Common problems

Fiat Punto common problems

What MOT testers find on the Fiat Punto: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 310,264 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 15 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=38,362)24.3

All cars at 15 years (n=5,591,675)19.5

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=38,362)38.2

All cars, same age (n=5,591,675)32.3

What stands out

Exhaust, emissions and leaks fails show up on 11.5 of every 100 MOTs of a Fiat Punto at 15 years old (n=38,362), against 5.7 for all cars of that age (n=5,591,675).
The fail item testers record most often at 15 years: side/position light not working, on 6.7 per 100 MOTs (all cars 5.8).
The most common advisory or minor defect: coil spring: corroded, on 20.3 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 15 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 Punto at 15 years (n=38,362) against all cars at 15 years (n=5,591,675). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	24.3	19.5	19.5	13.7
Suspension	17.8	16.7	38.2	32.3
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	11.5	5.7	18.6	11.0
Brakes	9.8	10.7	21.6	27.8
Body and structure	9.7	6.7	15.6	11.2
Tyres	8.0	7.5	31.9	28.5
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	7.6	6.5	3.5	5.4
Steering	4.0	3.3	3.2	4.3
Seat belts and airbags	1.7	1.7	1.5	1.0
Road wheels	0.5	0.6	1.6	1.5
Number plates and VIN	0.4	0.5	3.7	4.3

What testers fail most on the Punto at 15 years

Fail items on the Fiat Punto at 15 years (n=38,362), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=5,591,675).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	6.7	5.8	£10 to £47 per lamp
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	5.6	3.7	£10 to £47 per lamp
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	5.2	1.1
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	5.1	1.6	£182 to £263 per section
Coil spring broken	Suspension	5.0	4.1	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	3.5	2.3	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	3.5	2.3
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect	Lights and electrics	3.5	2.5	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	3.5	3.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Shock absorber leaking	Suspension	3.3	1.7	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 15 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 Punto at 15 years (n=38,362), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=5,591,675).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	20.3	7.0
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	19.5	18.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	15.1	9.8
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	13.0	9.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	11.3	4.2	£182 to £263 per section
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	8.9	11.1	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	6.6	8.5	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Sub-frame: corroded but not seriously weakened	Suspension	6.0	5.0
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	5.7	5.9
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	5.3	4.2	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)

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 15 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Exhaust, emissions and leaks
5 years	1,562	9.3	4.0	1.2
6 years	3,314	12.5	3.3	1.6
7 years	5,811	13.3	5.4	2.0
8 years	9,298	15.1	7.9	4.4
9 years	12,710	18.5	9.6	5.1
10 years	17,635	20.6	11.5	6.5
11 years	21,360	22.1	12.6	7.6
12 years	26,982	22.8	13.5	8.7
13 years	31,116	22.7	15.2	9.8
14 years	33,511	23.3	16.3	10.9
15 years	38,362	24.3	17.8	11.5
16 years	36,270	24.7	18.4	11.4
17 years	26,367	25.3	17.9	11.6
18 years	19,551	25.6	18.1	11.0
19 years	11,589	24.8	17.4	10.4
20 years	6,664	23.6	15.6	9.7
21 years	4,546	21.7	14.2	9.7
22 years	2,386	19.1	12.2	8.0
23 years	1,230	18.8	13.3	7.2

Mileage

At 15 years, Fiat Punto cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 36.2% of MOTs (n=5,630); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 53.0% (n=3,833). For pass and fail rates by age, see Fiat Punto MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Fiat Punto, testers most often record side/position light not working; brake light not working; catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits. Look at these first, then the areas below.

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.

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.

Exhaust, emissions and leaks

Start the engine from cold if you can and watch the exhaust for blue or black smoke.
Check that the engine warning light goes out after starting and stays out on the test drive.
Look under the car and around the engine for oil or fluid leaks, and listen for a blowing exhaust.

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 Punto?

At 15 years, the age with the most MOT tests (38,362), the fail items testers record most often on the Fiat Punto are side/position light not working (6.7 per 100 MOTs), brake light not working (5.6 per 100 MOTs), catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (5.2 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are coil spring: corroded (20.3) and tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (19.5).

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

At 15 years: exhaust, emissions and leaks (11.5 per 100 MOTs against 5.7 for all cars); lights and electrics (24.3 per 100 MOTs against 19.5 for all cars); body and structure (9.7 per 100 MOTs against 6.7 for all cars). Compared with 5,591,675 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Fiat Punto 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 Punto?

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