Peugeot 3008 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 63 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2016 Peugeot 3008 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Coil spring (rear).

Summary

A 2016 Peugeot 3008 passed first time about 6 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2015 and 2017 model years.

At a glance

How 6,091 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
63 in every 100
Did not pass first time
37 in every 1002,244 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
9 yearsabout 63,582 miles
First tests counted
6,091

What failed most often

  1. Coil spring (rear)21 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight aim8 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 Peugeot 3008 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

Two faults. The strongest is the drive shaft joints and boots (front): 4.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,242 of 2,244 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.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 407 first tests4.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

Exhaust system

Failed on 64 first tests2.8 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.

Suspension

One fault: coil spring (rear), 4.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 460 first tests4.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

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.

Lamps and electrical

Two faults and one wear pattern. The strongest is the number plate lights (rear): 3.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Number plate lights (rear)

Failed on 159 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsLikely 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.

Headlight aim not tested

Failed on 25 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Headlamp aim recorded as not tested, or unable to be tested, is a Major failure. These results must only be used where it becomes apparent during the test that the item cannot be tested, and this could not have been identified before starting. The reason must be included in the additional information box.

Headlight (front)

Failed on 143 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.

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

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre tread depth (rear), 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre tread depth (rear)

Failed on 138 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Only primary grooves count when tread depth is assessed: those holding the wear indicators, or cut as deep as those when new. Shallower secondary grooves are ignored. Tread depth below the minimum for the vehicle is Dangerous, and so is a pattern not visible over the whole tread, but that second row applies only to vehicles that need the lower minimum.

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.

Engine oil leaks (front)

Noted on 217 first tests2.8 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
63in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
6in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
31in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 63.2% of 6,091 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 69.4%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 31 not fixed make the 37 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel5,66664,290 miles6363
Petrol42556,630 miles6360

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

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

406080100201020162020Older carsNewer cars
406080100201020162020Older carsNewer 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, 66 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200941 in every 100529
201046 in every 1006,398
201150 in every 1008,268
201253 in every 1009,117
201350 in every 1009,687
201458 in every 1007,387
201564 in every 1007,459
2016 This car63 in every 1006,091
201773 in every 10015,555
201878 in every 10017,605
201982 in every 10018,076
202086 in every 10011,065
202189 in every 10011,090
202289 in every 1008,450

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2016 Peugeot 3008.

Of 2016 Peugeot 3008 vehicles with under 45,000 miles, 73 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 86,000 miles or more, 58 in every 100 did.

Under 45,0001,231 tests
73
45,000–58,0001,234 tests
64
58,000–70,000 Typical car1,190 tests
62
70,000–86,0001,230 tests
59
86,000 and over1,204 tests
58

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested
Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel64,290 miles6363
Petrol56,630 miles6360

Figures are in every 100 first tests. At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.


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 45,00058,000–70,00086,000 and over
Coil spring (rear)5.37.98.1
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)7.07.74.3
Headlight aim1.73.13.3
Tyre tread depth (front)1.53.23.6
Number plate lights0.93.03.7

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


When a car fails

38in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

34in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

9in 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.

A 2016 Peugeot 3008 passed first time about 6 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2015 and 2017 model years. In 2025, 63.2% of 6,091 first MOTs on the 2016 Peugeot 3008 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 69.4%. Among 2,244 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) appears more often than on similar cars (18.2% of those tests; 407 observed failures; about 4.9× 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 Peugeot 3008 at the first attempt were Coil spring (rear) (20.5%), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (18.2%) and Headlight aim (7.5%), 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: Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (18.2% of those tests; 407 observed failures; about 4.9× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Drive shaft joints and boots (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (18.2% of those tests; 407 observed failures; about 4.9× 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 Peugeot 3008 include Drive shaft joints and boots (front), Coil spring (rear), Number plate lights (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 Peugeot 3008 (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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