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MOT fail rates

Fiat 500 MOT fail rate by age

How often the Fiat 500 fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 1,394,433 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 9 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 9 (n=150,622)32.6%
All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)27.1%
Median mileage at test49,040
All cars, median mileage68,033

241 of 315 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 9 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Fiat 500 fails 11.1% of MOTs (67,791 tests), 1.0 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 17 years it fails 44.7% (10,196 tests), 1.6 points above the 43.1% average.
  • The gap is widest at 8 years: 5.9 points above all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 9 years: Suspension arm bush worn, at 8.9 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 17 years 49.6%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Fiat 500: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years11.1%67,79112.1%−1.0 pts15,149 miles
4 years12.9%75,74613.4%−0.5 pts20,143 miles
5 years17.1%83,85715.3%+1.8 pts25,456 miles
6 years21.4%103,95617.8%+3.6 pts31,062 miles
7 years25.9%122,08620.6%+5.2 pts37,138 miles
8 years29.7%139,79023.8%+5.9 pts43,355 miles
9 years32.6%150,62227.1%+5.5 pts49,040 miles
10 years35.3%146,96430.3%+5.0 pts54,835 miles
11 years36.9%128,84433.3%+3.6 pts60,176 miles
12 years38.7%109,39736.0%+2.7 pts65,273 miles
13 years41.0%94,86538.3%+2.7 pts70,555 miles
14 years43.2%76,23440.3%+3.0 pts75,311 miles
15 years44.2%53,60241.6%+2.6 pts79,235 miles
16 years45.1%30,48342.6%+2.5 pts83,295 miles
17 years44.7%10,19643.1%+1.6 pts86,903 miles

Most common fail items at 9 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Suspension arm bush worn Major8.9
Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush Major6
Shock absorber leaking Major3.3
Suspension ball joint worn Major2.6
Coil spring broken Major2

Out of 150,622 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous3.3
Wipers not clearing screen Major2.6
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous2.3
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major2.1
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous2

Out of 150,622 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 9 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Fiat Panda28.0%28,45127.1%
Fiat 500X32.6%20,99027.1%
Fiat 500L34.2%19,58127.1%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
200817 years in 202544.8%10,06043.1%
200916 years in 202544.9%19,27142.6%
201015 years in 202543.2%21,31241.6%
201114 years in 202541.4%20,82340.3%
201213 years in 202538.8%29,11138.3%
201312 years in 202536.4%34,64636.0%
201411 years in 202536.1%41,24633.3%
201510 years in 202535.7%39,43930.3%
20169 years in 202531.0%33,54927.1%
20178 years in 202526.0%24,27923.8%
20187 years in 202522.9%24,25120.6%
20196 years in 202519.8%21,41817.8%
20205 years in 202515.2%13,78115.3%
20214 years in 202513.8%15,38713.4%
20223 years in 202510.6%17,09612.1%

More on the Fiat 500

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Fiat 500?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources