Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Fiat 500L 2017: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 62 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2017 Fiat 500L were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Coil spring (front).

Summary

With 849 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2017 Fiat 500L differs from the model years either side.

At a glance

How 849 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
62 in every 100
Did not pass first time
38 in every 100325 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
8 yearsabout 50,750 miles
First tests counted
849

What failed most often

  1. Coil spring (front)23 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)17 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 2017 Fiat 500L 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.

Steering

One fault: track rod end (front), 4.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 324 of 325 failed first attempts (99.7%) 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.

Track rod end (front)

Failed on 48 first tests4.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play is Major, and one worn to the extent there is a serious risk of detachment is graded Dangerous. A dust cover that is damaged but still keeps dirt out is Minor, and one missing or no longer keeping dirt out is Major. Testers must tell wear from a joint's built-in clearance or spring loading.

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

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the coil spring (front): 4.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 75 first tests4.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Failed on 54 first tests4.4 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.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: brake light (rear), 3.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake light (rear)

Failed on 25 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. 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
62in 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
32in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 61.7% of 849 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 68.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 32 not fixed make the 38 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Petrol47960
Diesel37064

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

406080100201320142015201620172018Older carsNewer cars
406080100201320142015201620172018Older 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
201360 in every 1005,671
201459 in every 1007,551
201562 in every 1002,810
201666 in every 1001,541
2017 This car62 in every 100849
201862 in every 100576

FAQs

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

With 849 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2017 Fiat 500L differs from the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Coil spring (front), about 23 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 61.7% of 849 first MOTs on the 2017 Fiat 500L passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 68.3%. Among 325 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Track rod end (front) appears more often than on similar cars (14.8% of those tests; 48 observed failures; about 4.9× 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 2017 Fiat 500L at the first attempt were Coil spring (front) (23.1%) and Suspension arm pins and bushes (front) (16.7%), 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: Track rod end (front) (14.8% of those tests; 48 observed failures; about 4.9× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Track rod end (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (14.8% of those tests; 48 observed failures; about 4.9× 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 2017 Fiat 500L include Track rod end (front), Coil spring (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.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2017 Fiat 500L (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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