These MOT failure patterns show up more often on this registration year than on similar cars of the same class, age, and mileage.
Shares below are measured across the 362 of 363 failed first attempts (99.7%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025 — the subset the age-and-mileage comparison can be computed on.
Standout: Leaf spring (rear) — 8.8% of this year's failed first attempts
Recorded on 32 of those tests. It tops the table on elevation — about 32× more often than on similar cars of the same age and mileage. That is what makes it unusual for its class, which is a different question from what is most likely to fail; the buying checklist ranks by that. The full ranked list is in the table below.
No patterns met the strongest callout thresholds on this page; showing the highest-lift rows that still cleared the display floors.
| Fault pattern | Location | Failures | vs similar cars | Share of fails | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Leaf spring (rear)
Suspension > Springs > Leaf springs > Leaf spring
|
Rear | 32 | ×32 | 8.8% | Likely |
|
Wheel bearings (front)
Suspension > Wheel bearings
|
Front | 30 | ×6.2 | 8.3% | Likely |
|
Rear fog lamp (rear)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Front and rear fog lamps > Rear fog lamp > Rear fog lamp
|
Rear | 29 | ×6.1 | 8.0% | Possible |
|
Component mounting prescribed areas (rear)
Suspension > Component mounting prescribed areas
|
Rear | 26 | ×5.2 | 7.2% | Possible |
|
Side repeaters
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Direction indicators > Flashing type > Side repeaters
|
Any | 26 | ×4.4 | 7.2% | Possible |
|
Ball joint dust cover (front)
Suspension > Suspension arms > Ball joint dust cover
|
Front | 27 | ×4.4 | 7.5% | Possible |
|
SRS malfunction indicator lamp
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems > SRS malfunction indicator lamp
|
Any | 26 | ×4.1 | 7.2% | Possible |
|
Rigid brake pipes (rear)
Brakes > Rigid brake pipes
|
Rear | 22 | ×3.9 | 6.1% | Possible |
|
Shock absorbers (rear)
Suspension > Shock absorbers
|
Rear | 37 | ×3.5 | 10.2% | Likely |
|
Position lamp (rear)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment > Position lamps > Position lamp
|
Rear | 20 | ×2.3 | 5.5% | Possible |
Only patterns that clear minimum sample and elevation thresholds are shown (at least 20 failures and about 2.0× more often than similar cars).