Fiat
500 L
7,763 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where 500 Ls pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 7.3 points below the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — buyers should expect more first-time fails than the typical UK car.
Pass
70.2%
Pass-after-fix
5.1%
Fail
24.1%
Avg miles
76,490
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Some examples of this model are borderline — a small number of diesels were certified Euro 6 before September 2015. Check your registration on the government's ULEZ checker to be certain. Daily charges if driven in the zone: London £12.50 · Birmingham £8.00 · Bristol £9.00 .
The picture
500 L: middle-of-the-pack on first-time pass
Across 5,514 MOT tests, the 500 L returns 70.5% first-time pass — below the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a broken or weak spring. Worn suspension bushes and a weak handbrake round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 70,584, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.
ABI Insurance Group
Group 3–14
A low-group car — among the cheapest to insure in the UK. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.
Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →
3–14
out of 50
Top ten reasons for rejection.
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- 01
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
323 occurrences · 4.2% of tests
- 02
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
283 occurrences · 3.6% of tests
- 03
Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
174 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
- 04
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
153 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
- 05
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
137 occurrences · 1.8% of tests
- 06
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
112 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
- 07
Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
109 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
- 08
A tyre cords visible or damaged
98 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
- 09
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
96 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
- 10
Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated
96 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.
Worst-case fix budget · top 4 failures
£300–£735
If every one of this 500 L's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →
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Tools that pre-empt a retest.
Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.
Item 01 · Amazon UK
Brake pad measurement gauge
Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.
Search Amazon UK
Item 02 · Amazon UK
Digital tyre-tread depth gauge
Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.
Search Amazon UK
My Motor World · affiliate
Parts & supplies for this fix
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Click Mechanic · affiliate
Book a mobile mechanic
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Owner reports · Honest John
What owners actually report.
Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.
What's good
Not very practical. Bouncy ride. Sluggish performance. In-car tech is behind the times.
Recent owner-reported faults
- 14 Oct 2014
Another case of hatchback lock failing because cables inside wiring loom had chafed in the hatchback hinge. All 500 owners should check for this.
- 2 Oct 2014
Software fix available from some Fiat dealers that restores the performance of EU6 1.2 Panda and 500 engines.
- 3 Sep 2014
Fiat 500 Dualogic would not select any gears and required new Actuator at a cost of £1800. Cost of repairs so far: £3,000.
- 17 Aug 2014
Problem with EU6 compliant versions of 1.2 Fire engine in Fiat 500. Hesitation when pulling away in 1st and 2nd gears due to a ECU remapping to meet EU6. "Feels very unsafe, when trying to pull out into traffic."Apparently, some Fiat dealers have an ECU software fix for this. At a guess, it is probably to resture the ECU to the EU5 settings.
- 7 Jul 2014
Another case of a 500 MultiJet diesel engine revving uncontrollably because the ECU had introduced too much fuel to the engine to actively regenerate the DPF, this fuel had sunk into the sump, and the sump level had risen sufficiently for the compression ignition engine to run on it. This car was a 25,000 mile 2008 500 MultiJet. Vital for all drivers of 500 MultiJet diesels to chack their sump levels regularly and if the oil seems to rise get their cars to a Fiat dealership for an oil change and forced regeneration of the DPF.
- 30 Jun 2014
Second report of failed rear wiper and brake lights on a 4-year old 500 due to can bus wiring problems as a result of the cable loom getting trapped in the hatchback opening £400 to fix.
- 20 Apr 2014
A 2010 Abarth 500 suffered the loss of various key functions including speedometer, indicators and brake lights (which of course makes the car illegal to drive). An independent garage traced the fault to the wiring cable under the tailgate. The wires had become twisted and broken as a result of the movement of the tailgate. Fault as origninally reported on 13-5-2012.
- 10 Apr 2014
Heater matrix failure on 500 TwinAir led to overheating of engine.
- 22 Mar 2014
Electric hatch lock failed twice on a 17,500 mile 2009/50 500: first time replaced under warranty; 2nd time dealer wanted £193.
- 18 Feb 2014
Clutch mechanism of 2009/59 500 and electric hatchback lock failed at very low 2500 miles.
- 22 Sep 2013
Yet another failed 1.3 Multijet reported. This was a 2008/58 that had done less than 14,000 miles. Active DPF regeneration had put too much diesel into the engine, effectively raising the sump level and causing the engine to run uncontrollably on its sump oil to the point of self-destruction. Vital for all drivers of 500 Multijet diesels to chack their sump levels regularly and if the oil seems to rise get their cars to a Fiat dealership for an oil change and forced regeneration of the DPF.
- 12 Sep 2013
PAS failure on 20 month old 500C**.**
Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 29 reports indexed, top 12 shown
Buying or keeping a 500 L?
Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.
If you own a 500 L and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.