At a glance
How 2,722 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 60 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 40 in every 1001,091 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 13 yearsabout 64,880 miles
- First tests counted
- 2,722
What failed most often
- Shock absorbers (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
- Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
- Tyre condition (front)10 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.
These are patterns across 2012 Fiat 500C vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.
Suspension
Four faults. The strongest is the shock absorbers (front): 9.9 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 1,089 of 1,091 failed first attempts (99.8%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.
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.
Shock absorbers (front)
What it means
Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 134 first tests, 4.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Macpherson strut (front)
What it means
Many MacPherson strut top bushes are designed to have significant lateral play when the suspension hangs free, so a top bush is rejected only when the play comes from wear or maladjustment. A top bush or bearing with excessive wear or free play is Major. Rubber or synthetic bushes are rejected only for serious deterioration of the bonding or flexible material.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 27 first tests, 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Shock absorbers (rear)
What it means
Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 100 first tests, 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)
What it means
Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Body and structure
One fault: exhaust system (front), 4.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Exhaust system (front)
What it means
Exhaust fumes causing a danger to health of persons on board are graded Dangerous, and so is a silencer likely to become detached. Fumes entering the cabin are Major. One or more missing or defective mountings does not necessarily make the exhaust insecure, since testers assess the overall security of the system.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 65 first tests, 3.9 times as often as on similar cars.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Noise, emissions and leaks
Two faults. The strongest is the petrol emissions not tested: 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.
Petrol emissions not tested
What it means
On a petrol car, an emissions test recorded as not tested or unable to be completed is failed as Major. DVSA's wording gives no reason why.
Petrol emissions (with catalyst)
What it means
Emissions levels over the manufacturer's specified limits are Major, as are levels over default limits, which apply when no exact match is found for the vehicle. Dense blue or clearly visible black smoke at idle, held for a set period, is Major, except for certain older vehicles and two stroke engines where smoke is unavoidable. An induction or exhaust leak that could affect emissions levels is Major too.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Lamps and electrical
One fault: number plate lights, 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.
Number plate lights
What it means
Registration plate lamps must light up the rear registration plate and operate at the same time as the position lamps. A missing or inoperative lamp is Major when the plate has only one lamp or all its lamps are not working, and Minor when the plate has several lamps or light sources and not all have failed. A lamp throwing direct white light to the rear is also Minor.
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. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.
Macpherson strut pins and bushes (front)
Transmission oil leaks
Wheel condition (rear)
Exhaust system (rear)
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
- 60in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 6in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 34in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 59.9% of 2,722 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 66.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 34 not fixed make the 40 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 61 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 56 in every 100 | 1,112 |
| 2010 | 54 in every 100 | 1,948 |
| 2011 | 57 in every 100 | 2,444 |
| 2012 This car | 60 in every 100 | 2,722 |
| 2013 | 62 in every 100 | 2,359 |
| 2014 | 65 in every 100 | 2,742 |
| 2015 | 64 in every 100 | 2,476 |
| 2016 | 70 in every 100 | 2,136 |
| 2017 | 77 in every 100 | 1,532 |
| 2018 | 79 in every 100 | 554 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2012 Fiat 500C.
Of 2012 Fiat 500C vehicles with under 46,000 miles, 71 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 86,000 miles or more, 53 in every 100 did.
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 46,000 | 59,000–71,000 | 86,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shock absorbers (front) | 4.3 | 7.4 | 5.6 |
| Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) | 6.1 | 4.3 | 4.9 |
| Tyre condition (front) | 3.2 | 3.9 | 4.4 |
| Suspension arm ball joint (front) | 1.1 | 3.7 | 5.5 |
| Petrol emissions (with catalyst) | 1.6 | 3.5 | 4.9 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
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.
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.
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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