Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Fiat 500C 2015: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 64 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2015 Fiat 500C were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Suspension arm pins and bushes (front).

Summary

A 2015 Fiat 500C passed first time about 4 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2014 and 2016 model years.

At a glance

How 2,476 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
64 in every 100
Did not pass first time
36 in every 100890 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
10 yearsabout 49,584 miles
First tests counted
2,476

What failed most often

  1. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)19 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Shock absorbers (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre condition (front)12 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 2015 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): 10 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 886 of 890 failed first attempts (99.6%) 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)

Failed on 160 first tests10 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

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 141 first tests, 5.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Macpherson strut (front)

Failed on 25 first tests7.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

Shock absorbers (rear)

Failed on 104 first tests6.8 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

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 74 first tests, 4.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 172 first tests4.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: headlight, 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Headlight

Failed on 45 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.

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)

Noted on 41 first tests7.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Noted on 30 first tests6.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 34 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Noted on 34 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Exhaust system (rear)

Noted on 30 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Coil spring (rear)

Noted on 64 first tests2.3 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
64in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
32in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 64.1% of 2,476 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 68.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 32 not fixed make the 36 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020102015Older carsNewer cars
40608010020102015Older 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, 66 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200956 in every 1001,112
201054 in every 1001,948
201157 in every 1002,444
201260 in every 1002,722
201362 in every 1002,359
201465 in every 1002,742
2015 This car64 in every 1002,476
201670 in every 1002,136
201777 in every 1001,532
201879 in every 100554

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2015 Fiat 500C.

Of 2015 Fiat 500C vehicles with under 34,000 miles, 75 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 70,000 miles or more, 55 in every 100 did.

Under 34,000495 tests
75
34,000–45,000502 tests
67
45,000–56,000 Typical car501 tests
63
56,000–70,000464 tests
60
70,000 and over503 tests
55

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 34,00045,000–56,00070,000 and over
Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)3.68.48.5
Shock absorbers (front)2.010.25.2
Tyre condition (front)3.24.45.0
Suspension arm ball joint (front)1.43.23.2
Coil spring (rear)2.22.62.6

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

When a car fails

37in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

32in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

8in 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.

A 2015 Fiat 500C passed first time about 4 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2014 and 2016 model years. In 2025, 64.1% of 2,476 first MOTs on the 2015 Fiat 500C passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 68.4%. Among 890 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Shock absorbers (front) appears more often than on similar cars (18.1% of those tests; 160 observed failures; about 10× 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 2015 Fiat 500C at the first attempt were Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (19.4%), Shock absorbers (front) (18.1%) and Tyre condition (front) (11.5%), 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: Shock absorbers (front) (18.1% of those tests; 160 observed failures; about 10× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Shock absorbers (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (18.1% of those tests; 160 observed failures; about 10× 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 2015 Fiat 500C include Shock absorbers (front), Macpherson strut (front), Suspension arm pins and bushes (front). 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 2015 Fiat 500C (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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