and 2017 has 14 (1 a year). Model years before 2016 aren't called best, because complaints filed before 2015 aren't in the files this site reads and their counts run short.
What is the most common problem on the Fiat 500?
Stalling, with 11 reports across the 1 model years that have a page here. It's the single most reported problem on the 2014.
How many recalls does the Fiat 500 have?
4 recall campaigns cover the Fiat 500 model years 2014 on this site.
How many Fiat 500 complaints involve a crash, fire or injury?
16% of them, against 6% for the typical vehicle on this site.
Is there a recall for stalling on the Fiat 500?
No. None of the 1 model years where owners report it has one on the same system.