Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Peugeot Boxer 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 78 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2016 Peugeot Boxer were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

The 2016 Peugeot Boxer follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 3,149 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
78 in every 100
Did not pass first time
22 in every 100679 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
9 yearsabout 43,948 miles
First tests counted
3,149

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)17 in every 100 failed tests
  2. 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 Boxer 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, 6.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 679 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.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 40 first tests6.1 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

Two faults. The strongest is the handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test): 5.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 117 first tests5.8 times as often as similar carsStrong 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.

Brake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 25 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A wheel with no recorded braking effort on the roller test is graded Dangerous. Inadequate effort, a brake grabbing severely, abnormal lag and excessive fluctuation in effort are each Major. So is significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied, which indicates a binding brake.

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

Lamps and electrical

Two faults. The strongest is the rear fog light: 3.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Rear fog light

Failed on 22 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.

Side repeater indicators

Failed on 20 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.

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

Noted on 69 first tests2.3 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
78in 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
16in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 78.4% of 3,149 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 83.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 16 not fixed make the 22 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

406080100199520002005201020162020Older carsNewer cars
4060801002000201020162020Older 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, 80 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199551 in every 100709
199652 in every 100635
199755 in every 100851
199854 in every 1001,014
199957 in every 1001,094
200058 in every 1001,178
200157 in every 1001,121
200258 in every 1001,393
200365 in every 1001,819
200462 in every 1002,181
200563 in every 1002,240
200666 in every 1002,399
200770 in every 1002,199
200872 in every 1002,081
200972 in every 1001,691
201079 in every 1001,896
201177 in every 1002,018
201276 in every 1002,168
201377 in every 1002,328
201475 in every 1002,572
201577 in every 1002,996
2016 This car78 in every 1003,149
201779 in every 1003,057
201881 in every 1002,142
201982 in every 1002,009
202084 in every 1001,593
202181 in every 1001,776
202287 in every 100800

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 Boxer.

Of 2016 Boxer vehicles with under 20,000 miles, 87 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 111,000 miles or more, 68 in every 100 did.

Under 20,000612 tests
87
20,000–32,000651 tests
85
32,000–64,000 Typical car618 tests
84
64,000–111,000636 tests
69
111,000 and over630 tests
68

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 20,00032,000–64,000111,000 and over
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)0.01.310.5
Headlight aim1.01.11.7

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

When a car fails

45in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

31in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

3in 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 2016 Peugeot Boxer follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), about 17 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 78.4% of 3,149 first MOTs on the 2016 Peugeot Boxer passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 83.8%. Among 679 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) appears more often than on similar cars (17.2% of those tests; 117 observed failures; about 5.8× 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 Boxer at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (17.2%) 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: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (17.2% of those tests; 117 observed failures; about 5.8× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) shows up more often than on similar cars (17.2% of those tests; 117 observed failures; about 5.8× 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 Boxer include Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), Airbag warning light, Rear fog light. 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 Boxer (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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