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2020 Fiat Panda MOT pass rate

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Pass rate by postcode →

Pass rate

92.3%

Above average — 1.6 pts ahead of the 90.7% that cars this age and mileage manage.

Across 4,496 recorded tests.

Typical repair bill £32–£91

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
91.7%
Typical mileage
17k mi

The 2020 Fiat Panda MOT pass rate is 92.3% of its MOT tests — 1.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 35.7% of what testers record.

MOT PASS RATES

The 2020 Fiat Panda on the real record

92.3% of 2020 Fiat Panda MOTs passed — 4,496 tests, 2023–2025

Pass rate

The answer from the DVSA's class-4 MOT records.

Expert verdict

Tyres: 1.8× the national share

Tyres make up 35.7% of everything recorded on the 2020 Fiat Panda, against 19.8% nationally — 15.9 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.

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 2020 Fiat Panda compare?

Cars of this age and mileage average 90.7%, so this figure is 1.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 91.7%. The median 2020 Fiat Panda in this dataset had covered 17,441 mi.

Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 92.3% of the time, April–September 92.4%.

The single most recorded failure item is "Coil spring fractured or broken", noted on 1.25% of tests.

  • 4,496 recorded tests behind this page.
  • 92.3% overall pass rate, 91.7% 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
4,496
Typical mileage (median)
17,441 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

Coil Spring

Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.

Does mileage affect the Panda MOT pass rate?

0-30k 93.4%
30-60k 87.6%
60-90k 90.0%
90-120k 100.0%
120k+ 66.7%

Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.

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 Share of all Tests Pass rate
1 Sheffield (S) 2,971 2.5% 8,040 78.7%
2 Birmingham (B) 2,565 2.1% 6,567 79.5%
3 Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) 2,394 2% 6,905 76.6%
4 Bristol (BS) 2,222 1.9% 6,475 72.9%
5 Brighton (BN) 2,219 1.9% 6,465 76.0%
6 Swansea (SA) 2,099 1.8% 6,560 75.8%
7 Stoke On Trent (ST) 2,050 1.7% 6,057 76.3%
8 Ashford (TN) 1,958 1.6% 5,381 77.7%
9 Norwich (NR) 1,956 1.6% 6,059 77.4%
10 Portsmouth (PO) 1,898 1.6% 5,594 76.4%
11 Cardiff (CF) 1,888 1.6% 5,621 74.5%
12 Exeter (EX) 1,802 1.5% 5,349 73.6%
13 Coventry (CV) 1,798 1.5% 4,940 80.0%
14 Edinburgh (EH) 1,793 1.5% 5,292 70.1%
15 Plymouth (PL) 1,755 1.5% 5,432 74.0%
16 Glasgow (G) 1,716 1.4% 4,754 71.1%
17 Nottingham (NG) 1,640 1.4% 4,553 73.9%
18 Manchester (M) 1,568 1.3% 3,875 77.9%
19 Northampton (NN) 1,538 1.3% 4,366 77.6%
20 Truro (TR) 1,532 1.3% 4,885 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 744 93.7%
South West 561 91.3%
North West 502 92.6%
Yorkshire 502 93.8%
West Midlands 465 92.5%
North East 390 92.3%
Wales 385 92.7%
Scotland 379 87.3%
East of England 302 94.0%
East Midlands 207 92.3%
London 59 91.5%

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 2020 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.

Tyres 35.7%
+15.9 pts vs national national 19.8% Compare tyre prices
Brakes 26.4%
+5.5 pts vs national national 20.9% Price brakes parts
Suspension 14.2%
−6.8 pts vs national national 21.0% Price suspension parts
Visibility 7.5%
+2.5 pts vs national national 5.0% Order bulbs & wipers
Show the other 6 fault categories
  • Lamps & electrics 4.7%
  • Advisories 4.6%
  • Body & chassis 3.4%
  • Emissions & leaks 2.3%
  • Seat belts 0.4%
  • Identification 0.4%

Shares are of every item recorded on 2020 Fiat Panda tests — a composition, so they add to 100% across all sections, not per test.

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 2020 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.

  1. Check the coil springs 1.3% 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.

  2. Check the wipers and washers 1.1% of tests

    “wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively”

    Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.

