From Toyota to Stellantis.

[Graham Piccinini]

CEL came on, for misfire on cylinders 1 & 4. Yet while driving power was same, no extra vibrations, all smooth. Weird, I'm usually pretty good at spotting a misfire before it even causes a CEL, but not on this FIAT.
Figured I'll give it new plugs to start with. NGKs weren't locally available, so I went with Autolite Iridium's. Here is where it got weird...
Spark plugs on 1 & 4 were properly tight and looked good when removed. But spark plugs on 2 & 3 gave me quite a fight. Both felt seized in head. When removing I did the "loosen-loosen-tighten" pattern in 1/4 turn increments for the full length of that thread. It honestly felt like I'm about to have a case of Ford Modular with stripped threads and helicoil inserts...
Took a while, but they came out thankfully. Both looked more rich than the outside cylinders.
Threw new Autolite plugs with anti seize on threads and dielectric grease on the ignition coil end. It's been three weeks, so far so good.
On my past cars it was always the ignition coils, and new plugs rarely helped. But thankfully here the plugs fixed the CELs. I'm still confused on how the codes were present, but engine ran smooth & proper.

 

[Marcozi]

FIAT: futile Italian attempt at transportation.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

FIAT: futile Italian attempt at transportation.

It is a fun little nugget though. Managed to piss of a 1970's Camaro Convertible owner, when he couldn't outrun me with all that V8 torque and power lol.
Let's see how long I can push my luck on the reliability aspect.

 

[Silverado12]

People can say what they want about Chrysler products but our 2018 2.4L Multiair 4WD Cherokee has been really good. One recall for fuel line routing issues and the "service shifter" light. It took a couple weeks for the part to get in but that was during the pandemic. Also, the Cherokee was the most American made vehicle at the time and also assembled w/union labor if that matters to anybody anymore. Sad to see Belvidere Assembly closed down now.

 

[hrv]

People can say what they want about Chrysler products but our 2018 2.4L Multiair 4WD Cherokee has been really good. One recall for fuel line routing issues and the "service shifter" light. It took a couple weeks for the part to get in but that was during the pandemic. Also, the Cherokee was the most American made vehicle at the time and also assembled w/union labor if that matters to anybody anymore. Sad to see Belvidere Assembly closed down now.

Chrysler died years ago...RIP...

 

[RAVL]

Looks like a great car. Candidly I see the risk profile on these as no worse than, and probably better from a cost perspective, as any other European car. When I am overseas for work, I see them all over Europe. People there are rational like we are and they wouldn’t buy them if they were constantly broken. Americans still recall the bad old Fiat days but that is not rational as these cars are very different and built like other modern cars.

Good luck with it!

 

[Kira]

Americans still recall the bad old Fiat days

Back then, Americans were the automotive abuse champs. Lots of vehicles could, likely, have done better with proper maintenance.

I've heard some Europeans are catching up in the neglect department. I've no proof.

 

[camrydriver111]

Fiat is best at building small affordable cars. 500, 126, Panda, Cinquacento, Punto, etc. had big sales.

These types of cars are not popular in the US to begin with. Still, there is some market for cars like this. Mitsubishi Mirage is selling. The US pricing for Fiat seems high.

So without even considering any reliability issues, the marketing and pricing is not a good match for the US market.

It seems like they tried to go more upmarket with leather seats, Gucci editions, and equipment and try to sell at a higher price.

However, Americans won't pay big money for a small car. I wonder if Fiat would be more successful if they focused on affordibility, and sold more basic models.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Fiat is best at building small affordable cars. 500, 126, Panda, Cinquacento, Punto, etc. had big sales.

These types of cars are not popular in the US to begin with. Still, there is some market for cars like this. Mitsubishi Mirage is selling. The US pricing for Fiat seems high.

So without even considering any reliability issues, the marketing and pricing is not a good match for the US market.

It seems like they tried to go more upmarket with leather seats, Gucci editions, and equipment and try to sell at a higher price.

However, Americans won't pay big money for a small car. I wonder if Fiat would be more successful if they focused on affordibility, and sold more basic models.

Likely so. I'd love a boxy FIAT Panda 4x4. Those things are unstoppable, due to light weight and capable 4WD system. I think the Renegade here in US is the closest thing to it.

 

[Gene K]

It is a fun little nugget though. Managed to piss of a 1970's Camaro Convertible owner, when he couldn't outrun me with all that V8 torque and power lol.
Let's see how long I can push my luck on the reliability aspect.

Hate to break it to you, but there is no 2nd Gen Convertible (1970 - 1981).

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Hate to break it to you, but there is no 2nd Gen Convertible (1970 - 1981).

Gotcha, must've been pre-1970 then. Looked just like this one, except no girl, just an angry muscle man at the steering wheel.

