Pass rate, every year
19,886 tests across 5 model years, 2019–2023.
+12.2 pts vs the national average
Pass rate, every year
19,886 tests across 5 model years, 2019–2023.
+12.2 pts vs the national average
Best year to buy
2023 96.4%
The strongest of the 5 years on record. See the 2023 page →
Worst year to buy
2019 89.5%
6.9 points below the 2023 peak. See the 2019 page →
The Fiat 500 Dolcevita MOT pass rate is 93.2%, +12.2 percentage points above the UK average. That is 19,886 DVSA MOT tests recorded between 2019 and 2023. This page lists the most common Fiat 500 Dolcevita MOT failures by category, names the best and worst model years, and finishes with a pre-MOT checklist you can run at home.
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Fiat 500 Dolcevita MOT pass rates does in your corner of the country.
The Fiat 500 Dolcevita passed on its first attempt in 92.8%, and its overall record sits +12.2 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Fiat 500 Dolcevita in the 2023–2025 data: 19,886 tests across 5 model years (2019–2023). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.
| Measure | This model |
|---|---|
| Tests analysed | 19,886 |
| Overall pass rate | 93.2% |
| Passed on first attempt | 92.8% |
| Average mileage at test | 19,777 mi |
| Model years covered | 2019–2023 (5 years) |
| Versus UK national average | +12.2 pts above |
Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.
Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Fiat 500 Dolcevita, the Tyres section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.
| Inspection section | Share of failures |
|---|---|
| Tyres | 52% |
| Visibility | 34% |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 10% |
| Suspension | 3% |
| Brakes | 0% |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 0% |
| Body, chassis, structure | 0% |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 0% |
Shares are over the Fiat 500 Dolcevita's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.
Around 52% of the recorded Fiat 500 Dolcevita failures fall in the Tyres section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Has ply or cords exposed" (1.9%), "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords" (0.9%), "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm" (0.7%) among the Fiat 500 Dolcevita's tyres faults.
Around 34% of the recorded Fiat 500 Dolcevita failures fall in the Visibility section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Washers provides insufficient washer liquid" (0.7%), "Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively" (0.7%), "Wipers blade defective" (0.6%) among the Fiat 500 Dolcevita's visibility faults.
Around 10% of the recorded Fiat 500 Dolcevita failures fall in the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Headlamp aim too low" (0.7%), "Daytime running lamps not working" (0.0%), "Stop lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning" (0.0%) among the Fiat 500 Dolcevita's lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment faults.
The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Fiat 500 Dolcevita, each with how many of the model's 19,886 tests it was noted on.
The strongest Fiat 500 Dolcevita model year on record is 2023 (96.4% across 332 tests), and the weakest is 2019 (89.5%). The gap between them is 6.9 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.
Fiat 500 Dolcevita reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.5 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 500 Dolcevita | 332 | 96.4% |
| 2022 500 Dolcevita | 9,835 | 93.4% |
| 2021 500 Dolcevita | 9,001 | 93.0% |
| 2020 500 Dolcevita | 470 | 92.6% |
| 2019 500 Dolcevita | 248 | 89.5% |
Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.
These checks follow this Fiat 500 Dolcevita's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Fiat 500 Dolcevita.
the lights — “headlamp aim too low”
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.
the tyre tread — “tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”
Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.
the wipers and washers — “washers provides insufficient washer liquid”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Fiat 500 Dolcevita. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.
93.2% of the 19,886 recorded Fiat 500 Dolcevita MOT tests ended in a pass, +12.2 percentage points above the national average. 92.8% of those passed on the first attempt.
2023 is the strongest Fiat 500 Dolcevita year on record at 96.4%, while 2019 is the weakest at 89.5%. The year-by-year table below lists every model year with at least 50 recorded tests.
The most recorded Fiat 500 Dolcevita failures are "Has ply or cords exposed" and "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords" — together around 3% of tests, mostly in the Tyres section.