Fiat 500: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Fiat 500 fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 5.1 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 306,338 individual Fiat 500 tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 71.6% first-time pass rate means roughly 28 in every 100 Fiat 500s presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Fiat 500 tested had covered 55,170 miles and was built around 2014.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Fiat 500 bought as a repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. See how it stacks up against the Ford Fiesta.

Looking at a specific Fiat 500 rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Fiat 500s actually sold for at UK salvage auction, from 15 real settled sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Fiat 500

1. A shock absorber bush excessively worn, 3.6% of tests (25.14x the national rate for this defect)
2. A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage, 2.3% of tests (3.33x the national rate for this defect)
3. Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer, 1% of tests (2.55x the national rate for this defect)
4. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 8.3% of tests (2.24x the national rate for this defect)
5. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 1.5% of tests (2x the national rate for this defect)
6. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 1.7% of tests (1.75x the national rate for this defect)
7. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 1.7% of tests (1.38x the national rate for this defect)
8. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 1.2% of tests (1.3x the national rate for this defect)
9. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 2.3% of tests
10. A tyre seriously damaged, 2.3% of tests

From 453,245 DVSA-tracked Fiat 500 tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.68% of these flagged Fiat 500 defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Fiat 500 pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Fiat 500 year:

• 2008 Fiat 500 - 60.8% first-time pass, 10,954 tests
• 2009 Fiat 500 - 60.8% first-time pass, 19,110 tests
• 2010 Fiat 500 - 62.8% first-time pass, 19,863 tests
• 2011 Fiat 500 - 65.5% first-time pass, 18,760 tests
• 2012 Fiat 500 - 67.1% first-time pass, 26,717 tests
• 2013 Fiat 500 - 70% first-time pass, 32,603 tests
• 2014 Fiat 500 - 70.5% first-time pass, 38,551 tests
• 2015 Fiat 500 - 70.7% first-time pass, 36,886 tests
• 2016 Fiat 500 - 74.7% first-time pass, 31,331 tests
• 2017 Fiat 500 - 79.8% first-time pass, 22,709 tests
• 2018 Fiat 500 - 83.8% first-time pass, 23,645 tests
• 2019 Fiat 500 - 87.7% first-time pass, 19,021 tests
• 2020 Fiat 500 - 91.4% first-time pass, 4,366 tests

Fiat 500 by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Petrol Fiat 500 - 72.1% first-time pass, 300,901 tests
• Diesel Fiat 500 - 61.9% first-time pass, 3,906 tests

Other Fiat models

• Fiat Panda - 69.3%
• Fiat Ducato - 77.1%
• Fiat Punto - 63.5%
• Fiat Doblo - 68.9%
• Fiat 500x - 79.2%
• Fiat 500l - 69.9%
• Fiat 500c - 70.4%
• Fiat Tipo - 77.4%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Nissan Micra - 71.7%
• Chrysler Crossfire - 71.7%
• Volvo 700 Series - 71.7%
• Kia Ceed - 71.6%
• Toyota Starlet - 71.6%
• Nissan Nv400 - 71.6%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate