Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Jaguar XE 2016: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 80 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2016 Jaguar XE were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (front).

Summary

The 2016 Jaguar XE follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 11,133 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
80 in every 100
Did not pass first time
20 in every 1002,255 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
9 yearsabout 72,409 miles
First tests counted
11,133

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake pads (rear)10 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Tyre tread depth (rear)9 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.

Note:

These are patterns across 2016 Jaguar XE 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.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: airbag warning light, 4.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 2,254 of 2,255 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.

Airbag warning light

Failed on 89 first tests4.5 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre tread depth (rear), 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre tread depth (rear)

Failed on 209 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Only primary grooves count when tread depth is assessed: those holding the wear indicators, or cut as deep as those when new. Shallower secondary grooves are ignored. Tread depth below the minimum for the vehicle is Dangerous, and so is a pattern not visible over the whole tread, but that second row applies only to vehicles that need the lower minimum.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: brake light (rear), 2.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake light (rear)

Failed on 183 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.

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 anti-lock braking system (ABS): 2.5 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

Failed on 59 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

ABS is failed as removed only where it has obviously been removed, because not every vehicle in the age range where removal is not permitted has ABS. A warning lamp that does not light or shows an ABS fault is Major, as is a missing or excessively damaged wheel speed sensor. Every failure row for this component is Major.

Brake pads (rear)

Failed on 223 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

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.

Flexible brake hoses (rear)

Noted on 30 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 49 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Wheel condition (front)

Noted on 46 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Wheel condition (rear)

Noted on 21 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

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
80in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
16in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 79.7% of 11,133 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 83.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 16 not fixed make the 20 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel9,11076,757 miles7979
Petrol2,02253,509 miles8378

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.

4060801002015201620172018201920202021Older carsNewer cars
40608010020162020Newer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 79 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201579 in every 1007,685
2016 This car80 in every 10011,133
201782 in every 1009,805
201882 in every 1005,388
201982 in every 1004,346
202084 in every 1001,578
202184 in every 100908

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2016 Jaguar XE.

Of 2016 Jaguar XE vehicles with under 49,000 miles, 86 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 100,000 miles or more, 75 in every 100 did.

Under 49,0002,247 tests
86
49,000–65,0002,223 tests
80
65,000–80,000 Typical car2,172 tests
81
80,000–100,0002,303 tests
77
100,000 and over2,184 tests
75

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel76,757 miles7979
Petrol53,509 miles8378

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Petrol cars look better on the raw figures only because diesel cars have done more miles (typically 76,757 against 53,509). 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 49,00065,000–80,000100,000 and over
Tyre condition (front)2.32.51.8
Brake pads (rear)1.61.82.2
Tyre tread depth (rear)0.51.73.2
Brake light (rear)0.81.52.2
Coil spring (front)0.51.31.6

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

52in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

20in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

7in every 100

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.

The 2016 Jaguar XE follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (front), about 12 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 79.7% of 11,133 first MOTs on the 2016 Jaguar XE passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 83.6%. Among 2,255 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Airbag warning light appears more often than on similar cars (3.9% of those tests; 89 observed failures; about 4.5× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2016 Jaguar XE at the first attempt were Tyre condition (front) (11.9%), Brake pads (rear) (9.9%) and Tyre tread depth (rear) (9.3%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Airbag warning light (3.9% of those tests; 89 observed failures; about 4.5× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Airbag warning light shows up more often than on similar cars (3.9% of those tests; 89 observed failures; about 4.5× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2016 Jaguar XE include Airbag warning light, Brake light (rear), Anti-lock braking system (ABS). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2016 Jaguar XE (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

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.

2024 2025

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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