73 Auto Research · MOT statistics
MOT failure rates by test area: brakes, tyres, lights and more compared
Lights, reflectors and electrical is the most common MOT failure area in Great Britain, on 11.2% of 65,477,892 DVSA tests in 2023–24, followed by suspension (8.9%) and brakes (6.8%). Tyre failures are the most likely to include a dangerous defect (75.4% of them).
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT data, 2023-01-01 to 2024-12-30 (n = 65,477,892 tests). Download the data (CSV)
Data to 2024-12-30 · Page updated 2026-09-28 · Publisher: 73 Auto
Key findings
- DVSA dataLights, reflectors and electrical is the MOT area cars fail on most: 11.2% of all tests and 39.1% of failed tests (2023–24, DVSA data).
- DVSA dataSuspension (8.9% of tests) and brakes (6.8%) are the next most common MOT failure areas (DVSA data, 65,477,892 tests).
- DVSA data75.4% of tyre failures included a dangerous defect, the highest share of any MOT area (DVSA data, 2023–24).
- 73 Auto analysisAt the same age and mileage, diesel cars aged 3–10 failed on noise, emissions and leaks at 0.99 times the average rate for their age and mileage, petrol cars at 1.11 (73 Auto analysis).
- 73 Auto analysisElectric cars aged 3–10 failed on tyres at 1.58 times the rate expected for cars of the same age and mileage (73 Auto analysis of 330,180 tests).
At a glance
| Figure | Value | Basis | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lights, reflectors and electrical | 11.2% | 7,302,695 tests | DVSA data |
| Suspension | 8.9% | 5,816,370 tests | DVSA data |
| Brakes | 6.8% | 4,443,267 tests | DVSA data |
| Tyres | 6.4% | 4,195,007 tests | DVSA data |
| Driver's view of the road | 4.7% | 3,100,363 tests | DVSA data |
| Body, chassis and structure | 3.5% | 2,261,891 tests | DVSA data |
Official data
Counts and rates taken directly from DVSA's MOT records: 73 Auto counted them, but applied no model or adjustment.
Every MOT test area
DVSA data
| Area | Tests failing | Share of tests | Share of failed tests | Of which dangerous | At 3 years | At 15 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lights, reflectors and electrical | 7,302,695 | 11.2% | 39.1% | 1.3% | 3.0% | 20.1% |
| Suspension | 5,816,370 | 8.9% | 31.2% | 5.7% | 0.8% | 17.2% |
| Brakes | 4,443,267 | 6.8% | 23.8% | 38.7% | 2.1% | 11.4% |
| Tyres | 4,195,007 | 6.4% | 22.5% | 75.4% | 4.7% | 7.7% |
| Driver's view of the road | 3,100,363 | 4.7% | 16.6% | 0.3% | 3.4% | 6.8% |
| Body, chassis and structure | 2,261,891 | 3.5% | 12.1% | 5.4% | 0.3% | 7.4% |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 2,064,198 | 3.2% | 11.1% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 6.3% |
| Steering | 1,243,166 | 1.9% | 6.7% | 5.3% | 0.1% | 3.4% |
| Seat belts and airbags | 665,630 | 1.0% | 3.6% | 3.3% | 0.3% | 2.0% |
| Road wheels | 241,800 | 0.4% | 1.3% | 19.7% | 0.2% | 0.6% |
| Registration plates and VIN | 231,352 | 0.4% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.5% |
73 Auto analysis
Figures 73 Auto derived from the same records: adjusted ratios, intervals and rankings, explained in the method below.
Areas by fuel at the same age and mileage
73 Auto analysisObserved ÷ expected failures for cars aged 3–10, where expected uses the national rate for each test's age and mileage band (not fuel). Tests: petrol 19,069,451, diesel 16,627,244, hybrid 1,473,950, electric 330,180.
| Area | Petrol | Diesel | Hybrid | Electric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lights, reflectors and electrical | 1.09 | 0.95 | 0.76 | 0.90 |
| Suspension | 1.07 | 0.97 | 0.47 | 1.50 |
| Brakes | 1.05 | 1.00 | 0.52 | 0.64 |
| Tyres | 1.02 | 0.98 | 0.91 | 1.58 |
| Driver's view of the road | 1.07 | 0.94 | 0.88 | 0.84 |
| Body, chassis and structure | 1.00 | 1.04 | 0.28 | 0.60 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1.11 | 0.99 | 0.21 | 0.02 |
| Steering | 1.16 | 0.92 | 0.33 | 1.06 |
| Seat belts and airbags | 0.97 | 1.07 | 0.43 | 0.80 |
| Road wheels | 0.94 | 1.05 | 0.83 | 1.02 |
| Registration plates and VIN | 0.91 | 1.08 | 0.84 | 1.27 |
Method
Source: DVSA's anonymised MOT tests and results for 2023-01-01 to 2024-12-30, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. 73 Auto counted every record itself; no figure is taken from a secondary report.
