Pass rate
73.5%
Below average — 3.7 pts behind the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 1,019 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £48–£147
2012 Fiat 500 L MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 67,721 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
30.6% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2015 80.0% pass
- Avoid 2011 73.0% pass
Across the 6 years on record, a spread of 7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 65.1%
- Typical mileage
- 68k mi
The 2012 Fiat 500 L MOT pass rate is 73.5% of its MOT tests — 3.7 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 30.6% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.5× the national share
Suspension accounts for 30.6% of everything recorded on the 2012 Fiat 500 L, against 21.0% nationally — 9.6 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 77.2%; this one manages 73.5% — 3.7 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 6% 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.
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 500 L? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Fiat 500 L compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 3.7 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 65.1%. The median 2012 Fiat 500 L in this dataset had covered 67,721 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 74.8% of the time, April–September 72.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits", noted on 5.20% of tests.
- 1,019 recorded tests behind this page.
- 73.5% overall pass rate, 65.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Fiat 500 L, the average is 74.9% — best year 2015 (80.0%), worst 2011 (73.0%).
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
- 1,019
- Typical mileage (median)
- 67,721 mi
- Make and model
- Fiat 500 L
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Emissions Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the 500 L MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 63% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Fiat 500 L is most common
Across all 500 L model years on record (2010–2015): 6,053 Fiat 500 L cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 15,828 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 244 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 | Birmingham (B) | 244 | 79.3% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 143 | 78.7% |
| 3 | Peterborough (PE) | 127 | 79.0% |
| 4 | Cardiff (CF) | 125 | 70.4% |
| 5 | Nottingham (NG) | 121 | 74.2% |
| 6 | Manchester (M) | 116 | 77.6% |
| 7 | Coventry (CV) | 112 | 81.0% |
| 8 | Glasgow (G) | 105 | 70.1% |
| 9 | Leicester (LE) | 104 | 76.5% |
| 10 | Edinburgh (EH) | 103 | 69.6% |
| 11 | Doncaster (DN) | 101 | 76.6% |
| 12 | Portsmouth (PO) | 100 | 77.7% |
| 13 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 95 | 73.3% |
| 14 | Chester (CH) | 94 | 72.0% |
| 15 | Maidstone (ME) | 91 | 78.9% |
| 16 | Swansea (SA) | 90 | 74.9% |
| 17 | Norwich (NR) | 89 | 75.0% |
| 18 | Stoke On Trent (ST) | 88 | 76.1% |
| 19 | Derby (DE) | 85 | 76.1% |
| 20 | Brighton (BN) | 80 | 73.5% |
The twenty areas with the most Fiat 500 L 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 →
Regional pass rates for the 500 L
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 289 | 74.0% |
| South West | 132 | 72.7% |
| East of England | 131 | 76.3% |
| North West | 102 | 72.5% |
| Yorkshire | 84 | 73.8% |
| West Midlands | 81 | 77.8% |
| East Midlands | 55 | 72.7% |
| London | 45 | 68.9% |
| Wales | 42 | 69.0% |
| North East | 38 | 73.7% |
| Scotland | 20 | 60.0% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2012 500 L
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 2012 500 L
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 exhaust and emissions 5.2% of tests
“catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
-
Check the suspension joints 3.7% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush 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 shock absorbers 3.7% of tests
“shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush”
Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.
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 2012 500 L through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £48–£147 — and 6% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £48–£147
- Cheapest common item: wipers does not clear the windscreen…
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 6%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,019 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 500 L, side by side
6 model years on record, from 2010 to 2015. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.0% to 80.0% — a spread of 7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2010 74.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 73.0% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2012 73.5%catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2013 74.9% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2014 75.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2015 80.0% track rod end ball joint dust…
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 2012 Fiat 500 L 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 2012 cars with a similar record
- Ford Galaxy 73.7%
- Kia Sorento 73.3%
- Hyundai Veloster 73.7%
- Peugeot 207 73.8%
- Kia Sportage 73.8%
- Peugeot 3008 73.2%
Closest pass rates among 2012 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 2012 Fiat 500 L 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 2,577 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 798 | 30.60% | 20.98% | +9.62 |
| Tyres | 414 | 15.90% | 19.76% | −3.86 |
| Brakes | 404 | 15.50% | 20.89% | −5.39 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 261 | 10.00% | 5.57% | +4.43 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 232 | 8.90% | 12.21% | −3.31 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 208 | 8.00% | 5.52% | +2.48 |
| Visibility | 109 | 4.20% | 4.97% | −0.77 |
| Road Wheels | 57 | 2.20% | 0.75% | +1.45 |
| Non-component advisories | 55 | 2.10% | 4.18% | −2.08 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 39 | 1.50% | 1.76% | −0.26 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 5.2% | £60–250 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.7% | £40–150 |
| Shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush Suspension | Major | 3.7% | £30–75 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.7% | £80–200 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.4% | £80–250 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 2.9% | £45–120 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 2.8% | £45–110 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.3% | £18–45 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 2.1% | £30–75 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 2.1% | £8–22 |
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 | 18.4% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 16.4% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 15.8% | £25–65 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 14.8% | £45–95 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 11.3% | £45–120 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 9.5% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 34 | 97.1% | 23,643 mi |
| 30-60k | 345 | 73.9% | 48,108 mi |
| 60-90k | 440 | 72.0% | 73,765 mi |
| 90-120k | 170 | 71.8% | 101,687 mi |
| 120k+ | 27 | 74.1% | 138,480 mi |
Source: 1,019 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.
2012 500 L MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Fiat 500 L?
73.5% of the 1,019 2012 Fiat 500 L tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 65.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Fiat 500 L?
The three most recorded items are catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (5.20%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (3.73%), shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush (3.73%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Fiat 500 L MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 97.1% of the time, falling to 74.1% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Fiat 500 L in this dataset had covered 67,721 mi.
Does the season affect the 2012 Fiat 500 L MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 74.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 72.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.