Common problems

Fiat Panda common problems

What MOT testers find on the Fiat Panda: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 362,907 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 13 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=31,832)20.3

All cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160)14.9

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=31,832)43.6

All cars, same age (n=6,612,160)27.9

What stands out

Suspension fails show up on 20.3 of every 100 MOTs of a Fiat Panda at 13 years old (n=31,832), against 14.9 for all cars of that age (n=6,612,160).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 13.1 per 100 MOTs against 17.0 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 13 years: suspension arm bush worn, on 5.7 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.0).
The most common advisory or minor defect: coil spring: corroded, on 22.1 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 13 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Fiat Panda at 13 years (n=31,832) against all cars at 13 years (n=6,612,160). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	20.3	14.9	43.6	27.9
Lights and electrics	13.1	17.0	7.3	10.8
Brakes	8.8	9.1	16.9	25.0
Tyres	8.6	7.3	29.6	28.1
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	7.0	5.6	4.2	4.7
Body and structure	4.9	5.0	11.4	8.0
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.7	4.3	7.5	8.2
Steering	1.4	2.9	1.4	3.5
Seat belts and airbags	0.5	1.2	0.3	0.7
Number plates and VIN	0.3	0.4	2.7	3.4
Road wheels	0.1	0.5	0.8	1.3

What testers fail most on the Panda at 13 years

Fail items on the Fiat Panda at 13 years (n=31,832), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	5.7	2.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	5.4	3.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Shock absorber leaking	Suspension	4.9	1.5	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.0	2.1	£15 to £30 per blade
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	3.5	4.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush	Suspension	3.4	0.2	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	2.7	3.1	£10 to £47 per lamp
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	2.5	1.2	£182 to £263 per section
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	2.5	2.5	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	2.4	1.7

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 13 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Fiat Panda at 13 years (n=31,832), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=6,612,160).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	22.1	5.6
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	21.6	18.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	8.2	8.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	7.8	9.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	7.7	4.0	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	7.6	3.1	£182 to £263 per section
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	6.5	10.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	6.0	7.2
Shock absorbers: has a slightly worn bush	Suspension	5.5	0.5	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	5.1	3.8

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 13 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Lights and electrics	Brakes
3 years	6,219	1.9	2.5	1.1
4 years	8,222	2.7	2.8	1.4
5 years	10,616	4.6	3.9	2.0
6 years	13,697	6.0	4.9	2.6
7 years	19,128	7.4	6.8	3.3
8 years	24,467	9.3	8.0	4.1
9 years	28,451	11.0	9.2	4.4
10 years	30,077	13.1	9.8	5.1
11 years	27,671	16.0	10.7	5.7
12 years	28,800	18.9	11.9	7.4
13 years	31,832	20.3	13.1	8.8
14 years	30,166	21.3	14.1	10.5
15 years	29,703	22.0	15.3	11.6
16 years	24,567	22.5	15.8	12.8
17 years	17,656	24.0	15.7	13.7
18 years	15,201	23.9	16.3	15.0
19 years	9,284	23.3	17.0	15.5
20 years	5,084	23.1	17.2	16.7
21 years	2,066	24.3	19.1	16.6

Mileage

At 13 years, Fiat Panda cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 23.5% of MOTs (n=3,286); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 50.4% (n=1,275). For pass and fail rates by age, see Fiat Panda MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Fiat Panda, testers most often record suspension arm bush worn; tyre tread below 1.6 mm; shock absorber leaking. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Fiat Panda?

At 13 years, the age with the most MOT tests (31,832), the fail items testers record most often on the Fiat Panda are suspension arm bush worn (5.7 per 100 MOTs), tyre tread below 1.6 mm (5.4 per 100 MOTs), shock absorber leaking (4.9 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are coil spring: corroded (22.1) and tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (21.6).

Which parts of the Fiat Panda fail more often than on other cars?

At 13 years: suspension (20.3 per 100 MOTs against 14.9 for all cars); windscreen, wipers and mirrors (7.0 per 100 MOTs against 5.6 for all cars); tyres (8.6 per 100 MOTs against 7.3 for all cars). Compared with 6,612,160 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Fiat Panda problems by area

Other Fiat models

All Fiat models · Common problems by make

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Fiat Panda?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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