Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Abarth 595 2019: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 82 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2019 Abarth 595 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (front).

Summary

The 2019 Abarth 595 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,278 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
82 in every 100
Did not pass first time
18 in every 100400 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
6 yearsabout 31,420 miles
First tests counted
2,278

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (front)18 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2019 Abarth 595 vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: airbag warning light, 6.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 400 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 29 first tests6.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: petrol engine warning light, 3.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Petrol engine warning light

Failed on 32 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

The malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) on a petrol engine is a Major failure when it is illuminated indicating a malfunction. The detail line DVSA gives for the same row also names an inoperative lamp. The test covers only certain petrol vehicles, depending on their age, size and fuel type.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre tread depth (rear), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre tread depth (rear)

Failed on 21 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Only primary grooves count when tread depth is assessed: those holding the wear indicators, or cut as deep as those when new. Shallower secondary grooves are ignored. Tread depth below the minimum for the vehicle is Dangerous, and so is a pattern not visible over the whole tread, but that second row applies only to vehicles that need the lower minimum.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 30 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
82in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
15in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 82.4% of 2,278 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 85.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 15 not fixed make the 18 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

40608010020152019Older carsNewer cars
4060801002019Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 84 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201365 in every 100451
201471 in every 100512
201572 in every 1001,516
201676 in every 1002,735
201778 in every 1002,846
201879 in every 1003,314
2019 This car82 in every 1002,278
202085 in every 1001,772
202187 in every 1001,732
202291 in every 100946

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2019 Abarth 595.

Of 2019 Abarth 595 vehicles with under 21,000 miles, 88 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 44,000 miles or more, 77 in every 100 did.

Under 21,000486 tests
88
21,000–28,000443 tests
85
28,000–35,000 Typical car423 tests
81
35,000–44,000457 tests
81
44,000 and over469 tests
77

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 21,00028,000–35,00044,000 and over
Tyre condition (front)2.52.83.6

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

53in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

21in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

7in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2019 Abarth 595 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (front), about 18 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 82.4% of 2,278 first MOTs on the 2019 Abarth 595 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 85.1%. Among 400 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Airbag warning light appears more often than on similar cars (7.2% of those tests; 29 observed failures; about 6.5× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2019 Abarth 595 at the first attempt were Tyre condition (front) (17.8%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Airbag warning light (7.2% of those tests; 29 observed failures; about 6.5× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Airbag warning light shows up more often than on similar cars (7.2% of those tests; 29 observed failures; about 6.5× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2019 Abarth 595 include Airbag warning light, Petrol engine warning light. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2019 Abarth 595 (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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