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2012 FIAT 500 — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire · 985352 · 2013-06-11

Vehicle

Make
FIAT
Model
500
Year
2012
Manufacturer
FIAT MOTORS OF N.A., INC.
Component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Miles at failure
4,000

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

I OWN A 2012 FIAT POP THAT I PURCHASED NEW ABOUT A YEAR AGO. ONE THING THAT DID NOT GO AWAY AND WAS EVER PRESENT AT ANY TIME WAS THE LIMP MODE FOR THE ENGINE OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS. RECYCLING DID NOT WORK TO CORRECT PROBLEM AND GAUGES WERE OUT. THE INDICATOR LIGHT ON PANEL SHOWED IN LIMP MODE WHEN IT WORKED. GAUGES KEPT GOING ON AND OFF SOMETIMES FOR SHORT PERIODS AND OTHER TIMES FOR LONGER PERIODS. ON 6/10/13 MY VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE IN THE DASHBOARD. I WAS TRAVELING BACK FROM THE STORE IN LIMP MODE HOPING IT WOULD GO OUT BUT NEVER DID.I PARKED THE CAR IN FRONT OF MY DEVELOPMENT POOL AND WENT TO VISIT MY EMPLOYEE THERE. WITHIN ABOUT 5 MINUTES OR SO SHE SAID THAT MY LIGHTS WERE FLASHING. I CHECKED AND WENT TO THE VEHICLE. IT WAS ENGULFED WITH SMOKE AND A NASTY ELECTRICAL SMELL. FIRE DEPARTMENT CAME. I WAS TOLD THAT I HAD TO WAIT FOR THE FIRE INSPECTOR TO COME AND EXAMINE MY VEHICLE. HE CAME. BEGAN TEARING MY DASHBOARD APART TO FIND THE CAUSE OR SOURCE OF THE FIRE. IT WAS DETERMINED BY HIS KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE THAT THE BODY CONTROL UNIT HAD FAILED AND CAUSED THE FIRE. VEHICLE IS TOTALED. THE VEHICLE HAS ONLY ABOUT 4000 MILES ON IT. EARLIER THAT DAY BEFORE THE INCIDENT I HAD CALLED THE LOCAL FIAT DEALER. EXPLAINED THE PROBLEM OF THE GAUGES NOT WORKING, AND LIMP MODE, I ASKED IF IT WAS SAFE TO DRIVE AND HE SAID YES. AT THIS POINT I MADE AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THE VEHICLE LOOKED AT HOPEFULLY THAT DAY. ONLY OPENING WAS NEXT DAY AT 2PM. I HAVE FILED AN INSURANCE CLAIM

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10516179
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown