Fiat 500 Camshaft Replacement Parts

Yes, every Fiat 500 has at least one camshaft — it is a fundamental part of any petrol or diesel piston engine, and the 500 was sold in the UK with a range of petrol and diesel engines, all of which use camshafts. The number of camshafts varies by engine: twin-cam (DOHC) engines have two camshafts per cylinder bank, while single-cam (SOHC) designs have one, so you need to know which engine you have before sourcing a replacement.

The engine code is by far the most important detail — it tells the breaker exactly which camshaft profile, diameter, and number of lobes your engine requires, overriding the year, trim, or badge on the car. You can find the engine code on your V5C logbook or by running a VIN check, and passing it to the breaker straight away will save time and avoid a wrong-part return. Fuel type (petrol or diesel) and whether the engine is turbocharged (such as the TwinAir or Abarth-derived units) also matters, as these engines use different camshaft specifications.

The modern Fiat 500 launched in 2007 and received a notable refresh around 2015–2016, after which some engine offerings changed, meaning the camshaft from an early car may not suit a later one even if both share the same badge. The safest approach is to match engine codes exactly rather than going by year alone, because the same engine code used across the generation boundary is far more reliable evidence of interchange than the year is. Confirm compatibility with the breaker against your registration before buying.

For standard trim levels like Pop, Pop Star, Lounge, and Collezione, trim does not affect the camshaft — what matters is the engine code, not the badge or interior specification, so a camshaft from a Lounge with the same engine code as your Pop is mechanically equivalent. The Abarth 500 is a meaningful exception because it uses performance-tuned engine variants with different camshaft profiles, so an Abarth camshaft is unlikely to be correct for a standard 500 even if the displacement looks similar. Always match on engine code, and be aware that a part pulled from a different trim may look slightly different cosmetically but the critical machined surfaces must match your engine exactly.

Yes, fuel type is fundamental — a diesel camshaft and a petrol camshaft are completely different components and are not interchangeable under any circumstances. Within petrol engines alone there are further differences between naturally aspirated units such as the 1.2 FIRE and turbocharged units such as the 0.9 TwinAir, which use different camshaft profiles suited to their different breathing and timing requirements. Always confirm both fuel type and the full engine code with the breaker to ensure the camshaft you are quoted is the correct one for your car.

The TwinAir is a two-cylinder turbocharged engine with a unique architecture, and its camshaft is specific to that engine family — it will not interchange with the camshaft from the common 1.2-litre four-cylinder FIRE engine, despite both being petrol units. Used TwinAir components can be less plentiful than those from the more widespread 1.2, so it is worth contacting multiple breakers and providing your engine code upfront to speed up the search. Confirm availability and exact code match with the breaker against your registration before committing to a purchase.