Common problems

Fiat Seicento common problems

What MOT testers find on the Fiat Seicento: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 3,730 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 22 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=1,337)22.1

All cars at 22 years (n=913,980)19.7

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=1,337)32.5

All cars, same age (n=913,980)34.4

What stands out

Brakes fails show up on 20.6 of every 100 MOTs of a Fiat Seicento at 22 years old (n=1,337), against 13.1 for all cars of that age (n=913,980).
Suspension fails are less common: 13.2 per 100 MOTs against 15.2 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 22 years: headlamp aim: too low, on 8.2 per 100 MOTs (all cars 1.8).
The most common advisory or minor defect: rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material, on 17.7 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 22 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Fiat Seicento at 22 years (n=1,337) against all cars at 22 years (n=913,980). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	22.1	19.7	8.9	15.5
Brakes	20.6	13.1	32.1	33.2
Suspension	13.2	15.2	32.5	34.4
Body and structure	11.5	9.4	21.8	16.3
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	10.6	7.4	4.0	6.4
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	7.9	7.0	18.4	16.8
Tyres	5.4	5.6	24.2	24.2
Seat belts and airbags	2.5	3.1	1.7	1.7
Steering	2.1	4.0	1.2	6.7
Number plates and VIN	0.2	0.8	2.7	6.8
Road wheels	0.2	0.4	1.5	1.0

What testers fail most on the Seicento at 22 years

Fail items on the Fiat Seicento at 22 years (n=1,337), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=913,980).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Headlamp aim: too low	Lights and electrics	8.2	1.8	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength	Suspension	4.9	3.5
Service brake imbalance: across an axle	Brakes	4.9	1.3
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	4.9	2.5
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.9	3.5	£15 to £30 per blade
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	4.7	2.4	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	4.6	4.6	£10 to £47 per lamp
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	4.5	2.2	£182 to £263 per section
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	4.3	2.9	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Service brake performance: excessively binding	Brakes	4.2	1.4	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 22 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Fiat Seicento at 22 years (n=1,337), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=913,980).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	17.7	15.9	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	17.3	15.1
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	15.5	8.0
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	13.0	10.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	11.9	13.7	£88 to £145 per tyre
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	10.7	5.6	£182 to £263 per section
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	5.9	4.2
Drive shaft joints: constant velocity boot severely deteriorated	Body and structure	5.2	3.7
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	4.9	10.1	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area is corroded but not considered excessive	Suspension	4.7	3.7

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 22 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Brakes	Suspension
20 years	1,086	21.8	22.7	14.5
21 years	1,307	19.7	23.8	13.8
22 years	1,337	22.1	20.6	13.2

What to check on a viewing

On the Fiat Seicento, testers most often record headlamp aim: too low; component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength; service brake imbalance: across an axle. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Fiat Seicento?

At 22 years, the age with the most MOT tests (1,337), the fail items testers record most often on the Fiat Seicento are headlamp aim: too low (8.2 per 100 MOTs), component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (4.9 per 100 MOTs), service brake imbalance: across an axle (4.9 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (17.7) and engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive (17.3).

Which parts of the Fiat Seicento fail more often than on other cars?

At 22 years: brakes (20.6 per 100 MOTs against 13.1 for all cars); windscreen, wipers and mirrors (10.6 per 100 MOTs against 7.4 for all cars); lights and electrics (22.1 per 100 MOTs against 19.7 for all cars). Compared with 913,980 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Fiat Seicento problems by area

Other Fiat models

All Fiat models · Common problems by make

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Fiat Seicento?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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