Fiat 500 L: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Fiat 500 L fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 10.2 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 4,111 individual Fiat 500 L tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 66.5% first-time pass rate means roughly 34 in every 100 Fiat 500 Ls 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 L tested had covered 75,451 miles and was built around 2013.

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 L 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. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Fiat 500 L 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 500 Ls actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Fiat 500 L

1. Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer, 1.2% of tests (3.13x the national rate for this defect)
2. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 3% of tests (3.04x the national rate for this defect)
3. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 4.9% of tests (2.95x the national rate for this defect)
4. Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 1.5% of tests (2.7x the national rate for this defect)
5. Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn, 1.4% of tests (2.43x the national rate for this defect)
6. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 1.7% of tests (2.21x the national rate for this defect)
7. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 7.9% of tests (2.13x the national rate for this defect)
8. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 1.9% of tests (1.9x the national rate for this defect)
9. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 2.6% of tests (1.69x the national rate for this defect)
10. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 1.6% of tests (1.66x the national rate for this defect)

From 5,899 DVSA-tracked Fiat 500 L tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 5.91% of these flagged Fiat 500 L defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Fiat 500 L 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 L year:

• 2011 Fiat 500 L - 68% first-time pass, 347 tests
• 2012 Fiat 500 L - 63.1% first-time pass, 244 tests
• 2013 Fiat 500 L - 66% first-time pass, 2,024 tests
• 2014 Fiat 500 L - 67.7% first-time pass, 1,432 tests

Fiat 500 L by fuel type

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

• Diesel Fiat 500 L - 66.1% first-time pass, 2,624 tests
• Petrol Fiat 500 L - 67.9% first-time pass, 1,471 tests

Other Fiat models

• Fiat 500 - 71.6%
• 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%

Models with a similar pass rate

• SEAT Arosa - 66.7%
• Fiat Coupe - 66.7%
• Toyota Celica - 66.6%
• Nissan Figaro - 66.5%
• Peugeot E7 - 66.5%
• Vauxhall Movano - 66.4%

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