61.3%
Fiat 500L
Fiat 500L MOT pass rate and common problems
The Fiat 500L passed 61.3% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 11 percentage points below the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was coil spring fractured or broken.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the 500L compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
67.7%
Fiat average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The 500L runs 6.5 points behind the Fiat average. It is 12th of the 15 Fiat models in the data. The average 500L arrived at its test 10.7 years old with 74,089 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.
500L MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Fiat 500L cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 79% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 59.5%, a drop of 19.6 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 367 | 79% | 6.7 pts above |
| 6 to 10 years | 9,882 | 62.6% | 9.8 pts below |
| 11 years and over | 10,710 | 59.5% | 12.8 pts below |
That is a steep decline with age, so the headline rate flatters older examples. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where 500L failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Fiat 500L cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Suspension and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment together account for 44.4% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common 500L MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Fiat 500L cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 49.5% of everything testers recorded against failed Fiat 500L cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a 500L
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Suspension
Recorded most often: coil spring fractured or broken and pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn. 18.1% of failure items.
2
Brakes
Recorded most often: rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements and brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick. 8.4% of failure items.
3
Steering
Recorded most often: track rod end ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt and track rod end ball joint has excessive play. 7.9% of failure items.
4
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: stop lamp not working. 5.3% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific 500L has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Fiat 500L buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Fiat 500L MOT FAQs
What is the Fiat 500L MOT pass rate?
61.3% of Fiat 500L cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 20,961 tests. That is 11 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 478th of 575 models.
What does a Fiat 500L most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Fiat 500L cars failing their 2025 MOT was coil spring fractured or broken, on 10.2% of failure items. Next were pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (7.9%) and stop lamp not working (5.3%).
Which area causes the most Fiat 500L MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was suspension at 24.7%, followed by lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 19.7%.
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, against 59.5% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Fiat 500L has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Fiat 500L 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 Fiat 500L'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.