2011 Fiat 500: MOT pass rate and reliability

65.5% of 2011 Fiat 500s pass the MOT first time, measured across 18,760 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 72,047 miles.

How the 2011 compares

  • Against all Fiat 500s (71.9%, 304,828 tests): -6.4 points
  • Against all 2011 cars (68.7%): -3.2 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Fiat 500 model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2011 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Fiat 500:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2008 60.8% 10,954 85,944
2009 60.8% 19,110 81,647
2010 62.8% 19,863 76,547
2011 65.5% 18,760 72,047
2012 67.1% 26,717 67,417
2013 70% 32,603 62,618
2014 70.5% 38,551 57,899
2015 70.7% 36,886 51,472
2016 74.7% 31,331 44,785
2017 79.8% 22,709 39,884
2018 83.8% 23,645 33,183
2019 87.7% 19,021 27,051
2020 91.4% 4,366 24,405

What this means if you are buying a 2011 500

The 2011 is a weaker year for this model, passing 6.4 points less often than the Fiat 500 average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2011 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 15-year-old car fails on

A 2011 car is 15 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 2011 Fiat 500 the average at test was 72,047 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 2020 at 91.4%, and the weakest in our data is 2008 at 60.8%. That 30.6 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2011 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Fiat 500 MOT data · Every model