 

[hrv]

Gotcha, must've been pre-1970 then. Looked just like this one, except no girl, just an angry muscle man at the steering wheel.
View attachment 249131

She looks great and so does the car....

 

[Gene K]

1968 with 1969 JL2 Hood. If it's modified who knows.

Stock most weighed 3400+ lb (1550 kg) and had the 327/210 (5.4L / 140 net bhp). Honestly not much that won't outrun them today.

A lot of those old cars will fool you though. The sensations and smiles per mile make them feel like they make a lot more power.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

1968 with 1969 JL2 Hood. If it's modified who knows.

Stock most weighed 3400+ lb (1550 kg) and had the 327/210 (5.4L / 140 net bhp). Honestly not much that won't outrun them today.

A lot of those old cars will fool you though. The sensations and smiles per mile make them feel like they make a lot more power.

100% true. I was just simply playing around by staying on his tail, and he got pissy for some reason... Technology advanced a lot, cars are so much faster than before, but nothing will ever replace the wonderful sound and experience of a proper old school muscle car. My dream car is a 1950s Mercury coupe, and I don't care about its speed or MPG.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Misfire came back. Ordered cheapest ignition coils from Amazon. 1 died in 3 days. Another died in two weeks. Amazon sent me replacements, and so far so good...

Did find like-new Enkei 18" wheels with brand new winter Blizzaks on them. Came off of a Alfa Romeo Guilia. Due to unpopular (and same as mine) 5x110 bolt pattern I scored these for $250.

 

[sw99]

Well just get used to working on that Fiat unfortunately. No chance in hell I would consider anything stellantis or VW. Not trying to be a jerk but that's just the reality of it.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Well just get used to working on that Fiat unfortunately. No chance in hell I would consider anything stellantis or VW. Not trying to be a jerk but that's just the reality of it.

As far as unexpected repairs - so far it's on par with used and neglected Toyota/Lexus/Honda vehicles that I'm used to owning over the past decade. These ignition coils had over 165k miles on them, so not surprising that they failed. And cheap Amazon replacements likely were counterfeit since they failed so soon after installation.

As far as drivability - it's fun and sees redline many times on my 100 mile work commute. Yet when I take it easy - it's able to return 43MPG. No other failures yet.

Yes, FIAT did earn their reputation decades ago, but these 1.4T T-Jet engines (MultiAir in US) have proven themselves to be quite reliable. Stock 140HP, while many overseas push 250-300hp reliably, and some do reliability upgrades to push up to 400hp. From a 1.4L... Hopefully everything around the engine lives a long life too.
As I mentioned earlier - I personally seen dozens (and drove a couple) of fleet Jeep Renegades with this engine at 250k-400k miles.
Overseas it is known as "Million Kilometer Engine" for a reason, which is roughly 600k miles in Bald Eagle units .

I knew I was taking a chance going in, but so far it's paying off. I'm simply sharing my Good/Bad/Ugly ownership experience with it here for anyone in future who may consider one, since these are so cheap. Overall - it's actually giving me less issues than my most recent 2003 Lexus GS300, and less issues than either of two of my most recent Pontiac Vibe (Toyota Matrix twins). I had a 2008 1.8L, and 2009 2.4L.

Did also have a 2013 VW Tiguan, and lost over $7k in Maintenance & Repairs on it: Turbo twice, timing chain self destruction, water pumps, various sensors... That one was a nightmare.
Yet two of my cousins own a 2010ish naturally aspirated 2.0L Jetta and a later model 1.8L TSI Jetta. Both hold up somewhat well mechanically, but interiors fall apart. And automatic transmissions are jerky in both, but keep on going for years that way, so far...

As always: your experience may vary. I'm just sharing my "reality of it" with full transparency.

 

[RAVL]

Well just get used to working on that Fiat unfortunately. No chance in hell I would consider anything stellantis or VW. Not trying to be a jerk but that's just the reality of it.

I think with used cars more than anything else, in terms of reliability you are going to be reliant on the prior owner’s driving habits and maintenance. Take a reliable brand like Toyota, drive it 100k, do improper maintenance and drive it hard and the next owner will have an unpleasant experience. This is why it surprises me that people buy used cars without maintenance records. With a history any used car is in large measure a pig in a poke.

 

[jeepman3071]

Not gonna lie, it does look like fun to drive.

 

[4WD]

I think with used cars more than anything else, in terms of reliability you are going to be reliant on the prior owner’s driving habits and maintenance. Take a reliable brand like Toyota, drive it 100k, do improper maintenance and drive it hard and the next owner will have an unpleasant experience. This is why it surprises me that people buy used cars without maintenance records. With a history any used car is in large measure a pig in a poke.

PM at trade is an odd subject - twice I tried to handover meticulous PM records to the dealership - “we don’t need those” - I don’t bother now