In August 2013, Chrysler opened an investigation into certain 2013 Fiat 500e battery electric vehicles because drivers were experiencing excessive noise from the powertrain and loss of drive capability. The investigation found that due to product, process, and rework anomalies, the half shaft joints on the suspect vehicles may not have been engineered and developed for this application.

• Many of the defective vehicles had been subjected to a repair procedure to replace the powetrain motor and gearbox in which the original half shaft fasteners were reused. As a result of a chemical thread lock used on the fasteners, the rework population was experiencing loosening of the half shaft fasteners.
• Further investigation found that the fastener supplier was using a different lock patch material than expected and that they were found to be contaminated by grease.
• An audit of another six vehicles revealed that the majority of the half shaft fasteners were below the minimum torque specifications.
• Additionally, the assembly plant was using a pulse tool to torque the fasteners with are not permitted on fasteners with a lock patch as they can compromise the integrity of the lock patch.

These manufacturer errors combined with improper repair procedures thankfully did not result in any injuries or accidents. Many 500e owners did, however, have to return to their dealers for repeated repair attempts before the defect was properly fixed.