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MOT fail rates

Fiat Panda MOT fail rate by age

How often the Fiat Panda fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 362,907 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 13 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 13 (n=31,832)39.9%
All cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160)38.3%
Median mileage at test62,364
All cars, median mileage92,305

175 of 293 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 13 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Fiat Panda fails 8.8% of MOTs (6,219 tests), 3.2 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 21 years it fails 49.9% (2,066 tests), 7.8 points above the 42.1% average.
  • It moves from below to above the all-car rate between 4 and 5 years.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 13 years: Suspension arm bush worn, at 8.2 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 21 years 54.8%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Fiat Panda: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years8.8%6,21912.1%−3.2 pts13,190 miles
4 years11.9%8,22213.4%−1.4 pts17,623 miles
5 years17.2%10,61615.3%+1.9 pts22,188 miles
6 years20.3%13,69717.8%+2.4 pts27,315 miles
7 years22.9%19,12820.6%+2.3 pts33,643 miles
8 years25.5%24,46723.8%+1.8 pts39,879 miles
9 years28.0%28,45127.1%+0.9 pts45,885 miles
10 years30.1%30,07730.3%−0.2 pts51,259 miles
11 years33.6%27,67133.3%+0.4 pts55,913 miles
12 years37.0%28,80036.0%+1.0 pts59,708 miles
13 years39.9%31,83238.3%+1.7 pts62,364 miles
14 years42.2%30,16640.3%+1.9 pts66,314 miles
15 years43.4%29,70341.6%+1.8 pts70,285 miles
16 years44.8%24,56742.6%+2.2 pts73,198 miles
17 years46.5%17,65643.1%+3.4 pts76,431 miles
18 years46.7%15,20143.3%+3.4 pts77,503 miles
19 years47.3%9,28443.2%+4.1 pts77,742 miles
20 years47.7%5,08442.8%+4.9 pts78,320 miles
21 years49.9%2,06642.1%+7.8 pts77,608 miles

Most common fail items at 13 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Suspension arm bush worn Major8.2
Shock absorber leaking Major5.4
Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush Major5.2
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases Major2.6
Suspension ball joint worn Major2.6
Handbrake too weak Major2.4

Out of 31,832 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous7.7
Wipers not clearing screen Major5
Side/position light not working Major3.9
Brake light not working Major2.8

Out of 31,832 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 13 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Fiat 50041.0%94,86538.3%
Fiat Punto43.3%31,11638.3%
Fiat Ducato20.5%13,24538.3%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
200421 years in 202550.0%1,99142.1%
200520 years in 202546.0%2,46442.8%
200619 years in 202545.9%3,22743.2%
200718 years in 202546.1%4,29143.3%
200817 years in 202546.4%4,12943.1%
200916 years in 202543.1%9,06342.6%
201015 years in 202542.5%8,15441.6%
201114 years in 202541.9%5,06340.3%
201213 years in 202535.7%6,18438.3%
201312 years in 202534.1%7,31836.0%
201411 years in 202531.8%7,88433.3%
201510 years in 202530.1%7,87930.3%
20169 years in 202526.5%4,80827.1%
20178 years in 202524.1%3,50723.8%
20187 years in 202521.1%2,67020.6%
20196 years in 202518.8%2,56417.8%
20205 years in 202516.6%1,78415.3%
20214 years in 202514.8%1,13413.4%

More on the Fiat Panda

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Fiat Panda?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources