Fiat -Trail MOT pass rate & common failures
Across 29 model years and 46,874 tests, the Fiat -Trail passes its MOT 93.7% of the time. That is 8.0 percentage points better than all cars of a similar age, which fail at 14.3%. Its most common failure areas are lighting & signalling, visibility and brakes.
Best and worst -Trail years
Ranked across -Trail 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
Build year matters more than the headline suggests: 2019 cars pass 95.4% of the time while 2012 cars manage 90.8%, a 4.7-point spread.
No single area dominates — lighting & signalling (4.2%) and visibility (2.6%) are close, so failures are spread across several systems rather than one weak point.
At component level the recurring items are wipers, headlamp aim and srs malfunction indicator lamp — wipers alone was recorded 1,271 times.
Mileage is the strongest signal on the record: 5.3% of 0-30k cars fail, rising to 23.1% once past 90-120k — 4.3× the risk.
Tyres is the most common advisory, noted on 8.4% of tests — work that passed today but is likely due soon.
The trend is worsening — 5.9% of tests failed in 2021 against 7.4% in 2025, the usual pattern as a fleet ages.
How it compares
By model year
Every -Trail model year with a usable sample. Years with their own detailed report are linked.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Fail rate | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 68 | 70.6% | 29.4% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2003 | 112 | 75.9% | 24.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2004 | 74 | 77.0% | 23.0% | Brakes |
| 2005 | 116 | 69.0% | 31.0% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2006 | 91 | 76.9% | 23.1% | Body, structure & corrosion |
| 2007 | 76 | 80.3% | 19.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2008 | 72 | 88.9% | 11.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2009 | 51 | 84.3% | 15.7% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2010 | 123 | 87.0% | 13.0% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2011 | 594 | 89.4% | 10.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2012 | 2,310 | 90.8% | 9.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2013 | 3,222 | 92.2% | 7.8% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2014 | 3,361 | 91.9% | 8.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2015 | 5,910 | 93.2% | 6.9% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2016 | 6,719 | 94.2% | 5.9% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2017 | 6,938 | 94.8% | 5.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2018 | 8,206 | 95.2% | 4.8% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2019 | 5,966 | 95.4% | 4.6% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2020 | 1,878 | 94.9% | 5.1% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2021 | 788 | 95.8% | 4.2% | Lighting & signalling |
| 2022 | 144 | 97.9% | 2.1% | Lighting & signalling |
Most common failures (all years)
| # | Category | % of tests affected | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighting & signalling | 4.2% | 1,976 |
| 2 | Visibility | 2.6% | 1,215 |
| 3 | Brakes | 1.5% | 693 |
| 4 | Seat belts & restraints | 1.1% | 539 |
| 5 | Tyres | 0.7% | 332 |
| 6 | Suspension | 0.7% | 314 |
| 7 | Emissions & environmental | 0.7% | 316 |
| 8 | Body, structure & corrosion | 0.4% | 196 |
Most common specific failures
The exact components most often recorded as failures — more specific than the categories above.
| # | Failure item | Times recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wipers | 1,271 |
| 2 | Headlamp aim | 1,205 |
| 3 | SRS malfunction indicator lamp | 508 |
| 4 | Outline marker lamp | 498 |
| 5 | Service brake performance | 332 |
| 6 | Position lamp | 308 |
| 7 | Rbt (sp) | 288 |
| 8 | Malfunction indicator lamp | 257 |
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 | 8.4% | 3,949 |
| 2 | Lighting & signalling | 3.1% | 1,465 |
| 3 | Brakes | 3.0% | 1,399 |
| 4 | Suspension | 2.4% | 1,146 |
| 5 | Visibility | 2.0% | 924 |
| 6 | Other defects | 1.0% | 480 |
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 | 39,054 | 5.3% |
| 30-60k | 7,262 | 10.4% |
| 60-90k | 487 | 18.1% |
| 90-120k | 39 | 23.1% |
Failure rate by age
Trend over time
| Dataset year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7,699 | 5.9% |
| 2022 | 9,211 | 5.2% |
| 2023 | 9,839 | 6.1% |
| 2024 | 9,810 | 6.7% |
| 2025 | 10,315 | 7.4% |
What to check before buying a Fiat -Trail
- Lighting & signalling (4.2% of tests): Often a cheap bulb, but persistent issues can mean wiring or corrosion in the units. Typical repair: £10–£150.
- Visibility (2.6% of tests): Wipers, washers, mirrors and screen damage — usually inexpensive, but check for chips in the driver's line of sight. Typical repair: £15–£150.
- Brakes (1.5% 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.
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 -Trail?
93.7% of the 46,874 Fiat -Trail MOT tests in this dataset passed, a 6.3% fail rate, across model years 1995–2023.
What does the Fiat -Trail most often fail its MOT on?
Lighting & signalling, recorded in 4.2% of tests, then visibility (2.6%).
Which -Trail years are best and worst for MOT results?
2019 has the best pass rate at 95.4% and 2012 the weakest at 90.8%, from 5,966 and 2,310 tests respectively.
How much does mileage affect -Trail MOT results?
Fail rates run at 5.3% for cars in the 0-30k band and 23.1% for 90-120k, a 17.7-point difference.
Methodology & source. Based on 46,874 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.