MOTindex

Common MOT failures

Built from tests recorded on MOTindex, categorised using the official DVSA defect code on each one. Choose a make or model below to see its own breakdown.

See the breakdown for one make or model

Defaults to every make checked on MOTindex.

Where MOT tests find problems: every make checked

Axles, wheels, tyres and suspension 122 tests (31.1%)
Brakes 72 tests (18.4%)
Visibility 30 tests (7.7%)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 30 tests (7.7%)
Registration plates and vehicle identification 21 tests (5.4%)
Nuisance (emissions and noise) 19 tests (4.8%)
Body, structure and attachments 16 tests (4.1%)
Steering 9 tests (2.3%)
Other equipment 2 tests (0.5%)

A test can find problems in more than one category, so the figures above do not sum to 100%. Each percentage is the share of classifiable tests that found at least one defect in that category. Based on 392 classifiable tests for every make checked.

How this is worked out

Since the MOT test was overhauled on 20 May 2018, every defect DVSA records ends with a reference to the exact clause of the official MOT Inspection Manual it was raised under, for example (5.2.3 (e)) for a worn tyre or (1.1.13 (a) (ii)) for a worn brake pad. The number before the first dot is one of DVSA's own fixed categories, brakes, steering, tyres and suspension, and so on. This page reads that code from every cached test and counts it, rather than guessing a category from keywords in the free-text description.

Tests from before that date do not carry the code and are left out of these figures entirely, which is why the total for any make or model here is smaller than the number of vehicles checked. The numbers only draw on real tests recorded on this site. As more vehicles are looked up, more tests become part of this breakdown and the picture gets a firmer footing, for every make and model, not only the site-wide total.