Abarth 500 MOT failures and reliability
In 2023 the Abarth 500 took 5,488 MOT tests in Britain and passed 67% of them first time, below the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.
- MOT tests in 2023
- 5,488
- First-time pass rate
- 67%
- All cars
- 71%
What the 500 fails on
Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.
- Suspension13.6% (all cars 9.0%)
- Lights and electrics13.4% (all cars 11.3%)
- Tyres6.6% (all cars 6.4%)
- Brakes6.2% (all cars 6.8%)
- Body and structure5.1% (all cars 3.5%)
- Visibility4.5% (all cars 4.8%)
- Exhaust and emissions3.8% (all cars 3.1%)
- Steering1.0% (all cars 1.8%)
Most common failure items
Share of tests on which each item was recorded.
- Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt 3.2%
- Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush 2.9%
- Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 2.8%
- Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 2.7%
- Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect 2.7%
- Position lamp: not working 2.2%
- Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid 2.2%
- Stop lamp: not working 2.1%
Most common advisories
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 18.1%
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 16.7%
- Coil spring: corroded 8.7%
- Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 8.2%
- Brake pads: wearing thin 6.2%
- Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil 5.4%
- Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 4.9%
- Shock absorbers: has a slightly worn bush 4.2%
Pass rate by year of registration
Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.
| First registered | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 761 | 66% |
| 2010 | 954 | 66% |
| 2011 | 885 | 67% |
| 2012 | 742 | 68% |
| 2013 | 547 | 65% |
| 2014 | 788 | 68% |
| 2015 | 739 | 71% |
Typical mileage by age
Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.
| Age at test | Average mileage |
|---|---|
| 8 years | 47,828 miles |
| 9 years | 53,523 miles |
| 10 years | 60,893 miles |
| 11 years | 65,200 miles |
| 12 years | 69,388 miles |
| 13 years | 74,100 miles |
| 14 years | 79,667 miles |
Check a particular 500
Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.
Other Abarth models
Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.