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New fiat 500e died on freeway and is till dead

32K views 46 replies 26 participants last post by  Electric Tire Shredder 
#1 ·
Loved this new car that I waited soooo long for but it left me in a very dangerous situation when I lost all driving power on the freeway. "Propulsion system failure" flashed and my car just shut down. Rolled out off traffic and waited for tow but found that his car does not have a tow hook! At this point Fiat has no idea what the problem is but I was told that a top engineer from Detroit had flown in to inspect the car. Still no calls and no answers. I know of one other owner having the same problem. Hope this is isolated. I welcome any thoughts on the situation.
 
#5 ·
I would not be so quick to discard this issue as being false. Seems like he's got his terminology right. The same thing happened with the half shaft issue. People didn't believe it until they had to return their cars.

OP: Was this during the day or night? I'm curious if you just lost the ability to propel the car or was there a total power fail. I know that there are separate batteries but being stranded in the dark would be really freaking scary.
 
#7 ·
If you would like, I can take a look into this situation at the studio with your vehicle. Please Pm me with your VIN. I have a direct link to the 500E engineers.
 
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#9 ·
I'm scheduled to pick up my new 500e (argento) within the next week, and this is the first post that has given me real pause.

Jforte12: Please identify the dealer where your car is being serviced, and where you purchased it so that your very serious report can be independently verified. If we don't hear from you, I'll assume your post is bogus and will be proceed with my purchase (actually lease). Thanks in advance.
 
#10 ·
Well, that is pretty crazy if there are people who go around posting bogus reports.. it never occurred to me that someone would do that.

As for the car stopping suddenly, the technology for these EV's are so new, and so highly automated it seems little glitches can cause a malfunction and then the car shuts down. Check out the Ford Focus EV (has a stop safely now message, small batch of owners with problem), or the RAV 4EV (the "screen of death" so the drivers call it)... those cars seem to be really well liked by the owners , just like the FIAT 500e is... but then, a minority of drivers would get this alarming message/problem which seems nearly impossible to pinpoint or fix (go check the FFE and R4EV forums, the drivers are complaining about it for months all with different experiences when the problem happens).. so not to alarm anyone, I'm knocking on wood that nothing happens with my EV... guess its like an ICE stalling, which happens, but still, its unnerving because it all seems to be due to some computer issue!! not mechanical, something you can touch like a part that you have changed out

Anyway, as for the issue being bogus... couldn't Jonathan (FIAT cares) be able to confirm if indeed FIAT has received such complaint and indeed if an engineer is working on such issue? He may not be able to say where/specifics, but he maybe could say if such situation did occur.
 
#11 ·
Update on dead Fiat 500e

Just got word that they think the power failure(propulsion system) was the result of something called the power inverter module. I am getting all of my info from a corporate customer service rep who is in direct contact with the service engineers. I also know that I am one of three people who have had the same problem. Probably an isolated event for a few cars but the service reps here were not prepared to handle it and it seems they are learning as they go along. Everyone in this forum seems pretty well informed and we all want EV's to succeed in the marketplace. Fixes to problems like this,if this truly is the fix, will lead to better products in the future. I will keep everyone informed as best I can. Thanks for the replies and input.
 
#15 ·
Hi, I maybe have had a similar fault. During Thanksgiving weekend, I was parked at the curb on a residential street. I started to do a U-turn, couldn't make the radius so pressed the "R" button and then nothing. On the screen displayed "Service Propulsion System". My car was now blocking half the street, fortunately it was a quiet neighborhood. Pushing any shift buttons resulted in no response. I turned the ignition off, removed the key, put the key back in and turned it to start. Still nothing. I again removed the key, exited the car, closed the door, opened it again, went thru the start sequenced again, and this time when I selected "D" it responded and I drove off. Haven't had a problem since (knock on wood)

What the heck happened??
 
#17 ·
My friend and I have 5000 miles on our 500e's with nary a hitch, other than the one time I ran the battery below 3% and it refuse to recharge for about 10 minutes, then it self-corrected and started charging correctly. Because the car is essentially 100% software controlled, it has a higher number of potential no-run problem scenarios than a conventional car. If this s alarming to you, perhaps the risks of a new technology vehicle are too great and you should consider something more traditional. But up to now, I aver pleased with the car.
 
