Fiat Seicento MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Fiat Seicento MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Fiat Seicento passed on its first attempt in 60.0%, and its overall record sits −12.3 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Fiat Seicento in the 2023–2025 data: 4,685 tests across 4 model years (2000–2003). 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 Seicento MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Fiat Seicento, the Brakes 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 Seicento's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Fiat Seicento DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Fiat Seicento, each with how many of the model's 4,685 tests it was noted on.

• "Headlamp aim too low" (Major) — noted on about 283 Fiat Seicento tests, 6.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Service brake imbalance across an axle" (Major) — noted on about 254 Fiat Seicento tests, 5.4% of the model's MOT record.
• "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated" (Minor) — noted on about 213 Fiat Seicento tests, 4.5% of the model's MOT record.
• "Service brake performance excessively binding" (Major) — noted on about 197 Fiat Seicento tests, 4.2% of the model's MOT record.
• "Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements" (Major) — noted on about 190 Fiat Seicento tests, 4.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases" (Major) — noted on about 178 Fiat Seicento tests, 3.8% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Fiat Seicento Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Fiat Seicento model year on record is 2002 (69.6% across 1,329 tests), and the weakest is 2001 (68.0%). The gap between them is 1.6 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

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

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Fiat Seicento Owners

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

• 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 exhaust and emissions — “exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases”

  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.

• the brake pipes — “rigid brake pipes excessively corroded”

  Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.

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

Where the Fiat Seicento is most common

Across every Seicento model year on record (2000–2003): 1,887 Fiat Seicento cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 4,685 tests. Portsmouth (PO) has the most, with 48 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 Seicento 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 Seicento MOT & Reliability