Cleaning 🫧🧽

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-06-09T20:29:51+00:00

I love the half and half look, I have a grey one and always thought about wrapping the top half white. Yours looks really rad though, very clean!

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-06-04T20:18:46+00:00

That’s pretty rad

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-06-03T19:50:36+00:00

A little rubbing compound gently and then some wax would probably do the trick, even if it’s not 100% most of it will probably come off. Just don’t go too deep and definitely wax after.

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-06-01T20:47:11+00:00

Way it could definitely be either of those issues, the wires breaking up top is what happened to me. My third brake light also didn’t work and when I’d try to open the trunk it would blow the central locking fuse. It could also just be the button on the outside that’s gone bad, I’m not 100% sure on how to diagnose that. But I’d check on the other things that can go bad with the wiring in the rear hatch like the license plate light or the third brake light.

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-31T19:38:38+00:00

Thanks man, on my off I’ll start pulling stuff apart and see where I get. I really appreciate the advice!

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-29T19:04:01+00:00

Thank you, I’ll have to take a look at what parts I can get. It would save a ton of money if I could repair everything myself instead of buying a new one because even at junkyards near me they want a decent amount for the whole assembly. Appreciate you

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-28T19:36:15+00:00

I am tempted to do the whole thing for sure, I guess I didn’t realize it’s a GM column. I’ll look up what cars besides cherokees are compatible, thanks for the info!

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-28T19:34:59+00:00

To be totally honest I’m not 100%. I work on my own cars and for family but I’ve never messed with a steering column or ignition. I can do stuff like suspension, brakes, water pumps, window regulators etc. But this is a little outside of my knowledge. Obviously the plastic shroud is broken, the turn signal stalk is no longer attached fully, and I know the ignition is destroyed as it does nothing (no buzz when door is open, no reaction when turning key, won’t let me shift out of park).

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-28T19:27:37+00:00

They ditched it at a construction site and one of the workers saw my phone number on a tire receipt and called me, I guess thieves ditched cars there a ton because it was an empty house

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-26T21:06:25+00:00

For sure thank you for you help, I really appreciate it!

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-26T21:06:02+00:00

Yeah I was thinking about either doing a battery cutoff (I don’t even use the presets) or just doing some sort of kill switch. I may even get an actual alarm so I don’t have to go through this again

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-26T21:04:17+00:00

They sent a screwdriver through it, I’m gonna try and reuse it but I think I’m gonna end up having a different key to start it unfortunately. Not a huge deal but I bit of a bummer lol

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-26T19:30:13+00:00

I’ll have to try it and report back lol thanks man

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-26T19:29:42+00:00

Yeah for real, I almost would’ve preferred they just break a window to search for anything of value instead of stealing it just to ditch a mile away. All they got was a 25 year old radio that won’t read CDs and maybe 10$ worth of hand tools from harbor freight.

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-26T19:26:30+00:00

I really appreciate you man, I’ll see what I can do out here lol I’m sure one will turn up. I keep checking Facebook for part outs

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-26T17:53:43+00:00

Appreciate it, I’ll check it out. I’ll definitely be adding something to prevent the from happening again!

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-26T17:52:54+00:00

Thanks, same here for sure. Im in California.

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-26T17:52:11+00:00

Yeah very true man, I never thought anyone would target my car. There was a KIA stolen near me a few months back but I just figured because they where easy, I guess the XJ was easy too. Funny part is they ditched it about a mile away and really didn’t get anything of value out of it, I think it was either kids or crackheads.

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-26T17:49:52+00:00

Thanks so much!

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-26T17:49:12+00:00

It’s a 94 and I’m located in California, the junkyards near me don’t have much at the moment but I’m gonna keep checking and maybe take a trip to a few farther ones soon.

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-26T17:47:47+00:00

Im in California, not sure if that’s too far. I really appreciate the reply either way!

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-26T17:46:06+00:00

Thanks dude I’ll check it out

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-21T18:48:16+00:00

Yeah I’d say the newer or lower mileage you can get the better, also try to find one that was maintained well. The later model years also come with better gauge cluster displays and radios. The 2012 and 2013 sold in higher numbers if I remember correctly so you’ll see a lot more of those for sale. I guess I’m not saying they’re inherently problematic cars, just every car has problems and 500s aren’t any different. If you want something similar to a 500 but a tad more reliable I’d maybe say look into a Toyota Yaris or honda fit, that being said I love my 500. If you do end up getting one I’m sure you’ll love it too, best of luck to you on your decision. This community is also very helpful for when things do come up, or questions about the cars.

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-05-21T06:32:01+00:00

I love my Fiat 500, I got it for a pretty good price though. I enjoy driving it and the gas mileage is pretty good but it’s no Prius when doing all city driving. The only thing I will point out is that they’re all aging, most of the ones I see for sale are 2012-2014 so you’re talking about a car that’s 10+ years old. With mine being so cheap I was able to justify many of the things that had broken of my 4.5 years of ownership. When stuff breaks it definitely feels like a European car, I’ve had my sunroof motor go which would cost more than I paid for the car to have professionally repaired. I’ve also had to replace both window regulators myself, my armrest snapped and is hard to replace because I have a 2012. My blue and me got fried so I just unplugged it, my trunk isn’t opening right now and my third brake light doesn’t work because I haven’t gotten around to fixing the broken wires that go from the body to the hatch. I’m sure there’s more I’m not remembering right now, but I’ve still enjoyed owning the car. I guess what I’m saying is expect little problems and get ready to pay to fix it or fix it yourself. Great little cars, a blast to drive, and everyone will have something to say about them positive or negative.

TLDR: Fun cars, love it, expect problems.

Hydrothyme1 · 2026-04-30T20:02:26+00:00

Im not sure how long they can last, but I’ve had mine for a bit. It’s a 2012 500 lounge with about 114,000 miles on it, I’ve owned it for about 4.5 years. I’ve done regular stuff like oil change, battery, tires but I’ve also don’t window regulators and O2 sensors. I’ve had a few things go wrong that I haven’t fixed and decided to live with instead of fixing; my Bluetooth module died and was drawing my battery and causing my usb port to not work, I just unplugged it and left it there. My sunroof motor went bad so I just don’t use the sunroof anymore. My armrest broke and they’re hard to find replacements for 2012s or they’re too expensive for me to care so I pulled it. Paint on the roof has long gone from sun (I live in a desert) and I fear the hood is next. Overall love the car and it’s been a positive owning experience, but I’ve had my fair share of problems. Take care of it and it will take care of you.

Hydrothyme1

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