Garage forecourt with roller doors open - UK MOT failure rates by car make

MOT failure rates by car make: what the data on 57 million tests shows

More than 1 in 5 cars fails its MOT. Across 57 million DVSA test records, pass rates range from 65.7% to 86.4% depending on the make - a 21-point gap driven by differences in average fleet age, owner behaviour, and the reliability profile of each brand. The data also shows that the type of car you own matters less than how old it is, and that the most common failures are mostly preventable before you arrive at the test centre.

78.3% Overall UK MOT pass rate
1 in 5 Cars fail their MOT each year
86.4% Best pass rate - Lexus
71.3% Lowest active make - Citroen

About the data

The figures on this page come from an analysis of 57,663,348 DVSA MOT test records, covering all cars and light vans tested in Great Britain. Makes with fewer than 50,000 tests in the dataset are excluded to keep the comparisons statistically meaningful.

Pass rates here represent the overall result including retests - a car that fails its first test but passes on retest counts as a pass in the overall figure. The initial failure rate is higher: DVSA data shows 27.24% of class 3-4 vehicles failed their first test in 2024-25, an average of 2.42 defects per failed vehicle. Both figures tell you something useful: the overall rate reflects how cars fare across the whole process; the initial failure rate shows how many turn up with something wrong.

The car makes with the highest MOT pass rates

Premium and Japanese brands dominate the top of the table. Lexus leads at 86.4% across 265,739 tests - meaning fewer than 14 in every 100 tests end in a fail. BMW and Jaguar share second place at 84.4%, followed closely by Audi (83.9%), Land Rover (83.4%), and Mercedes-Benz (82.0%).

The pattern across the top ten reflects two things. First, owners of premium vehicles tend to maintain them more consistently - servicing intervals are kept, warning lights are not ignored, and tyres are replaced before they reach the legal limit. Second, these brands have relatively newer average fleet ages than mass-market brands, and newer cars are significantly more likely to pass.

Japanese brands (Lexus, Toyota, Honda) perform consistently well across all age ranges - a long-standing strength in reliability that shows up clearly in the test data.

Top 10 car makes by MOT pass rate

Makes with 50,000 or more tests in the dataset. Overall UK average: 78.3%.

Lexus 86.4%
BMW 84.4%
Jaguar 84.4%
Audi 83.9%
Land Rover 83.4%
Mercedes-Benz 82%
Mini 81.4%
Skoda 80.6%
Volvo 80.2%
SEAT 79.8%

Analysis of 57,663,348 DVSA MOT test records. Makes with fewer than 50,000 tests excluded. DVSA defect category data: initial failures by defect, class 3-4 vehicles, 2024-25.

The car makes with the lowest MOT pass rates

Among the 24 major makes with 50,000 or more tests, Citroen has the lowest pass rate at 71.3% (1,728,074 tests), followed by Renault at 71.8% (1,748,312 tests). Both are large samples - there is no statistical ambiguity in the result. Peugeot (73.3%), Vauxhall (73.3%), and Fiat (74.7%) complete the bottom five.

French brands clustering at the lower end is a consistent finding across MOT datasets. The most common explanation is a combination of factors: a higher proportion of older vehicles in these makes' UK parc, historically higher rates of electrical faults (the single most common failure category), and a buyer profile that skews towards higher-mileage use cases.

Ford and Vauxhall - the UK's two most common makes by volume - sit at 75.1% and 73.3% respectively. With 7.6 million Ford tests in the dataset, that figure is highly reliable and reflects the sheer diversity of the Ford fleet - from nearly-new models to high-mileage examples in the tail.

Bottom 10 active car makes by MOT pass rate

All active makes with 50,000+ tests in the dataset. Overall UK average: 78.3%.

Citroen 71.3%
Renault 71.8%
Peugeot 73.3%
Vauxhall 73.3%
Fiat 74.7%
Ford 75.1%
Nissan 75.3%
Mazda 77.7%
Volkswagen 78.5%
Hyundai 78.5%

Analysis of 57,663,348 DVSA MOT test records. Makes with fewer than 50,000 tests excluded. DVSA defect category data: initial failures by defect, class 3-4 vehicles, 2024-25.

Car age matters more than brand

The most consistent predictor of MOT outcome is vehicle age - and the data is unambiguous. Cars at three years old (just reaching their first MOT) pass at 89.3%. By ten years the figure has dropped to 77.2%, by fifteen years to 69.5%, and by twenty years to 67.7%.

This means a ten-year-old Lexus will typically perform more like a ten-year-old Ford than a three-year-old Lexus. Brand matters, but it is a secondary factor behind age. For anyone buying a used car with an eye on running costs, a model with a strong brand pass rate that is still relatively young will consistently outperform an older prestige model on the MOT statistics.

MOT pass rate by vehicle age

Pass rate falls steadily as vehicle age increases. Data covers all makes.

89.3%

3 years
77.2%

10 years
69.5%

15 years
67.7%

20 years

Analysis of 57,663,348 DVSA MOT test records. Makes with fewer than 50,000 tests excluded. DVSA defect category data: initial failures by defect, class 3-4 vehicles, 2024-25.

What cars actually fail on

Of all defects recorded at initial MOT failure for class 3-4 vehicles in 2024-25, a quarter (24.81%) were in the lamps, reflectors, and electrical equipment category - easily the most common single failure area. Suspension accounts for a further 19.94% of defects, followed by brakes at 15.28% and tyres at 12.94%.

The practical implication of this breakdown is that most MOT failures are at least partly preventable with a basic pre-test check. Blown bulbs, cracked lenses, worn wiper blades affecting visibility, and tyres approaching the legal minimum can all be identified and corrected before the test. The pre-MOT checklist covers the items you can check at home without any specialist equipment.

Most common MOT defect categories (% of all defects, 2024-25)

Source: DVSA initial failures by defect category, class 3-4 vehicles, 2024-25.

Lamps, reflectors and electrical 24.81%
Suspension 19.94%
Brakes 15.28%
Tyres 12.94%
Visibility (screen, wipers) 8.54%
Body, chassis, structure 6.19%
Noise, emissions and leaks 5.82%
Steering 3.4%

Analysis of 57,663,348 DVSA MOT test records. Makes with fewer than 50,000 tests excluded. DVSA defect category data: initial failures by defect, class 3-4 vehicles, 2024-25.

What to do if your car fails its MOT

A failed MOT does not mean your car is immediately illegal to drive - provided its current certificate has not yet expired, you can drive it away from the test centre. However, driving without a valid MOT once your existing certificate expires is an offence regardless of whether the car is roadworthy.

If your car needs repair work after a fail, check whether you qualify for a free partial retest. DVSA rules entitle you to a free retest on the same items that caused the failure, provided it is completed within 10 working days at the same test station. What to do after an MOT failure explains the retest rules, how to read a VT30 fail certificate, and the difference between a major and dangerous defect.