Restore access with my500e

I own a 2013 Fiat 500e. This all-electric vehicle originally had useful mobile apps (Fiat Access and Uconnect) that provided vehicle location, battery charge level, and other key features. Unfortunately, once these vehicles are three years old, Fiat shuts down the 2G mobile connection. With no connection to the vehicle, the mobile apps are useless.

Enter my500e

A new product called “my500e” is a custom hardware and software solution that restores this functionality to the 500e.

The my500e module is mounted underneath the dashboard and is plugged into the OBD diagnostic port.

The mobile app component is a “web app” so it will work on any smartphone and always be up-to-date. Learn more about the features of the mobile app on the my500e website.

Is my500e a good value?

The unit is $300, and the subscription service is $70 per year. Anyone that needs to remotely access the state of charge, or the location of the vehicle, has no other choice, but this is still a reasonable value. I’ve been looking for a solution like this for a long time, but I’d like to get a bit more.

If the mobile apps and server were to be open sourced, the community could contribute to create a user experience that is best-in-class. I’d also like to see an integration with one of these new head units that has the big display sticking out front. We should be able to build an android app for such a head unit that integrates available charge locations similar to how the map in a Tesla works.

I’m so happy to find that someone has invested in restoring connectivity to the 500e. I’d also like to see similar enthusiasm in adapting CHAdeMO equipment salvaged from an old Nissan Leaf to add DC fast charging to the 500e.

If the APIs are opened up to the developer community, I’ll definitely be interested in adding my500e in the future.

UPDATE: Jan Vetterli, the developer, tells me there will be an open API soon.