Scope: class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans), normal tests only (retests excluded), vehicles at least 2.5 years old at test, whose make matches 73 Auto's vehicle catalogue: 65,477,892 tests in 2023–24.
First-time pass rate: the share of normal tests with the result Pass. A test where a defect was fixed at the station and the car passed the same day (PRS, pass after rectification) counts as an initial fail, as DVSA counts it.
Failure areas and items: a test counts once for an area or item if it had at least one fail-level (Major or Dangerous, or pre-2018 fail) defect in it, however many locations were affected. Advisories and minor defects are not failures.
Areas follow the MOT inspection manual's sections; DVSA's pre-2018 and current defect codes are mapped onto one set.
The fuel table standardises for age and mileage band only (fuel is what is compared), at ages 3–10 where all fuels have a substantial fleet.
Each area also has its own page with the models that fail on it most and least; this study compares the areas with each other.
Publication test: Areas with 10,000+ national failures; fuel columns only for fuels with 100,000+ tests at ages 3–10. Areas compared: 11 (minimum 6); Fuels compared: 4 (minimum 3).
Limitations
An MOT result records a car's condition on test day. Servicing, owners' habits, annual mileage and where the car is driven all affect it, so a low failure rate is not proof of mechanical reliability or build quality.
An area's figure counts tests, not defects: a car with two brake defects counts once for brakes.
Citing this study
Cite as: 73 Auto, “MOT failure rates by test area: brakes, tyres, lights and more compared”, 2026-09-28, https://73auto.com/research/mot-failures-by-test-area. Based on DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, Open Government Licence v3.0. The data behind every table is free to reuse with attribution.
More MOT studies
- UK MOT statistics 2023–24 · 28.5% of UK MOT tests in 2023–24 did not pass first time: 18,656,905 of 65,477,892 tests (DVSA data).
- Which car makes fail the MOT most? A ranking adjusted for age and mileage · Of the 21 car makes with over a million MOT tests in 2023–24, BMW cars failed 24% less often than comparable cars of the same age, mileage and fuel (73 Auto analysis of 3,694,719 DVSA tests).
- The cars that fail the MOT least and most, class by class · Of 190 models with 20,000+ MOT tests, the BMW M3 had the lowest failure ratio against cars of the same age, mileage and fuel (0.41, 31,544 tests, 2023–24).
- How MOT pass rates fall with age and mileage · 87.1% of 3-year-old cars passed their first MOT first time in 2023–24, against 67.5% of 10-year-old cars (DVSA data, 3,907,416 and 4,163,623 tests).
- The most common reasons cars fail the MOT · The most common reason for failing an MOT in 2023–24 was “Position lamp: not working”, found on 2.6% of all tests (1,684,901 tests, DVSA data).
- Which MOT failures rise most as cars get older · Steering failures rise the most with age: 0.13% of MOT tests on 3-year-old cars against 3.4% at 15 years, 26 times as often (DVSA data, 2023–24).
- Dangerous MOT defects: how many cars have them and what they are · 5,141,819 MOT tests in 2023–24 found at least one dangerous defect: 7.9% of all tests, about 1 in 13 (DVSA data).
- Petrol vs diesel vs hybrid: MOT pass rates compared · At ages 3–10, 85.6% of hybrid MOT tests passed first time, against 79.6% for petrol and 75.5% for diesel (DVSA data, 2023–24).
- Electric car MOT statistics: how EVs compare with petrol and diesel · 83.5% of MOT tests on electric cars aged 3–10 passed first time in 2023–24, against 79.6% for petrol cars of the same ages (DVSA data, 330,180 EV tests).
Check the MOT history of the car you're considering
Enter a UK registration to see that car's own MOT results, advisories and what it would cost you to run. Your first check is free and shows the vehicle summary and its headline ownership cost. The category-by-category breakdown is part of a paid check.
UK number plate or 17-character VIN
Where these figures come from
- Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023 and 2024 — Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). Open Government Licence v3.0.
Figures labelled as 73 Auto estimates are our own analysis of these sources, set out in the methodology and data sources. To report a factual error, see corrections.