MOT fail rates

Fiat Tipo MOT fail rate by age

How often the Fiat Tipo fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 49,704 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 6 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 6 (n=11,077)27.4%

All cars at 6 years (n=10,382,720)17.8%

Median mileage at test48,484

All cars, median mileage44,951

310 of 340 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 6 years.

What stands out

At 3 years the Fiat Tipo fails 18.8% of MOTs (4,231 tests), 6.8 points above the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 9 years it fails 27.5% (1,122 tests), about the same as the 27.1% average.
The gap is widest at 6 years: 9.6 points above all cars.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 6 years: Shock absorber leaking, at 4.7 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

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

Fiat Tipo: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars	Difference	Median mileage
3 years	18.8%	4,231	12.1%	+6.8 pts	21,377 miles
4 years	19.9%	5,845	13.4%	+6.6 pts	29,136 miles
5 years	24.3%	11,055	15.3%	+9.0 pts	40,974 miles
6 years	27.4%	11,077	17.8%	+9.6 pts	48,484 miles
7 years	30.0%	9,260	20.6%	+9.3 pts	57,003 miles
8 years	31.7%	7,114	23.8%	+8.0 pts	65,216 miles
9 years	27.5%	1,122	27.1%	+0.3 pts	65,160 miles

Most common fail items at 6 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 item	Per 100 MOTs
Shock absorber leaking Major	4.7
Coil spring broken Major	4.1
Anti-roll bar link worn Major	2.2

Out of 11,077 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	4.7
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous	4.1
Wipers not clearing screen Major	3.3
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous	1.7
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major	1.7
Dipped headlight not working Major	1.7
Headlamp aim: too low Major	1.2

Out of 11,077 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 6 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
Fiat 500	21.4%	103,956	17.8%
Fiat 500X	18.3%	24,969	17.8%
Fiat Panda	20.3%	13,697	17.8%

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 28 September 2026.

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First used	Age at test	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
2016	9 years in 2025	27.5%	1,122	27.1%
2017	8 years in 2025	32.1%	5,949	23.8%
2018	7 years in 2025	28.3%	1,990	20.6%
2019	6 years in 2025	24.5%	1,626	17.8%
2020	5 years in 2025	19.8%	1,040	15.3%
2021	4 years in 2025	22.3%	1,084	13.4%

More on the Fiat Tipo

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 Tipo?

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