Is the Fiat 500L reliable?

On MOT evidence the Fiat 500L is well below average. It passes 63.6% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 67% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Fiat 500L?

The item recorded most often is "A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened", which appears in 25.6% of failed Fiat 500L tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Fiat 500L?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 25.1% of all Fiat 500L tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Fiat 500L usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 74,088 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Does a Fiat 500L get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 82.4% of Fiat 500L tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 59.9%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Fiat 500L models petrol or diesel?

Of the Fiat 500L cars tested, 67% are diesel, 33% are petrol. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Fiat 500L MOT pass rate & common failures

From 20,960 recorded MOT tests of the Fiat 500L, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Fiat 500L passes 63.6% of MOT tests once results are adjusted for the age and mileage of the cars tested, against a national average of 72.3%. That is well below average. Based on 20,960 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, which appears in 25.6% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 74,088 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

63.6%national average72.3%unadjusted61.3%range covered67%

The 500L is 8.7 percentage points below the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is well below average. The unadjusted figure is 61.3%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Fiat 500L tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened25.6%
1,741 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
2.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn19.2%
1,306 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
3.Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement12.2%
829 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained
4.Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc11.5%
782 occurrencesSteering rack gaiter split, damaged or missing explained
5.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements9.8%
669 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
6.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm9.0%
614 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
7.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning8.5%
582 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained
8.A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play8.2%
560 occurrencesBall joint worn explained
9.A tyre seriously damaged5.5%
376 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
10.A tyre cords visible or damaged5.5%
375 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Fiat 500L tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements25.1%
5,271 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured18.6%
3,898 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
3.A tyre seriously damaged17.0%
3,569 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
4.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn9.8%
2,059 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
5.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm9.1%
1,909 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
6.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users6.9%
1,450 tests
7.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn5.4%
1,129 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
8.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded3.8%
792 testsBrake pipe corroded explained

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

3–5 yrs82%

6–8 yrs63%

9–11 yrs61%

12–14 yrs60%

Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The 500L fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 74,088
Fuel mix of tested cars: Diesel66.6%
Petrol33.3%

Trim names grouped into this model (4)

Recorded exactly as DVSA holds them. Trim-level names are rolled up so one model is not split across a dozen thin pages.

500L CONNECT
500L HEY GOOGLE
500L POP
500L SPORT

Check a specific Fiat 500L

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Fiat models

Fiat 500 — 65.3% adjusted
Fiat Panda — 65.2% adjusted
Fiat Ducato — 73.4% adjusted
Fiat Punto — 56.5% adjusted
Fiat Doblo — 65.4% adjusted
Fiat 500X — 75.2% adjusted
All Fiat models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Mercedes-Benz SL — 84.1% adjusted, ranked 26
Citroen C4 Cactus — 69.0% adjusted, ranked 180
Skoda Rapid — 73.4% adjusted, ranked 128
BMW 6 Series — 81.4% adjusted, ranked 46

Common questions

Is the Fiat 500L reliable?: On MOT evidence the Fiat 500L is well below average. It passes 63.6% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 67% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Fiat 500L?: The item recorded most often is "A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened", which appears in 25.6% of failed Fiat 500L tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Fiat 500L?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 25.1% of all Fiat 500L tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Fiat 500L usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 74,088 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Does a Fiat 500L get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 82.4% of Fiat 500L tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 59.9%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.
Are most Fiat 500L models petrol or diesel?: Of the Fiat 500L cars tested, 67% are diesel, 33% are petrol. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.