Fiat Panda: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Fiat Panda fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 7.4 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 88,638 individual Fiat Panda tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 69.3% first-time pass rate means roughly 31 in every 100 Fiat Pandas presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Fiat Panda tested had covered 60,798 miles and was built around 2012.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Fiat Panda bought as a repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Fiat Panda rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Fiat Pandas actually sold for at UK salvage auction, from 5 real settled sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Fiat Panda

1. A shock absorber bush excessively worn, 3.6% of tests (25.14x the national rate for this defect)
2. A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage, 2.7% of tests (3.91x the national rate for this defect)
3. Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer, 1.4% of tests (3.63x the national rate for this defect)
4. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 2.4% of tests (3.12x the national rate for this defect)
5. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 2.3% of tests (2.75x the national rate for this defect)
6. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 2.2% of tests (2.28x the national rate for this defect)
7. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 8.1% of tests (2.2x the national rate for this defect)
8. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 4.3% of tests (1.87x the national rate for this defect)
9. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 2.5% of tests (1.8x the national rate for this defect)
10. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 1.7% of tests (1.37x the national rate for this defect)

From 119,594 DVSA-tracked Fiat Panda tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.65% of these flagged Fiat Panda defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Fiat Panda pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Fiat Panda year:

• 2004 Fiat Panda - 56.3% first-time pass, 2,509 tests
• 2005 Fiat Panda - 58.6% first-time pass, 2,936 tests
• 2006 Fiat Panda - 57.9% first-time pass, 3,863 tests
• 2007 Fiat Panda - 59% first-time pass, 4,977 tests
• 2008 Fiat Panda - 60% first-time pass, 4,690 tests
• 2009 Fiat Panda - 63.2% first-time pass, 9,848 tests
• 2010 Fiat Panda - 62.9% first-time pass, 8,756 tests
• 2011 Fiat Panda - 65.3% first-time pass, 5,362 tests
• 2012 Fiat Panda - 71.2% first-time pass, 6,349 tests
• 2013 Fiat Panda - 73.2% first-time pass, 7,526 tests
• 2014 Fiat Panda - 75.9% first-time pass, 7,946 tests
• 2015 Fiat Panda - 77.5% first-time pass, 7,869 tests
• 2016 Fiat Panda - 79.7% first-time pass, 4,863 tests
• 2017 Fiat Panda - 83.1% first-time pass, 3,535 tests
• 2018 Fiat Panda - 85.5% first-time pass, 2,677 tests
• 2019 Fiat Panda - 86.5% first-time pass, 2,546 tests
• 2020 Fiat Panda - 92.7% first-time pass, 1,419 tests

Fiat Panda by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Petrol Fiat Panda - 70.1% first-time pass, 82,440 tests
• Diesel Fiat Panda - 64.4% first-time pass, 5,706 tests

Other Fiat models

• Fiat 500 - 71.6%
• Fiat Ducato - 77.1%
• Fiat Punto - 63.5%
• Fiat Doblo - 68.9%
• Fiat 500x - 79.2%
• Fiat 500l - 69.9%
• Fiat 500c - 70.4%
• Fiat Tipo - 77.4%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Mercedes-Benz Citan - 69.5%
• MG Zr - 69.5%
• Renault Zoe - 69.4%
• Saab 900 - 69.3%
• Renault Master - 69.2%
• Ssangyong Rexton - 69.2%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate