Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Fiat Punto 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 65 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2016 Fiat Punto were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Track rod end (front).

Summary

The 2016 Fiat Punto follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,634 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
65 in every 100
Did not pass first time
35 in every 100580 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
9 yearsabout 50,420 miles
First tests counted
1,634

What failed most often

  1. Track rod end (front)21 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Headlight aim11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Brake light10 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 2016 Fiat Punto vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. 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), 6.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 580 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

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 21 first tests6.4 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

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

Steering

One fault: track rod end (front), 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Track rod end (front)

Failed on 123 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play is Major, and one worn to the extent there is a serious risk of detachment is graded Dangerous. A dust cover that is damaged but still keeps dirt out is Minor, and one missing or no longer keeping dirt out is Major. Testers must tell wear from a joint's built-in clearance or spring loading.

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

Lamps and electrical

Three faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the individual sidelight or tail light (rear): 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)

Failed on 31 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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)

Failed on 59 first tests3.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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.

Individual sidelight or tail light (front)

Failed on 55 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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.

Headlight aim (front)

Failed on 61 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Beam aim too high, too low or off to either side is Major. Where a driver's beam aim control is fitted, the aim is tested without altering the setting, and rechecked at the highest setting only if it would fail for being too low. Masks or converter kits on right hand dip headlamps are acceptable.

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), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Petrol emissions (with catalyst)

Failed on 30 first tests2.4 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.

Brakes

One fault: handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 30 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

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.

Coil spring (rear)

Noted on 63 first tests4.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Exhaust system

Noted on 29 first tests4.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Engine oil leaks

Noted on 49 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

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
65in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
8in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
27in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 64.5% of 1,634 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 72.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 27 not fixed make the 35 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

406080100200520102016Older carsNewer cars
40608010020102016Older 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, 67 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200252 in every 100539
200356 in every 100835
200450 in every 1001,483
200555 in every 1001,172
200651 in every 1004,208
200750 in every 1006,732
200852 in every 1005,519
200955 in every 1005,886
201052 in every 1006,606
201155 in every 1004,980
201256 in every 1005,358
201355 in every 1003,949
201457 in every 1003,382
201562 in every 1002,346
2016 This car65 in every 1001,634
201763 in every 1001,188
201861 in every 100304

FAQs

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

The 2016 Fiat Punto follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Track rod end (front), about 21 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 64.5% of 1,634 first MOTs on the 2016 Fiat Punto passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 72.8%. Among 580 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Track rod end (front) appears more often than on similar cars (21.2% of those tests; 123 observed failures; about 5.0× 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 2016 Fiat Punto at the first attempt were Track rod end (front) (21.2%), Headlight aim (10.5%) and Brake light (10.2%), 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: Track rod end (front) (21.2% of those tests; 123 observed failures; about 5.0× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Track rod end (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (21.2% of those tests; 123 observed failures; about 5.0× 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 2016 Fiat Punto include Track rod end (front), Exhaust system (front), Individual sidelight or tail light (rear). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2016 Fiat Punto (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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