My 2024 Fiat 500e Is So Good At Fixing Itself, I Don’t Even Need A Mechanic

If your definition of a reliable car is one that starts every time you ask it to, goes into gear without any issues, and can then drives until you stop intentionally, my 500e’s got you covered there. Then again, I’m pretty sure that’s the case with almost every modern EV, since the typical ICE worries about starters, alternators, gaskets, seals, chains, and belts are largely irrelevant when your car doesn’t have an engine. 

There do, however, appear to be a few gremlins in the electronics, and while most things work most of the time, you also never know when something will randomly decide not to work for a couple hours. For example, Android Auto works great. Except yesterday, Android Auto wouldn’t activate at all. It’ll probably be fine today, but it’s still annoying. 

For such a cheap car built around such an expensive battery, I was also surprised to learn the sound system was better than I expected (my expectations were, uh, not high). But sometimes, the speakers just decide to take the day off. Or they decide to play other sounds but not the sound of Carter Faith reminding me that “even Jesus thinks that you’re a b—h.” The audio’s never stopped working permanently, though, which is good because Ms. Faith loves to remind me “I can hold one hell of a grudge.”

A lot of things have also happened once or twice and then never again. The first time I tried adjusting my mirrors, and they decided not to move, I assumed I had a problem on my hands, but there never was a second time, so problem solved? I’m also pretty sure there have been a few instances where I didn’t get full power while I was accelerating. It wasn’t so bad that it felt dangerous, and it’s not something I’ve been able to repeat, but it was weird. And then it went away. Hopefully, it doesn’t come back?

That said, the fact that my car’s so good at fixing itself doesn’t mean it couldn’t be better. So, I guess it’s time to head to the dealer and see if a software update makes these problems disappear for good. I’ll probably miss driving a self-healing car, but something tells me a problem-free car with features that always work might make it worth the sacrifice.