Pass rate
65.2%
Below average — 7.0 pts behind the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 184 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £46–£123
2004 Fiat Ulysse MOT pass rate
- 2004
- typical 127,296 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
21.0% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2003 73.1% pass
- Avoid 2004 65.2% pass · this year
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 7.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 53.7%
- Typical mileage
- 127k mi
The 2004 Fiat Ulysse MOT pass rate is 65.2% of its MOT tests — 7.0 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 21.0% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 1.9× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 10.6% of everything recorded on the 2004 Fiat Ulysse, against 5.5% nationally — 5.1 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 21.0%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 72.2%; this one manages 65.2% — 7.0 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 28% 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 Ulysse? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2004 Fiat Ulysse compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, so this figure is 7.0 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 53.7%. The median 2004 Fiat Ulysse in this dataset had covered 127,296 mi.
66% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 68.0% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 64.7% of the time, April–September 65.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements", noted on 13.59% of tests.
- 184 recorded tests behind this page.
- 65.2% overall pass rate, 53.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Fiat Ulysse, the average is 68.2% — best year 2003 (73.1%), worst 2004 (65.2%).
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
- 184
- Typical mileage (median)
- 127,296 mi
- Make and model
- Fiat Ulysse
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Brake Discs and Pads Set
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Ulysse MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 49% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (66% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Ulysse
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 56 | 57.1% |
| West Midlands | 33 | 78.8% |
| South West | 25 | 56.0% |
| North West | 18 | 66.7% |
| East of England | 16 | 68.8% |
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 2004 Ulysse
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 2004 Ulysse
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 8.2% 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 suspension joints 7.1% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
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.
-
Check the windscreen 7.1% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
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 2004 Ulysse through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £46–£123 — and 28% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £46–£123
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 28%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 184 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 Ulysse, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2003 to 2005. Across them the pass rate runs from 65.2% to 73.1% — a spread of 7.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2003 73.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 65.2%rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2005 69.8% windscreen damaged but not…
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 2004 Fiat Ulysse 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 2004 cars with a similar record
- Kia Sorento 65.6%
- Ford Galaxy 66.2%
- Vauxhall Combo 66.3%
- Renault Modus 66.3%
- Ford Ka 66.7%
- Volkswagen Beetle 66.8%
Closest pass rates among 2004 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 2004 Fiat Ulysse 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 661 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 141 | 21.00% | 20.89% | +0.11 |
| Suspension | 130 | 19.40% | 20.98% | −1.58 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 97 | 14.50% | 12.21% | +2.29 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 71 | 10.60% | 5.52% | +5.08 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 67 | 10.00% | 5.57% | +4.43 |
| Tyres | 53 | 7.90% | 19.76% | −11.86 |
| Visibility | 41 | 6.10% | 4.97% | +1.13 |
| Non-component advisories | 30 | 4.50% | 4.18% | +0.32 |
| Steering | 16 | 2.40% | 2.57% | −0.17 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 15 | 2.20% | 0.82% | +1.38 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 13.6% | £45–110 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 8.2% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 7.6% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 7.1% | £18–45 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 7.1% | £80–250 |
| Parking brake performance inoperative on one side Brakes | Major | 7.1% | £60–150 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 7.1% | £80–200 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 6.5% | £30–80 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 4.3% | £180–450 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.3% | £5–25 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 22.3% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 16.3% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 12.0% | £45–110 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 11.4% | £45–120 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 10.9% | £25–65 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 9.2% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 7 | 57.1% | 47,663 mi |
| 60-90k | 24 | 62.5% | 77,877 mi |
| 90-120k | 51 | 58.8% | 103,098 mi |
| 120k+ | 102 | 69.6% | 151,273 mi |
Source: 184 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.
2004 Ulysse MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 Fiat Ulysse?
65.2% of the 184 2004 Fiat Ulysse tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 53.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 Fiat Ulysse?
The three most recorded items are rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (13.59%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (8.15%), headlamp lens slightly defective (7.61%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 Fiat Ulysse MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 57.1% of the time, falling to 69.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 Fiat Ulysse in this dataset had covered 127,296 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2004 Fiat Ulysse?
Diesel: 68.0% pass rate across 122 tests. Petrol: 62.3% pass rate across 53 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2004 Fiat Ulysse MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 64.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 65.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.