The Fiat 500 is a super popular vehicle that is now sold all over the world, in many countries. It’s been powered by several engines including the most popular 1.2L and 1.4L (including the turbocharged one). Also, the 0.9 Turbo is common in Europe. There was the 1-liter FireFly and even the 1.3L MultiJet diesel engine under the bonnet of this model.
Surprisingly, several or even all engines in the Fiat 500 have one common problem – they tend to leak coolant with very mysterious symptoms and hard-to-locate reasons. Forums are full of questions about the possible reasons for the leak and the way to locate it. I noticed that owners of the Fiat 500 with different engines ask for help.
So, here’s what I will cover in this article:
- What are the common symptoms of coolant leak in Fiat 500?
- What should you check in the first place if the coolant is leaking?
- What are the most common hidden reasons for Fiat 500 leaks?
- Can you drive with a coolant leak in your Fiat 500?
- Fixing the problem – on your own or in the dealership.
Common symptoms of coolant leak in Fiat 500
Every driver should know that when coolant leaks in their car, it’s considered a serious problem. Overheating is one of the most common reasons why any engine may fail. Sometimes, fatal overheating leads to severe damage to the engine that is easier to replace than to repair after that.
So, whenever you suspect a coolant leak in your Fiat 500, it’s important to stop driving the car and inspect it to see how bad the problem is.
Here are the symptoms that may tell you about the bad coolant leak:
- Coolant level drops. Suddenly, in the morning, you see that the coolant level in the reservoir is on the minimum mark. Or even worse – there is just no coolant in the reservoir.
- Red liquid under your car. If you see wet spots under the vehicle in your garage or parking place, this can be a direct sign of a coolant leak.
- Wet engine and other units under the hood. If you open the bonnet and see that something is wet, you should start worrying – this is not a normal situation for your Fiat 500.
- Smell of antifreeze. The specific smell of antifreeze may also be a sign that the coolant is leaking onto the engine and evaporating right away because of the high temperature.
Please keep in mind that the coolant level drop in the reservoir may also mean that the coolant is leaking inside the engine. This usually happens when the head gasket is broken or when there is a crack in the cylinder wall. This leads to fatal problems with the engine and the coolant may get into one of the combustion chambers where it is burnt along with the fuel.
The clear sign of this bad issue is the white smoke from the tailpipe of your Fiat. Usually, this happens after severe overheating or when the engine mileage is very high. Repairing an internal leak in the Fiat engine is much more expensive and complicated. And today we are mostly talking about the external coolant leak.
Checking your Fiat 500 when the coolant leak is spotted
There are several things you may do on your own before you go to the garage or dealership. It’s important to understand where the coolant is leaking from. This will help you diagnose the car and maybe even repair it on your own and save hundreds of euros, eventually.
Here’s how you may check the Fiat 500 if it’s leaking coolant:
- Let it cool down if the engine has been working. Don’t touch anything in such a case because everything under the bonnet is going to be burning hot.
- Carefully look at all the hoses. You may spot the source of the leak with the naked eye – just be careful and calmly inspect all the hoses.
- Look at the reservoir. Coolant reservoir may also be the source of leaking – inspect it from all sides and make sure it’s dry.
- Inspect the area of the thermostat. You may google the location of the thermostat in your engine. In the 1.2L it’s located right near the battery, for example.
- Look down the car. If you see drops, follow them up to their source and you will locate the initial problem.
- Add coolant if you are still going to drive the car. Never experiment with the risk of overheating!
It’s important to find the source of the leaking. Although there are a lot of units that can cause coolant leaks, some of them are more common for Fiat 500 engines. And later in this article, I will tell you which areas you should pay more attention to.
What are the common reasons for coolant leaks in the Fiat 500?
So, if your Fiat 500 leaks coolant, you may need to check the following possible reasons, in the first place:
1. Clamps, especially near the coolant reservoir
Unfortunately, Fiat doesn’t have the reputation of the most reliable car brand in the world. Its vehicles are quite good, but they have some small issues that may get on your nerves. For example, the cooling system clamps. They are just faulty and many mechanics recommend using aftermarket clamps and replacing the OEM ones after you buy the Fiat 500.
Surprisingly, over half of all coolant leak issues appeared to be the consequences of bad cooling system clamps in the Fiat 500 and Abarth 500. This is the number one thing to check.
2. Thermostat
Then, there is another huge problem that is especially common for 1.2 and 1.4 non-turbo engines. Also, 1.4 Turbo is known to have this issue sometimes. The thermostat is one of the weak units in these engines and it may start leaking secretly and only under pressure.
You need to take off the thermostat and carefully inspect it. The hair-size crack may cause leaking. Also, when the engine is off and there is no pressure in the system, the coolant will not be leaking through this crack.
3. Coolant reservoir cap
It’s easy to locate because in this case, the entire coolant reservoir will be wet right after the engine is off. Also, the coolant will go down the reservoir and may affect a lot of electronic units and electrical connections in that area.
You may try to tighten the coolant reservoir cap, but, in most cases, it should be replaced. The best option to buy is the OEM cap. They don’t fail that often, so it’s not worth it to risk and buy some aftermarket option.
4. Damaged radiator
Although radiators in the Fiat 500 are OK and almost never cause any problems, they are worth checking if you still can’t locate the problem. Radiators can be damaged by road debris, stones, and other hard objects. Also, they may leak in the places of connection with hoses.
The only possible way to repair this leak is to replace the radiator. Also, it’s recommended to change the coolant, especially if it’s already quite old.
Can you keep driving with a coolant leak?
It’s not recommended to drive your Fiat 500 with a coolant leak. It’s obvious that the leak may quickly drain the system and there will not be enough coolant in it to effectively cool down the engine.
If the leak is serious and you see coolant going out, there is no chance that you can safely drive to the dealership or even to the nearest garage. Investing a hundred or two euros in calling the tow truck is the best solution.
If the leak is not serious and the coolant just drops now and then somewhere, you may take a risk and drive on your own. Of course, part of your attention should be paid to the engine temperature gauge. Once it’s over the average reading, you should stop the vehicle and turn off the engine immediately.
By the way, in one of my previous articles I’ve described the problems with the 1.1L Fiesta engine – you may want to have a look.
Repairing the leak – on your own or in the garage
Before you agree to pay for the repair, you should get an idea of what is happening with your Fiat 500. I know cases when garage mechanics took money for the job but only topped up some coolant to Fiat cars. This happens when the coolant level drops after a coolant change or in a new car. In these cases, the drop is most likely caused by the air pocket that was eventually filled with coolant and now the topping up will help. There is just no leak.
Also, a bad mechanic can take money to replace a thermostat but replace a faulty clamp on some hose. So, it’s very important to know the reason for the leak.
After that, things are pretty simple:
- get the needed part – OEM or aftermarket, according to your budget and customer reviews;
- have it installed by a specialist if you can’t do this on your own;
- test-drive the car and make sure that the coolant isn’t leaking anymore.
After such a repair, you may want to place a big sheet of paper under the engine for a night in your garage or in the parking place. This will help you make sure that there is no leak anymore and you can drive.
Also, after you repair a coolant leak in the Fiat 500, it’s important to check the coolant level from time to time. It may require topping up due to air pockets in the system. But if the topping up is required regularly, the problem is not solved completely.
