At a glance
How 3,400 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 76 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 24 in every 100831 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 8 yearsabout 36,309 miles
- First tests counted
- 3,400
What failed most often
- Coil spring (front)17 in every 100 failed tests
- Shock absorbers (rear)12 in every 100 failed tests
- Tyre condition (front)7 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.
These are patterns across 2017 Fiat Panda 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.
Suspension
Two faults. The strongest is the shock absorbers (rear): 11 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 830 of 831 failed first attempts (99.9%) 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.
Shock absorbers (rear)
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 76 first tests, 6.5 times as often as on similar cars.
Coil spring (front)
What it means
A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Lamps and electrical
Two faults. The strongest is the individual sidelight or tail light (front): 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)
What it means
A position lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. Rear lamps must show a steady red light, and front ones can show white, predominantly white with a blue tinge, or yellow if combined in a yellow headlamp. With a multiple light source, up to half not working is Minor and more than half is Major.
Brake light (rear)
What it means
All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Noise, emissions and leaks
One fault: petrol emissions (with catalyst), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.
Petrol emissions (with catalyst)
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.
Advisories
Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.
An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.
Engine oil leaks
Exhaust system (front)
Non-component advisories (front)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, 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
- 76in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 5in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 19in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 75.6% of 3,400 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 80.5%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 5 fixed and the 19 not fixed make the 24 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 79 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 49 in every 100 | 1,898 |
| 2005 | 52 in every 100 | 2,329 |
| 2006 | 53 in every 100 | 3,045 |
| 2007 | 53 in every 100 | 4,080 |
| 2008 | 52 in every 100 | 3,891 |
| 2009 | 56 in every 100 | 8,653 |
| 2010 | 57 in every 100 | 7,823 |
| 2011 | 58 in every 100 | 4,871 |
| 2012 | 64 in every 100 | 5,966 |
| 2013 | 65 in every 100 | 7,045 |
| 2014 | 68 in every 100 | 7,563 |
| 2015 | 70 in every 100 | 7,591 |
| 2016 | 73 in every 100 | 4,645 |
| 2017 This car | 76 in every 100 | 3,400 |
| 2018 | 79 in every 100 | 2,590 |
| 2019 | 81 in every 100 | 2,470 |
| 2020 | 83 in every 100 | 1,727 |
| 2021 | 85 in every 100 | 1,091 |
| 2022 | 90 in every 100 | 680 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2017 Panda.
Of 2017 Panda vehicles with under 21,000 miles, 85 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 57,000 miles or more, 65 in every 100 did.
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 21,000 | 31,000–42,000 | 57,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring (front) | 4.3 | 2.4 | 4.4 |
| Shock absorbers (rear) | 0.7 | 3.3 | 4.7 |
| Tyre condition (front) | 1.0 | 2.1 | 2.9 |
| Brake light | 0.3 | 1.0 | 2.4 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
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.
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.
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.
Check any vehicle’s MOT history
Full MOT history, mileage records, and reliability insights for any UK vehicle.
Run a free check