66.9%
Abarth 500
Abarth 500 MOT pass rate and common problems
The Abarth 500 passed 66.9% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 5.4 percentage points below the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the 500 compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
78%
Abarth average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The 500 runs 11 points behind the Abarth average. It is 3rd of the 3 Abarth models in the data. The average 500 arrived at its test 13 years old with 72,802 miles recorded.
A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.
500 MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Abarth 500 cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 69.2% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 66.2%, a drop of 3 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 to 10 years | 1,227 | 69.2% | 3.1 pts below |
| 11 years and over | 4,010 | 66.2% | 6.1 pts below |
That is a smaller decline than most cars show. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where 500 failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Abarth 500 cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Suspension and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment together account for 53.4% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common 500 MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Abarth 500 cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 38.4% of everything testers recorded against failed Abarth 500 cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a 500
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Suspension
Recorded most often: pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn, shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush and ball joint excessively worn. 14.9% of failure items.
2
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect, position lamp not working and headlamp aim too low. 10.4% of failure items.
3
Tyres
Recorded most often: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm and condition has ply or cords exposed. 5.7% of failure items.
4
Body, chassis, structure
Recorded most often: joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. 4.8% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific 500 has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Abarth 500 buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Abarth 500 MOT FAQs
What is the Abarth 500 MOT pass rate?
66.9% of Abarth 500 cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 5,242 tests. That is 5.4 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 404th of 575 models.
What does an Abarth 500 most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Abarth 500 cars failing their 2025 MOT was pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn, on 5.2% of failure items. Next were shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush (5%) and ball joint excessively worn (4.8%).
Which area causes the most Abarth 500 MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was suspension at 27.1%, followed by lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 26.4%.
Do older Abarth 500 cars fail their MOT more often?
Abarth 500 cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 69.2% of MOT tests in 2025, against 66.2% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Abarth 500 has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Abarth 500 that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.
How do I see a specific Abarth 500's MOT history?
Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.