Pass rate
77.4%
Around average — 0.2 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 23,856 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £34–£97
2012 Fiat Panda MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 59,913 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
32.3% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
2.9 pts down across model years — 5.1% in 2004, 2.2% in 2020.
Which year to buy
- Best 2022 92.7% pass
- Avoid 2004 67.8% pass
Across the 20 years on record, a spread of 24.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 71.3%
- Typical mileage
- 60k mi
The 2012 Fiat Panda MOT pass rate is 77.4% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 32.3% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.5× the national share
Suspension accounts for 32.3% of everything recorded on the 2012 Fiat Panda, against 21.0% nationally — 11.3 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 15% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Fiat Panda? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Fiat Panda compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 0.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 71.3%. The median 2012 Fiat Panda in this dataset had covered 59,913 mi.
98% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 77.5% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 77.0% of the time, April–September 77.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 3.41% of tests.
- 23,856 recorded tests behind this page.
- 77.4% overall pass rate, 71.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Fiat Panda, the average is 76.3% — best year 2022 (92.7%), worst 2004 (67.8%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 23,856
- Typical mileage (median)
- 59,913 mi
- Make and model
- Fiat Panda
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Panda MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (98% of tests).
Where the Fiat Panda is most common
Across all Panda model years on record (2003–2022): 119,635 Fiat Panda cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 329,086 tests. Sheffield (S) has the most, with 2,971 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield (S) | 2,971 | 78.7% |
| 2 | Birmingham (B) | 2,565 | 79.5% |
| 3 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 2,394 | 76.6% |
| 4 | Bristol (BS) | 2,222 | 72.9% |
| 5 | Brighton (BN) | 2,219 | 76.0% |
| 6 | Swansea (SA) | 2,099 | 75.8% |
| 7 | Stoke On Trent (ST) | 2,050 | 76.3% |
| 8 | Ashford (TN) | 1,958 | 77.7% |
| 9 | Norwich (NR) | 1,956 | 77.4% |
| 10 | Portsmouth (PO) | 1,898 | 76.4% |
| 11 | Cardiff (CF) | 1,888 | 74.5% |
| 12 | Exeter (EX) | 1,802 | 73.6% |
| 13 | Coventry (CV) | 1,798 | 80.0% |
| 14 | Edinburgh (EH) | 1,793 | 70.1% |
| 15 | Plymouth (PL) | 1,755 | 74.0% |
| 16 | Glasgow (G) | 1,716 | 71.1% |
| 17 | Nottingham (NG) | 1,640 | 73.9% |
| 18 | Manchester (M) | 1,568 | 77.9% |
| 19 | Northampton (NN) | 1,538 | 77.6% |
| 20 | Truro (TR) | 1,532 | 72.1% |
The twenty areas with the most Fiat Panda cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the Panda
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 3,673 | 80.6% |
| Scotland | 3,085 | 70.0% |
| South West | 3,066 | 76.4% |
| North West | 2,635 | 77.6% |
| Yorkshire | 2,503 | 77.3% |
| West Midlands | 2,226 | 80.2% |
| East of England | 2,166 | 80.6% |
| Wales | 1,357 | 77.8% |
| East Midlands | 1,333 | 78.6% |
| North East | 1,127 | 73.1% |
| London | 683 | 82.1% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2012 Panda
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2012 Panda
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 3.4% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the shock absorbers 3.3% of tests
“shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush”
Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.
-
Check the coil springs 3.0% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2012 Panda through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £34–£97 — and 15% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £34–£97
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 15%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 23,856 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Panda, side by side
20 model years on record, from 2003 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.8% to 92.7% — a spread of 24.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2003 67.8% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2004 67.8% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2005 69.2% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2006 69.2% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2007 69.8% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2008 70.3% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2009 72.4% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2010 72.6% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2011 73.8% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2012 77.4%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 78.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2014 80.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 81.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 83.5% shock absorbers has an…
- 2017 85.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2018 87.3% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2019 89.1% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2020 92.3% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2021 92.0% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2022 92.7% pins and bushes pin or bush…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2012 Fiat Panda with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2012 cars with a similar record
- Volkswagen Passat 77.4%
- Ford Ka 77.5%
- Volkswagen Scirocco 77.6%
- Ford B-Max 77.6%
- SEAT Altea 77.6%
- SEAT Exeo 77.6%
Closest pass rates among 2012 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2012 Fiat Panda 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 47,793 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 15,602 | 32.30% | 20.98% | +11.32 |
| Tyres | 8,543 | 17.70% | 19.76% | −2.06 |
| Brakes | 7,472 | 15.50% | 20.89% | −5.39 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 4,675 | 9.70% | 12.21% | −2.51 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 3,708 | 7.70% | 5.57% | +2.13 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 3,137 | 6.50% | 5.52% | +0.98 |
| Visibility | 1,807 | 3.70% | 4.97% | −1.27 |
| Non-component advisories | 1,512 | 3.10% | 4.18% | −1.08 |
| Steering | 702 | 1.50% | 2.57% | −1.07 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 635 | 1.30% | 1.76% | −0.46 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.4% | £5–20 |
| Shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush Suspension | Major | 3.3% | £30–75 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.0% | £25–65 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.8% | £40–150 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.0% | £18–45 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.8% | £45–120 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 1.7% | £30–75 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.7% | £45–95 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.6% | £80–200 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.5% | £60–250 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 18.4% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 14.5% | £25–65 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 10.5% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 10.4% | £40–150 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 9.6% | £45–95 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 7.3% | £45–120 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 2,380 | 86.6% | 22,368 mi |
| 30-60k | 9,558 | 79.8% | 45,977 mi |
| 60-90k | 8,009 | 74.4% | 73,469 mi |
| 90-120k | 3,029 | 72.9% | 101,789 mi |
| 120k+ | 854 | 69.8% | 138,965 mi |
Source: 23,856 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2012 Panda MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Fiat Panda?
77.4% of the 23,856 2012 Fiat Panda tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 71.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Fiat Panda?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (3.41%), shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush (3.33%), coil spring fractured or broken (2.96%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Fiat Panda MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 86.6% of the time, falling to 69.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Fiat Panda in this dataset had covered 59,913 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Fiat Panda?
Petrol: 77.5% pass rate across 23,372 tests. Diesel: 73.9% pass rate across 482 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 Fiat Panda MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 77.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 77.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.