[GRing40]

Am considering a 500e as a city car, but my local mechanic is very doubtful about repairing it, and someone in Parts at an area Fiat dealership says parts are too hard to come by; wouldn’t buy one. How do local owners get their 500s repaired, and find parts for them? Thanks … gring40

 

[luxuryrules]

For me, parts are not an issue. I don’t expect my local dealer to have them in stock, it’s just a function of planning around that.

Service I do on my own, the couple times I’ve had to use a dealer have been frustrating, but my issues aren’t specific to Fiat so much as with dealers in general and the fact that they have to exist…

However, your experience may differ with the 500e. Mine is with a gas powered 500.

 

[GRing40]

For me, parts are not an issue. I don’t expect my local dealer to have them in stock, it’s just a function of planning around that.

Thanks for the reply. 👍🏼 So where do like to get your parts from, and how often do you find shortages, etc?

 

[luxuryrules]

Thanks for the reply. 👍🏼 So where do like to get your parts from, and how often do you find shortages, etc?

My local dealer has been pretty good for parts and getting them in, but I did have one long lead time challenge with the replacement part on a well-documented steering shaft issue. That was maybe six months. I should add, my local dealer is not a Fiat one (it’s just CDJR), but they can look up parts for me from my VIN - I don’t know if all the CDJR dealers can do that but I would hope so.

Most of the time they won’t have my part on the shelf but can get it in a day or two. I think I did wait a week for a control arm.

I have used the OEM Mopar parts online websites, there are a few out there. I also discovered that if you have a part number, Rockauto even carries a lot of genuine Mopar stuff too.

 

[smark]

You won’t find any one to service a 500e near the Chicago area.
You might call around, a few Fiat dealership there.
The 500e was never offered here, in the Midwest.
Here’s a source for repair parts.

Mopar 2015 Fiat 500 | Mopar Genuine Parts

Get great deals on oem accessories for the 2015 Fiat 500 here at Mopar Genuine Parts. We offer a variety of Fiat 500 accessories & parts.

www.mopargenuineparts.com

 

[GRing40]

You won’t find any one to service a 500e near the Chicago area.

Thanks, really need to find someone to service it, or reluctantly pass on owning one.

 

[MondoMojo]

I bought one two and a half years ago and I live in Indianapolis, so even less of a chance of finding service. If that's a deal-breaker for you, move along. I've had only very minor issues with mine that were remedied by reading the original 500e forum. These cars have a pretty solid reliability record, but you are taking a gamble. Mind you that I bought mine before the prices jumped. I could sell mine for twice what I paid for it in today's economy. I'm not a gambler by any means, but after spending 18 months researching the vehicle, I felt it was a pretty safe bet. As always, YMMV! Good luck on your quest!

 

[Bugzapper]

I had one issue with mine that was misdiagnosed which had me waiting on a ABS module which never showed up after 6 months. (People say they have it but can't even find it and put hands on it) But after another diagnosis it ended up being the senors again which are shared with regular 500 models. From what I can tell the E specific parts are extremely rare failure points. Most things that need changed are shared with the normal fuel powered ones (as long as it's a first gen you're talking about) A normal mechanic or even a generic EV repair center can handle it.

 

[Don Mac]

Am considering a 500e as a city car, but my local mechanic is very doubtful about repairing it, and someone in Parts at an area Fiat dealership says parts are too hard to come by; wouldn’t buy one. How do local owners get their 500s repaired, and find parts for them? Thanks … gring40

I'm in Southern California. That's where the 500E's were originally leased. There is no service. The very few Chrysler-Fiat Electric car trained are now back on gasoline Fiats.Most problems (very few) are solved by other members.
There are THREE Fiat 500Electric 27,211 Original 2013-2019 Facebook pages. Ask questions there and someone usually has an answer.

 

[GRing40]

Thanks for all your helpful comments; I guess the 500e is a great DIY car, but I’m past that, and need (and have found) a local mechanic to work on the car. But if the EV-specific system goes out, I would seem to be out of luck. Still on the fence, I guess.

 

[MondoMojo]

It was just announced that Fiat is coming back to the USA in 2024 with the new 500e. That means service will be available again! You may want to factor that in. Have had only minor issues with mine. Less than with an ICE vehicle. YMMV!