  3. Check the suspension joints 1.1% of tests

    “pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn”

    With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.

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 2020 Panda through its MOT

Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £32–£91 — and 33% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.

Average repair across the 10 common items
£32–£91
Cheapest common item: wipers does not clear the windscreen…
£8–£22
Dearest common item: door condition cannot be opened from outside…
£80–£250
Common items a careful owner can do at home
60%
Repairs that still cost under £30
33%

Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 4,496 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.

  1. 2003 67.8% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  2. 2004 67.8% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
  3. 2005 69.2% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
  4. 2006 69.2% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
  5. 2007 69.8% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  6. 2008 70.3% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  7. 2009 72.4% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  8. 2010 72.6% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  9. 2011 73.8% pins and bushes pin or bush…
  10. 2012 77.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
  11. 2013 78.4% coil spring fractured or broken
  12. 2014 80.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
  13. 2015 81.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
  14. 2016 83.5% shock absorbers has an…
  15. 2017 85.4% coil spring fractured or broken
  16. 2018 87.3% coil spring fractured or broken
  17. 2019 89.1% coil spring fractured or broken
  18. 2020 92.3%
    coil spring fractured or broken
  19. 2021 92.0% coil spring fractured or broken
  20. 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 2020 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.

Compare 2020 with another year →

Compare two different cars instead →

Other 2020 cars with a similar record

Closest pass rates among 2020 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 2020 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 2,467 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
Tyres 884 35.70% 19.76% +15.94
Brakes 654 26.40% 20.89% +5.51
Suspension 351 14.20% 20.98% −6.78
Visibility 185 7.50% 4.97% +2.53
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 117 4.70% 12.21% −7.51
Non-component advisories 114 4.60% 4.18% +0.42
Body, chassis, structure 84 3.40% 5.57% −2.17
Noise, emissions and leaks 58 2.30% 5.52% −3.22
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems 11 0.40% 0.82% −0.42
Identification of the vehicle 9 0.40% 1.76% −1.36

The exact failure items, in the tester's words

Share of the 4,496 tests on this vehicle that recorded each item
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost Part
Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension Major 1.3% £25–65 Coil Spring →
Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility Major 1.1% £8–22 Wiper Blade →
Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension Major 1.1% £40–150 Suspension Component →
Wipers blade defective Visibility Minor 0.71% £8–22 Wiper Blade →
Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility Rectified 0.67% £8–22 Wiper Blade →
Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Rectified 0.60% £30–80 Headlight Alignment →
Has ply or cords exposed Tyres Major 0.58% £45–95 Tyres →
Door condition cannot be opened from outside the vehicle Body, chassis, structure Major 0.51% £80–250 Body Panel Repair →
Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility Minor 0.47% £80–200 Windscreen →
Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes Major 0.42% £45–110 Brake Discs and Pads Set →

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.

Items recorded as advisory on this vehicle
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres Advisory 10.8% £45–95
Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes Advisory 6.9% £45–110
Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres Advisory 4.6% £45–95
Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension Advisory 3.4% £40–150
Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes Advisory 2.4% £18–45
Tread depth tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm Tyres Advisory 1.3% £45–95

Pass rate by mileage

Mileage Tests Pass rate Median odometer
0-30k 3,653 93.4% 15,235 mi
30-60k 785 87.6% 39,553 mi
60-90k 50 90.0% 69,478 mi
90-120k 5 100.0% 100,987 mi
120k+ 3 66.7% 125,672 mi

Source: 4,496 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.

2020 Panda MOT questions

What is the MOT pass rate for a 2020 Fiat Panda?

92.3% of the 4,496 2020 Fiat Panda tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 90.7% for cars first used in 2020. First-attempt pass rate: 91.7%.

What are the most common MOT failures on a 2020 Fiat Panda?

The three most recorded items are coil spring fractured or broken (1.25%), wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (1.07%), pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (1.05%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.

Does mileage affect the 2020 Fiat Panda MOT pass rate?

Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 93.4% of the time, falling to 66.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2020 Fiat Panda in this dataset had covered 17,441 mi.

Does the season affect the 2020 Fiat Panda MOT pass rate?

Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 92.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 92.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.