2012 Fiat 500 L: MOT pass rate and reliability
63.1% of 2012 Fiat 500 Ls pass the MOT first time, measured across 244 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 70,881 miles.
How the 2012 compares
- Against all Fiat 500 Ls (66.7%, 4,095 tests): -3.6 points
- Against all 2012 cars (70.8%): -7.7 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every Fiat 500 L model year
Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2012 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Fiat 500 L:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 68% | 347 | 71,434 |
| 2012 | 63.1% | 244 | 70,881 |
| 2013 | 66% | 2,024 | 79,731 |
| 2014 | 67.7% | 1,432 | 74,256 |
What this means if you are buying a 2012 500 L
The 2012 is a weaker year for this model, passing 3.6 points less often than the Fiat 500 L average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2012 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.
What a 14-year-old car fails on
A 2012 car is 14 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:
- Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
- Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
- Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
- Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
- Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
- Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested
That is a shade above the middle of the range, still ordinary wear rather than a red flag, but worth checking against the service book for the car's age. On a 2012 Fiat 500 L the average at test was 70,881 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.
The strongest year for this model is 2011 at 68%, and the weakest in our data is 2012 at 63.1%. That 4.9 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2012 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2011 Fiat 500 L - 68%
- 2013 Fiat 500 L - 66%
- 2014 Fiat 500 L - 67.7%