Fiat · Compact SUV

Fiat 500

Every model year 2016–2023: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

8 Model years 2016–2023

13 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years

40 Complaints owner reports, all years

A Newest grade 2023 Safety Signal

2017 Best on record cleanest filed year

The 2023 500 →Which years to avoid Compare it

Fiat 500 — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Fiat 500 · Photo: Charles from Port Chester, New York · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Every Fiat 500 model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year

Year	Powertrains	Safety	Recalls	Complaints	Crash	Best efficiency
2023	Gas	A	1	0	—	26 mpg
2022	Gas	A	1	2	—	26 mpg
2021	Gas	A	1	0	—	26 mpg
2020	Gas	B	2	2	—	26 mpg
2019	Gas	B	3	3	—	30 mpg
2018	Gas	A	1	5	—	30 mpg
2017	Gas	A	1	14	★★★★☆	34 mpg
2016	Gas	B	3	14	★★★★☆	34 mpg

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road

Years to avoid, with the reasons →Best on the record 2017

On the filed record so far, the 2017 is the cleanest 500 year we hold, and the 2019 the one to check hardest.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

Year	Safety Signal	Recalls /yr	Complaints /yr
2017	A	0.1	2
2018	A	0.1	1
2021	A	0.2	0
2022	A	0.2	0
2016	B	0.3	1
2023	A	0.3	0
2020	B	0.3	0
2019	B	0.4	0

Also on file Beside the Fiat 500

Best year on file The 2018 500 Recalls Every Fiat recall on file Compare The 2023 500 against anything

What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record

2021: 2 → 1 EPA configurations
2020: best combined mpg 30 → 26; 6 → 2 EPA configurations
2019: 4 → 6 EPA configurations
2018: best combined mpg 34 → 30; 6 → 4 EPA configurations

Common questions about the Fiat 500

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which Fiat 500 year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2017 500 comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade A (97/100), 1 recall and 14 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

What Fiat 500 years should I avoid?

No 500 model year carries a D or F Safety Signal or a standing advisory. The ranking page orders every year on recalls and complaints per year on the road, and says why.

How many recalls does the Fiat 500 have?

Across model years 2016–2023, NHTSA has posted 13 recall campaigns for the Fiat 500. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.