61.3%
Fiat 500L pass rate
Used Fiat 500L buying guide
In 2025, Fiat 500L cars passed 61.3% of 20,961 initial MOT tests, 11 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific 500L? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Fiat 500L MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−11
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the 500L sits 478th of 575 models in the data. Fiat as a brand averaged 67.7%, so this model runs 6.5 points behind its own brand. Fiat 500L cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 79% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 59.5%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Fiat 500L MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the 500L compares with similar cars.
500L fuel types
Diesel made up 66.6% of Fiat 500L MOT tests in 2025, against 39.3% across all models in this data. Most used examples you look at will be diesels.
Where the 500L fails its MOT
Where Fiat 500L cars that failed their 2025 MOT were marked down, as a share of all recorded failure items.
The specific items testers recorded most often were coil spring fractured or broken (10.2%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (7.9%) and stop lamp not working (5.3%). See every common 500L MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Fiat 500L that failed, not a claim that every 500L has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used 500L?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 24.7% of 500L failure items.
2
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting. 19.7% of 500L failure items.
3
Brakes
Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing. 15.3% of 500L failure items.
4
Tyres
Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear. 12.1% of 500L failure items.
5
Steering
Feel for play, knocking or stiffness in the steering, and check there is no steering warning light. 9.4% of 500L failure items.
None of this replaces the car's own record. Run a free MOT history check on the registration to see every test, advisory and recorded mileage for that car.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Fiat 500L failures cluster around suspension and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment tells you what to inspect. It tells you nothing about whether the car is safe to buy. An MOT does not show money still owed on the car, a write-off, a theft record or a clocked odometer.
Check the exact 500L you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Fiat history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Fiat models
The most-tested Fiat models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the 500L.
Used Fiat 500L FAQs
Is the Fiat 500L reliable?
MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 61.3% first-time pass rate for the Fiat 500L across 20,961 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Fiat 500L cars fail their MOT more often?
Fiat 500L cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 79% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 59.5%. On an older example, the car's own MOT history tells you more than the model average.
What should I check before buying a used Fiat 500L?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and brakes. Then check the individual car's history: outstanding finance, insurance write-off records, stolen markers, mileage and previous keepers. None of these appear in the MOT record or on the V5C.
How do I check a Fiat 500L's history?
Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.