#19 ·
I had the same thing happen to my Fiat500e over the weekend. The car is brand new with under 600 miles on it, and I took it for a short drive fully charged at 99% and it stopped completely on the freeway. It froze up. The first warning that came on was something like "energy conserving mode" and then "propulsion system failure" I could not get the car completely off the freeway. It was a terrrifying experience. The car is now at McKevitt in Berkeley where they are trying to resolve the problem. At this point, my problem is that I really don't trust that car and am not sure I want it back. I was so excited to have a car to drive in the carpool lane, but I would not trust this thing in the carpool lane at this point. If it stopped there I would be killed!
 
#23 ·
I'm a new 500e owner and new to this forum. I just wanted to say that I had a similar situation yesterday with both "service propulsion system" and "service electric vehicle system" warning showing up simultaneously. Car stalled with full charge pulling away from a stop sign. Dealer in Riverside, CA has no idea what's wrong with the car and is running more tests. Glad to see owner with similar problem were able to get it resolved.
 
#24 ·
As recommended or suggested in another thread, check your 12V AGM battery. When this battery begins to fail or not hold charge properly, all sorts of malfunctions begin to pop up.

This is an "early stage" issue with EVs that yet need to be resolved properly. Hopefully they will rid us of these startup batteries so that so many gremlin issues don't pop up.
 
#25 ·
I have a new (few months old) 2014 500e and I love it but there is a major issue with it. My daughter was driving it at low speed and it died without warning. We had it towed to the dealer and they kept it for five days to upgrade the software. It worked fine after that. Then today my wife was driving it at medium speed and it completely died. It had a fully charged battery both times. Fiat says it "needs another software update." I'm starting to become skeptical and wonder if that is the real problem. If they were on the freeway it could have been catastrophic.
 
#27 ·
Due to limited range, still lack of power stations, and many problems present with EV's in general, I would never even consider an electric car. With the 42 mpg I get on my Sport, the electric bill for ev owners probably cost more than fuel does on my Sport. Not one problem with my Sport so far and still get excited about driving itl
 
#28 ·
I use 300 kWh more electricity each month with my EV than without it, and my electric bill went DOWN by $125 a month. So, no, my "fuel" doesn't cost more than yours. LOL. Mine is less than free.

EV cars depend upon massive government subsidies. Imagine if for the same price you are paying for your Sport, you could have a 500e AND a <fill in the blank>.

As far as range is concerned, I have 4 other cars. ;) My 335d gets 650 miles to a tank. I can make it about 500 before I need food or a bathroom.

I only charge my at home. I drive it any time my travel is within 45 miles of home.

EV cars are a LONG way from meeting the requirements that your Sport fulfills for you...and MOST people.

Happily, it checks the fun and practical boxes for me.
 
#30 ·
I must be missing something. I bought the home charger & have a plan with PG &E that says it's 0.09c per Kwt whatever but my bill was astronomical.
I called PG & E & went over several months bills & they wouldn't rebate, & offered a different plan that was clearly not as good as what I have.

I have subsequently gone to charging at free chargers & my office, which has a good rate for charging.
I wish I hadn't wasted the $2k+ on installing the home unit. I'm in Marin.
 
#31 ·
Inform the Public Utilities Commission of your situation, you will probably get it fixed. You DO have your 9 cents/kwh in a document from them, right? Curious on what you were told/shown.

On your bill, were you billed at a tiered rate? I'm curious to know what was wrong, and how the bill is structured is the first step in getting it fixed.

The CPUC will go after your utility company, because it knows they have a monopoly.

Greg
 
#33 · (Edited)
Go to PG&E's website and register.

If you have a Smart Meter, all of your information is available in 15 minute increments,and you can see the estimates for what your electric bill would be for each plan based upon your actual time-sensitive usage over the last 12 months. It is a pretty good estimate based upon my first two bills.

Did you switch to EV-A? Or EV-B with a dedicated meter?

Only people who were getting massively screwed by the tiers built to punish consumption will get a significant benefit like Greg and I. That usually is a result of being in a big house and/or having a family that consumes more power than the government approved family of four living in a 1200 square foot ranch style home with no pool or fridge in the garage. (I am not joking. You can research how your base usage is calculated.)

When I hear "Marin" I don't immediately think 5000 square foot house and $900-$1200 a month utility bill, but that is obviously just my El Dorado Hill Billy bias talking. You could own Skywalker Ranch for all I know. LOL.

So...

What was you average kWh per month usage before your EV?

What was your electric bill? Just the electricity part.

If you tell me that your bills have skyrocketed from $80 a month to $115 a month, then my final thought on this thread is "Screw you, you pathetic whiner. "

:D

By the way, I was in The City yesterday and I saw about 5 500e's scooting around. I was so jealous. One day I am going to plan a three-legged trip just so I can drive mine across the Golden Gate. You are lucky. :)
 
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