Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Fiat Doblo 2009: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 60 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2009 Fiat Doblo were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (front).

Summary

The 2009 Fiat Doblo follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,375 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
60 in every 100
Did not pass first time
40 in every 100547 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
16 yearsabout 77,302 miles
First tests counted
1,375

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (front)12 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2009 Fiat Doblo vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Body and structure

One fault: exhaust system (front), 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 546 of 547 failed first attempts (99.8%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Exhaust system (front)

Failed on 43 first tests3.4 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Exhaust fumes causing a danger to health of persons on board are graded Dangerous, and so is a silencer likely to become detached. Fumes entering the cabin are Major. One or more missing or defective mountings does not necessarily make the exhaust insecure, since testers assess the overall security of the system.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 47 first tests, 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Noise, emissions and leaks

Four faults. The strongest is the diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008): 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008)

Failed on 28 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 24 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

Petrol emissions not tested

Failed on 21 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

On a petrol car, an emissions test recorded as not tested or unable to be completed is failed as Major. DVSA's wording gives no reason why.

Petrol emissions (with catalyst)

Failed on 48 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Emissions levels over the manufacturer's specified limits are Major, as are levels over default limits, which apply when no exact match is found for the vehicle. Dense blue or clearly visible black smoke at idle, held for a set period, is Major, except for certain older vehicles and two stroke engines where smoke is unavoidable. An induction or exhaust leak that could affect emissions levels is Major too.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Suspension

One fault: shock absorbers (rear), 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Shock absorbers (rear)

Failed on 34 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 53 first tests, 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Visibility

One fault: windscreen wipers (front), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Windscreen wipers (front)

Failed on 38 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Only a clearly damaged or worn windscreen wiper needs to be rejected. A wiper that is missing or not working is graded Major, and so is a blade that is missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen. A defective blade is graded Minor.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
60in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
7in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
33in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 60.2% of 1,375 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 66.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 33 not fixed make the 40 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Petrol77762
Diesel59858

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

4060801002005200920152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020092020Newer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 59 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200350 in every 100305
200447 in every 100590
200549 in every 100832
200651 in every 1001,312
200752 in every 1001,803
200856 in every 1001,678
2009 This car60 in every 1001,375
201057 in every 1001,562
201154 in every 1001,661
201257 in every 1001,820
201371 in every 1005,795
201459 in every 1005,136
201562 in every 1004,378
201663 in every 1003,195
201765 in every 1002,323
201870 in every 1001,871
201970 in every 1001,602
202069 in every 1001,153
202174 in every 1001,810
202276 in every 100666

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2009 Fiat Doblo follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (front), about 12 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 60.2% of 1,375 first MOTs on the 2009 Fiat Doblo passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 66.8%. Among 547 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Exhaust system (front) appears more often than on similar cars (7.9% of those tests; 43 observed failures; about 3.4× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2009 Fiat Doblo at the first attempt were Tyre condition (front) (11.5%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Exhaust system (front) (7.9% of those tests; 43 observed failures; about 3.4× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Exhaust system (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (7.9% of those tests; 43 observed failures; about 3.4× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2009 Fiat Doblo include Exhaust system (front), Diesel engine warning light, Petrol emissions not tested. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2009 Fiat Doblo (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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