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All models / All cars / Small SUVs / Fiat 500X

Fiat 500X

All generations and engines together · 36,020 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 51k

Reliability verdict
DBy age
EBy miles

Graded against its peers

Worse than most small SUVs for its age, though one of the worst per mile driven. Watch steering and suspension. A used buy worth some caution. Check the MOT history for repeating steering advisories before you go.

First-time failure at age 7
24.6%
Across 3,118 tests. The average for small SUVs is 20.5%.
First-time failure at 50-60k miles
30.3%
Across 5,721 tests. The average for small SUVs is 21.1%.
Rank in its class
38 of 52
1 = lowest failure rate among the 52 small SUVs we can rank.
Typical mileage at age 7
51k miles
How far the average car has gone by seven years old. Low-mileage models can look better by age than they are.

What owners report

Reported

Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.

Steering wheel lock-up with a dashboard warning pile-up

Partly in the MOT data

A small number of owners report the steering wheel suddenly locking mid-turn, in one case on a roundabout in a 500X that was only four months old with 3,200 miles on it. It comes with a cluster of other symptoms at the same time: every warning light on the dash lighting up, the engine refusing to switch off, and the electronic handbrake seizing on. It reads as an electrical or software fault rather than a worn steering rack, and no dealer fix or recall was confirmed in what we could find, but it lines up with steering being the fault that shows up most in this model's real MOT data.

Reported from new to a few thousand miles · sources: Honest John Ask HJ, Honest John owner reviews

Engine cutting out with the parking brake stuck on

Emerging

Owners describe the engine dying unexpectedly while the dashboard still shows it running, so the car won't restart, with the electronic parking brake locking on at the same time. Dealers have thrown repeated software updates at it, but reports don't show a permanent fix, and it isn't tied to a specific mileage or age band in what we found. No manufacturer bulletin or recall for this was confirmed.

Reported at various ages · sources: Honest John owner reviews

Won't start after standing for a couple of weeks

Disputed

A handful of owners report the engine flooding and refusing to start after the car has been left for a couple of weeks or more, in one case needing months for the dealer to source parts for a strip-down. It's not clear from the reports whether this is a genuine fuel-system quirk or just a couple of unlucky cars, so treat it as a possible pattern rather than a certainty. Worth asking how long a used example has been sitting on a forecourt unsold.

Reported after 2+ weeks standing · sources: Honest John owner reviews

Automatic gearbox slow to kick down

DisputedAutomatics only

The automatic 500X has been criticised as slow and hesitant when you ask it to drop a gear, for example when pulling out to overtake, making it feel more sluggish than the petrol or diesel engines underneath it. This is a driveability complaint rather than a documented failure pattern in the sources checked, but it's worth feeling for on a test drive since it's the main automatic-specific gripe owners and reviewers raise. Manual cars aren't affected.

Automatics only · sources: Honest John

Niggling electrical warnings and low owner satisfaction

Emerging

Beyond the steering and cutout incidents, owners report warning lights such as the anti-lock brake symbol popping up at startup for no traceable reason and then clearing on their own. It fits a wider pattern: Auto Express's Driver Power satisfaction survey placed Fiat 23rd of 30 manufacturers, with its own review flagging quality and dealer service as weak points for the brand. No single component is being blamed, more a spread of small electrical gremlins across the car's life.

Reported across the model's life · sources: Honest John owner reviews, Auto Express Driver Power

What to check on this car

Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.

Saveable checklist

From this model’s MOT record

The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.

