At a glance
How 13,687 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 55 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 45 in every 1006,109 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 10 yearsabout 65,246 miles
- First tests counted
- 13,687
What failed most often
- Coil spring (front)22 in every 100 failed tests
- Drive shaft joints and boots (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
- Suspension arm ball joint (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.
These are patterns across 2015 Dacia Sandero vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.
Suspension
Four faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front): 31 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 6,106 of 6,109 failed first attempts that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.
We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.
Anti-roll bar linkage pins and bushes (front)
What it means
Excessive wear in an anti-roll bar linkage pin or bush is Major. If the pin or bush is likely to become detached, it is graded Dangerous. The wording is DVSA's general one for a suspension pin, bush or joint.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 280 first tests, 14 times as often as on similar cars.
Anti-roll bar linkage (front)
What it means
An anti-roll bar linkage is graded Dangerous when a suspension component is missing, likely to become detached, fractured or likely to fail. Insecure attachment that impairs directional stability is graded Dangerous too. Excessive damage or corrosion that seriously weakens the part is Major, and so is plain insecure attachment to the chassis or axle.
Coil spring (front)
What it means
A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.
Suspension arm ball joint (front)
What it means
A suspension arm ball joint is failed under the general suspension pin, bush or joint wording. Excessively worn is Major, and likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Lamps and electrical
Three faults. The strongest is the horn: 16 times as often as on similar cars.
Horn
What it means
A horn that does not work, or is likely to be confused with an emergency vehicle siren, is graded Major. Gongs, bells, sirens and anything with more than one tone, which includes a horn that alternates between its notes, are not allowed, except a gong, bell or siren on vehicles first used before a set date. Sound defects are Minor for named cases such as a bell or harsh sound, and Major under a general row.
Headlight levelling device
What it means
A headlamp levelling device that is inoperative is graded Major, and so is a manual levelling device that cannot be operated from the driver's seat. Vehicles with high intensity discharge or LED dipped beam headlamps may have a self-levelling system, and if fitted it must work. Where it is not easy to tell, testers give the benefit of the doubt, and motor caravans are not checked.
Number plate lights (rear)
What it means
Registration plate lamps must light up the rear registration plate and operate at the same time as the position lamps. A missing or inoperative lamp is Major when the plate has only one lamp or all its lamps are not working, and Minor when the plate has several lamps or light sources and not all have failed. A lamp throwing direct white light to the rear is also Minor.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Body and structure
One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 4.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Brakes
One fault and one wear pattern. The strongest is the brake performance (roller test, rear): 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake performance (roller test, rear)
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 258 first tests, 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake discs (front)
What it means
A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Advisories
Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.
An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.
Power steering pipes and hoses
Macpherson strut (front)
Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front)
Suspension arm (front)
Brake fluid
Other suspension component (rear)
Brake pedal
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
MOT pass rates
How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.
- Passed first time
- 55in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 7in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 38in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 55.4% of 13,687 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 62.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 38 not fixed make the 45 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Petrol and diesel
Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 57 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 58 in every 100 | 6,603 |
| 2014 | 54 in every 100 | 11,590 |
| 2015 This car | 55 in every 100 | 13,687 |
| 2016 | 61 in every 100 | 13,820 |
| 2017 | 65 in every 100 | 14,146 |
| 2018 | 71 in every 100 | 12,028 |
| 2019 | 75 in every 100 | 12,106 |
| 2020 | 79 in every 100 | 8,817 |
| 2021 | 86 in every 100 | 7,869 |
| 2022 | 89 in every 100 | 12,554 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2015 Sandero.
Of 2015 Sandero vehicles with under 44,000 miles, 70 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 90,000 miles or more, 46 in every 100 did.
Petrol or diesel?
| Typical mileage | Passed first time, as tested | Passed first time, same mileage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 60,102 miles | 58 | 56 |
| Diesel | 76,596 miles | 50 | 54 |
Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 76,596 against 60,102). At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.
What to check at your mileage
How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.
| Under 44,000 | 59,000–72,000 | 90,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring (front) | 7.4 | 9.9 | 11.1 |
| Drive shaft joints and boots (front) | 4.9 | 7.3 | 7.2 |
| Suspension arm ball joint (front) | 1.9 | 6.1 | 8.6 |
| Horn | 2.2 | 6.1 | 5.1 |
| Headlight aim | 2.4 | 3.0 | 4.7 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).
Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.
FAQs
Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.
About this data
How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.
These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.
What we include
UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.
Same-day repairs
PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.
How we compare
We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.
What this does not cover
- MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
- Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
- Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
- If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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