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What to check: Fiat 500X

DBy age

EBy miles

Ranked across all years of the Fiat 500X, from its own MOT record and from what owners report. Tick it off at the car.

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 modelOn 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 modelDrive 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 modelWith 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 modelListen 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 modelWith 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%

LeaksLook 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 modelTurn 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.

Tyres, all fourCheck 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 modelLook 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 modelScan 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 owner reports 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.

Full Fiat 500X reliability report