1.2 8v Fire vs 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT: which engine is more reliable?
According to our risk index, the 1.2 8v Fire carries less risk than the 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT: 20/100 versus 23/100 (both low risk). The 1.2 8v Fire has no documented serious faults; the 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT has no documented serious faults.
The index (0–100) weights the severity and frequency of the three most serious documented faults. How it is calculated
Is the 1.2 8v Fire reliable?
The 1.2 8v Fire is one of Fiat's simplest and most widespread petrol engines, with more than two decades in production and no serious or systemic faults documented. The sources consulted describe it as robust: its most-cited issues are isolated sensor failures (lambda sensor, crankshaft sensor), the ignition coil and somewhat high oil consumption at higher mileages; there is no pattern of timing belt breakage.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
See the 4 of the 1.2 8v Fire faultsIs the 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT reliable?
The Suzuki 1.2 VVT and 1.2 Dualjet (K12B/K12C/K12M) is a naturally aspirated petrol engine with a timing chain and indirect injection, fitted since 2008 to the Splash, Swift, Ignis and Baleno, with an SHVS mild-hybrid variant since 2016. It is reliable: there is no serious documented fault with the engine block itself; the main points are a clutch that wears out sooner than expected on some cars and two SHVS recalls that have already been resolved.[7][8][9][10][11]
See the 5 of the 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT faultsSide-by-side comparison
| Item | 1.2 8v Fire | 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT |
|---|---|---|
| Technical data | ||
| Type | Engine | Engine |
| Fuel | Petrol | Petrol |
| Displacement | 1,242 cm³ | — |
| Timing | Timing belt (dry) | Chain |
| Power | 60–69 hp | 82–92 hp |
| Production | 1999–2020[12][13][14][15] | since 2008[7][8] |
| Reliability | ||
| Risk index (what is it?) | 20Low risk | 23Low risk |
| Documented faults | 4 | 5 |
| Of high or critical severity | 0 | 0 |
| Worst severity | Medium severity | Medium severity |
| Main faults |
| |
| Most expensive documented repair | No reliable data | No reliable data |
| Which versions to buy | ||
| BuyRecommended versions | ||
| With cautionVersions to be cautious about | None | None |
| AvoidVersions to avoid | None | None |
Severity of each fault: green, low; amber, medium; red, high; dark red, critical. How we rate them
Cars that each one is fitted to
Other comparisons
With the 1.2 8v Fire
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.2 PureTech
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.0 PureTech
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.2 and 1.4 TSI
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.0 TSI / 1.5 TSI
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.2 TCe
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.0 EcoBoost
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.3 TCe
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.6 EcoBoost
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 2.0 TSI / TFSI
- 1.2 8v Fire vs Audi 3.0 TFSI V6
- 1.2 8v Fire vs BMW B38 / B37
- 1.2 8v Fire vs BMW B48 / B38
- 1.2 8v Fire vs BMW B58
- 1.2 8v Fire vs BMW M54
- 1.2 8v Fire vs BMW N13
- 1.2 8v Fire vs BMW N20
- 1.2 8v Fire vs BMW N43/N46
- 1.2 8v Fire vs BMW N52 / N53
- 1.2 8v Fire vs BMW N54/N55
- 1.2 8v Fire vs BMW N62 / N63
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.4 T-Jet
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.0 T3 and 1.3 T4 FireFly Turbo
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 0.9 TwinAir and 1.0/1.3 FireFly
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.5 EcoBoost
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.25/1.4/1.6 Ti-VCT
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.2 / 1.4 / 1.8 i-VTEC
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.0 / 1.5 VTEC Turbo
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 2.0 / 2.4 i-VTEC
- 1.2 8v Fire vs Honda e:HEV / i-MMD
- 1.2 8v Fire vs Honda IMA híbrido
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.0 T-GDI
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.6 GDI / T-GDI
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.6 GDi híbrido (Kappa)
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.0 / 1.25 MPi
- 1.2 8v Fire vs Smartstream 1.6 T-GDi
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 2.0 / 2.4 GDI and T-GDI (Theta II)
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 2.0 and 3.0 Ingenium gasolina
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 2.3 MZR DISI Turbo
- 1.2 8v Fire vs MZR gasolina
- 1.2 8v Fire vs Skyactiv-G
- 1.2 8v Fire vs M111
- 1.2 8v Fire vs M112 / M113
- 1.2 8v Fire vs M264/M254
- 1.2 8v Fire vs M260
- 1.2 8v Fire vs M271
- 1.2 8v Fire vs M272/M273
- 1.2 8v Fire vs M270/M274
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.5 VTi-TECH / T-GDI
- 1.2 8v Fire vs MIVEC gasolina
- 1.2 8v Fire vs Mitsubishi PHEV
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.6 DIG-T
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.5 VC-Turbo e-Power
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.2 HR12DE and 1.2 DIG-S (HR12DDR)
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 2.0 MR20DE / 2.5 QR25DE
