Does the Abarth 500 fail the MOT on lamps, reflectors and electrics more than it should?

The Abarth 500 records 15.15 lamps, reflectors and electrics failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 16.75 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−1.60, 95% interval −2.04 to −1.16). It ranks 380 of 729 models on lamps, reflectors and electrics (1 = most failures above expected).

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on lamps, reflectors and electrics · check a Abarth 500 by registration

What exactly fails on lamps, reflectors and electrics?

The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Abarth 500 is “The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements”, recorded 1,234 times in 2019–2024.

Abarth 500: most frequent lamps, reflectors and electrics defect wordings, 2019–2024 (30+ items each)
DVSA defect wording	Items	Per 100 tests
The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements	1,234	3.65
A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED	552	1.63
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	516	1.53
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning	475	1.41
Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning	395	1.17

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 33,766 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

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Does the Abarth 500 fail the MOT on lamps, reflectors and electrics more than it should?

What exactly fails on lamps, reflectors and electrics?

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