2016 Fiat 500X

No clear pattern

0.8% of complaints about the 2016 Fiat 500X arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2016 vehicle, but with only 261 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is engine (52 complaints), typically at 4.1 yr or about 32,900 miles.

Complaints: 261
Median age at failure: 4.3 yr
Median mileage: 40,000 n=172
Crash / fire / tow: 3.1% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

16V529000 2016-07-12

Power train:automatic transmission

Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Jeep Cherokee and 2015 Chrysler 200, Jeep Renegade, RAM ProMaster, and 2016 Fiat 500X vehicles equipped with 9-speed automatic transmissions. The transmission sensor clusters may have insufficient crimps in the transmission wire harness, and as a result, the transmission may unexpectedly shift to neutral. On August 29, 2016 Chrysler added the 2016 Fiat 500X vehicles to this recall.

If the vehicle unexpectedly shifts to neutral, there is an increased risk of a crash.

In owners’ own words

Other 352 mi 1.4 yr in service

MY FIAT 500X IS BRAND NEW BARELY 350 MILES...IT HAS BEEN TOWED TWICE SO FAR AND IS PRESENTLY BEING WORKED ON NOW. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE IT SINCE IT STALLS OUT WHILE DRIVING AND EVENTUALLY WILL NOT RESTART. I HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING ONLINE AND HAVE FOUND SIMILAR ISSUES. I FEEL UNSAFE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE AND COULD END UP BEING IN OR CAUSING AN ACCIDENT SINCE I WAS ALMOST HIT BOTH TIMES MY CAR STALLED OUT...ONCE ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE OTHER TIME MOST RECENTLY IN HIGH CITY TRAFFIC. I JUST WANT A REPLACEMENT OF EQUAL VALUE.

Other 4,600 mi 1.7 yr in service

BRAKE PADS REPLACED AT 4,600 MILES. BRAKES WERE SCREAMING. STARTING CAR SETS OFF SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT AND DRIVE MODE UNAVAILABLE MESSAGE. DEALERSHIP HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE THE PROBLEM AFTER 5 RETURN VISITS..

Other 27,400 mi 2.3 yr in service

I RECEIVED THE ERROR MESSAGE "DRIVE MODE UNAVAILABLE" WITH A SERVICE ENGINE MESSAGE AFTER MY LAST REGULAR SERVICE APPOINTMENT AND OIL CHANGE. MY CAR IS AT 27,400 MILES AND AFTER THROWING THAT CODE BARELY COULD MAKE IT UP A RESIDENTIAL HILL. AFTER THE LOCAL SERVICE DEPARTMENT CLAIMED TO HAVE FIXED IT, 3 MILES DOWN THE ROAD THE MESSAGE POPPED UP AGAIN AND DRIVING WAS DIFFICULT. MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP HAS HAD MY FIAT 500X NOW THE SECOND TIME SINCE DECEMBER 1ST WITH NO UPDATES FOR ME.

Power train 2,000 mi 1.9 yr in service

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FIAT 500X. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY EXPERIENCED SEVERE JERKING AND HESITATION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER (CROWN CHRYSLER/FIAT LOCATED IN CHATTANOOGA, TN) WHERE THE PCM, TCM, AND TRANSMISSION WERE REPROGRAMMED, BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS INVALID. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,000.

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2016 Fiat 500X

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

How to read this