Fiat Doblo MOT pass rate & common failures
The Fiat Doblo appears in 306,060 MOT tests spanning model years 1988–2024, and 76.6% of them passed. Vans of a similar age fail at 23.8%, so the Doblo sits squarely on the average. Its most common failure areas are suspension, lighting & signalling and tyres.
Best and worst Doblo years
Ranked across Doblo years with at least 1,000 tests. Older cars fail more simply because they are older — compare years close together in age before drawing conclusions.
What the MOT record shows
The strongest year on this record is 2018 (82.8% pass rate); the weakest is 2003 (66.3%). Older cars carry more of the difference than the average implies.
No single area dominates — suspension (12.1%) and lighting & signalling (11.7%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are headlamp aim, coil spring and tread depth — headlamp aim alone was recorded 15,906 times.
Mileage is the strongest signal on the record: 12.9% of 0-30k cars fail, rising to 30.4% once past 150k — 2.4× the risk.
The petrol cars hold up better: 20.0% fail against 23.8% for diesel, a 3.9-point gap across 306,049 tests.
Tyres is the most common advisory, noted on 25.7% of tests — work that passed today but is likely due soon.
The trend is worsening — 22.1% of tests failed in 2021 against 24.3% in 2025, the usual pattern as a fleet ages.
How it compares
By model year
Every Doblo model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 437 | 66.6% | 33.4% | Suspension |
| 2002 | 1,924 | 66.5% | 33.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2003 | 4,159 | 66.3% | 33.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2004 | 6,972 | 67.7% | 32.3% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2005 | 8,887 | 69.1% | 30.9% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2006 | 12,906 | 71.5% | 28.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2007 | 17,523 | 71.3% | 28.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2008 | 15,311 | 73.5% | 26.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2009 | 11,158 | 75.1% | 24.9% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2010 | 13,707 | 73.4% | 26.6% | Suspension |
| 2011 | 14,736 | 72.8% | 27.2% | Suspension |
| 2012 | 15,430 | 73.3% | 26.7% | Suspension |
| 2013 | 43,734 | 82.5% | 17.5% | Suspension |
| 2014 | 39,279 | 77.0% | 23.0% | Suspension |
| 2015 | 31,436 | 77.8% | 22.2% | Suspension |
| 2016 | 22,009 | 78.7% | 21.3% | Suspension |
| 2017 | 15,856 | 79.6% | 20.4% | Suspension |
| 2018 | 12,196 | 82.8% | 17.2% | Suspension |
| 2019 | 8,433 | 81.9% | 18.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2020 | 4,352 | 82.7% | 17.3% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2021 | 4,711 | 81.4% | 18.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2022 | 843 | 84.3% | 15.7% | Tyres |
| 2023 | 57 | 87.7% | 12.3% | Visibility |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suspension | 12.1% | 37,065 |
| 2 | Lighting & signalling | 11.7% | 35,835 |
| 3 | Tyres | 6.1% | 18,595 |
| 4 | Brakes | 5.7% | 17,325 |
| 5 | Emissions & environmental | 5.3% | 16,351 |
| 6 | Visibility | 4.6% | 14,127 |
| 7 | Body, structure & corrosion | 4.5% | 13,929 |
| 8 | Steering | 1.1% | 3,472 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Headlamp aim | 15,906 |
| 2 | Coil spring | 14,981 |
| 3 | Tread depth | 10,160 |
| 4 | Headlamp | 10,154 |
| 5 | Wipers | 8,486 |
| 6 | Position lamp | 7,654 |
| 7 | Stop lamp | 7,546 |
| 8 | Malfunction indicator lamp | 7,541 |
Top advisory categories
Advisories aren't failures, but they flag work likely needed soon — useful when budgeting.
| # | Category | % of tests with advisory | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyres | 25.7% | 78,770 |
| 2 | Suspension | 20.9% | 64,099 |
| 3 | Brakes | 16.9% | 51,819 |
| 4 | Lighting & signalling | 11.6% | 35,578 |
| 5 | Emissions & environmental | 9.3% | 28,519 |
| 6 | Visibility | 8.4% | 25,742 |
Failure rate by mileage
Higher-mileage cars tend to fail more — often the most useful guide to real condition.
| Mileage band | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 25,127 | 12.9% |
| 30-60k | 71,983 | 17.7% |
| 60-90k | 82,590 | 23.4% |
| 90-120k | 66,011 | 27.6% |
| 120-150k | 35,800 | 29.2% |
| 150k+ | 23,684 | 30.4% |
Failure rate by age
By fuel type
| Fuel | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | 268,116 | 23.8% |
| Petrol | 37,933 | 20.0% |
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 65,327 | 22.1% |
| 2022 | 64,179 | 22.8% |
| 2023 | 62,262 | 23.7% |
| 2024 | 59,502 | 24.1% |
| 2025 | 54,790 | 24.3% |
What to check before buying a Fiat Doblo
- Suspension (12.1% of tests): Worn drop links, bushes, springs or shocks — listen for knocks over bumps and check for uneven tyre wear. Typical repair: £150–£450 per corner.
- Lighting & signalling (11.7% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Tyres (6.1% of tests): Usually a quick, known-cost fix, but check tread, age and uneven wear (which can hint at alignment or suspension issues). Typical repair: £50–£120 per tyre.
Repair costs are rough UK ballpark ranges to set expectations, not quotes — actual prices vary widely by car, parts and garage.
Frequently asked questions
What is the MOT pass rate for the Fiat Doblo?
76.6% of the 306,060 Fiat Doblo MOT tests in this dataset passed, a 23.4% fail rate, across model years 1988–2024.
What does the Fiat Doblo most often fail its MOT on?
Suspension, recorded in 12.1% of tests, then lighting & signalling (11.7%).
Which Doblo years are best and worst for MOT results?
2018 has the best pass rate at 82.8% and 2003 the weakest at 66.3%, from 12,196 and 4,159 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect Doblo MOT results?
Fail rates run at 12.9% for cars in the 0-30k band and 30.4% for 150k+, a 17.5-point difference.
Is the petrol or diesel Doblo more reliable at MOT time?
On MOT-testable defects the petrol fails 20.0% of the time against 23.8% for the diesel. This covers testable items only, not engine or gearbox reliability.
Methodology & source. Based on 306,060 MOT tests. Dataset: DVSA MOT testing data (2021,2022,2023,2024,2025). Data last updated 2026-07-27. Figures reflect MOT-testable defects only — read the methodology for how these are calculated and what they don't measure.