Fiat 500 MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Fiat 500 MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Fiat 500 passed on its first attempt in 72.4%, and its overall record sits −3.0 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Fiat 500 in the 2023–2025 data: 1,134,841 tests across 17 model years (2007–2023). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common Fiat 500 MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Fiat 500, the Suspension section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the Fiat 500's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Fiat 500 DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Fiat 500, each with how many of the model's 1,134,841 tests it was noted on.

• "Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn" (Major) — noted on about 50,442 Fiat 500 tests, 4.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush" (Major) — noted on about 26,021 Fiat 500 tests, 2.3% of the model's MOT record.
• "Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak" (Major) — noted on about 23,910 Fiat 500 tests, 2.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Ball joint excessively worn" (Major) — noted on about 21,849 Fiat 500 tests, 1.9% of the model's MOT record.
• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 18,898 Fiat 500 tests, 1.7% of the model's MOT record.
• "Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements" (Major) — noted on about 14,312 Fiat 500 tests, 1.3% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Fiat 500 Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Fiat 500 model year on record is 2022 (93.3% across 460 tests), and the weakest is 2007 (70.1%). The gap between them is 23.2 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Fiat 500 reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.4 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Fiat 500 Owners

These checks follow this Fiat 500's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Fiat 500.

• the suspension joints — “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.

• the shock absorbers — “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.

• the windscreen — “windscreen damaged”

  Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Fiat 500. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Where the Fiat 500 is most common

Across every 500 model year on record (2007–2023): 449,336 Fiat 500 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 1,134,695 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 12,892 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.

The twenty areas with the most Fiat 500 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 →

Frequently Asked Questions: Fiat 500 MOT & Reliability