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.6 16v HR16DE / H4M
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.0/1.2/1.4 Ecotec
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.4 Turbo
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.6 and 1.8 Ecotec 16v
- 1.2 8v Fire vs Porsche V8 and V6 (Cayenne and Panamera)
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.4 and 1.6 TU3/TU5
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.4/1.6 VTi
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.6 THP
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 2.0 and 2.2 16v EW10/EW12
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 0.9 TCe
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.0 SCe (B4D)
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.0 TCe / SCe
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.4 and 1.6 8v
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.2 16v
- 1.2 8v Fire vs E-Tech Híbrido
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 2.0 16v F4R and F4RT
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.4 and 1.6 16v
- 1.2 8v Fire vs Rover K-Series
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.0 and 1.4 Boosterjet
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.5 K15B (Jimny)
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.3, 1.5 and 1.6 gasolina (serie M)
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.0 VVT-i
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.2 Turbo
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.33 Dual VVT-i
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8 VVT-i
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.5 Hybrid
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.6 Dual VVT-i
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.8 Hybrid
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 2.0 and 2.4 VVT-i
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 2.0 and 2.5 Hybrid
- 1.2 8v Fire vs Volvo 5 cilindros gasolina
- 1.2 8v Fire vs Drive-E gasolina
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.0 MPI
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.2 12V
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.4 16v and 1.6 MPI/FSI
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 1.8 T 20v
- 1.2 8v Fire vs 2.0 FSI
- 1.2 8v Fire vs VW 2.0 TFSI EA113
With the 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.2 PureTech
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.0 PureTech
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.2 and 1.4 TSI
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.0 TSI / 1.5 TSI
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.2 TCe
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.0 EcoBoost
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.3 TCe
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.6 EcoBoost
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 2.0 TSI / TFSI
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs Audi 3.0 TFSI V6
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs BMW B38 / B37
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs BMW B48 / B38
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs BMW B58
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs BMW M54
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs BMW N13
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs BMW N20
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs BMW N43/N46
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs BMW N52 / N53
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs BMW N54/N55
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs BMW N62 / N63
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.4 T-Jet
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.0 T3 and 1.3 T4 FireFly Turbo
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 0.9 TwinAir and 1.0/1.3 FireFly
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.5 EcoBoost
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.25/1.4/1.6 Ti-VCT
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.2 / 1.4 / 1.8 i-VTEC
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.0 / 1.5 VTEC Turbo
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 2.0 / 2.4 i-VTEC
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs Honda e:HEV / i-MMD
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs Honda IMA híbrido
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.0 T-GDI
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.6 GDI / T-GDI
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.6 GDi híbrido (Kappa)
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.0 / 1.25 MPi
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs Smartstream 1.6 T-GDi
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 2.0 / 2.4 GDI and T-GDI (Theta II)
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 2.0 and 3.0 Ingenium gasolina
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 2.3 MZR DISI Turbo
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs MZR gasolina
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs Skyactiv-G
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs M111
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs M112 / M113
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs M264/M254
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs M260
