Fiat Ducato MOT pass rate & common failures
412,568 MOT tests on the Fiat Ducato (1980–2025) give it an 81.3% pass rate. That is 8.1 percentage points better than vans of a similar age, which fail at 26.8%. Its most common failure areas are lighting & signalling, brakes and suspension.
Best and worst Ducato years
Ranked across Ducato 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 2021 (94.7% pass rate); the weakest is 1988 (66.1%). Older cars carry more of the difference than the average implies.
One area stands out: lighting & signalling, recorded in 12.0% of tests against 7.5% for the next-worst category.
At component level the recurring items are headlamp aim, component mounting prescribed areas and service brake performance — headlamp aim alone was recorded 19,287 times.
A 150k+ example is materially riskier than a 0-30k one: 25.8% versus 10.0%.
The diesel cars hold up better: 18.4% fail against 32.4% for petrol, a 14.0-point gap across 412,561 tests.
Brakes is the most common advisory, noted on 17.3% of tests — work that passed today but is likely due soon.
How it compares
By model year
Every Ducato model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 48 | 68.8% | 31.3% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1985 | 165 | 67.9% | 32.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1986 | 505 | 67.5% | 32.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1987 | 846 | 69.5% | 30.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1988 | 1,795 | 66.1% | 33.9% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1989 | 1,687 | 66.8% | 33.3% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1990 | 2,384 | 68.7% | 31.3% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1991 | 2,238 | 68.0% | 32.0% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1992 | 2,609 | 67.8% | 32.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1993 | 2,029 | 70.0% | 30.0% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1994 | 2,207 | 69.5% | 30.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1995 | 2,533 | 69.6% | 30.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1996 | 4,348 | 70.3% | 29.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1997 | 5,699 | 71.5% | 28.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1998 | 7,396 | 71.5% | 28.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 1999 | 8,787 | 71.9% | 28.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2000 | 9,782 | 72.6% | 27.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2001 | 11,862 | 72.8% | 27.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2002 | 13,696 | 74.8% | 25.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2003 | 20,059 | 75.7% | 24.3% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2004 | 24,720 | 75.8% | 24.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2005 | 28,861 | 77.3% | 22.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2006 | 27,961 | 78.6% | 21.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2007 | 31,626 | 81.3% | 18.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2008 | 29,619 | 83.3% | 16.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2009 | 20,694 | 84.8% | 15.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2010 | 19,439 | 86.1% | 13.9% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2011 | 18,381 | 86.0% | 14.0% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2012 | 14,552 | 87.4% | 12.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2013 | 12,882 | 87.6% | 12.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2014 | 13,354 | 88.3% | 11.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2015 | 15,512 | 89.1% | 10.9% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2016 | 15,425 | 89.6% | 10.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2017 | 11,455 | 89.8% | 10.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2018 | 10,028 | 91.4% | 8.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2019 | 9,424 | 91.6% | 8.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2020 | 5,177 | 93.5% | 6.5% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2021 | 2,329 | 94.7% | 5.3% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2022 | 431 | 95.4% | 4.6% | Lighting & signalling |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighting & signalling | 12.0% | 49,703 |
| 2 | Brakes | 7.5% | 30,888 |
| 3 | Suspension | 5.5% | 22,790 |
| 4 | Body, structure & corrosion | 4.9% | 20,021 |
| 5 | Visibility | 4.8% | 19,765 |
| 6 | Emissions & environmental | 2.0% | 8,351 |
| 7 | Tyres | 1.8% | 7,475 |
| 8 | Seat belts & restraints | 1.3% | 5,308 |
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 | 19,287 |
| 2 | Component mounting prescribed areas | 18,094 |
| 3 | Service brake performance | 17,336 |
| 4 | Wipers | 14,474 |
| 5 | Position lamp | 11,545 |
| 6 | Headlamp | 9,987 |
| 7 | Rbt (sp) | 9,697 |
| 8 | Washers | 9,361 |
Top advisory categories
Advisories aren't failures, but they flag work likely needed soon — useful when budgeting.
| # | Category | % of tests with advisory | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brakes | 17.3% | 71,316 |
| 2 | Suspension | 17.1% | 70,328 |
| 3 | Tyres | 11.7% | 48,278 |
| 4 | Lighting & signalling | 10.7% | 44,086 |
| 5 | Body, structure & corrosion | 9.9% | 40,940 |
| 6 | Emissions & environmental | 6.3% | 26,040 |
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 | 105,907 | 10.0% |
| 30-60k | 170,019 | 17.8% |
| 60-90k | 70,855 | 25.6% |
| 90-120k | 29,215 | 28.3% |
| 120-150k | 16,276 | 27.9% |
| 150k+ | 19,940 | 25.8% |
Failure rate by age
By fuel type
| Fuel | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | 405,364 | 18.4% |
| Petrol | 7,197 | 32.4% |
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 82,700 | 18.6% |
| 2022 | 83,580 | 18.4% |
| 2023 | 83,016 | 18.5% |
| 2024 | 81,878 | 19.0% |
| 2025 | 81,394 | 19.1% |
What to check before buying a Fiat Ducato
- Lighting & signalling (12.0% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Brakes (7.5% of tests): Pads/discs are routine wear; binding, imbalance or corroded pipes are more serious — test for pulling under braking. Typical repair: £100–£350 per axle.
- Suspension (5.5% 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.
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 Ducato?
81.3% of the 412,568 Fiat Ducato MOT tests in this dataset passed, an 18.7% fail rate, across model years 1980–2025.
What does the Fiat Ducato most often fail its MOT on?
Lighting & signalling, recorded in 12.0% of tests, then brakes (7.5%).
Which Ducato years are best and worst for MOT results?
2021 has the best pass rate at 94.7% and 1988 the weakest at 66.1%, from 2,329 and 1,795 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect Ducato MOT results?
Fail rates run at 10.0% for cars in the 0-30k band and 25.8% for 150k+, a 15.8-point difference.
Is the diesel or petrol Ducato more reliable at MOT time?
On MOT-testable defects the diesel fails 18.4% of the time against 32.4% for the petrol. This covers testable items only, not engine or gearbox reliability.
Methodology & source. Based on 412,568 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.