Fiat 595 312

Sportily developed T-Jet with 180 hp — durable with conscientious maintenance, but cylinder head, MTA clutch and oil consumption are real weak points under hard use.

• !! Cylinder head cracks under high load from 150,000 km

  The heavily stressed T-Jet cylinder head can develop internal cracks from 150,000 km or with chip tuning. Welding is impossible due to thin wall thickness; a replacement head is required.

  Symptoms: Coolant loss without visible external leak, overheating, CO₂ in coolant
  2,000–4,000 $
  Ad cylinder head 312B4cylinder head Abarth 595 1.4 T-Jet
• !! Oil consumption and wet spark plugs from 120,000 km

  The highly stressed T-Jet 180 hp can wet spark plugs with oil from faulty piston rings. In documented cases a cracked piston was the cause, necessitating forged pistons.

  Symptoms: Misfires, bluish smoke, rising oil consumption, spark plug wet/oil-fouled
  1,500–4,000 $
  Ad Schmiedekolben T-Jet 312B4forged pistons Abarth 595piston 312B4
• !! Turbo bearing damage from hot shut-down from 100,000 km

  After full-throttle driving, switching off immediately causes oil coking in the turbo bearing. The Abarth 595 180 hp turbo is particularly sensitive and should idle down for 2–3 minutes to cool.

  Symptoms: Whistling turbo noise, blue smoke, power loss, oil consumption
  800–2,000 $
  Ad turbocharger Abarth 595 312B4IHI RHF3 turbo Abarthturbo Lager kit 1.4 T-Jet

+ 2 more engine weaknesses + vehicle weaknesses

The 1.4 T-Jet in the Abarth 500/595/695 is a legend with substance: the IHI turbo builds compact boost, the Record Monza valve exhaust opens fully above 4,000 rpm — a sound unique in its class. Base engine very robust, 300,000 km is not unusual in Abarth forums. Budget for a clutch at 80,000–140,000 km depending on driving style. Record Monza exhaust flap tends to seize when the car sits unused.

• !! Timing belt: short replacement intervals must be observed from 120,000 km

  The 1.4 T-Jet is belt-driven. According to the manufacturer every 120,000 km or 6 years (4 years in harsh conditions). Failure causes total engine damage. Small belt pulleys stress the belt more than usual due to severe bending.

  Symptoms: No warning before failure — engine won't start, metallic impact noises
  450–750 $
  Ad timing belt Abarth 500 1.4 T-Jettiming beltsatz Abarth 595 312
• !! MTA gearbox: hollow pin comes loose, gear blocking from 30,000 km

  On the MTA-C510 gearbox, a hollow pin can come loose from its bearing and rub against a guide bush. Depending on temperature and gear, this causes gear blocking up to complete gearbox failure with the vehicle stopping. Fiat carried out a service action.

  Symptoms: Gearbox shifts to neutral when braking instead of first gear; subsequently no gear can be engaged; vehicle must be towed
  800–2,500 $
  Ad MTA gearbox C510 AbarthHydraulikspeicher MTA 595Schaltaktor MTA Abarth
• !! Increased oil consumption from piston ring wear from 60,000 km

  The heavily stressed T-Jet shows oil consumption from piston ring wear and cylinder wall scoring with short journeys and insufficient warm-up periods. Known cases show scoring in cylinders 1, 3, 4 with only 27,500 km of short-trip use.

  Symptoms: Blue smoke from exhaust, oil consumption above 300 ml/1,000 km, lubricant loss without visible external leak
  2,000–5,000 $
  Ad piston rings Abarth 500 1.4 T-Jetcylinder head Abarth 595 312

+ 5 more engine weaknesses + vehicle weaknesses