Rubber boots and gaitersRuns high on this model On full steering lock, look in behind each front wheel at the concertina rubber boots on the driveshafts and steering rack. Splits, or grease flung around the arch, mean dirt is getting into a joint that costs far more than the boot protecting it.Recorded on 12.5% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.7%
Bushes and ball jointsRuns high on this model Drive slowly over broken tarmac with the windows down and listen for clonks from either end. Back at the car, have someone rock the steering wheel while you rest a hand on each front wheel; play you can feel through the tyre is a worn joint.Recorded on 12.3% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 5.9%
Lights and horn walkroundRuns high on this model With a helper, run every light: dipped, main beam, indicators, brake lights including the high-level one, reverse, fog, and the horn. On newer cars a dead LED section can mean replacing the whole lamp unit rather than a bulb.Recorded on 8.8% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 1.3%
ExhaustRuns high on this model Listen along the exhaust at cold idle for blowing or chuffing, and give the tailpipe a push to check nothing hangs loose. Small blows only get louder.Recorded on 2.5% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.6%
Steering playRuns high on this model With the engine running and the car parked, waggle the wheel lightly about the straight-ahead. The wheels should respond almost at once. A dead zone before anything happens means wear in the rack or the track rod ends.Recorded on 2.5% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.4%
Leaks Look at the ground where the car usually stands, then glance under the engine after your test drive. Fresh drips of oil or coolant are the cheapest warning you will ever get about a car.Recorded on 2.5% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 2.0%
Warning lights on ignitionRuns high on this model Turn the ignition on without starting the engine and watch the dash. Every warning light should appear, then go out once it is running. Be more suspicious of a light that never comes on at all than of one that stays on; warning bulbs have been known to vanish before a sale.Recorded on 1.5% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.4%

Worth doing on any used car

These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.

Tyres, all four Check the tread across the full width of each tyre, inner edge included, and look for cracking and mismatched brands. A set of decent tyres is £500 or more on most cars, which makes this the easiest money to take off a price. If the pressure warning light is on, budget for sensors too.Recorded on 25.9% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 20.1%
Pads and discsRuns high on this model Look through the wheel spokes at the brake disc. A pronounced lip on its outer edge, or a rusty and scored face, means discs and pads are due all round, a few hundred pounds on most cars. A haggling point rather than a reason to walk away.Recorded on 17.8% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 10.1%
Windscreen and wipersRuns high on this model Scan the glass in daylight for chips, especially in the driver's line of sight where even a small one can fail the MOT. Run the washers and check the wipers clear without smearing.Recorded on 2.1% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.8%

Because of what owners report

Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.

Turn the wheel fully both ways at idle, then pull away and turn into a junction on the test drive. Any locking, heavy resistance, or the wheel not returning smoothly matches the steering lock-up owners have reported.
Start the car cold and watch the dashboard for warning lights that appear and then clear on their own. A stray ABS or brake warning that vanishes by itself is a known 500X gremlin; a pattern of them points to a wiring or ECU issue worth asking about.
Ask how long the car has been sitting unsold or unused, and check it starts cleanly from cold. Cars left standing for a couple of weeks or more have been reported to flood and refuse to start, in one case needing months to put right.
On an automatic, put your foot down hard from a stop and demand a kickdown at speed. A noticeable delay or hesitation before it drops a gear matches the widely reported sluggish gearbox complaint.
Check the service history for repeated software updates around stalling or the parking brake. The same fix logged more than once suggests the underlying cutout issue hasn't actually been solved.
Try every gear, including reverse, from cold on a manual. Notchy or resistant reverse selection has been linked to wear in the selector mechanism on higher-mileage cars.
Pull the full MOT history and look for repeated steering or electrical advisories. The same advisory coming back year after year lines up with steering being the standout fault in this model's real MOT data.

Open the saveable checklist, tick it off at the car

The MOT data

Measured

Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.

How this model wears

Fiat 500XClass average, all tracked models

What testers flag

Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.

Faults with the car itself

The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 27,283 tests in this band.

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Advisory
15.3%class 6.6%
Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated
Minor
12.5%class 0.7%
Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
Fail
11.2%class 0.5%
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
Fail
8.8%class 1.3%
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Fail
4.0%class 1.2%
Exhaust system leaking or insecure
Advisory
2.5%class 0.6%
Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users
Advisory
2.5%class 2.0%
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
Fail
2.5%class 0.4%
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
Advisory
1.9%class 0.4%
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded
Advisory
1.7%class 1.9%

Wear, upkeep and luck

Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
Advisory
29.1%class 22.9%
A tyre seriously damaged
Advisory
21.0%class 12.7%
Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured
Advisory
17.8%class 10.1%
A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
Advisory
8.2%class 8.7%
Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn
Advisory
5.7%class 3.4%
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt
Advisory
5.3%class 2.2%
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
Fail
3.6%class 2.3%
Nail in tyre
Advisory
2.5%class 1.6%

Others in its class

Same segment (Small SUVs), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.

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