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs M271
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs M272/M273
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs M270/M274
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.5 VTi-TECH / T-GDI
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs MIVEC gasolina
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs Mitsubishi PHEV
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.6 DIG-T
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.5 VC-Turbo e-Power
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.2 HR12DE and 1.2 DIG-S (HR12DDR)
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 2.0 MR20DE / 2.5 QR25DE
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.6 16v HR16DE / H4M
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.0/1.2/1.4 Ecotec
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.4 Turbo
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.6 and 1.8 Ecotec 16v
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs Porsche V8 and V6 (Cayenne and Panamera)
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.4 and 1.6 TU3/TU5
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.4/1.6 VTi
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.6 THP
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 2.0 and 2.2 16v EW10/EW12
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 0.9 TCe
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.0 SCe (B4D)
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.0 TCe / SCe
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.4 and 1.6 8v
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.2 16v
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs E-Tech Híbrido
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 2.0 16v F4R and F4RT
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.4 and 1.6 16v
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs Rover K-Series
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.0 and 1.4 Boosterjet
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.5 K15B (Jimny)
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.3, 1.5 and 1.6 gasolina (serie M)
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.0 VVT-i
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.2 Turbo
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.33 Dual VVT-i
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8 VVT-i
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.5 Hybrid
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.6 Dual VVT-i
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.8 Hybrid
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 2.0 and 2.4 VVT-i
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 2.0 and 2.5 Hybrid
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs Volvo 5 cilindros gasolina
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs Drive-E gasolina
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.0 MPI
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.2 12V
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.4 16v and 1.6 MPI/FSI
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 1.8 T 20v
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs 2.0 FSI
- 1.2 Dualjet and 1.2 VVT vs VW 2.0 TFSI EA113
Compare other engines
Sources
Every fact on this page links to its source. If you find an error, let us know.
- Fiabilité et pannes de la Fiat Panda (2003-2012)Fiches-auto.fr · Motoring press · consulted 27 September 2026 · in French
- Fiabilité et pannes de la Fiat Panda (depuis 2012)Fiches-auto.fr · Motoring press · consulted 27 September 2026 · in French
- Fiabilité et pannes de la Fiat 500Fiches-auto.fr · Motoring press · consulted 27 September 2026 · in French
- Fiabilité et pannes de la Fiat Punto (Grande Punto / Punto Evo / Punto)Fiches-auto.fr · Motoring press · consulted 27 September 2026 · in French
- Fiat Panda III (seit 2011) – Probleme & SchwachstellenGebrauchtwagenberater.de · Motoring press · published 21 January 2023 · consulted 27 September 2026 · in German
- Fiat 500 (ab 2007) – alle bekannten Probleme & KrankheitenGebrauchtwagenberater.de · Motoring press · published 24 November 2023 · consulted 27 September 2026 · in German
- Suzuki motor KWikipedia · Other source · consulted 27 September 2026 · in Spanish
- Suzuki K engineWikipedia · Other source · consulted 27 September 2026
- Suzuki Swift (NZ) – Typische Probleme & SchwachstellenGebrauchtwagenberater.de · Motoring press · consulted 27 September 2026 · in German
- Suzuki Splash (2008–2014) – Bekannte Probleme & KrankheitenGebrauchtwagenberater.de · Motoring press · consulted 27 September 2026 · in German
- Suzuki Ignis (MF, ab 2016) – Bekannte Probleme & SchwachstellenGebrauchtwagenberater.de · Motoring press · consulted 27 September 2026 · in German
- Fiat FIRE engineWikipedia (inglés) · Other source · consulted 27 September 2026
- Fiat 500 (2007)Wikipedia (inglés) · Other source · consulted 27 September 2026
- Fiat Grande PuntoWikipedia (inglés) · Other source · consulted 27 September 2026
- Ford KaWikipedia (inglés) · Other source · consulted 27 September 2026
- Suzuki Ignis : avis, qualités et défauts des propriétairesFiches-auto.fr · Owners' forum · consulted 27 September 2026 · in French
- Suzuki Swift 2 : avis, qualités et défauts des propriétairesFiches-auto.fr · Owners' forum · consulted 27 September 2026 · in French