Engines

The 1.2 is reliable, although some software fixes have been needed to cure hesitation at low speeds. Also, the breather pipes can split on early engines leading to oil/petrol fumes in the cabin. When removing the airbox on this engine it pays to be careful as the fitting for the second smaller breather pipe on the rear snaps off easily.

If used for short journeys, the DPF on the 1.3 Multijet can clog, flagging up a

dash warning light. Fuel economy will suffer and the car’s ECU will force it to go into ‘limp-home’ mode. Trouble is, if left, the engine can overfuel to compensate and diesel can find its way into the sump and the subsequent contamination ruins the engine. When this happens, a different light will show: the ‘oil exhausted’ warning. If a motorway blast doesn’t encourage the proper regeneration process, Fiat’s Examiner software can make the engine go through a forced regeneration and clear any fault codes. If this doesn’t work, it’s a case of replacing the filter – they start at £120 on ebay – and you’ll need to do an oil and filter service afterwards.

Officially, the oil change interval is every 18,000 miles or two years, but it’s best to do it much sooner. As with all engines with a DPF, it needs the right grade of oil. Failed injectors and injector seal issues can also affect this engine.

There’s no particular problems with the normally aspirated 1.4 petrol or the 1.4 turbo Abarth version.

The 0.9 Twinair is relatively troublefree, but it’s imperative that the correct grade of oil is used as the multiair system is very oil-sensitive. It needs 5W-40 fully synthetic that meets the ACEA C3 standard. Also, beware of hot shut-down, which can result in turbo failure. The cambelt replacement interval on most 500s is 72,000 miles, but on a car used for city centre journeys it would be best to do it sooner. There’s a chain on the diesel.

The Dualogic automated manual transmission works well, but if it fails to select gears, suspect the actuator in the first instance. ENGINE COMPONENT PRICES OIL FILTER Main dealer £16.39 Independent from £7.59 DPF FILTER Main dealer £1697.50 Independent from £120 TURBO Main dealer £1976.20 (sold as a pair) Independent from £300 (each) Secondhand £100