Pass rate
91.4%
Above average — 1.9 pts ahead of the 89.5% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 58 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £30–£100
2019 Fiat 124 MOT pass rate
- 2019
- typical 14,199 mi
Only 58 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
37.3% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£40 for Brake pads under 1.5 mm. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2019 91.4% pass · this year
- Avoid 2016 88.6% pass
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 2.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 90.7%
- Typical mileage
- 14k mi
The 2019 Fiat 124 MOT pass rate is 91.4% of its MOT tests — 1.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 37.3% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.8× the national share
Brakes make up 37.3% of everything recorded on the 2019 Fiat 124, against 20.9% nationally — 16.4 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 23% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
- Based on a small sample. 58 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Fiat 124? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2019 Fiat 124 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 89.5%, so this figure is 1.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 90.7%. The median 2019 Fiat 124 in this dataset had covered 14,199 mi.
The single most recorded failure item is "Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction", noted on 5.17% of tests.
- 58 recorded tests behind this page.
- 91.4% overall pass rate, 90.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Fiat 124, the average is 90.0% — best year 2019 (91.4%), worst 2016 (88.6%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 58
- Typical mileage (median)
- 14,199 mi
- Make and model
- Fiat 124
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Indicator Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 124 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 79% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Fiat 124 is most common
Across all 124 model years on record (2016–2019): 4,194 Fiat 124 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 8,935 tests. Portsmouth (PO) has the most, with 97 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portsmouth (PO) | 97 | 85.3% |
| 2 | Northampton (NN) | 94 | 90.5% |
| 3 | Reading (RG) | 86 | 90.8% |
| 4 | Birmingham (B) | 83 | 91.0% |
| 5 | Guildford (GU) | 82 | 90.9% |
| 6 | Coventry (CV) | 80 | 90.9% |
| 7 | Ashford (TN) | 77 | 87.6% |
| 8 | Sheffield (S) | 74 | 92.8% |
| 9 | Chelmsford (CM) | 73 | 93.5% |
| 10 | Southampton (SO) | 71 | 94.9% |
| 11 | Derby (DE) | 70 | 88.7% |
| 12 | Warrington (WA) | 70 | 91.4% |
| 13 | Norwich (NR) | 69 | 90.1% |
| 14 | Bristol (BS) | 69 | 84.3% |
| 15 | Peterborough (PE) | 69 | 94.9% |
| 16 | Brighton (BN) | 69 | 89.1% |
| 17 | Stoke On Trent (ST) | 67 | 90.9% |
| 18 | High Wycombe (HP) | 67 | 88.4% |
| 19 | Nottingham (NG) | 67 | 87.9% |
| 20 | Leicester (LE) | 65 | 89.8% |
The twenty areas with the most Fiat 124 cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
What fails a 2019 124
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2019 124
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 5.2% of tests
“malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the suspension joints 1.7% of tests
“ball joint excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the brakes 1.7% of tests
“brake discs significantly and obviously worn”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2019 124 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £30–£100 — and 23% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £30–£100
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 23%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 58 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the 124, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2016 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 88.6% to 91.4% — a spread of 2.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2016 88.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2017 89.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2018 90.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2019 91.4%malfunction indicator lamp…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2019 Fiat 124 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2019 cars with a similar record
- Skoda Kamiq 91.4%
- BMW X3 91.5%
- Kia Stonic 91.5%
- Hyundai Kona 91.5%
- Smart Mcc Fortwo 91.5%
- Volkswagen Golf 91.3%
Closest pass rates among 2019 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2019 Fiat 124 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 9 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 59 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 22 | 37.30% | 20.89% | +16.41 |
| Tyres | 11 | 18.60% | 19.76% | −1.16 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 6 | 10.20% | 12.21% | −2.01 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 6 | 10.20% | 5.52% | +4.68 |
| Road Wheels | 6 | 10.20% | 0.75% | +9.45 |
| Visibility | 5 | 8.50% | 4.97% | +3.53 |
| Suspension | 1 | 1.70% | 20.98% | −19.28 |
| Steering | 1 | 1.70% | 2.57% | −0.87 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 1.70% | 1.76% | −0.06 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 5.2% | £3–12 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.5% | £30–80 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.7% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Major | 1.7% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.7% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.7% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.7% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions emissions - engine idle speed too high Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.7% | £60–250 |
| Flexible brake hoses slightly twisted Brakes | Minor | 1.7% | £25–70 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.7% | £30–80 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 13.8% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 13.8% | £18–45 |
| Badly distorted Road Wheels | Advisory | 10.3% | £20–55 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 10.3% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 5.2% | £45–95 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Advisory | 3.5% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 50 | 92.0% | 13,254 mi |
| 30-60k | 8 | 87.5% | 41,877 mi |
Source: 58 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2019 124 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2019 Fiat 124?
91.4% of the 58 2019 Fiat 124 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 89.5% for cars first used in 2019. First-attempt pass rate: 90.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2019 Fiat 124?
The three most recorded items are malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction (5.17%), headlamp aim too low (3.45%), ball joint excessively worn (1.72%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2019 Fiat 124 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 92.0% of the time, falling to 87.5% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2019 Fiat 124 in this dataset had covered 14,199 mi.