Fiat Ducato 2015: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 83 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2015 Fiat Ducato were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

The 2015 Fiat Ducato follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,722 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
83 in every 100
Did not pass first time
17 in every 100470 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
10 yearsabout 32,822 miles
First tests counted
2,722

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)15 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Airbag warning light12 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 2015 Fiat Ducato 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.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: airbag warning light, 12 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 469 of 470 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.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 54 first tests12 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.

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

Brakes

One fault: handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 69 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.

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

Suspension

One fault: shock absorbers (front), 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Shock absorbers (front)

Failed on 21 first tests2.7 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.

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

Lamps and electrical

One fault: number plate lights, 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Number plate lights

Failed on 20 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Registration plate lamps must light up the rear registration plate and operate at the same time as the position lamps. A missing or inoperative lamp is Major when the plate has only one lamp or all its lamps are not working, and Minor when the plate has several lamps or light sources and not all have failed. A lamp throwing direct white light to the rear is also 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
83in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
14in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 82.7% of 2,722 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 86.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 14 not fixed make the 17 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

406080100199520002005201020152020Older carsNewer cars
4060801002000201020152020Older 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, 82 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199551 in every 100344
199657 in every 100598
199758 in every 100801
199854 in every 1001,024
199956 in every 1001,254
200061 in every 1001,454
200157 in every 1001,710
200262 in every 1002,014
200363 in every 1003,004
200463 in every 1003,691
200565 in every 1004,271
200668 in every 1004,175
200771 in every 1004,893
200875 in every 1004,784
200976 in every 1003,432
201078 in every 1003,260
201178 in every 1003,073
201280 in every 1002,494
201380 in every 1002,194
201481 in every 1002,313
2015 This car83 in every 1002,722
201682 in every 1002,667
201782 in every 1002,027
201884 in every 1001,837
201983 in every 1002,010
202088 in every 1001,917
202189 in every 1001,970
202288 in every 1001,031

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2015 Ducato.

Of 2015 Ducato vehicles with under 20,000 miles, 86 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 64,000 miles or more, 69 in every 100 did.

Under 20,000516 tests
86
20,000–28,000551 tests
89
28,000–38,000 Typical car542 tests
87
38,000–64,000565 tests
83
64,000 and over544 tests
69

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 20,00028,000–38,00064,000 and over
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)0.81.38.5
Airbag warning light3.11.81.3

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.


When a car fails

50in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

26in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

2in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).


Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

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

The 2015 Fiat Ducato follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), about 15 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 82.7% of 2,722 first MOTs on the 2015 Fiat Ducato passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 86.1%. Among 470 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Airbag warning light appears more often than on similar cars (11.5% of those tests; 54 observed failures; about 12× 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 2015 Fiat Ducato at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (14.7%) and Airbag warning light (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: Airbag warning light (11.5% of those tests; 54 observed failures; about 12× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Airbag warning light shows up more often than on similar cars (11.5% of those tests; 54 observed failures; about 12× 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 2015 Fiat Ducato include Airbag warning light, Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), Shock absorbers (front). 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 2015 Fiat Ducato (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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