Common problems

Fiat Sedici common problems

What MOT testers find on the Fiat Sedici: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 3,411 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 16 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=1,365)24.2

All cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625)17.1

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=1,365)39.6

All cars, same age (n=4,858,625)29.5

What stands out

Suspension fails show up on 24.2 of every 100 MOTs of a Fiat Sedici at 16 years old (n=1,365), against 17.1 for all cars of that age (n=4,858,625).
Lights and electrics fails are less common: 16.3 per 100 MOTs against 20.4 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 16 years: coil spring broken, on 8.9 per 100 MOTs (all cars 3.9).
The most common advisory or minor defect: rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material, on 24.0 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 16 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 Sedici at 16 years (n=1,365) against all cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Suspension	24.2	17.1	38.2	33.7
Brakes	16.7	11.6	39.6	29.5
Lights and electrics	16.3	20.4	13.0	15.3
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	12.6	6.2	14.5	12.0
Body and structure	7.8	7.6	17.1	12.6
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	6.8	6.8	4.4	5.7
Tyres	6.7	7.5	28.2	28.4
Steering	1.3	3.4	1.8	4.6
Seat belts and airbags	1.0	2.1	0.9	1.1
Number plates and VIN	0.4	0.6	3.6	4.8
Road wheels	0.2	0.6	0.3	1.5

What testers fail most on the Sedici at 16 years

Fail items on the Fiat Sedici at 16 years (n=1,365), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,858,625).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	8.9	3.9	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	8.3	2.5	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	7.3	5.9	£10 to £47 per lamp
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	7.0	1.9	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	4.8	1.6	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.2	2.6	£15 to £30 per blade
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	3.7	3.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	3.5	4.0	£10 to £47 per lamp
Suspension arm bush worn	Suspension	3.4	2.2	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Service brake performance: excessively binding	Brakes	3.0	1.4	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 16 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 Sedici at 16 years (n=1,365), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,858,625).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	24.0	8.8	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	18.8	18.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	13.6	8.7	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	10.0	9.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	8.5	10.7
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	8.4	11.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	Suspension	7.8	7.4
Transmission oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	7.0	1.2
Flexible brake hoses: has slight corrosion to ferrule	Brakes	6.4	2.1
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	6.3	6.8	£72 to £174 per axle (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 16 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Suspension	Brakes	Lights and electrics
15 years	1,028	23.5	15.5	15.8
16 years	1,365	24.2	16.7	16.3
17 years	1,018	28.0	17.9	17.5

What to check on a viewing

On the Fiat Sedici, testers most often record coil spring broken; suspension ball joint worn; side/position light not working. 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.

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.

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.

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 Sedici?

At 16 years, the age with the most MOT tests (1,365), the fail items testers record most often on the Fiat Sedici are coil spring broken (8.9 per 100 MOTs), suspension ball joint worn (8.3 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (7.3 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (24.0) and tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (18.8).

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

At 16 years: suspension (24.2 per 100 MOTs against 17.1 for all cars); exhaust, emissions and leaks (12.6 per 100 MOTs against 6.2 for all cars); brakes (16.7 per 100 MOTs against 11.6 for all cars). Compared with 4,858,625 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Fiat Sedici 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 Sedici?

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